How this Phillie turned his season around
This story was excerpted from Todd Zolecki’s Phillies Beat e-newsletter. To learn the complete e-newsletter, click on right here. And subscribe to get it repeatedly in your inbox.
Nick Castellanos emphatically reminded him of that on Aug. 2 in Miami, when he discovered him hitting alone within the batting cage till midnight at loanDepot park. Turner went 0-for-5 and missed a floor ball within the eleventh inning in a 12-inning loss to the Marlins, and Turner appeared hellbent on working his method out of his stoop.
But it wasn’t the final time Turner heard these phrases. Bryson Stott nonetheless tells him day by day.
Like, actually day by day?
“Yeah,” Stott stated. “Every day. In the cage with Kevin [Long]. I tell him he’s the best shortstop in the world. He was first-team All-World. He even has a trophy to prove it from the WBC. He can’t say I am a liar.”
Stott isn’t a liar. From 2018-22, Turner had 24.9 WAR, in keeping with FanGraphs. It was the seventh-best mark in baseball behind Mookie Betts, Mike Trout, Aaron Judge, José Ramírez, Francisco Lindor and Alex Bregman.
Turner has seemed like that model of himself in his final 25 video games, batting .360 with 10 house runs, 29 RBIs and a 1.168 OPS. He hit a go-ahead, three-run house run within the eighth inning Friday in Milwaukee, solely to observe the Phillies blow their second consecutive late-inning lead.
“He’s the same as Bryce [Harper],” Stott stated. “It’s like nothing really surprises you. His swing, it plays so well. It was only a matter of time before it was going to be like this.”
Everybody factors to the standing ovations Turner acquired on Aug. 4 at Citizens Bank Park as a key second to his turnaround. No query it helped. But what precisely has modified for Turner on the plate?
A pair issues soar out:
1. BETTER DECISIONS
Turner is chasing fewer pitches out of the zone and swinging at extra pitches within the zone.
Through Aug. 3:
• 36.3 % chase charge
• 72.4 % swing charge on in-zone pitches
• 78.5 % swing charge on pitches within the coronary heart of the strike zone
Since Aug. 4 (coming into Friday):
• 29.6 % chase charge
• 77.2 % swing charge on in-zone pitches
• 81.6 % swing charge on pitches within the coronary heart of the strike zone
Turner’s chase charge since Aug. 4 is an identical to his chase charge from 2020-22 (29.6 %).
2. MORE DAMAGE
Turner isn’t solely swinging at extra in-zone pitches, however he’s doing far more harm when he swings at them.
In-zone pitches by Aug. 3:
• .283 batting common
• .463 slugging share
• 7.5 % barrel charge
In-zone pitches since Aug. 4:
• .418 batting common (+135 factors)
• .899 slugging share (+436 factors)
• 16.7 % barrel charge
His efficiency towards in-zone pitches since Aug. 4 is extra in step with what he has finished up to now, albeit higher. He batted .344 with a .581 slugging share, 11.3 Ok% and 9.1 % barrel charge on in-zone pitches from 2020-22.
“Playing better, feeling better, it’s been more normal and it definitely translated on the field,” Turner stated. “And you know, [the ovations] kickstarted it so, good month, keep it rolling and just keep that same feeling that I had for the 26-or-so days and making those adjustments and competing and having fun.”
