I really enjoy playing golf, and I’m sure I’m not alone–there must be a lot of Happy Gilmore wannabes out there in Razzball Nation. Golf is possibly the hardest sport to be successful at (aside from hitting a baseball from a major league pitcher?), due in part to the many things that have to go *just* right *at* the right time to post that. a small white orb in the exact position and distance you want. A casual person might think that a golf swing and a baseball swing are the same; they’re both just swinging at the ball, aren’t they? Well, just go up there, hold your golf club like a baseball bat, take a rip and get back to us on how that works. You will quickly realize that expertise in one does not necessarily mean expertise in the other; in fact, things that make one move well may be harmful to another. The two swings have a point in common—the importance of generating bat speed/club head speed and its effect on distance.
For example, one look at the PGA golf leaderboards shows Cameron Champ leading the tour in average driving distance, with Kevin Dougherty and Chris Gotterup 5th and 6th. A quick reference of the clubhead speed leaderboard shows Champ, Dougherty, and Gotterup filling out the top three spots on Tour.
Bringing this back to baseball, Statcast has revealed new data for us baseball geeks to present in the form of bat tracking. It shows things like average swing speed, maximum swing speed, the “cut up” metric, the “burst” metric (simply, the squared swing above a certain bat speed), and swing length measurements (longer swings. usually slower swings).
What I try to do with each installment is find guys who have data that says they should be better, so go get them, or worse, so cut them loose. Since this metric is still new, none of your favorite analysts on any of the sites you have a good handle on, and your least favorite (me) doesn’t have one yet. But let’s not let this stop our excitement for the shiny new ratings and what they might say about the players who can help our fantastic baseball teams. All information was released on the afternoon of May 16.
Philadelphia Alec Bohm He’s off to a good start at the plate as far as AVG (.331) and OBP (.400) go, but he’s yet to tap into the kind of power fantasy owners expect from a corner infield bat. Bohm is in the top 10 in strikeouts, ahead of all-time sluggers Giancarlo Stanton, Adolis Garcia, Jordan Alvarez, and other big names we can associate with big HR totals (and it’s not like these guys mentioned in comparison struggle to hit homers). His average bat speed is ahead Jazz Chisholm, Kyle Tuckeragain Corey Seager just to name a few prominent ones that hit hard. He’s pulling the ball more than ever and has the second-highest HardHit% of his career. Bohm also has the highest launch angle and the second-highest average exit velocity of his career. He probably won’t keep the average where it is (his xBA is .302) but enough data suggests an increase in power is coming.
In less than good news, one of the preseason AL ROY favorites was Evan Carter. After an amazing finish in 2023 and the big part he played in the Rangers’ World Series title run, pundits and legend managers couldn’t wait to praise Carter’s qualities and how he could help our teams. It’s always a lot of fun when young, exciting guys are exciting, but Carter has given everyone a bad feeling so far this season. In worst news, I can’t help you feel better about this going forward, either. Carter’s swing speed is 70.9 mph, good for…188th in the majors. Yuck. He is 200th in square footage and 162nd in explosiveness. In dynasty organizations, I’m not trying to sell and actually recommend the opposite, but in redraft leagues, I think you’re selling strongly if not outright down.
There was some frustration if you owned the Atlanta Braves trio Ronald Acuna, Jr., Austin Rileyagain Matt Olson, but this new data suggests that we will be rewarded for our patience. Riley and Olson both rank in the top 20 in explosiveness and have above-average swing speed, while Acuna has the best swing speed and is 23rd in explosiveness. I know no one is really trying to sell low on any of these three, but if you find someone frustrated with the production so far, this would be a “buy with confidence” recommendation.
Accordingly, Corbin Carroll has many fantasy owners concerned about the health of his shoulder (and swing), but Carroll is 37th in bat speed and has more burst than Pete AlonsoTake hold of God Ryan Jeffersand, uh….Elly de la Cruz? Yes, you read that right. There have to be people frustrated with Carroll, and if you get that guy, aggressively pursue him in the redraft, and even more so in the dynasty. Top 5 friends selected Julio Rodriguez and starts slow, but is top 10 in both swing speed and burst, so like Carroll…pursue aggressively.
Another hitter that will pour a little water on it Tyler O’Neill. O’Neill is top 25 in bat speed production, but decidedly worse in both square off rate and explosive rate, ranking 208th and 112th. Between that and his injury history, I would be looking hard at trading him in redraft leagues
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