Austin Hays 2023

[Aristotelian]

13 hours ago, bpilktree said:

Hays is a guy you don’t seem to notice in the lineup much but then you look up and his stats shows he is hitting much better then you realize in average Ops and homers.  I think a lot of that is he has struggled all year with runners on base.   Here is the lines with no one on and with guys on.  
 

No one on. 
 

255 AB .294/.350/.549/.899 13 homers

Runners on 

197 AB .279/.310/.355/665 1 homer.  
 

His average is close but he has shown no power or extra base hitting ability with guys on.  

Interesting, my impression was he's been getting a good share of clutch hits. Appears the main culprit is all 13 of his HR have been solo shots.

[Moshagge3]

13 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

Interesting, my impression was he's been getting a good share of clutch hits. Appears the main culprit is all 13 of his HR have been solo shots.

Wow. According to this, the ML record for most solo shots to start the season is 17, set by Felipe Alou. We could see history this month.

[Aristotelian]

1 hour ago, Moshagge3 said:

Wow. According to this, the ML record for most solo shots to start the season is 17, set by Felipe Alou. We could see history this month.

Never mind, he has one HR with men on. BBref hadn't updated his totals. He has 13 of 14 solo HR.

[banks703]

18 hours ago, Frobby said:

Nice to see Hays flirting with .800 OPS again (.799) after emerging from an extended slump.   He went 4 for 4 with a homer, a double, a sac fly and 4 RBI last night.  He’s hitting .339/.413/.646 over his last 18 games.  Notably, he’s been more selective than he normally is when he’s hot. 

The O's are so much better when Hays is hitting. I'm a little disappointed that Ced didn't take off over the last few series like I thought he would but with Hays back to flirting with that .800 OPS, the O's right now have (count em) eight guys OPSing at least 35 points above the AL average of .732 right now and 30 points higher than the overall major league average this year of .736

Hays .799

Rutsch .789

Gunnar .802

Mountcastle .800

Ced .767

Ant .826

O'Hearn .834

Hicks .781

We've been posting it a bunch this year on this team being spectacularly just above average pretty much top to bottom and the national media has taken notice with some nice pieces on their success this year but I'd be curious to know how many teams trot out, on any given night, eight guys that are 30 points better than league average OPS. According to fangraphs, every position player in the 28 man has a positive WAR. 

There's an outside chance that both Hays and Rutsch can get their OPS above .800 for the year. That would give the O's six guys with an .800 or better OPS.. again, I'd like to know how many teams have six guys who OPS .800 or better.  

[Frobby]

Hays came in to the game late as a defensive replacement in LF, made a spectacular diving catch in the corner, then delivered a bases-loaded single to ice the game.  

He’s really had a spectacular year defensively.   I’d be pushing for him to win a Gold Glove, but looking at various advanced metrics, Steven Kwan is tops by a significant margin among AL left fielders.   I’m still really happy with how he’s patrolled LF, especially at OPACY.  

Before he entered the game, Hays was doing a dugout in-game interview with the broadcast crew and they asked about his July slump.  Hays let on that he’d had a hip pointer and that he’d let it affect his swing but had been able to adjust back in August.   That explains a lot.  I heard people comment that he seemed banged-up, but I don’t think a hip pointer had been mentioned by Hays or the team previously.  

 

[Spy Fox]

[Babkins]

10 hours ago, Spy Fox said:

Hays with the Gatorade cooler was absolutely my favorite moment of the celebration. Mike Elias taking a hit off the Homer Hose was also great. Still smiling.

[Griffey]

7 minutes ago, Babkins said:

Hays with the Gatorade cooler was absolutely my favorite moment of the celebration. Mike Elias taking a hit off the Homer Hose was also great. Still smiling.

It took him forever to get out there, the pile kept moving away from him.  Hilarious!

[Goober Noodles]

4 hours ago, Griffey said:

It took him forever to get out there, the pile kept moving away from him.  Hilarious!

Hays grinning the whole way while trying to catch up with the cooler over his head was great. 

[Frobby]

Two homers for Hays last night.  Playing in Minute Maid Park, he must think he’s died and gone to heaven.  He’d probably be a 30-homer guy if he played there.  The second one was no cheapie, though, 422 feet.  

For me, this has been Hays’ best season.  So far, he has career highs in runs, hits, doubles, walks and total bases, and he’s on pace to have career bests in all the rate stats.  He’s also played really good defense this season, with the exception of the first ten games or so.  He had one pretty long slump, but even so I’d say this has been his most consistent season.  Hopefully he can finish our strong.  He’s still got a shot at .800 OPS for the year (.792 now).
 

[Jim'sKid26]

5 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Two homers for Hays last night.  Playing in Minute Maid Park, he must think he’s died and gone to heaven.  He’d probably be a 30-homer guy if he played there.  The second one was no cheapie, though, 422 feet.  

For me, this has been Hays’ best season.  So far, he has career highs in runs, hits, doubles, walks and total bases, and he’s on pace to have career bests in all the rate stats.  He’s also played really good defense this season, with the exception of the first ten games or so.  He had one pretty long slump, but even so I’d say this has been his most consistent season.  Hopefully he can finish our strong.  He’s still got a shot at .800 OPS for the year (.792 now).
 

He's been a fun player to watch. Has a workman like approach to the game. There are elements of old school and the modern player intertwined in Austin. There always seems to be this feeling of him having just a bit more unrealized talent. As if he could be even better if he could stay healthy. 

[Say O!]

Fangraphs interview of Austin Hays

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/austin-hays-follows-the-numbers-and-trusts-the-process/

[Just Regular]

I thought this quote from the David Laurila piece was interesting.    I kind of see Randy Arozarena as a similar in style player to Hays.

Laurila: To what extent can a player push toward a particular statistical profile? For instance, trying to hit for more slug as opposed to staying true to what he naturally does?

 

Hays: “I mean, you have your identity as a player. At the same time, you can look at the numbers and say, ‘OK, who is a player that is similar to me in style?’ and then look at what you can improve on, how you move up to the next tier. What are the areas or the statistics that you think you have a legitimate chance to improve on?”

[Can_of_corn]

1 hour ago, Say O! said:

Fangraphs interview of Austin Hays

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/austin-hays-follows-the-numbers-and-trusts-the-process/

Plus stuff.

[Aristotelian]

44 minutes ago, Just Regular said:

I thought this quote from the David Laurila piece was interesting.    I kind of see Randy Arozarena as a similar in style player to Hays.

Laurila: To what extent can a player push toward a particular statistical profile? For instance, trying to hit for more slug as opposed to staying true to what he naturally does?

 

Hays: “I mean, you have your identity as a player. At the same time, you can look at the numbers and say, ‘OK, who is a player that is similar to me in style?’ and then look at what you can improve on, how you move up to the next tier. What are the areas or the statistics that you think you have a legitimate chance to improve on?”

Interesting thought. I wouldn't have thought of that comp but I see it. Their numbers this year are pretty close and they bring similar skills defensively.