Sick of Trout Striking Out Looking

[mtangelsfan]

I'm trying to figure out in what world this:

 

I guess we at AW will always find something to birch about, even when the player is leading the MVP charge.

 

equals the following:

 

 

so the board should be nothing but threads about how great everything is?  sounds really interesting.  look, professional beat writers are discussing it, I think it's a worthy topic for a message board. when was the last time you contributed anything to this board other than a snarky comment aimed at someone else?

[KingJustinian]

so the board should be nothing but threads about how great everything is? sounds really interesting. look, professional beat writers are discussing it, I think it's a worthy topic for a message board. when was the last time you contributed anything to this board other than a snarky comment aimed at someone else?

A circle jerk supporting the team is lame, but there should be some middle ground. It's currently the other end of the spectrum where the rant thread was 5-10 times as long as the game day thread, when they were separated.

[Chuck]

Another thing I've noticed is that lately he's been fouling off a lot of pitches he normally crushed.

 

Yes, that too! 

[70runner]

A circle jerk supporting the team is lame, but there should be some middle ground. It's currently the other end of the spectrum where the rant thread was 5-10 times as long as the game day thread, when they were separated.

 

Middle ground is nice, but difficult to maintain with this team.  After getting busted up by Texas, they find themselves once again chasing the A's and Rangers.  They are too old, though getting younger with the injuries to the old guys.  Trout is fouling off/watching pitches he normally crushes.  And, of course, the infamous BP provides plenty of material.  Pujols is doing OK, but leaves a lot of guys on base as do the Angels lineup in general.  Once again Scioscia seems to be leading this team to mediocrity...but of course it's not his fault. 

[Docwaukee]

I don't see a problem with having a discussion about it.  What's the big deal with pointing it out?  It's more observational than negative. 

 

This is how Trout slumps.  He hits .250 with an .800 ops and a ton of k's.  Whether it's because he's not tracking the ball as well, or that he's pulling off balls and worried hitting hrs. 

 

Statistically, he's hit far fewer balls to the opposite field this year by percentage, and on top of that, he's got fewer hits on the balls he does hit to the opposite field than in years past.  This tells me he's pulling off and trying to hit more hrs. 

 

As an aside, Trout's approach is one of the best in the game without question.  Although I would like to see him hammer that get over first pitch fastball once in awhile just to keep pitchers honest.  Yet it appears he uses that first pitch to get into a rhythm and time the pitcher. 

 

Interestingly, Trout's tOPS+ for his career is 44 with two strikes.  At first glance that may seem pretty bad, but his sOPS+ is 163.  Which is damn good and about what his overall OPS+ is for his career.  He also was pretty pedestrian when he hit the first pitch last year.

 

I think we will see him focusing on hitting the ball up the middle for awhile, but by and large I think we should just let him do his thing.  He'll be fine.   

[Guest]

Middle ground is nice, but difficult to maintain with this team.  After getting busted up by Texas, they find themselves once again chasing the A's and Rangers.  They are too old, though getting younger with the injuries to the old guys.  Trout is fouling off/watching pitches he normally crushes.  And, of course, the infamous BP provides plenty of material.  Pujols is doing OK, but leaves a lot of guys on base as do the Angels lineup in general.  Once again Scioscia seems to be leading this team to mediocrity...but of course it's not his fault. 

This. Many serious Angels fans have had lots of built up frustration due to the team having mediocre finishes finishing outside of the playoffs in spite of having lots of talent on the roster, and lots of money invested in a win-now mentality. A playoff run, or even a season of solid fundamental baseball would go a long way toward improving the mood of the fanbase IMO.

 

The team has been a few legitimate bullpen arms short of serious contention for years. I personally felt the Angels should have gone into a rebuild mode since after the 2010 season, instead of making annual panic moves to try to keep the fans interested (Dan Haren, Vernon Wells, Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton). 

Edited May 5, 2014 by ScottLux

[tdawg87]

A circle jerk supporting the team is lame, but there should be some middle ground. It's currently the other end of the spectrum where the rant thread was 5-10 times as long as the game day thread, when they were separated.

That's because people posted both positive and negative stuff in there. It was the real GD thread which is why they are no longer separated.

[tdawg87]

I'm trying to figure out in what world this:

I guess we at AW will always find something to birch about, even when the player is leading the MVP charge.

equals the following:

Angelswin is your home for Angels Baseball. And strawmen.

[ten ocho recon scout]

Is it happening? Yes. Is the purpose of this board to talk about this team, and things about this team that are happening? Yes.

I think people are quick to defend because its trout. And I agree, trout will be fine.

That doesnt mean hes not showing a flaw at this current moment.

[fan_since79]

Mike Trout

 

first 15 games this year:

.323/.380/.646

16 SO in 71 PA

5 HR, 11 RBI

.364 BABIP

 

next 15 games:

.273/.388/.436

23 SO in 67 PA

1 HR, 8 RBI

.438 BABIP

 

That last number tells me his hitting zone is getting smaller. He's only swinging at the best pitches in the strike zone. The pitchers are killing him on the outside corner. He's letting those pitches go by for strikes. He's still getting his share of walks, though.

 

 

[ten ocho recon scout]

I think doc made a good point. Ive been assuming the same, but he actually broke it down with stats. It seems reasonable that trout is 'trying' to be a power guy this year, and like fan since79 said above, hes looking for 'his' pitch to drive.

Even with the k's hes a beast. But....I could do without the extra 5 hr's or whatever to have hime go back to spraying the ball (with power) all over the field, personally.

[fan_since79]

The pitchers aren't giving him "his pitch" anymore as they know he's not swinging at the other decent ones. It's a matter of painting the outside corner for strikes. And then there's the first pitch that he's letting go by. That's a cheap strike.

 

Is he over-thinking it at the plate? Just hit the darn ball!

Edited May 5, 2014 by fan_since79

[markb]

Just because Trout is ridiculously good doesn't mean we should ignore any sort of alarming trends though.  

 

There's a particular part of the strikezone Trout has trouble with, and I'm sure opposing pitchers have noticed:  http://www.brooksbaseball.net/h_profile.php?player=545361&gFilt=&pFilt=FA|SI|FC|CU|SL|CS|KN|CH|FS|SB&time=month&minmax=ci&var=whiff&s_type=2&startDate=03/31/2013&endDate=05/04/2014&balls=-1&strikes=-1&b_hand=-1

 

Comparison to Pujols, who has a very low K rate:  http://www.brooksbaseball.net/h_profile.php?player=405395&time=month&minmax=ci&var=whiff&s_type=2&endDate=05/04/2014&startDate=03/31/2006

 

I know it's super lame to quote yourself, but I thought this was some really interesting data and was worried it got lost in the mix on the first page since it's gone largely ignored.  That chart was dating back to last season, so to expand on that, here is this season only:   http://www.brooksbaseball.net/h_profile.php?player=545361&time=month&minmax=ci&var=whiff&s_type=2&startDate=03/30/2014&endDate=05/05/2014

 

And one more, this year w/2 strikes on him:  http://www.brooksbaseball.net/h_profile.php?player=545361&gFilt=&pFilt=FA|SI|FC|CU|SL|CS|KN|CH|FS|SB&time=month&minmax=ci&var=whiff&s_type=2&startDate=03/30/2014&endDate=05/05/2014&balls=-1&strikes=2&b_hand=-1

[Docwaukee]

I know it's super lame to quote yourself, but I thought this was some really interesting data and was worried it got lost in the mix on the first page since it's gone largely ignored.  That chart was dating back to last season, so to expand on that, here is this season only:   http://www.brooksbaseball.net/h_profile.php?player=545361&time=month&minmax=ci&var=whiff&s_type=2&startDate=03/30/2014&endDate=05/05/2014

 

And one more, this year w/2 strikes on him:  http://www.brooksbaseball.net/h_profile.php?player=545361&gFilt=&pFilt=FA|SI|FC|CU|SL|CS|KN|CH|FS|SB&time=month&minmax=ci&var=whiff&s_type=2&startDate=03/30/2014&endDate=05/05/2014&balls=-1&strikes=2&b_hand=-1

I actually tried to click the links earlier but brooks was down. 

 

so it appears that the high and away fastball is a problem.  I have always felt he changes his approach with 2 strikes so that he looks breaking ball and lets the ball travel more in hopes he can still catch up with the fastball.  But they are sneaking the fastball by him on the upper outer quadrant.  He's so good at adjusting to the breaking ball and pissing on ones out of the zone. 

 

He's getting beat in the zone with two strikes which he doesn't in other counts.  Which makes me think he changes his approach. 

[RePLAY]

its obvious he is letting it be known that he will watch the ball go thru strikezone...and then in JUNE...BAM! Home run everytime. Book it.

[Stradling]

"“My last couple of years, I’ve had over 100 strikeouts."

Yeah but you're on pace for 211 this year would have been my follow up if I was Mike DiGiovanna and had huge balls.

If you were in DiGiovanna's place there is no way in hell you ask that follow up question. You just simply wouldn't, you would respectfully bow out of the conversation. It's assholes like Plashke that ask those kinds of follow up questions and they do it because they want to be that guy. If you want to be that guy with Mike Trout then you wouldn't getting an interview with real answers again. That is if the Angels allow you to be their beat writer in the future.

[markb]

High and inside actually -- the zone profile is from the catcher's POV.  In fact, Trout really can't hit high balls in general.  One more, his AVG starting from the time last year his Ks began to rise:   http://www.brooksbaseball.net/h_profile.php?player=545361&time=month&minmax=ci&var=baa&s_type=2&endDate=05/05/2014&startDate=08/01/2013

 

Basically, Trout really likes low pitches, which just from watching him the last two years pretty much anyone has figured out.  

 

Because of his patience, he rarely swings at them anyways, but on balls just above the zone, he's never had a base hit, having put the ball in play 23 times from there.

 

On the bright side, he can't have a better mentor than the guy hitting behind him.  There is literally no place in the strike zone Albert doesn't have covered:  http://www.brooksbaseball.net/h_profile.php?player=405395&time=month&minmax=ci&var=baa&s_type=2&endDate=05/05/2014&startDate=03/30/2006

[Stradling]

I'm glad I was on a plane for five hours and I wasn't reading this in real time. But to answer the OP question, no I am not worried, it is a bit of a slump for Trout and if he has proven anything it is that he is capable of correcting himself. Of course I would prefer he not strike out looking, but it just tells me he is off a bit.

[Brandon]

I'm trying to figure out in what world this:

 

I guess we at AW will always find something to birch about, even when the player is leading the MVP charge.

 

equals the following:

 

The world where I responded to Yk, as he was mentioned in the post.

 

Trout's having an MVP season and one of the negative posters is rocking the cradle about his strikeouts and admittedly is being selfish with wanting Trout to be perfect or expecting more from him.

 

It's like someone dwelling on Warren Buffet's missed stocks or acquisitions.

[Stradling]

It's like someone dwelling on Warren Buffet's missed stocks or acquisitions.

That is a great comparison.

[HaloFan85]

Mike Trout

 

first 15 games this year:

.323/.380/.646

16 SO in 71 PA

5 HR, 11 RBI

.364 BABIP

 

next 15 games:

.273/.388/.436

23 SO in 67 PA

1 HR, 8 RBI

.438 BABIP

 

That last number tells me his hitting zone is getting smaller. He's only swinging at the best pitches in the strike zone. The pitchers are killing him on the outside corner. He's letting those pitches go by for strikes. He's still getting his share of walks, though.

According to Fangraphs, he's swinging at more pitches in the strike zone than in any previous year, and his contact percentage has fallen both in and out of the zone.

[AngelsAndRamsFan]

A circle jerk supporting the team is lame, but there should be some middle ground. It's currently the other end of the spectrum where the rant thread was 5-10 times as long as the game day thread, when they were separated.

If you ever read the "rant" thread, you would know that during most games, people only ranted in about 10-20% of the posts. It was easier to stay in and post everything in that thread instead of jumping between both threads. Also, the "rant" thread was more entertaining (not necessarily because people were ranting).

[Docwaukee]

From fangraphs today.  This pretty much nails it:

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/forcing-a-reason-to-worry-about-mike-trout/

 

 

"If Trout’s just becoming more strikeout-prone, that’s fascinating. If Trout’s becoming more strikeout-prone as a part of his development into a slightly different kind of superstar, that’s fascinating, too."

[Quinlanforthewin]

If you were in DiGiovanna's place there is no way in hell you ask that follow up question. You just simply wouldn't, you would respectfully bow out of the conversation. It's assholes like Plashke that ask those kinds of follow up questions and they do it because they want to be that guy. If you want to be that guy with Mike Trout then you wouldn't getting an interview with real answers again. That is if the Angels allow you to be their beat writer in the future.

 

That's why I added the huge balls part.  No way I woulda followed up with that.  But I can say it on here and giggle. 

[Quinlanforthewin]

The world where I responded to Yk, as he was mentioned in the post.

 

Trout's having an MVP season and one of the negative posters is rocking the cradle about his strikeouts and admittedly is being selfish with wanting Trout to be perfect or expecting more from him.

 

It's like someone dwelling on Warren Buffet's missed stocks or acquisitions.

 

As I said, you're acting if what I'm saying is crazy negative message board fodder when there was a freaking article in the LA Times on the same day about the issue.  I wasn't trying to rock the cradle I was just stating a "mild" concern and I don't think I could have done in a more less abrasive way. Does it really bother you that much?