An all-star hitter was at the batter’s box. And a pitcher threw the first pitch. That hitter didn’t move. It was a strike. Well, that hitter didn’t intend to hit.
It was a game that I watched on TV a month ago. For me, that looked weird because that batter just took the first pitch. And I’m wondering if he doesn’t like to hit at the first pitch. To solve my doubts, I decided to check on the statcast website.
In March, Alex Verdugo inked a one-year deal with the Braves. He now hits .247/.306/.303 with 11 RBI over 50 games. He hasn’t crushed any home runs so far this season. Well, Verdugo’s hitting performance isn’t good this season. An interesting thing to watch is that he doesn’t like to swing at the first pitch with a first-pitch swing percentage below 10%. It didn’t happen previously. Thus far this season, he has 3 hits when he swings at the first pitch.
Secondly, Bryson Stott now slashes .240/.310/.344 with 5 home runs and 34 RBI over 71 games. Stott has an OPS below .700 and it’s certain that he has to improve his hitting performance. However, Stott has a batting average over .400 when he swings at the first pitch. But his first-pitch swing percentage is only 12%.
In addition, Jonathan India was traded to the Royals last November. In his first season with the Royals, he now bats .242/.319/.336 with 4 home runs and 22 RBI over 69 games. India’s OPS is below .700 as well. So far in his career, he never finished a season with a first-pitch swing percentage of 20% or higher. It’s clear that he doesn’t like to swing at the first pitch. This season, he only swings at the first pitch 13.1% of the time.
Meanwhile, it’s worthwhile to watch TJ Friedl’s performance. Friedl slashes .289/.380/.436 with 8 home runs and 29 RBI in 73 games. He has hit well so far this season with an OPS over .800. So far in his career, he never finished a season with a first-pitch swing percentage of 20% or higher. This season, he only swings at the first pitch 13.2% of the time.
Finally, Steven Kwan’s first pitch swing percentage is 13.5% this season. Very interestingly, it’s the highest so far in his career. He already played 72 games for the Guardians, slashing .305/.366/.430 with 6 home runs and 24 RBI. His OPS is very close to .800, which isn’t bad. At the same time, Masyn Winn and Seiya Suzuki each have a first-pitch swing percentage below 15% so far this season. Nonetheless, interestingly, Suzuki’s first-pitch swing percentage is 14.7%, which is the highest in a single season thus far in his career.
Looking at the players who don’t like to swing at the first pitch, well, you can’t really tell whether swinging at the first pitch is good or not. Some players have an OPS below .700. However, for some players, they have an OPS over .800. For players such as Friedl and Suzuki, they should do as usual since they have performed so far this season and they just don’t like to swing at the first pitch. Nevertheless, for some players, outcomes of swinging at the first pitch aren’t bad, perhaps, they should be more aggressive?
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