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Post by jaffinator on Jun 14, 2021 14:59:59 GMT -5
Interesting. The site has that as one of four he hit in Salem I think. Pre-swing change definitely. Too bad it looks like the site is only updated at season's end. Oops thanks for catching my error. Not an error at all, just a difference in interpretation. I, like most posters here, am strongly positive on the changes with Duran's swing and the power that's resulted, but it looks like it's been nearly all to the pull side (his pull rate is up to 50% from the mid 30s as well). I worry a little bit that the proliferation of things like outfield shifts at the big league level will hurt him a bit. That being said, given how he started his career and his plus-plus speed he might be able to small ball an effective response.
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Post by Oregon Norm on Jun 14, 2021 16:13:11 GMT -5
Found myself wondering about that very thing a few days ago as his AAA numbers started to regress, that there might be an over-emphasis on pulling the ball. It's not as if he's forgotten how to get on base, though, just as you say. He's also proved himself to be very malleable, adding power to the mix very quickly, almost like flipping a switch. He's driven to succeed and if that means putting stress on infield defense, he may be very happy to do just that.
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Post by jaffinator on Jun 14, 2021 17:33:08 GMT -5
Found myself wondering about that very thing a few days ago as his AAA numbers started to regress, that there might be an over-emphasis on pulling the ball. It's not as if he's forgotten how to get on base, though, just as you say. He's also proved himself to be very malleable, adding power to the mix very quickly, almost like flipping a switch. He's driven to succeed and if that means putting stress on infield defense, he may be very happy to do just that. Something Chris (I think it was Chris) has said in the past in response to people comparing Duran to Mookie in their ability to move from second base to the outfield is that Mookie's ability to pick up new skills, new information and to adjust is exceptional and that saying if someone could just do something like Mookie did is kind of like how people used to say "See, you don't need to throw hard, just look at Maddux!" when Maddux had maybe the greatest control ever (as well as exceptional movement). Fundamentally, I agree with that statement and especially with its sentiment. But sometimes it does help us forget that Duran has proved to be really good at making adjustments himself. To borrow the 20-80 scale, while Mookie's ability to adjust and improve might be an 80, Duran has shown a 55 there or so. I think Duran is both in a position to be victimized by new approaches to fielding like aggressive shifts and in a position to adjust and counter those techniques.
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