How concerned should the SF Giants be with Willy Adames' swing decisions?

Willy Adames is doing the opposite of what a hitter needs to do. He is swinging more at bad pitches, and not swinging at good pitches. How concerned should the SF Giants be?

It has been a down year for Adames on both sides of the ball. His defense has been among the worst in baseball. That could lead to a position change to the other side of second base. Perhaps, the Giants will want to give him one more season to figure it out at shortstop.

The defense has been a concern, but so has the offense. The veteran bat is hitting .226/.279/.421 (92 wRC+) with 15 home runs, 36 RBI, and 45 runs in 376 plate appearances. This includes a 6.6 percent walk rate, 28.2 percent strikeout rate, and .195 ISO.

The good news is that he is still hitting for power, even if it feels like a lot of those home runs come when the team is already ahead or behind. The bad news? Well, that would probably be everything else.

What has led to his offensive decline this season? The pitches he is swinging at is a good starting point. When a hitting finds a groove at the plate, they usually credit it to swinging at good pitches.

SF Giants veteran bat Willy Adames has posted career-worst marks in key swing-decision metrics

For much of the season, Adames has done the opposite of that. He has a 32.4 percent chase rate, which is the highest of his career. That is a good indicator that Adames is expanding the strike zone more than he has in the past, but that is only one side of the equation.

The right-handed bat has a 65.7 percent zone swing rate, which is the lowest of his career. To put it differently, he is swinging at bad pitches more than he ever has and not swinging at good pitches more than he ever has. That is a rough combination.

Those swing decisions are playing a role in Adames' poor season at the plate. This is also easy to spot in his numbers. His walk rate is the lowest of his career, and well below his 9.7 percent career walk rate. Adames also has one of the highest strikeout rates of his career.

The good news is that this can be corrected. Adames' raw power indicators, such as bat speed and exit velocity, are still around his career norms. That is a sign that his slump is likely not due to age regression. Can the Giants coach him up to show improvement in his swing decisions? That remains to be seen.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow