Joc Pederson signed

[beckdawg]

Question: I could see it being done either way so is SO% determined by K/AB or K/PA?

it's done k/pa.

 

[CSF77]

Pederson vs. Schwarber
On the surface, the recently-signed Joc Pederson has similar statistics to Kyle Schwarber, who was non-tendered by Chicago in December and signed as a free agent with the Nationals.
As an example, Pederson has turned in a .238/.349/.501 slash line with a 128 wRC+ against righties in his career, while Schwarber has hit .239/.345/.514 with a 123 wRC+ in the same category.
"They're different hitters," Hoyer said. "When you look at the aggregate numbers, they look fairly similar, but their strengths are different."
Hoyer did not want to dive too deep into a Pederson vs. Schwarber debate, but he did note one area in which the former could help the Cubs. On the whole, Chicago's lineup labored against fastballs in the upper portion of the strike zone in 2020, and that is something Pederson has excelled at in his career.
Last year, the Cubs posted a .360 slugging percentage (26th in the Majors) and .247 wOBA (25th) on four-seamers in the upper-third of the zone, per Statcast. Pederson had a .571 slugging and .372 wOBA in 2020 on the same pitches and has a .626 slugging and .370 wOBA in the Statcast Era (since ’15). In the same area, Schwarber had a .385 slugging and .250 wOBA in '20, and a .541 slugging and .335 wOBA for his career.
"I think he’s a good fit for the ballpark," Hoyer said of Pederson. "And he does some things that our lineup hasn't been great at."

 

[CSF77]

Pitchers tend to approach each hitter individually vs as a whole. Good pitchers know a hitters weak areas and will attack them.

This answer is a bit lazy by Hoyer. You really can't glob the line up together and say... We got beat by high fast balls and sign 1 guy and yippy.

No a pitcher will look at Joc and see his weak zones and attack them. Then he will go to the next hitter and so on.

The reality is hitters for the most part get hits off of mistakes in location. Except Trout who has little weakness.

 

[beckdawg]

Pitchers tend to approach each hitter individually vs as a whole. Good pitchers know a hitters weak areas and will attack them.

This answer is a bit lazy by Hoyer. You really can't glob the line up together and say... We got beat by high fast balls and sign 1 guy and yippy.

No a pitcher will look at Joc and see his weak zones and attack them. Then he will go to the next hitter and so on.

The reality is hitters for the most part get hits off of mistakes in location. Except Trout who has little weakness.

You're kind of ignoring a very large trend in baseball right now which is high fastballs. I mean yes pitchers will attack players with a game plan but if the majority of pitchers in the league have started throwing high fastballs as their strength, having players who hit poorly there is a bad idea.

 

[CSF77]

You're kind of ignoring a very large trend in baseball right now which is high fastballs. I mean yes pitchers will attack players with a game plan but if the majority of pitchers in the league have started throwing high fastballs as their strength, having players who hit poorly there is a bad idea.

The problem is they drafted and trained their hitters to all hit the same way. Then the pitchers adapted. The Cubs did not readjust.

Adding a high fastball hitting hitter doesn't address the problem with the Cubs methods of developement. IE Cubs way.

 

[Castor76]

Pitchers tend to approach each hitter individually vs as a whole. Good pitchers know a hitters weak areas and will attack them.

This answer is a bit lazy by Hoyer. You really can't glob the line up together and say... We got beat by high fast balls and sign 1 guy and yippy.

No a pitcher will look at Joc and see his weak zones and attack them. Then he will go to the next hitter and so on.

The reality is hitters for the most part get hits off of mistakes in location. Except Trout who has little weakness.

Your assessment is not wrong, but you are ignoring that pitchers also have strengths and weaknesses. Pederson isn't going to cure everything but he is a step in the right direction. If they can get even two more hitters who can be a break up in the line up and it could dramatically be a positive effect.

 

[knoxville7]

Joc isn’t going to be some positive effect on this lineup. He isn’t Ben zobrist, he isn’t some contact hitter that can lead off. That’s what this roster desperately needs. Not some guy who will hit .240 with 25 homers. We’ve got that type of guy littered throughout the lineup. It’s going to be fun watching everyone start bitching about joc come July

 

[CSF77]

Your assessment is not wrong, but you are ignoring that pitchers also have strengths and weaknesses. Pederson isn't going to cure everything but he is a step in the right direction. If they can get even two more hitters who can be a break up in the line up and it could dramatically be a positive effect.

I do agree with this but to address the now. Bryant is not going to change his swing path. Rizzo is a better hitter in general and I believe will adjust. Baez can hit anything and should be adaptable. Happ, Contreras and Heyward were productive last year.

Pitchers will normally create tunnels to throw into. So coming out of his hand each pitch will start on the same plane. Then spin etc will dictate where the ball ends up.

A high fast ball pitcher will use the first pitch to establish the high strike. It will be upper 1/3 in the zone to have the ump to determine it as a strike and the hitter to acknowledge it as well. Then if that is a weak spot the plan would be to walk him up the latter until he is out of zone and the hitter has to defend.

Now if the hitter doesn't bite then the pitcher can reset the sequence by going down. Or if the hitter is not biting on the high then starting at the same plane with a curve that drops into the zone.

There are a bunch of approaches that the pitcher can go with and most hits are basically misses. Basically he is leaning to far on his divery to try to get a few more MPH or the pitch was supposed to stay inner 1/3 and oops ya that tailed over mid...

 

[Raskolnikov]

Joc was mostly a platoon player for the Dodgers..does he hit from both sides of the mound now?

 

[CSF77]

Joc was mostly a platoon player for the Dodgers..does he hit from both sides of the mound now?

Must be a new rule. Hitter sits at the mound with a bat and swings at the pitcher. Must be a new payback rule for a plunk.

 

[CSF77]

Joc isn’t going to be some positive effect on this lineup. He isn’t Ben zobrist, he isn’t some contact hitter that can lead off. That’s what this roster desperately needs. Not some guy who will hit .240 with 25 homers. We’ve got that type of guy littered throughout the lineup. It’s going to be fun watching everyone start bitching about joc come July

It is a start at least. I see this as a progression.

Jed resigns Baez and Rizzo. Adds Joc.

2022: Bryant leaves. Happ to 3B and Davis to CF.

2023: Joc leaves Roederer promoted. Contreras up for F/A.

2024: Heyward leaves Happ up for F/A.

So extending Baez and Rizzo makes sense here. Bryant leaving opens up contract but I believe that needs to go to the rotation. The big shift opens up in 2024 after Heyward leaves. 23M AAV