Pete Rose said the easiest adjustments to make and see immediate results:
Move up in the box, move back in the box
Move closer to the plate, move further from the plate
Choke up on the bat, choke down on the bat
Depending on the situation and what the pitcher is trying to do to you. IDK if Vlad is smart enough to make these adjustments game to game
Outsmarted. Feels like our front office, analytics etc. has just been left in the dust this year. The Orioles and Rays (and maybe Redsox??) are just further ahead
We seem very slow to promote when it comes to lower-ranked prospects in the system. Especially from AAA to the majors. Outside of Manoah, Vlad, Bo, Pearson, Kirk, Jansen, we haven’t promoted guys quickly at all
The shift ban has heavily impacted BABIP on groundballs (I don’t think im talking out my ass here??) and so I think they have made more of an effort to have speedy guys and to hit to contact more. I’m pretty sure I heard Ross mentioning it once or twice in the offseason. Its why they went for speedy lefties like Varsho and KK. The bigger bases also means less distance to 1st, so again speedier guys like Whit, Varsho, KK. And obviously a heavier emphasis on being aggressive on the bases overall.
Im actually surprised we didn’t keep Tapia but I guess he was redundant with Varsho and KK
Its not every year you have rule changes that could severely impact the way the game is played…. Just based on things I heard Atkins say in the offseason I think they consciously made a change trying to get ahead of the curve.
Anyways I won’t argue it anymore because neither of us know for sure and its stupid.