Grichuk’s success is definitely not an accident. Just wondering if he’ll stay consistent with it for an entire season.
He’s always been a power hitter that launches fastballs, but now he’s made some minute but significant changes:
- seeing the ball longer before his swing, giving himself a chance to identity breaking ball from fastball
- deliberately seeing more pitches per plate appearance (like Biggio)
- laying off breaking balls that dive off the zone
This has improved his walk rate, O-Swing, and SwStr%. He’s more selective at the plate and his K% will come down as a result. His WOBA against breaking pitches are also much higher now. These are all very positive changes for a power hitter, but it’s A LOT harder to do than it looks or else everyone would be doing it.
It all makes sense on paper, but can he continue it all season? We shall see.