I’ve written too many Delmon Young Has Figured It Out articles but there’s room for at least one more or at least an article that started with that intention.
Delmon Young’s done something special thus far, he’s increased his BB-Rate to 8% while decreasing his K-Rate to 13.5% which has allowed him to post a career high BB:K of 0.67. Normally that’d be enough for me to jump all over Young, especially with his BABIP sitting about 50pts lower than it was projected, but then the fun starts.
Delmon Young isn’t being any more selective on the pitches he swings at, he’s just not missing quite as often. Young’s 37.7% O-Swing is on pace with last year but he’s just making 15% more contact on pitches outside of the zone compared to only 5% better on pitches inside of the zone.
As indicated by Young’s five percent decrease in swinging strike percentage, he’s just not missing as much. Young’s still above the MLB average of 8% but 10% is much more respectable than 15%.
When Delmon’s hitting these pitches that he was missing in previous years, he’s not exactly doing anything productive with ‘em. Young’s LD% is down 3% to 13.4% while his GB% has remained constant and his FB% has seen a marginal 4% increase.
It’s would be easier to interpret these findings as signs of an imminent break-out if Young was coming off an injury. Young’s ability to foul pitches and prolong ABs isn’t anything to write off. Seeing more pitches is always a good thing, but if you think he’ll regress to the .338 BABIP that he’s had the previous three years — that’s insane, btw — you’re dreaming.
The pitches that Young’s making contact with now will hurt his BABIP rather than help it.
I’d definitely keep an eye on Delmon Young because if he’s able to wait on mistakes by fouling pitches off, he’s got a great chance at crushing them. In the end, this isn’t a poor approach for Delmon Young but just don’t expect him to be a Hitting Jesus because his BABIP is that far below his consistent average.
