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Hunter Goodman will symbolize the Colorado Rockies in tonight’s All-Star Recreation, and whereas he performs for the worst crew within the majors, he’s not at all a quota-filling choice. The 25-year-old catcher is slashing .277/.325/.517 with 17 house runs and a 120 wRC+ over 345 plate appearances. Furthermore, his 52 RBI are probably the most amongst senior circuit backstops.
Three months earlier than his All-Star choice, he was featured right here at FanGraphs in an article titled Hunter Goodman Isn’t Picky. When my colleague Davy Andrews penned the April 9 piece, Goodman had seen 63 pitches outdoors of the strike zone and swung at 33 of them, giving him a 54.1% chase charge. He additionally had a 66.1% total swing charge.
As Davy wrote, “That is about as excessive as baseball will get.”
I introduced up the article when the Rockies visited Fenway Park final week, and Goodman’s response was gold. Having learn my colleague’s column, the younger slugger replied, “That man higher not present up right here.” He was kidding — the phrases got here with a smile — after which he turned critical.
“Truthfully, I used to be hitting fairly nicely on the time,” recalled Goodman, who then had a wRC+ simply north of league common. “I used to be getting quite a lot of pitches to hit. However sure, I used to be swinging so much. Beginning the yr, I used to be attempting to be aggressive and attempting to see the place I used to be at. It’s like all the pieces else; the extra you get going, the extra issues begin to settle down. Over the season, it’s gotten higher. Being within the lineup each day has helped so much with my timing.”
A fourth-round pick of the College of Memphis in 2021, Goodman has already performed a profession excessive 85 video games on the massive league stage this season. He debuted in late August two years in the past, and his lackluster 2024 marketing campaign — a 61 wRC+ over 224 PAs with the Rockies — comprised 70 video games, plus 31 extra in Triple-A.
The attack-mode strategy isn’t new. As Davy additionally identified, Goodman got here into the season with a higher-than-ideal chase charge, and whereas it has improved — particularly in comparison with the primary two weeks — he’s not precisely morphing into Juan Soto. A leopard can solely change his spots a lot.
“I’ve at all times been an aggressive hitter, and that’s the factor,” stated Goodman, who now has a 36.5% chase charge and a 55.7% total swing charge. “The coaches and I’ve talked about it. I don’t need to be up there considering ‘swing much less,’ I need to be up there seeking to do harm. I imply, my strategy hasn’t actually modified, however I do need to be a bit of extra selective.”
In response to Rockies co-hitting coach Nic Wilsonaugmenting that attack-mode mindset with a extra nuanced strategy will solely make Goodman higher.
“With Goody, the choices are at all times going to be vital,” stated Wilson, who was Colorado’s minor league hitting coordinator earlier than transferring into his present place in mid-Might. “When he’s swinging at pitches which can be good for him, he’s harmful. That’s an ongoing dialog. We’re working day by day. Even again when he was in A-ball, it was a giant level of focus.”
When our 2024 Colorado Rockies High Prospects checklist got here out that April — Goodman was ranked fourth with a forty five+ FV — Eric Longenhagen wrote that “Goodman’s energy is sensational. He takes epic, max-effort swings and is able to placing balls out to all fields.”
Requested if honing in on a sure zone would additional enhance the extent to which he punishes pitchers, the erstwhile Memphis Tiger neither agreed nor disagreed.
“I feel it relies upon,” replied Goodman, who has 5.8% stroll charge and a 26.8% strikeout charge on the yr. “In June, I hit homers in a bunch of various areas within the zone. There are occasions the place I’m going good, and if it’s a strike I’ve an opportunity to do harm. There are additionally occasions the place I’m going dangerous, and I want it to be in a sure spot. It’s about determining when these occasions are.”
Goodman doesn’t essentially agree with the notion that he takes max-effort swings, not less than not when he’s going nicely.
“After I get in hassle is when I attempt to swing too onerous,” he instructed me. “I need to hold it good and easy. It’s like a managed aggression. It doesn’t really feel like my effort stage is tremendous excessive, though perhaps it might appear to be that from the skin.”
Which brings us again to his plate self-discipline. Requested how Goodman rebounded from his chase-tastic begin to the season, Wilson cited how the psychological and bodily are intertwined within the batter’s field.
“By way of changes, we’ve tried to alleviate a bit of little bit of rigidity in his setup,” the hitting coach defined. “Early on within the yr he was a bit of tight in his shoulders. When he’s having quite a lot of success, it’s with a really fluid transfer. It’s a giant transfer — it’s dynamic — however there’s not quite a lot of rigidity in it. He’s transferring like an athlete. He’s type of gotten again to that, and it’s performed fairly nicely for him.
“It’s all tied collectively,” Wilson added. “Whenever you really feel good within the field, you’re going to make higher selections. That’s a giant a part of it. When Hunter seems like he’s on time and is ready to hit the pitcher’s greatest heater, he’s going make higher selections. When he does that, he’s going to do quite a lot of harm.”
