Article: How Can Arcia Bust His Epic Slump?

[Nick Nelson]

You can view the page at http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php/3146-How-Can-Arcia-Bust-His-Epic-Slump

[Shane Wahl]

Keep playing him. The coaches need to do their job. And so does Arcia. There is absolutely no value in AAA left for him.

[Don't Feed the Greed Guy]

Colabello is hitting .324 over the last ten games in AAA. Send down Arcia, and bring C.C. up one last time and see if he can ride a hot streak into the All Star break. If not, Arcia or Hicks can come up later in July, and we can put away the cowbells.

[Joe A. Preusser]

I agree with Shane, there is no development value in sending him to AAA. He just looks so list though, it boggles the mind how different he looked just weeks ago. 2-3 more games, no more. He has to earn his spot just like everyone.

[Boom Boom]

I disagree with not demoting him.

 

He's not going to fight out of the slump by sitting on the bench, and the Twins can't continue to let him flail away out there. He's just not focused, swinging at everything regardless of location, like a left-handed hitting Delmon Young. Whether he's conquered AAA or not, he's got to get his head on straight.

[Circus Boy]

Repeat of post on Monday Morning Madness: The second Arcia hit his grand slam, I said to myself: "The slump will begin in 3, 2, 1..." And it did. After a big hit like that, young players want that adrenaline surge every time up, and so they go fish. Now, having expected the slump, I now am confident he's enough of a gamer to correct course and start getting good swings.

[jharaldson]

My opinion is if you send him down you are sending him down for the rest of the year. If what he needs to work on is consitency then that takes time to prove. I would give him another week or two before pulling th etrigger on a demotion.

[jimbo92107]

Good observations all around. I'm in the keep him, play him camp. Arcia is a major leaguer now; he's got to learn to control his emotions at this level, where the pressure is highest. Young sluggers have to avoid the temptation to swing out of their shoes for home runs. You see how Willingham does it, with a controlled, powerful, repeatable swing. Hammer's homers all travel about the same direction, about the same distance. His swing is very powerful, but it's just a tick under max effort. He also uses situational awareness to narrow his swing zone, and he's willing to take a walk if a pitch isn't in his zone.

 

Arcia's problems actually started before he turned his ankle. I think a macho contest started right about the day that Morales arrived, along with Josimil Pinto and all the Latin boys hitting well at the same time. Right about then Arcia got into a mindset like he was in not just a home run contest, but a "see who can hit the longest home run" contest. It culminated in his massive grand slam, and since then he's been trying to hit the moon with every swing.

 

Get it under control, Oswaldo. A 500-foot homer doesn't count any more than one that barely clears the fence - ask Brian Dozier, a guy that's way ahead of you in home runs. Dozier is a perfect example of a guy that has been doing a great job of reading the situation, then being ready to turn on just the right pitch with an aggressive, but not crazy hard swing. Dozier is going to finish ahead of Arcia in home runs this year, and the harder Arcia swings, the farther he will fall behind the second baseman.

[Kwak]

AAA isn't a solution. Arcia must solve this problem himself. Bench him--and leave him there (except for pinch-hitting and spot duty (resting a starter for a game) until his replacement proves unworthy or Willingham leaves. Competition for a regular job reopens next Spring training.

[JB_Iowa]

AAA isn't a solution. Arcia must solve this problem himself. Bench him--and leave him there (except for pinch-hitting and spot duty (resting a starter for a game) until his replacement proves unworthy or Willingham leaves. Competition for a regular job reopens next Spring training.

 

How does leaving him rot on the bench solve anything for Arcia or the Twins?

[ScrapTheNickname]

I don't know if they should send him down or keep him up. But we did see him hit the ball AT people ("hang woofums" - ay yay yay - as Hawk Harrelson calls them), not always scaldingly hard, but he got good wood on those balls. So I guess I am saying keep him up. I believe he will come out of this super-slump shortly. Maybe just into a regular slump, I don't know.

[jtkoupal]

Arcia needs at bats. If sending him to the minors to get them is necessary, then they should do it. However, I also don't believe that sending him down is the right thing. He needs to work out his problems at the big league level if he wants (and the Twins want him) to be a big league hitter. From watching several of his at-bats, I have seen a few things. I have seen him, like usual, fish for those breaking balls well below the knees and also go after the high fastball. However, there have been some signs of life. During the series with Chicago, he scolded 2 line drives right into Abreu's glove, he scorched one that Viciedo was able to reach down and grab in right, and he blasted one to center that Eaton was able to track down in front of the wall (deepest part of the park).

 

Once he becomes more disciplined at the plate, I think he will be fine. But until then, we will see some struggles. Keep in mind that he only has 493 MLB at-bats. Many players need 1200-2000 at bats to blossom. He may need 1000 more at bats to blossom himself.

[ScrapTheNickname]

Arcia needs at bats ... Keep in mind that he only has 493 MLB at-bats ...

 

You said it better than I did. (I haven't had any coffee yet, is my excuse.)

[dluxxx]

If it's the ankle, then give him some time to heal. If not on the DL, then at least a few days in a row with some rest and treatment.

 

If it isn't the ankle, then get him out there and let him swing through his struggles. Maybe drop down a bunt for a hit or concentrate on blasting it right up the middle instead of trying to turn on everything. That's how most professional hitters bust a slump. Try to cream the pitcher with a line drive.

[diehardtwinsfan]

Arcia needs to learn some plate discipline. That, I suspect, will go a long way towards eliminating the famine in his feast/famine routine.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

If he's hurt, DL, otherwise some extra time with Bruno is in order. He's got nothing left to prove in AAA.

[Jeremy Nygaard]

I think he should be sent down to regain some confidence. I believe he qualifies for a 4th option year (next year) if he needs it, so there's no need to HAVE to figure it out in the bigs now, especially since there are other guys (Parmelee and Colabello) who might still get one more chance to prove they belong. Plus, if the Twins are competing, the team needs competitive at-bats.

[Riverbrian]

He's making more contact in the past few games. I think he's gonna get a few to fall in real soon.

 

If he goes back to swinging at everything and missing. Then something will have to be done.

 

He's gotta quit trying to put every ball he swings at in a different zip code.

[glanzer]

He's only 16 hitless at-bats away from tying the all-time worst streak in baseball history of 47, set by Eugenio Velez a few years ago for the Dodgers. I say we ride it out and see how close he gets to the record.

[Circus Boy]

He's only 16 hitless at-bats away from tying the all-time worst streak in baseball history of 47, set by Eugenio Velez a few years ago for the Dodgers. I say we ride it out and see how close he gets to the record.

 

Batted .000 in 2011 in 40 PA, so must have carried over some ABs from the SF Giants in 2010, for whom he batted a respectable .256 over four seasons.

[Mike Sixel]

Tough call. This is epically bad, and not to be expected, but his earlier massive success was probably not sustainable either.

 

I don't know what I'd do. I'd probably leave him up here, and ride it out. But man, that's a tough call for him and for the team this year.

[TheLeviathan]

This, again, was not hard to see coming with his rapidly escalating strikeout rate last year. Let him work through it, that's part of what rebuilding is - patience with kids who have shown what they can do.

[DK]

Am I looking at the same Arcia that everyone else is? Yes, he has power when he makes solid contact. However, that solid contact is very streaky. I actually see him as a .200 hitter that may get 20 homeruns. He has some real holes in his swing that major league pitchers recognize. I fear his plate discipline may not get a whole lot better. With some good minor league hitters coming up, why not put him on the trading block? If he is as good as everyone believes he should bring some real value.

[Nick Nelson]

Am I looking at the same Arcia that everyone else is? Yes, he has power when he makes solid contact. However, that solid contact is very streaky. I actually see him as a .200 hitter that may get 20 homeruns. He has some real holes in his swing that major league pitchers recognize. I fear his plate discipline may not get a whole lot better. With some good minor league hitters coming up, why not put him on the trading block? If he is as good as everyone believes he should bring some real value.

 

He's 23. Most players his age are in Double-A or Triple-A. Remember what Carlos Gomez looked like at the plate when he was 23?

[Willihammer]

I don't have a problem with guys swinging out of their shoes. As others have mentioned, Carlos Gomez does it, half the Blue Jays lineup does it. You can do it and be s uccessful but you have to pick your spots and there is no reason to throw Arcia a strike as long as he keeps swinging at crap out of the zone. I don't know if its a pitch recognition issue or what but his terrible count management is a much bigger problem than the ferocity of his swing IMO.

[TwinsFan4Ever]

Hitting coaches, like pitching coaches, golf coaches, etc... server as psychologists a good amount of time. You can tell a guy to slow down his swing (like many have done with my golf swing to no avail) but I'm sure there are others in his ear and head including other players on the team. I would say maybe a lack of communication but Colabello had the same issue. Bruno seems like a good guy and he was a good hitter in his own right but you almost need a psychology degree to do that job.

[Dantes929]

If not for options I could see a revolving door for him and Colabello. They gain confidence in AAA and ride it for a while in the bigs. There is the benefit of sending him down. I am in the camp of he swings too hard. His minor league numbers show very high batting average with mid teen home run power. That is the guy I want to see in the majors. 450 foot homers look nice but count for no more than the 380 foot ones. He should do what Cuddyer finally did when he was slumping bad and that is take a lot more pitches. Even if he strikes out never swinging the bat. Right now pitchers only need to throw one strike at most to get him out. Show a willingness to walk and he will start to get better pitches to hit.

[stringer bell]

Both Colabello and Arcia have had their option used for this year, so that wouldn't be a problem. Playing Colabello in right field would be a problem and I do think his 15 minutes of fame are over. I also agree that Arcia seems to have morphed into an "all or nothing at all" swinger, instead of someone capable of hitting .300.

[mlhouse]

I was at Saturday's game and he hit the ball really hard several times. It was just right at someone or hit to the deepest part of the field.

 

His struggle right now is against LHP and the Twins should show patience and develop the ability to work with struggling young players at the major league level. Without that, what are we going to do with Sano and Buxton, Rosario and others when they come up? Continue to bounce them back and forth if they go through a slump?

[Willihammer]

450 foot homers look nice but count for no more than the 380 foot ones.

 

Fly ball distance does matter. The guys who hit longer fly balls will hit more home runs. Its why a guy like Dozier, sadly, probably won't keep pace with Jose Bautista very long, even though both players have 15 HRs atm.

 

Also Joe Mauer cca. 2009