Minor League Hitters Struggling with Umpire Strike Zones

In my latest Big Kids article, I noticed three rookie hitters (Tyler Black, Joey Loperfido, and Jordan Beck) are struggling with the major league strike zone. Here are their AAA and MLB strikeout and walk rates.
Name | AAA K% | MLB K% | Diff | AAA BB% | MLB K% | Diff |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jordan Beck | 19.8% | 45.8% | 26.0% | 14.9% | 0.0% | -14.9% |
Joey Loperfido | 30.3% | 41.2% | 10.9% | 13.1% | 5.9% | -7.2% |
Tyler Black | 13.7% | 34.8% | 21.1% | 11.0% | 4.3% | -6.7% |
Average | 21.3% | 40.6% | 19.3% | 13.0% | 3.4% | -9.6% |
With the trio seeing major differences, I compared all hitters transitioning from AAA and divided them into those making a debut and veterans. The results line up with what I’ve observed so far, hitters are struggling to adjust to the major leagues. Read the rest of this entry »