![]() On top of shifting on defense, pitchers have caught onto how to get Max to pull the ball into the shift. Kepler has always been a pull hitter and it does not seem as though that will change (I can hear Twins Territory yelling “JUST HIT THE BALL THE OTHER WAY DAMMIT”). Combining ground balls and constant pull-side usage drove down Kepler’s numbers across the board. Pulling the ball was successful for Max in 20, as he posted similar batted ball percentage, but he was able to lift the ball over the shift and do significant damage. 413.Īnother factor in this is that Max has always been a pull-side hitter, as he only hit 21.8% of his batted balls to the opposite field in 2022. If the “juiced ball” crowd needs another season to look at, Kepler had 32.4% groundballs and 45.6% flyballs in 2020, in which he posted a much more palatable slugging percentage of. For reference point, Kepler hit 36.1% groundballs and 46.6% flyballs in 2019, his signature season. Kepler hit grounders at a rate of 45.7% in 2022, his highest mark since his rookie season. How has Kepler’s once extra-base-heavy approach been muzzled? It is largely due to his inability to avoid hitting ground balls into the soon-to-be-extinct shift. ![]() 348 ranked 229th among hitters with 300+ plate appearances, a far cry from his best season in 2019 (.519) and his career mark (.413). Kepler has traditionally posted a low batting average, but his numbers have been buoyed by taking walks and having an impactful slugging percentage. ![]() 227, and a career-worst slugging percentage of. While Kepler’s walk, strikeout, and expected batting average metrics seems to suggest a successful hitter, he ended up posting an actual batting average of.
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