What are your thoughts on JRod?

[Jerhawk]

Julio is batting .255 at this point in the season, which is fine. However he's struck out 44 times, and has only hit 1 homerun.

I understand there are many more stats to look at, but to me, an average fan, those numbers are pretty average, and the strikeouts are a bit concerning.

It's like everytime he goes up to bat, he's trying to tattoo the baseball. Why does he keep doing this? Surely the coaches can't be telling him to swing as hard as he can at every pitch, right? I mean, just try to put the ball in play man.

Look, I get he's only 23 and has a ton of potential. And maybe a few weeks from now he's going to completely catch fire and all will be well. But so far, at this point in the season, I'm really worried about Julio. I'm not sure if our coaching staff is the problem, or if he's trying to just do too much, or what's going on

Why does Scott keep him batting in the 2 or 3 spot? Why not move him down for a bit in the batting order so he can refocus, or whatever is troubling him?

What do you guys think? I'm expecting some responses along the lines of "Julio is the least of our concerns" or "we're above .500 stfu" but I firmly believe Julio can and should be producing a lot more than what we're seeing.

 

[Ruminator]

He may have a .255 average, but whenever I watch him in a game, I'm surprised it's even above, say, .215. Totally legit concern/observation. He feels like a player who either needs major health check/eye exam and/or a few weeks in the minors. Otherwise, I'm starting to wonder if the 2022 HR derby did something long-term to him.

 

[sutz]

Definitely a slow start. It does look like he's usually trying too hard. I know I'm generally satisfied if he makes solid contact and scores a base hit. He "should" be hitting around .270-.280 and have a handful of homers by now.

I'd have no problem moving him back in the BA for a few games, or even giving him some rest. Sit him for a day. I don't think it's physical, it's in his head.

 

[Crizilla]

Chases the game. Can't chase the game of baseball it will come back to bite you in the arse every time. Seager, Cruz, Cano would be great mentors. Start writing blank checks. Get better hitting coaches to help out Julio (and some of the other guys they will call up soon).

 

[Crizilla]

Definitely a slow start. It does look like he's usually trying too hard. I know I'm generally satisfied if he makes solid contact and scores a base hit. He "should" be hitting around .270-.280 and have a handful of homers by now.

I'd have no problem moving him back in the BA for a few games, or even giving him some rest. Sit him for a day. I don't think it's physical, it's in his head.

Definitely not physical thing agreed. Julio has the ideal body. Would love to see him moved out of the 2 hole as well for a bit. You can't bat a guy with a .600 OPS in your 2 spot.

 

[Threedee]

He may have a .255 average, but whenever I watch him in a game, I'm surprised it's even above, say, .215. Totally legit concern/observation. He feels like a player who either needs major health check/eye exam and/or a few weeks in the minors. Otherwise, I'm starting to wonder if the 2022 HR derby did something long-term to him.

I agree. He's failing the eye test. Luckily, he isn't used as a 3/4 hitter, because, batting average alone makes him worthy of a 1/2 spot. Just needs to start becoming even mildly clutch.

 

[IndyHawk]

He will be fine,he slumped last year and then went on fire. I'm not going to worry about him
as there are a few others that we should be complaining about.

 

[Jerhawk]

He will be fine,he slumped last year and then went on fire. I'm not going to worry about him
as there are a few others that we should be complaining about.

Hey, I predicted someone would say this! Lol

 

[stack55]

We could be 5 years down the line and still saying the same thing
about Julio. I guess all we can do is see if he comes around.

 

[Threedee]

JP started the first six (or so) weeks last season in a slump. Then he got back to being an effective lead off hitter.

 

[Vesuve]

This is from 12 days ago according to Youtube. Today is May 9th, 2024.

 

[NoGain]

He's just not a very good hitter now in spite of being one of the team leaders in BA. There's things he's got to figure out and adjust to. I have no idea how you fix a hitter. Hitting a baseball is hard to do, especially with so many pitchers throwing so hard and spinning the baseball the way they do. This is a guy who was one of the favorites to win the MVP this year. We need him to get unstuck.

 

[Ruminator]

While I realize hitting a ball thrown by an MLB pitcher is one of the hardest things to do that requires 0.01 nanosecond of decision-making followed by swinging the bat, my observation after watching J-Rod's swings is that they seem way too spring-loaded quick. I wonder if he needs to loosen up a bit, start following a certain speed limit with his swings, and let the momentum of the end of his bat do more of the work.

(Apologies if this thought happens to be redundant with anything said in the Smartr Baseball vid above, I've not had a chance to watch all of it.)

 

[Msfann]

One of his problems is he will swing at ANYTHING he can reach with the bat so the pitchers don't even need to throw over the plate. If they do make a mistake he'll hammer it's so they just pitch inside/outside and he swings away. He's just a big kid in a man's body though, he'll mature with time and get better.

 

[Jerhawk]

This is from 12 days ago according to Youtube. Today is May 9th, 2024.

Thanks for sharing that video. Very good breakdown.

Fingers crossed he can adjust.

And, I may be way off base here, but seeing as how many strikeouts our guys have, I honestly think our coaches are a problem and have been for quite some time. Hopefully Julio hires an independent coach who can do a better job than those being paid by the team.

 

[NoGain]

It sure seems with our modern technology you could put together a magnificent visual display/breakdown for a hitter like Julio that shows exactly the type of pitches he falls for and how his swing might be corrected. Like someone else said, do we just have poor hitting coaches, or is Julio being stubborn about studying up on what he's doing wrong and making the necessary adjustments. I mean, this guy's uber talented.

 

[Ruminator]

Slap on a little pink, and voilà! Ball smasher!

Or maybe it was this...

https://www.mlb.com/news/julio-rodriguez-hits-home-run-double-mariners-win-vs-a-s

 

[sutz]

Funny how so many baseball problems are fixed by getting back to basics.

Anyway, nice turnaround this weekend for Julio. Let's hope it lasts for a while.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

I couldn't worry about Julio if I tried. Meh.
Let's be real here, there are some who WANT him to fail, just so they can tell us how he sucks etc.

 

[Threedee]

J-Rod > A-Roid