Dunt Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Preface this by saying sample size, but looking at his numbers, there are a lot of positives to his game right now. He has the best ISO, wRC+, and SLG% of his career so far this season all with a .260 BABIP. In addition, he's seen a drop in his GB% while seeing relatively big jumps in his FB% and hard hit %. Still want to see these numbers stay consistent over a couple months, but I think this is something to be somewhat excited about. If he is starting to put it together, that's a big boost for this team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyyle23 Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Lets hope. It would be a very nice surprise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southwest Sider Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 I can't say for sure if he's really putting it together because we have seen flashes of brilliance before. Just from watching him, he has show that he can be patient and look for a pitch in the zone, as well as tattoo the ball he does hit. He needs to continue to be patient, don't swing at junk and force pitchers to pitch in the zone. It's very important for this team that he starts putting it together this year. We need another force in this lineup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2nd_city_saint787 Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Last 7 games he has been en fuego to the tune of a 1.164 OPS. In the 14 games he has hit 7th he has a .988 OPS......Maybe he was just pressing a bit when batting higher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shysocks Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 He's doing a couple of the things he needed to do, like hit it on the ground less and swing at less junk. A 19.6% HR/FB rate is the stuff of top power hitters, but plenty of guys pull it off every year. Hopefully he keeps it up because it'd be nice for the front office to be able to devote its attention to the starting rotation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmags Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 I don't know if it will last, but we really were in need of a Avi hot streak. When he's on he's on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pettie4sox Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Avi is all mental. Dude is powerful! He can one hand a HR to straight away center FFS. The tools are there but the brain is not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buehrle>Wood Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 I still bet on him failing miserably but I hope I'm wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Feel the momentum of winning. He's one of the guys that has a 3-40 streak during the 2-8 run coming up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 The whole key for Garcia is to take some pitches. He has the tools and ability if he works into hitters counts, and gets good pitches to hit. When he is laying off of ball one and ball two, he gets much better stuff to hit. Early this year pitchers would just throw garbage up there, he'd swing, and he'd be down 0-1, 0-2, in no time. It is not a coincidence that things have improves as he is taking more pitches. I don't know who finally got between his ears, but hopefully it sticks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chitownsportsfan Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 6, 2016 -> 11:41 AM) The whole key for Garcia is to take some pitches. He has the tools and ability if he works into hitters counts, and gets good pitches to hit. When he is laying off of ball one and ball two, he gets much better stuff to hit. Early this year pitchers would just throw garbage up there, he'd swing, and he'd be down 0-1, 0-2, in no time. It is not a coincidence that things have improves as he is taking more pitches. I don't know who finally got between his ears, but hopefully it sticks. I would say that this is easier than it sounds for a guy that has obvious pitch recognition problems. That said, one of the few points that Hawk still makes well is that you can have great success as a guess hitter. You just better crush the ball when you guess right. I'd have no problem if Avi goes up there every AB this year taking a pitch or two and then looking fastball when he's ahead. Eventually, if he starts lacing fastballs, pitchers will adjust and he'll have to adjust as well but I don't see any reason he can't have success with this approach as long as he keeps hitting more balls in the air. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Allen Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 (edited) We have been here before with Avi a couple of times. His first 23 games with the Sox, he hit .349. As late as June last season, his OPS was above .800. He will get ridiculously hot. That HR last night was amazing. The only HR I have ever seen with less air under it was Dave Winfield back in the 80s. The key will be can he stay away from swinging at pitches he can't hit. He's doing it now. I actually saw an AB with pitch trax where Avi only swung at strikes the other night. That doesn't happen too often. He has all the ability, but old habits tend to resurface. They should ride him when he's hot, though. And hide his glove so he can't go out to RF. Edited May 6, 2016 by Dick Allen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulfield12 Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 If he gets behind in the count and can't catch up with (or lay off) high fastballs, he's eerily reminiscent of Viciedo and Beckham struggling with that same issue. Dayan, in particular, where you felt once the count wasn't in his favor, the at-bat was pretty much doomed. It seems (and I haven't watched enough games or highlights, mostly following throw apps/online) that a lot of his heavy damage is done on offspeed stuff, whereas fastballs often result in flares that drop in. Perhaps that's changed recently. I do know that eventually he has to prove he can consistently drive that high fastball into the RCF gap (ala Quentin or Abreu) or he's going to face a steady diet of pitching high or inside, challenging him to turn on it (like Lawrie has shown the ability to do, even high and on the outside corner at 95-96) and pull it way out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lasttriptotulsa Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 (edited) QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 6, 2016 -> 12:38 PM) If he gets behind in the count and can't catch up with (or lay off) high fastballs, he's eerily reminiscent of Viciedo and Beckham struggling with that same issue. Dayan, in particular, where you felt once the count wasn't in his favor, the at-bat was pretty much doomed. It seems (and I haven't watched enough games or highlights, mostly following throw apps/online) that a lot of his heavy damage is done on offspeed stuff, whereas fastballs often result in flares that drop in. Perhaps that's changed recently. I do know that eventually he has to prove he can consistently drive that high fastball into the RCF gap (ala Quentin or Abreu) or he's going to face a steady diet of pitching high or inside, challenging him to turn on it (like Lawrie has shown the ability to do, even high and on the outside corner at 95-96) and pull it way out. Speaking of Viciedo, he's tearing it up in Japan this season. .327/.433/.637 slash with 9 HRs, 8 2Bs, 24 RBIs, 13% BB rate, 11% K rate. I could totally see him being the next Tuffy Rhodes over there. https://fan-interference.com/2016/03/30/day...aying-in-japan/ Edited May 6, 2016 by lasttriptotulsa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chitownsportsfan Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 QUOTE (lasttriptotulsa @ May 6, 2016 -> 12:47 PM) Speaking of Viciedo, he's tearing it up in Japan this season. .327/.433/.637 slash with 9 HRs, 8 2Bs, 24 RBIs, 13% BB rate, 11% K rate. I could totally see him being the next Tuffy Rhodes over there. https://fan-interference.com/2016/03/30/day...aying-in-japan/ He's a guy that can absolutely hammer 88 mph fastballs so perfect league for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmmmmbeeer Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Well, he's talking to himself a lot more at the dish....he seems to have some sort of strategy or thought process he's trying to follow and is taking his time to make sure he's doing what he needs to do. He was hammering the ball last night. Also, it seems the air humping is working for him. I can't help but think he's acting like he's about to f*** the baseball to get a mental edge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyyle23 Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 6, 2016 -> 12:31 PM) We have been here before with Avi a couple of times. His first 23 games with the Sox, he hit .349. As late as June last season, his OPS was above .800. He will get ridiculously hot. That HR last night was amazing. The only HR I have ever seen with less air under it was Dave Winfield back in the 80s. The key will be can he stay away from swinging at pitches he can't hit. He's doing it now. I actually saw an AB with pitch trax where Avi only swung at strikes the other night. That doesn't happen too often. He has all the ability, but old habits tend to resurface. They should ride him when he's hot, though. And hide his glove so he can't go out to RF. I wasnt in the park last night, but I saw Harold Baines hit an oppo homerun in 96, and it looked like it stayed 12 feet off the ground for the entire flight. This was the game on my birthday when Baines, Thomas and Ventura went b2b2b and then Kreuter hit a homer 1 batter after our favorite piece of trivia, Lyle Mouton, had singled Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lasttriptotulsa Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 (edited) Hittrackeronline had Avi's HR last night as tied for the lowest one hit in the majors this year with an apex of 46 ft. Edited May 6, 2016 by lasttriptotulsa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chitownsportsfan Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 QUOTE (lasttriptotulsa @ May 6, 2016 -> 03:06 PM) Hittrackeronline had Avi's HR last night as tied for the lowest one hit in the majors this year with an apex of 46 ft. Had an exit velocity of 113mph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostfan Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ May 6, 2016 -> 03:40 PM) Had an exit velocity of 113mph Anything that flies that far that fast oughta have a flight attendant on it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harkness99 Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 I've seen Avi hot before... but this is different. I've never seen him this patient before and its the entire key for him (really a lot of hitters who struggle). Let's just hope he can keep it up and not fall into his old habits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmags Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 QUOTE (lostfan @ May 6, 2016 -> 02:41 PM) Anything that flies that far that fast oughta have a flight attendant on it! Or, if I really wanted to extend this joke out for no reason, an astronaut could also be on that ball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harkness99 Posted May 7, 2016 Share Posted May 7, 2016 I've never seen Avi this patient... really looks awesome. I wish a couple of our other players would take notice. Making the pitcher throw you strikes works pretty well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowand44 Posted May 7, 2016 Share Posted May 7, 2016 I'm not buying it but I'm loving it for now. Hope he keeps this up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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