Wendell Cruz-Imagn Photos
No participant needs to undergo a big, season-ending harm like Jung Hoo Lee did final Might, particularly of their rookie yr. However when gamers do discover themselves in that state of affairs, they’ll a minimum of use the time to replicate on their efficiency and make changes that they suppose will enhance their recreation upon their return. Regardless of it being early within the season, it appears that evidently is strictly what Lee has carried out.
The Giants heart fielder’s offensive enhancements warrant a glance underneath the hood to see precisely what he has modified, as a result of proper now, he looks as if a totally completely different participant from the one we noticed final yr. To this point this season, Lee is sporting a 192 wRC+, a .394 xwOBA (86th percentile), a 43.1% sweet-spot fee (87th percentile), and a .446 xwOBACON. These are all huge enhancements in comparison with his restricted 2024 pattern.
In churning by Lee’s video this season, one factor caught out to me above all else: his means to get his torso and arms totally prolonged whereas sustaining an awesome bat path. This has allowed him to cowl the outer third of the plate at a excessive degree. I’ve a selected affinity for hitters who attain throughout the zone with their arms and nonetheless make flush contact. It may be troublesome to maintain your bat on a constructive slope whereas reaching that far out in entrance – hitters are likely to roll these pitches over as a result of their path begins to work in a horizontal route as a substitute of a vertical one. However you probably have the higher physique mobility and energy to keep up a direct, upward path to the ball earlier than rotating open, then you definately’re going to be a nightmare to pitch to. Right here’s a fast abstract of how Lee’s outer third efficiency compares to final season:
Jung Hoo Lee Outer Third Efficiency
Season
xwOBA
Swing%
Swing Size
Whiff%
2024
.271
50.0%
7.3
8.2%
2025
.450
57.4%
7.5
5.7%
SOURCE: Baseball Savant
It’s all the time gratifying when your preliminary learn on a hitter’s swing fashion matches the info, even in a restricted pattern. The takeaway is that to this point, Lee has been a bit extra aggressive on the outer third, is performing considerably higher, and has barely lengthened his swing. That stunned me, although, as a result of throughout spring coaching, Lee spoke about how among the swing modifications he made would result in a deeper level of contact. When doing participant evaluation, I attempt to hunt down any conversations the participant has had about their swing mechanics. With Lee, that supply simply occurred to return from a Reddit thread the place a person translated the interviews Lee did in spring coaching (there are YouTube movies linked within the submit).
To summarize, Lee’s focus heading into the season was to shift his level of contact again. Final yr, he tried to make contact farther out in entrance than in he did within the KBO to regulate for the upper velocities in MLB, however he stated that change led to pushy swings and loads of groundballs. This yr, he’s shifted his mentality to a deeper level of contact, which has performed out with the info to date. His intercept level in 2024 was 32.7 inches relative to his heart of mass. This season, it’s 31.1 inches. And whereas he’s making deeper contact relative to his heart of mass, he’s additionally shifted again within the field. General, he’s given himself more room (and time) to create line drive elevate on pitches, which has helped a ton on the outer third.
Earlier than turning to some video, let’s have a look at Baseball Savant’s new instrument, which highlights a hitter’s preliminary stance (place of the ft) and the way that modifications at contact, in addition to their common level of contact relative to their physique and residential plate. The primary picture is final season and the second picture is that this season:
That is fascinating to me. Lee’s stance angle has opened up from 33 levels to 40, and he’s touchdown along with his plant foot ever so barely extra closed regardless of his stance nonetheless being open. It is a essential distinction. Along with his entrance foot in a unique place, he modified the route of his rotation. As a left-handed hitter, touchdown too open can shift your rotational route towards proper discipline, which might result in many groundballs. Closing off his foot aligns his route towards the middle of the sphere and due to this fact places him in a greater place not solely to guard the outer third, but in addition to do harm there.
However how does Lee handle to maintain his stance open at touchdown? Sure, he’s closed it relative to final yr, but it surely’s nonetheless open. Nicely, that brings us again to his higher physique mobility, the bodily trait that carries his profile and permits him to land open and nonetheless have superb rotational route. Let’s have a look at some video from this season to see that mobility in motion:
On the finish of every swing, Lee’s higher physique is guiding the angle of his barrel both on a flat path (like on the road drive towards Will Warren within the first GIF) or on an upward path with plenty of torso extension (like towards Steven Okert within the second GIF). When a hitter is ready to bend their torso backwards to the extent Lee can, it permits them to create a bat path that begins deep within the hitting zone (suppose a constructive assault angle nearer to the catcher), which in flip not solely lets them elevate pitches on the prime of the zone with authority, but in addition elevate pitches at deeper contact factors.
Lee’s swing towards Hunter Greeneseen within the ultimate GIF, is most indicative of the depth he creates in his bat path. The truth that he was even in a position to muster laborious contact on this pitch is ridiculous. This season, solely 4 left-handed hitters have base hits on pitches a minimum of 99 mph on the outer third towards right-handed pitchers. Lee’s hit towards Greene is likely one of the 4, and it’s one in every of solely two such hits that additionally had an exit velocity above 95 mph, with the opposite coming from Freddie Freeman.
Mainly, it isn’t regular for a hitter to execute such a unbelievable swing towards 99 mph warmth on the nook. You should stability higher physique mobility and extension with having a agency base that retains your decrease physique secure all through your rotation. The latter speaks to the ultimate level of how just a few slight changes to Lee’s stance aided these swings. On prime of adjusting his stance angle and the place of his entrance foot, he has widened out by 3.2 inches. Every of those items works collectively to provide Lee a stronger base to work from, which helps him keep on aircraft longer by not rotating too early in his swing and pulling off these pitches.
It is rather, very early. However primarily based on the logic of Lee’s changes, I really feel fairly assured that he’s a greater hitter now. Pitchers will inevitably modify to him, taking their flip within the cat and mouse recreation of batter versus pitcher, but when his early efficiency is any indication, he has markedly improved his plate protection. That alone ought to assist him be extra adjustable as pitchers tinker with their method.
