Author Topic: Where is Ryan Zimmerman helping/hurting us more? (2017)  (Read 34271 times)

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Offline WVUGold

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I was worried that Face would get hurt but now I'm worried he'll get caught   :icon_frown:

Online Slateman

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I was worried that Face would get hurt but now I'm worried he'll get caught   :icon_frown:
Who cares at this point. We're winning game because of this guy

Offline WVUGold

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Who cares at this point. We're winning game because of this guy
Yeah and even if we'd still have an Adamite backup.

Offline dracnal

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Seems like Zim is standing closer to the plate this year. He's pretty much in the middle of the batters box now. I would swear in past years he had his heels as far away from the plate as he could.

Offline mitlen

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Seems like Zim is standing closer to the plate this year. He's pretty much in the middle of the batters box now. I would swear in past years he had his heels as far away from the plate as he could.

He was joking after last nights game that the other players kid him about his "old man softball league" at bats with the leg kick and all.

Offline Optics

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Seems like Zim is standing closer to the plate this year. He's pretty much in the middle of the batters box now. I would swear in past years he had his heels as far away from the plate as he could.

Yeah its something I and many others brought up in years past. He's finally adjusting to being older and not being the same physically. In years past he was younger stronger and more fit and could reach out and poke those outside pitches opposite field even when standing so far off the plate.

Online Slateman

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Extension?

Offline dracnal

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Extension?

If this new approach still works at sixty games into the season, I would think it Werth it.

Offline WVUGold

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God bless Murph for teaching him launch angles

Offline Optics

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He should be an All-Star this year.

Offline DPMOmaha

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Online JCA-CrystalCity

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God bless Murph for teaching him launch angles
he keeps on saying, "I'm doing nothing different, I'm just healthy."  Maybe that's right, but I'd love to see some Brooks Baseball data-diver run through his contact, hit speed, and launch angles, and maybe some video of his swings, to break this down and test it.  Maybe by "just being healthy," he's able to swing better and create better angles, etc...

Online JCA-CrystalCity

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Not being that sophisticated a data jock, but his LD - GB - FB ratio is different bigly.
http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=4220&position=3B
             LD       GB      FB
2015 - 16.6% 48.4% 35.0%
2016 - 16.7% 48.6% 34.7%
2017 - 23.9% 37.0% 39.1%

Last time he had a GB/FB < 1 was in 2009, which was his best SLG year and the only year he topped 30 HRs.  His GB/FB has been about 1.4 the past 2 years, and between 1.3 and 1.5 every year from 2011 onward except 2014, when it was 1.23.  Slightly more hard contact than last year right now, but soft contact is about the same as its been the last 5 years.

No way he keeps HR/FB rate of 33%, but I'll take it while it lasts.

More or less, he may not be trying to do it, but a whole mess of balls he had been beating into the ground are now liners and flies.  He's hitting like it is 2009.

Offline varoadking

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Gotta give him credit...He has started well.  Let's see how he does against the more elite pitching.  Don't think he did well against deGrom on Sunday...maybe that was Harvey?

Offline imref

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He should be an All-Star this year.

that would be nice.  At this point we've got a lot of All Star contenders: Zimm, Harper, Murphy, Strasburg, Scherzer...

Offline NJ Ave

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More or less, he may not be trying to do it, but a whole mess of balls he had been beating into the ground are now liners and flies.  He's hitting like it is 2009.

Average Flyball/Line Drive, Goundball, and overall Exit Velocity according to statcast.

2015: avg FB/LD EV 95.0 MPH; avg GB EV 89.6 MPH; avg EV 92.1 MPH
2016: avg FB/LD EV 95.8 MPH; avg GB EV 93.0 MPH; avg EV 93.7 MPH
2017: avg FB/LD EV 98.1 MPH; avg GB EV 85.6 MPH; avg EV 91.5 MPH

So what appears to be happening is that he is sacrificing a little bit of overall "hard contact" for a better launch angle and better contact when he gets the ball in the air. Obviously its a very good tradeoff so far - that's legit elite contact on FB/LD, it would have ranked 6th in MLB last year.

Offline Five Banners

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Average Flyball/Line Drive, Goundball, and overall Exit Velocity according to statcast.

2015: avg FB/LD EV 95.0 MPH; avg GB EV 89.6 MPH; avg EV 92.1 MPH
2016: avg FB/LD EV 95.8 MPH; avg GB EV 93.0 MPH; avg EV 93.7 MPH
2017: avg FB/LD EV 98.1 MPH; avg GB EV 85.6 MPH; avg EV 91.5 MPH

So what appears to be happening is that he is sacrificing a little bit of overall "hard contact" for a better launch angle and better contact when he gets the ball in the air. Obviously its a very good tradeoff so far - that's legit elite contact on FB/LD, it would have ranked 6th in MLB last year.

Basically, he decided when it's time to change, you've got to rearrange who you are into what you're gonna be.


Online Slateman

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What exactly has he changed?

Offline NJ Ave

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Well, according to this archive page: https://web.archive.org/web/20161116165927/http://m.mlb.com/player/475582/ryan-zimmerman

In 2016 his average launch angle was 7.62 degrees. In 2017 it's 11.54 degrees. http://m.mlb.com/player/475582/ryan-zimmerman

You can be the judge of whether a >50% increase in launch angle is something he consciously changed, or if he's just hitting better for another reason. I find it pretty significant given his statements on the subject.

Offline Natsinpwc

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What exactly has he changed?
New supplier.

Online Slateman

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Well, according to this archive page: https://web.archive.org/web/20161116165927/http://m.mlb.com/player/475582/ryan-zimmerman

In 2016 his average launch angle was 7.62 degrees. In 2017 it's 11.54 degrees. http://m.mlb.com/player/475582/ryan-zimmerman

You can be the judge of whether a >50% increase in launch angle is something he consciously changed, or if he's just hitting better for another reason. I find it pretty significant given his statements on the subject.

But where is the evidence that he has done something intentionally to alter this?

Offline NJ Ave

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But where is the evidence that he has done something intentionally to alter this?

What a goofy troll you are.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nationals/a-t-32-nats-veteran-ryan-zimmerman-knows-its-a-matter-of-adapt-or-die/2017/02/19/a47265fc-f571-11e6-b9c9-e83fce42fb61_story.html?utm_term=.dd6c986266ed

Quote
He has discussed and worked with Daniel Murphy and hitting coach Rick Schu on how to radically alter the launch angle of his swing from a horrific, worm-killing 7.9 degrees over the past two years to something like 15 degrees or higher.

Offline CoryTheFormerExposFan

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The launch angle is part of it as is Zim having been healthy for some time now.  Remember how bad he was to start the Spring?  He was healthy enough to get that past him versus working through it during April. 

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Offline More of #34

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Whatever he's doing, I'm glad for him and glad for the team.  Hope he keeps it up!