Matt Shaw Didn't Ditch the Leg Kick, But He's Made Some Major Changes at the Plate

[Matthew Trueblood]

Image courtesy of © Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

We talked a lot about Matt Shaw's struggles during the first few weeks of the big-league season, before he was optioned to Triple-A Iowa for five weeks. His leg kick didn't seem to work especially well against big-league hurlers, which was predictable. Less predictable, though, was that he didn't give himself a chance to work around that limitation—literally. By setting up farther from the plate than all but a fistful of other hitters in the majors (most of them a good five or six inches taller than he is), Shaw made it almost impossible to reach the ball on the outer part of the plate with his barrel. With an overlong stride that carried him out of the hitting zone too soon, he often couldn't even touch those pitches.

Reaching that ball on the outer third has been much easier for Shaw since coming back, though. Why? He's gotten deeper in the batter's box, but closer to the plate—and his stride is much more controlled.

Shaw's front foot is actually traveling about as far as it did before, but that's because he's starting with his feet closer together. Overall, his feet are ending up closer at contact, meaning he has more of his weight beneath him. He's closer to the plate, so he can deliver that barrel to the ball even on the edge. On pitches away from him, he's swinging 1.5 miles per hour faster (68.5 MPH vs. 67.0), but whiffing far less often (20.8%, down from 37.9%). That's how he's produced the opposite-field doubles that are the symbol of his renaissance, so far.

That doesn't mean Shaw will be slotting back into the middle of the order any time soon. The Cubs' offense still depends on him only to keep the line moving and create jams for opponents against the better hitters at the top of the order. Now that Shaw has moved closer to the plate and shortened his stride a bit, though, he can actually accomplish that. He's in a stronger position to hit, and he's also benefiting from improving confidence on the heels of those adjustments. For the balance of the season, he looks like a viable (if not yet star-caliber) component of the team.

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