Jordan Danks and the strikeout

[danman31]

Jordan Danks and the strikeout

Jordan Danks has had success throughout his minor league career despite striking out at an alarming rate. Can he achieve an acceptable level of success in the Majors like this or will he need to cut down on the strikeouts? more...

 

It's fitting that we had a discussion about this in the game thread for the day while I was writing this. Danks seems to be a heated topic lately.

[SoxAce]

Very nice article Dan.

[maggsmaggs]

Great job addressing all the pertinent elements.

[WHITESOXRANDY]

Maybe he needs glasses.

[NorthSideSox72]

Maybe he needs glasses.

At first this idea seems funny, but, it might actually be possible. But it sounds (from people who have seen a lot of him) that its more likely his head not staying quiet in his swing.

 

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

Jordan Danks and an automatic.

 

http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video...v=1334861985342

 

He seems to have a lot more personality than his brother. I have seen some videos of him on Youtube, and he seems to be a very personable and outgoing guy.

[Dizzy Sox]

I think it is important to remember that a high K rate by itself isn't necessarily a kiss of death. On most occasions it matters not how a batter makes an out--leading off, no runners on base, etc.--and on some occasions a K would actually be preferable to, say, a groundout (i.e. runner on first with less than two outs).

 

What is important about K's is that a high rate implies a poor command of the strike zone and/or subpar plate discipline. These two hitting skills rank among the most important a hitter must master and are correspondingly difficult to teach. Big league pitchers mercilessly exploit weaknesses in strike zone judgement, and as a 'book' is built on a particular hitter it is dead certain any holes or negative tendencies unknown or overlooked in the minors will come to light. Josh Fields is a perfect example of this--he struck out a lot in the minors but posted good enough triple crown stats to overshadow that somewhat, he had one decent season in the majors and then as pitchers learned to pitch to his weakneses...well, you know the rest of the story.

 

Danks a little bit more difficult to project, as unlike Fields he walks a fair amount and has maintained a roughly consistent strikeout rate across increasing levels of competition. (Oddly enough, his K rate stayed more or less consistent through his 3 years at UT.) From watching him those years in Austin and following him since then, my guess is that he will grow into a solid player with some intriguing tools, an above average defensive CF but one who will never be a top of the lineup guy. His upside at the plate? While outwardly his game resembles niether of these two I'm thinking 2000 Chris Singleton but with a little more power and walks or maybe even 2005 Aaron Rowand. At the worst I think his glove and lefty bat would keep him on a big league roster in a productive platoon role.

[danman31]

Danks a little bit more difficult to project, as unlike Fields he walks a fair amount and has maintained a roughly consistent strikeout rate across increasing levels of competition.

Danks doesn't walk that much more than Fields did, but I think we agree. I feel like you disagreed with me and agreed with me in the same post. Danks' number of strikeouts aren't the only thing to worry about, but they should be a real concern. I'm just hoping he can be an average offensive player.

[MiddleCoastBias]

I might be a little late to this discussion, but I recall watching the Braves game the other night, and they highlighted Hayward's K-rate as over 34%. Is it more acceptable for him to have such a high K-rate because he has more power than Danks?

[Balta1701]

I might be a little late to this discussion, but I recall watching the Braves game the other night, and they highlighted Hayward's K-rate as over 34%. Is it more acceptable for him to have such a high K-rate because he has more power than Danks?

Yes, the more power you have the more acceptable your K-Rate is going to be. When the ball leaves the park, it still counts as a hit, so a guy hitting 40 HR can still put together a reasonable set of overall numbers with those sort of K-rates and won't be guaranteed to hit .220.

 

However...34% is high even for a 40 HR hitter. Over a 600 at bat season that's >200 K's.

[MiddleCoastBias]

Yes, the more power you have the more acceptable your K-Rate is going to be. When the ball leaves the park, it still counts as a hit, so a guy hitting 40 HR can still put together a reasonable set of overall numbers with those sort of K-rates and won't be guaranteed to hit .220.

 

However...34% is high even for a 40 HR hitter. Over a 600 at bat season that's >200 K's.

Thanks. I guess my concern is WHAT IS an acceptable K-rate for Danks at his position, given his particular role and skill set? What would he have to get that rate down to so that we don't view it was an issue anymore?

[danman31]

I might be a little late to this discussion, but I recall watching the Braves game the other night, and they highlighted Hayward's K-rate as over 34%. Is it more acceptable for him to have such a high K-rate because he has more power than Danks?

The thing with Heyward is that his minor league K-rate was below 20. As I mentioned, guys will strike out more in the Majors like Heyward is doing. That's a rather alarming number, but it's awfully early.

 

Thanks. I guess my concern is WHAT IS an acceptable K-rate for Danks at his position, given his particular role and skill set? What would he have to get that rate down to so that we don't view it was an issue anymore?

Ideally less than 20%.

[Balta1701]

The thing with Heyward is that his minor league K-rate was below 20. As I mentioned, guys will strike out more in the Majors like Heyward is doing. That's a rather alarming number, but it's awfully early.

 

 

Ideally less than 20%.

20% K rate in a 600 AB season is 120 K's a year. That'd be quite an improvement. Basically...the higher his K rate goes above that...the more BB he needs to take and the more power he needs to show to be effecitve.

[danman31]

20% K rate in a 600 AB season is 120 K's a year. That'd be quite an improvement. Basically...the higher his K rate goes above that...the more BB he needs to take and the more power he needs to show to be effecitve.

It would be quite an improvement. I didn't say he would do it, I just said that would be ideal lol.

[SoxAce]

Yes, the more power you have the more acceptable your K-Rate is going to be. When the ball leaves the park, it still counts as a hit, so a guy hitting 40 HR can still put together a reasonable set of overall numbers with those sort of K-rates and won't be guaranteed to hit .220.

 

However...34% is high even for a 40 HR hitter. Over a 600 at bat season that's >200 K's.

 

You have learned well grasshopper..

[ThunderBolt]

Jordan Danks and an automatic.

 

http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video...v=1334861985342

 

He seems to have a lot more personality than his brother. I have seen some videos of him on Youtube, and he seems to be a very personable and outgoing guy.

He and John have the sense of humor. Jordan has a touch more charisma and is a little more outgoing, but they clearly come from the same mold. I have fond memories of spring of Danks 2 doing everything possible to get in the way of Beckham and Morel while they attempted to warmup. He's a great guy.

[DGSOXFan14]

He and John have the sense of humor. Jordan has a touch more charisma and is a little more outgoing, but they clearly come from the same mold. I have fond memories of spring of Danks 2 doing everything possible to get in the way of Beckham and Morel while they attempted to warmup. He's a great guy.

 

Having gone to spring training, I can easily say Jordan Danks was the most enjoyable person I had a chance to watch, talk to, and be around. He is such a nice person, signing any autographs, as well as sparking up a friendly conversation with fans whenever there was down time. He would joke around with his teammates, and when it came time to playing the game, he took that fun and brought it to the field every day. He was an all-around fun person to have watched and I love what he can bring to the table in the future. He has some stuff to work on, but everyone does. However, with his attitude and given talents and work ethic, I have no doubt in my mind that he can one day be the successful player that the White Sox are looking forward to.