5 Hitters Who Have Been Successful Despite Their Free-Swinging Ways
Jonathan Schoop, 2B, Baltimore Orioles
If we're just looking at his 2017 performance, Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop is a free-swinger. But if we look at what he's done throughout his big league career since debuting in 2013, this season has been a breath of fresh air.
Between 2013 and 2016, Schoop's 58.1% swing rate was the second-highest mark in baseball, and the last two years of that time period were especially bad. However, a quick snapshot of how his plate discipline has changed since 2015 shows the kind of progress he's made.
| Year | O-Swing% | Z-Swing% | Swing% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 43.9% | 83.5% | 60.8% |
| 2016 | 43.0% | 81.4% | 60.2% |
| 2017 | 36.1% | 71.8% | 50.9% |
Like we mentioned at the top, Schoop still swings a lot, but it sure is a lot better than it has been recently. And while we'd rather see his swing rate on pitches in the strike zone to stay high, his current 73.5% contact rate is on pace to be his highest of this three-year span.
The 25-year-old could always hit homers (57 bombs in 1,464 plate appearances entering this year), but didn't do much else (.177 ISO and 90 wRC+ during the same period of time). This improvement in plate discipline has him on pace for a career season, though -- his 24 homers and 79 RBI are on the verge of being new personal bests and his .305/.355/.555 triple slash is on pace for the same, as is the 137 wRC+ and .380 wOBA he's posted through 442 plate appearances.
So, Schoop may always swing a little more than the average bear, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's pretty clear to see how far a little plate discipline can go for one's overall production at the plate, though.
