I was frustrated with Jordan Walker these past 3 years, but I felt he could be productive big league player
Compared to how I felt about him as a rookie, that was quite a step down.
After his rookie season I thought he was gonna be an occasional all-star. You know the type, a solid hitter hiding in left field because of the skillet in his glove.
Then he forgot how to hit.
Oddly enough, last year I was encouraged by his progress from the worst right fielder in the league to average fielder with a plus arm.
My thoughts were along the lines of "Well if he's putting up decent DWAR, & if he can hit 240 with some slug, he's not an embarrassment as a starting outfielder".
Very happy to be wrong.
I've been avoiding posting anything about his season so far because while I ain't superstitious, I am a little stitious, and I didn't want to jynx the deal.
But Jordan has had 2 mini-slumps this year and quickly corrected the issues and kept right on going. In the past 2 seasons he'd be hot, hit a slump and spiral for weeks at a time.
Couple weeks back he had a 1 for 11 stretch, including a Golden Sombrero. That's 4 strike outs in 1 game for the folks not well versed in late 1900s baseball lingo...
That was the type of bad stretch that used to put him on the death spin at the plate. But not this year.
He went on a tear, raised his average back over 300 and has just kept on chugging since.
His balance at the plate is better, his stance is more stable - so he sees the zone better.
His bat speed was always elite but now the bat's path through the zone is more compact.
Oh, BTW, he's fast AF on the base paths and is a better than average right fielder now.
He also just joined a small club that even King Albert never made
Link to tweet
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