Geovany Soto's Hitting Approach

[CubbieBum]

I'm not big into watching closely people's approaches at the plate. I'm curious if anyone has noticed a significant change in Soto's approach. I don't know all the sites that will show specific stuff like the type of pitches he is swinging at and laying off.

 

If I am not mistaken he is hitting .333 which is great but I'm not as curious about that because it's a relatively low sample size. I am more so interested in what he is doing differently to have the 12 walks, above .500 OBP and pace of 100+ walks.

 

Anyone know this stuff already or know where to get the info on the specifics? Also everyone is obviously free to post thoughts and opinions.

[Keener98]

Sotos always had a good eye. Even in his terrible year last year his OBP was over 100 points higher than his average. I doubt he stays at this pace, but it shouldnt be a shock hes walking.

[Bote McBoteface]

Where did this notion that Geo is a bad defensive catcher come from? I thought in 08 everybody praised his catching ability? Why has Lou been using Hill for his defense?

 

 

I know that's off topic, but I figured if I was gonna post something off topic I may as well make it way off topic.

[CubbieBum]

Sotos always had a good eye. Even in his terrible year last year his OBP was over 100 points higher than his average. I doubt he stays at this pace, but it shouldnt be a shock hes walking.

 

Agreed but he is on pace to double his career high in walks. Not likely to keep up but seems a good bet to set a new career high.

 

He's also on pace to more than double his career total in walks.

[CubbieBum]

Where did this notion that Geo is a bad defensive catcher come from? I thought in 08 everybody praised his catching ability? Why has Lou been using Hill for his defense?

 

 

I know that's off topic, but I figured if I was gonna post something off topic I may as well make it way off topic.

 

I'm sure this thread will likely turn into a general Soto discussion thread. Figured I would lead it off with that has been the most intriguing to me.

[Cubswin11]

Sotos always had a good eye. Even in his terrible year last year his OBP was over 100 points higher than his average. I doubt he stays at this pace, but it shouldnt be a shock hes walking.

 

Agreed but he is on pace to double his career high in walks. Not likely to keep up but seems a good bet to set a new career high.

 

He's also on pace to more than double his career total in walks.

Part of it could maybe be his position in the lineup? He's been batting 8th almost all year and maybe he is just seeing a lot of [expletive] pitches batting in front of the pitcher when there is an open base and an out or two.

[Keener98]

Sotos always had a good eye. Even in his terrible year last year his OBP was over 100 points higher than his average. I doubt he stays at this pace, but it shouldnt be a shock hes walking.

 

Agreed but he is on pace to double his career high in walks. Not likely to keep up but seems a good bet to set a new career high.

 

He's also on pace to more than double his career total in walks.

 

Batting 8th has probably helped inflate those walk numbers a tad also.

[Keener98]

Where did this notion that Geo is a bad defensive catcher come from? I thought in 08 everybody praised his catching ability? Why has Lou been using Hill for his defense?

 

 

I know that's off topic, but I figured if I was gonna post something off topic I may as well make it way off topic.

 

Because Lou is a [expletive] moron?

[Drew Doughty]

i remember back before he broke out offensively that the only reason he was in AAA/MLB was because of his defensive ability/ability to catch games.

 

one of the most mystifying things in sports, to me, is how a specific skill of a specific player can get overrated based on the rest of his skillset. koyie hill and geovany soto are the perfect poster children for this stupid phenomenon. koyie hill can't hit, so he must be amazing defensively! soto can hit, so he sucks defensively and hill is way better! i just can't imagine any other justification. soto has been solid defensively for as long as i can remember and is probably at least as good as koyie hill. taking him out for defense is just perplexing on so many levels.

[imb]

i don't have a huge problem with the soto/hill platoon. I mean obviously Lou doesn't use it optimally and Hill really does suck, but putting him in during defensive situations isn't a big deal unless Lou over uses it (which he has so maybe i should shut up)

 

You have to have a back up and you have to rest your starting catcher so if him and hill are equals defensively (my opinion,) you've gotta rest soto sometime, might as well be when his bat isn't needed.

[imb]

i instantly regret making that post because i dont think i explained myself well and it will get torn to shreds.

 

if we had a coach that wasn't drunk/senile, i would trust him to platoon soto and hill correctly. Lou is obviously not that guy.

 

anyway, im glad soto is hitting and i hope this keeps up and we have the guy we thought we had in 08 and not rick wilkins

[abuck1220]

Where did this notion that Geo is a bad defensive catcher come from?

 

i want to know where the notion that hill was a good defensive catcher came from.

 

back in high school, there was a kid on our basketball team that was a horrible shooter/offensive player. so he was deemed our defensive stopper even though his defense was no better than anyone else's. i think that's the situation with hill.

[CubColtPacer]

Where did this notion that Geo is a bad defensive catcher come from?

 

i want to know where the notion that hill was a good defensive catcher came from.

 

back in high school, there was a kid on our basketball team that was a horrible shooter/offensive player. so he was deemed our defensive stopper even though his defense was no better than anyone else's. i think that's the situation with hill.

 

Hill benefits from a couple of things. One is his caught stealing percentage the last two years when his defensive reputation really sprouted. He caught 33.75% of runners in 08 between the minors and majors, and then caught 40% of runners in the majors in 09. Those are impressive numbers.

 

The other is the flawed stat of the Cubs great winning percentage when he starts. That obviously means very little but it's a popular stat among fans/analysts. And since those wins are not coming from his offense, they must be coming from his defense.

 

Hill is probably slightly better defensively than Soto just because of a slightly better arm (I am uncertain who is better at blocking balls in the dirt). Soto is still a very good defensive catcher though and shouldn't be subbed out for defensive purposes unless elite basestealers are in the other lineup and even then it should be questionable.

[BigbadB1679666149]

Just a little speculation here, and I'm talking without actually looking up any stats, but is it possible that Soto's defense slipped when he put the weight back on. He seemed pretty solid in his rookie campaign, and he had an off year at the plate last year, which many seem to point to his waste as the main culprit, is it possible that the defense might suffer as well for the same reason? Assuming his defense slipped due to the weight gain, it shouldn't be a problem this year since he took it all back off.

 

As far as the bat, I would agree that he's always shown a pretty keen eye and has always been willing to take a walk. It's very likely that hitting 8th is a significant reason as to why the numbers are even higher. He's a legitimate threat at the plate. A lot of his outs are balls that rocket off his bat, but unfortunately find someone's glove. Pitchers know this and probably nibble a lot more. Catchers are probably also the first hitter to recognize what is being thrown. Soto seems really good at laying off of offspeed pitches that end up out of the zone. Or so it seems to me.

[SouthSideRyan]

3 Fingers said so himself(back when he had that one good game where he had like 4 hits) that he was always known more for his hitting than his defense. I think he's worse defensively than Geo

[A-Cal]

Hasn't he changed his batting stance? He used to squat up there, but now his stance looks more like Aram's.

[NYCubsFan38]

Hasn't he changed his batting stance? He used to squat up there, but now his stance looks more like Aram's.

 

Theriot went through a little thing with his stance looking like Aramis too :-k

[Splendid Splinter]

Hasn't he changed his batting stance? He used to squat up there, but now his stance looks more like Aram's.

 

Yeah he changed his batting stance from last year... first pic is from 2008 and second is from 2009. This year looks more like 2008.

 

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i206/TommyDekker/Chicago%20Cubs/08SpTr03-02012SotoWeb.jpg

 

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i206/TommyDekker/Chicago%20Cubs/2633616388_79d08287dd_b.jpg

[TruffleShuffle]

3 Fingers said so himself(back when he had that one good game where he had like 4 hits) that he was always known more for his hitting than his defense. I think he's worse defensively than Geo

 

considering the quality of his hitting, this is pretty sad.

[CubbieBum]

3 Fingers said so himself(back when he had that one good game where he had like 4 hits) that he was always known more for his hitting than his defense. I think he's worse defensively than Geo

 

considering the quality of his hitting, this is pretty sad.

 

He was probably still an average defensive catcher when younger but killed it when hitting against the scrubs that he went against. I don't think catching gets harder when you get to the majors but hitting certainly does. I would assume a lot of catchers would think this because in high school or college they hit really well.

[XZero771679666304]

3 Fingers said so himself(back when he had that one good game where he had like 4 hits) that he was always known more for his hitting than his defense. I think he's worse defensively than Geo

 

considering the quality of his hitting, this is pretty sad.

 

He was probably still an average defensive catcher when younger but killed it when hitting against the scrubs that he went against. I don't think catching gets harder when you get to the majors but hitting certainly does. I would assume a lot of catchers would think this because in high school or college they hit really well.

 

And considering Koyie was almost exclusively a 3B until he got to pro ball, iirc.

[Pushfrog98]

Looks kinda like he's changed it to be more Pujols-like. Maybe a pinch of Moistest as well.

[lumafia]

There are few things at work here in reference to Geo's sudden offensive production compared to last year.

 

He did change his batting stance. He is standing more upright than he has at any other time in his career. Sometimes changing your batting stance can help you mentally, and other times it can help you mechanically. Mentally, a change in batting stance will cause you to focus more than usual because you realize, subconciously, that you are doing something different. My best days at the plate in college were days after I got hammered the night before. Why? Because I focused more at the plate because I was aware that I may be a bit "slower" in my reaction than normal. Ripken, Jr. was the master at that. He had a million different stances in his career with the O's.

 

Mechanically, a taller stance can do a few things for you. Number one, it shortens your track to the ball. The taller your stance, the more of a downward track is required to make contact with the ball. If you have a downward track, you have gravity in your favor, and it increases your bat speed. Those of you who read my posts waaaay back in the day know that I used to preach that the key to hitting a baseball is time. A hitter has to determine 3 things: Velocity, location and movement. The more time you have to figure these things out, the better you will be. With gravity increasing Geo's bat speed (while ever-so-slightly), it "buys" him time to determine those 3 things. Thus improving contact, quality of contact, and plate discipline. The second thing a taller stance does for you is put you in a more relaxing position. The more bend you have in your legs, especially if it was exaggerated like 2008-2009 Geo and Soriano (for example), the more strain you can place on a body that may already be tired. Everybody who knows anything about hitting will tell you that most of the energy supplied in a swing comes from the mid-section down. The torque generated by the legs and hips provides a high percentage of the bat speed. If your lower body is tired, a lower stance can increase exhaustion and waste valuable energy in a swing, thus slowing the swing down. This isn't as big of an issue with a first baseman, who may not expend as much energy as a catcher during the course of a game or season. See: Albert Poo-holes. The best offensive catchers in modern history all had quiet, upright stances.

 

I like the change in Geo's stance, though I don't feel it is permanent. I think something that can help Geo in his swing is making sure he stays in good shape, and reducing his movement prior to his swing. Great hitters are generally quiet hitters. They have very little wasted movement from the time the pitcher comes set to the time the ball is in the air. In a day and age where almost all pitchers are throwing in the low to mid-90's with other-wordly breaking stuff, the less your body and mind have to work prior to the swing, the better off you are. If you want an explanation on that, I would be happy to give you one, but I'm sure I've gone too far already.

 

Its' good to be back on the board btw. I've been out of pocket for a few years, but it feels like old times already.

[Sammy Sofa]

Great post. Welcome back!

[Magnetic Curses]

he looks like pujols in the second one. can't imagine that's a bad thing.