Don’t chase easily?

Baseball season is a marathon. During the regular season, there are usually ups and downs. Players have to make adjustments quickly and play consistently in a long season. For batters, it’s important to have strong plate discipline and avoid swinging at pitches out of the strike zone. In the 2021 season, who’s the most disciplined batter?

Well, there’s no doubt that Juan Soto doesn’t easily swing at pitches out of the strike zone. Juan Soto’s chase rate is only 12.2% this season. He knows the strike zone very well and it’s very hard for pitchers to fool him. Soto slashed .313/.465/.534 with 29 home runs and 95 RBI in 2021. He led the majors with 145 walks, which are his career-high, and he was struck out fewer than 100 times. Soto just turned 23 in October and his chase rate dropped from 15.7% in 2020 to 12.2%. Will he become even more dangerous in 2022? Robbie Grossman’s first season with the Tigers showed something interesting. He hit .239/.357/.415 with 23 home runs and 67 RBI. 23 homers and 67 RBI are both his career-high. Additionally, he had a career-high 98 walks and was struck out 155 times. It seems that he has become a product of baseball’s Three True Outcomes era. His chase rate decreased from 21.7% to 15.6%. At the same, his launch angle, on average, increased from 15.2 degrees to 21.1 degrees. It will be interesting to see how he will perform next season. Max Muncy injured his elbow in a collision at first base in the last game of the regular season. That was a huge loss for the Dodgers. During the regular season, Muncy led the Dodgers with 36 home runs and 94 RBI. Additionally, he posted an .895 OPS. Furthermore, Muncy drew 83 walks, most in the Dodgers lineup. Moreover, his chase rate was only 15.7% during the regular season. The Dodgers basically lost a very productive and steady hitter with strong plate discipline and that’s a possible reason to tell us why the Dodgers fell short in the playoffs. In addition, Tommy Pham and Trent Grisham each had an under 17% chase rate. Pham drew 78 walks this season, second most in his career. His OBP increased from .312 to .340. Trent Grisham’s chase rate dropped from 18% to 16.9%, however, his hard hit rate declined from 41.8% to 36.8%. Finally, Mookie Betts, Yandy Diaz and Joey Gallo each didn’t usually swing at pitches out of the strike zone. We might not be surprised to know that Mookie Betts, who won the 2018 AL MVP award, is a hitter with strong plate discipline. But, wait, Joey Gallo? Yes, Joey Gallo. He swung at pitches out of the strike zone 29.4% of the time in 2018. However, in the 2021 season, his chase rate declined to 18.9%. Yes, Gallo didn’t easily swing at pitches out of the strike zone in 2021. He had 111 walks, second most in the majors. But, his zone swing & miss % was 30.7% during the regular season and his whiff rate was 38.8%. Gallo was struck out 213 times, most in the majors. There’s no doubt that Juan Soto is probably the best hitter in this generation. He has very strong plate discipline and it’s uncommon to see him swing at pitches out of the strike zone. Moreover, Joey Gallo gradually doesn’t chase and that might make things more interesting.