SF Giants catcher Patrick Bailey is seeing a substantial decline in key offensive stat

Patrick Bailey has not gotten much going offensively, but he is seeing a notable decline in one key offensive stat. The SF Giants backstop has recorded a 13.6 percent strikeout rate, down from 29.4 percent last year.

SF Giants catcher Patrick Bailey is seeing a substantial decline in key offensive stat

The overall numbers are pretty rough. The switch-hitter is slashing .146/.205/.146 (6 wRC+) through 44 plate appearances. There is no defender in baseball where you can justify keeping him in the lineup with anywhere near that level of production. It needs to see improvement.

I will say that way too much of the cricism for the lineup's struggles is being levied on Bailey. He is a below-average hitter and has been throughout his career. The Giants know that if he is in the lineup, then that will be a soft spot.

There is no way around it, but this also overlooks the fact that nearly every lineup has a soft spot or two in it. If the rest of the lineup is producing, then it hides some of the below-average offensive production that they get from Bailey. That has not been the case with the rest of the lineup.

If there is any kernel of optimism, it might be in his expected numbers. This includes a .259 expected batting average and a .387 expected slugging percentage, both of which would be perfectly fine for an elite defensive catcher. That said, hitters cannot hang their hats on defensive stats.

The big difference for Bailey this year seems to be contact. When he was striking nearly 30 percent of the time last year, it just did not fit the type of profile he needs to be. Hitters that strike out at that rate need to reach base at a high clip or hit for above-average power. Neither of those traits describes Bailey.

It was baffling to see Bailey struggle to make any type of contact. He has not been that type of hitter throughout his pro career. It did look like he was trying to lift the ball more, which created more swing-and-miss than normal. This is just an amateur breakdown of one of the hardest things to do in spots.

Bailey is hitting for more contact. Not all contact is created equal. Ideally, hitters swing with purpose, but with Bailey, they probably just want him to put the ball in play in the hopes that he finds a hole in the defense. It is not about trying to make meaningful contact like it is for so many hitters. The results are not there, but maybe some hits could start falling?

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