Austin Hays 2023

[tntoriole]

There was a time when I thought Hays would be an All Star year in and out .. hope this season turns out to be that kind 

[Billy F-Face3]

2 hours ago, Royle said:

3rd in the AL in batting average.  Hope he stays in the #3 hole for a while.

Me too. Ride with him while he's this consistent.

[Just Regular]

One of BP's fantasy guys got to talk to him last roadtrip and put out his feature today.

https://www.baseballprospectus.com/fantasy/article/83056/what-theyre-saying-austin-hays-edition/

The key has been to hit one pitch, the four-seam fastball, more effectively than ever. And he’s doing that by not hitting the fastball as much.

Confused? No worries, Hays is here to explain.

“It wasn’t a specific focus on hitting fastballs,” Hays said last week, standing in front of his locker at Yankee Stadium ahead of the opener of a three-game series in New York. “It was more of a focus on swinging at pitches inside the zone, and then getting counts and pitches that I can do damage. I’ve always been a really good fastball hitter, but expanding early on pitches in the zone, I was getting to two strikes a lot. And then swinging at what I shouldn’t be swinging at, giving the pitchers a lot more advantage than what they should have had.”

“We have a point system here that we track as hitters,” Hays said. “It was created by one of our guys and you get swing decision points for that. So looking at those numbers on a daily basis and just seeing—how are you really doing at controlling the zone?”

[Sports Guy]

On 5/28/2023 at 9:01 PM, tntoriole said:

There was a time when I thought Hays would be an All Star year in and out .. hope this season turns out to be that kind 

It’s not his talent that holds him back, although he has struggled vs righties a lot in the past.

That said, he has the talent to be an everyday guy. But he has the durability and reliability of a guy that you can’t count on.

Hopefully that doesn’t happen this year. Guys have big years like this all the time, so it’s possible that this is his career year and he stays healthy.

[Frobby]

26 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

It’s not his talent that holds him back, although he has struggled vs righties a lot in the past.

That said, he has the talent to be an everyday guy. But he has the durability and reliability of a guy that you can’t count on.

Hopefully that doesn’t happen this year. Guys have big years like this all the time, so it’s possible that this is his career year and he stays healthy.

He’s at the age and experience level where he should be playing his best baseball.  He’s had some injury issues at times, but has been relatively healthy the last 3 years (inclusive of this one).  I’m hoping for a nice, consistent year from him, but 1/3 of the way through the season you never know what hot and cold spells lie ahead.  

[Sports Guy]

3 minutes ago, Frobby said:

He’s at the age and experience level where he should be playing his best baseball.  He’s had some injury issues at times, but has been relatively healthy the last 3 years (inclusive of this one).  I’m hoping for a nice, consistent year from him, but 1/3 of the way through the season you never know what hot and cold spells lie ahead.  

He wasn’t healthy last year…he just played through the pain. He was hurt, not injured but it obviously bothered him.

Edited May 31, 2023 by Sports Guy

[Frobby]

19 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

He wasn’t healthy last year…he just played through the pain. He was hurt, not injured but it obviously bothered him.

I’m not disagreeing, I just think it happens a lot all around the league.   It’s not like most teams have three outfielders who stay healthy all the time.  

[Sports Guy]

2 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I’m not disagreeing, I just think it happens a lot all around the league.   It’s not like most teams have three outfielders who stay healthy all the time.  

Oh I agree. I think the number of guys who are truly everyday players is a lot smaller than what actually happens in the league.

[Billy F-Face3]

On 5/31/2023 at 7:23 AM, Just Regular said:

“We have a point system here that we track as hitters,” Hays said. “It was created by one of our guys and you get swing decision points for that. So looking at those numbers on a daily basis and just seeing—how are you really doing at controlling the zone?”

That's interesting. That seems to have helped players like Austin, but somehow disregarded by a different player in the lineup or two. (We all know who that might be, so I won't name names.)

I'm planning on voting for Austin Hays in the All Star Game. He deserves it.

[Frobby]

25 minutes ago, Billy F-Face3 said:

That's interesting. That seems to have helped players like Austin, but somehow disregarded by a different player in the lineup or two. (We all know who that might be, so I won't name names.)

I'm planning on voting for Austin Hays in the All Star Game. He deserves it.

I’m planning not to vote until as close to the end of the voting period as possible, since a lot can change in a month.  

Presently, Hays is 14th among AL outfielders in fWAR, 7th in wOBA, 7th in OPS.  He’s a plausible reserve at this stage.  If the game were tomorrow, he would not deserve to be a starter, and there’s no chance he will be considering the better-known outfielders who have better numbers.  
 

[Baltimorecuse]

When he played his first year I thought he could be an Al Kaline type outfielder.  

[Billy F-Face3]

Austin Hays has been carrying the Orioles on his back. We can vote vote repeatedly for the All Star game. I think Hays deserves some support from Orioles fans to get into the All Star game. With the extra number of votes they give you, that's not going to stop anyone from voting from another favorite while also supporting Austin. I doubt many people outside of Baltimore know much about Orioles players, so it would be up to fans to support our guys who deserve the recognition.

[Aristotelian]

He's been really good. Only 6 HR so far but it seems like he is getting a hit in every game and hitting it hard multiple times a game. Average exit velo 91 would be a career high. I've also been impressed with his post game comments, like the interview above. Seems he really is absorbing the coaching.

I would love to be a fly on the wall when they compare their swing decision points. I have my guesses who wins and loses most nights.

[RVAOsFan]

Hays deserves a little more credit around here. I am not going to pull all the stats. I am sure someone else will and tell me that he isn’t that great and can be replaced by a prospect. Fine, but I think more teams in the league would like to have him in their starting lineup than not. 
 

This is my attaboy for Austin Hays. Hope he stays healthy because he is a big part of the success the O’s are having this season. 

Edited June 10, 2023 by RVAOsFan

[Frobby]

25 minutes ago, RVAOsFan said:

Hays deserves a little more credit around here. I am not going to pull all the stats. I am sure someone else will and tell me that he isn’t that great and can be replaced by a prospect. Fine, but I think more teams in the league would like to have him in their starting lineup than not. 
 

This is my attaboy for Austin Hays. Hope he stays healthy because he is a big part of the success the O’s are having this season. 

I just want to see him keep doing it. Hays had an .834 OPS as late as June 27 last year but it was all downhill from there.  So, I’m hoping to see a good season from him, not just a good half season.