Mauer Heating Up?

[Loosey]

Was glancing over a few things and noticed Mauer's BA is now firmly at .275.  Two weeks ago he was hitting .256.  since mid-June his OPS is up .60 as well.  Is he just on a hot streak or do you expect to see a close to normal Mauer stat line by year end (.300/.400/.400)?  I'm thinking he is approaching the AB's like he used to and will now take the hard outs to LF due to the shift and play his game and lose a few points on the average due to it.  I hope I am right.

 

[nytwinsfan]

Last 20 games, Mauer:  .333/.405 /.507 (.912). NICCCCCE! 

 

Even last 30 games, Mauer:  .298/.383/.452 (.835). Would still be plenty happy with that kind of production from here on out.

[DaveW]

He has looked a ton better and I expect him to keep this up the rest of the season. He's never going to be that 25 HR .940 OPS first base type, but should be able to hit for .300 in the future with a nice OBP and plenty of doubles (OPS in the .830 to .860 range would be my guess)

[Loosey]

I would take that.  Maybe if something was bothering him/lingering it has dissipated or he has made whatever adjustment was necessary.  I'm glad he is looking better at the plate.  And I agree he will never be a 25 HR guy.  But 10 HR with 35 doubles a .400+ OBP would be pretty nice.

[jimmer]

 

I would take that.  Maybe if something was bothering him/lingering it has dissipated or he has made whatever adjustment was necessary.  I'm glad he is looking better at the plate.  And I agree he will never be a 25 HR guy.  But 10 HR with 35 doubles a .400+ OBP would be pretty nice.

maybe he read TD and took all the hitting advice from the wise posters :-)

[Loosey]

 

maybe he read TD and took all the hitting advice from the wise posters :-)

There really isn't any other explanation. . .

[jimbo92107]

To me it looks like Joe Mauer went back to hitting basics, which is to hit the ball where it's pitched, rather than trying to pull balls when nobody's on base. He was getting tons of outside pitches when it was clear that he was looking for pitches to pull with no RISP. Finally, a couple weeks ago, it was like he said, "The hell with this, I'll just go with the pitch," and that's when the balance shifted in his direction.

 

Now Mauer is hitting balls to all fields, so the spray chart isn't as meaningful. If a pitcher can hit the outside corner consistently, Mauer will still slash it to left, but if it's over the middle he can belt it to center, and he's still watching for those inside pitches to pull. That's a much better plan than trying to pull everything, which was just getting him a lot of two-hoppers to second.

 

I should mention that Mauer was so good at going opposite field that he was doing that to almost everything for a while. That's when teams started shifting him to left. Now Mauer is going up there with more of a normal plan. Turns out, he's pretty good at being a regular hitter, too.

[Loosey]

Did anyone notice where Mauer was standing in the batters box yesterday when he laid down that perfect bunt?  He was so far away from the plate he was almost outside box.  I saw him up there and was wondering what was going on, then he laid that bunt down and I realized that is what he was doing.  I'm actually surprised the Orioles didn't see that.

[nytwinsfan]

 

He has looked a ton better and I expect him to keep this up the rest of the season. He's never going to be that 25 HR .940 OPS first base type, but should be able to hit for .300 in the future with a nice OBP and plenty of doubles (OPS in the .830 to .860 range would be my guess)

Man I hope so. I'd definitely take that.

[jorgenswest]

Mauer needs a bigger second half. If the Twins are going to close ground on their opponents in the corners, it can only come at 1B and DH. Sano might be the answer at DH. We need Mauer to put up at least league average 1B production.

 

 

[Linus]

 

Did anyone notice where Mauer was standing in the batters box yesterday when he laid down that perfect bunt?  He was so far away from the plate he was almost outside box.  I saw him up there and was wondering what was going on, then he laid that bunt down and I realized that is what he was doing.  I'm actually surprised the Orioles didn't see that.

If I was Mauer I would bunt against that shift every game until they stopped.  It would be really interesting to see how long it took before teams were forced to change the infield shift.  With the shift that was employed yesterday, he could probably bunt successfully 75% of the time.

 

Or, do it every time if nobody is on base.  What fun that would be.

[ashbury]

Last 20 games, Mauer:  .333/.405 /.507 (.912).

Not to drizzle lemonade on anyone's cornflakes, but with a BABIP of .392 in that period, you might not be wise to get too used to this.

[D. Hocking]

 

maybe he read TD and took all the hitting advice from the wise posters :-)

 

He not only reads the board, I have it under good authority he actually posts here as Circus Boy.  Notice how CB is much more active in the game threads when Mauer is DH.

 

Hitting a baseball is such a difficult and sensitive thing, it does not take much physically or mentally to throw you off your game.  When you get off track, I think it can take awhile to find the right balance of making adjustments and trying new things but not over-thinking and going away from what works for you.  

 

Hopefully he will have a solid second half and keep reading the board to stay on track.

 

 

 

 

[jorgenswest]

 

Not to drizzle lemonade on anyone's cornflakes, but with a BABIP of .392 in that period, you might not be wise to get too used to this.

Is it possible that indicates that he is hitting the ball hard? I think it is a good sign that he is healthy and seeing the ball well. His career BABIP entering the season was around .350. It was .383 in 2013. 

 

Seeing the ball well and making good hard contact is a skill for batters. That skill is shown in their BABIP.

 

 

[ashbury]

Is it possible that indicates that he is hitting the ball hard? I think it is a good sign that he is healthy and seeing the ball well. His career BABIP entering the season was around .350. It was .383 in 2013. 

 

Seeing the ball well and making good hard contact is a skill for batters. That skill is shown in their BABIP.

Sure, Mauer is one of the few batters who has been able to maintain a BABIP above .300. I'm not so sure we should get used to .392 though. And I don't know whether he can keep at his career norms for this stat either, anymore.

[Mike Frasier Law]

 

Not to drizzle lemonade on anyone's cornflakes, but with a BABIP of .392 in that period, you might not be wise to get too used to this.

 

True, but he does have a career BABIP of nearly .350. Heck, in 2013 his BABIP was .383 for the season. So I would expect that to go down some, but not to .300 or anything.

[jorgenswest]

BABIP stabilizes at 2.5 seasons for batters and 8 seasons for starting pitchers. Mauer's BABIP over last 2.5 seasons is .351. If you are concerned that they weren't full seasons, his BABIP in 2012 was .364.

 

A BABIP in the high 300s for a hitter who has established high BABIPS previously should be an encouraging sign. Is he going to end at 350 this year? Probably not. Too much ground to gain. There is a good chance that he will put up that level for the remainder of the season though.