Series Breakdown: Zack Cozart

In the past articles in this series I have looked at a game breakdown of a pitcher, but today I am looking at an entire series worth of plate appearances by a hitter. With the woes of the shortstop position that the Reds have gotten and the calls for Zack Cozart, I thought it would be a good opportunity to look at him over the course of 18 at bats. I just randomly picked a series against the Buffalo Bison (Mets) from May 5th to May 9th. In the series Cozart went 6 for 18 with 1 strikeout and no walks. One thing really stood out to me, but before I get into that, here is how he fared, pitch by pitch in the series:

Pitch	Type	Location	Result	Play Result
1	FB	Middle outside	Take	Called K
2	CV	Low outs	take	ball
3	CH	Middle inside	check swing	Called K
4	CH	Middle up	Swings	HR to left center
5	FB	Low outs	Take	Called K
6	CB	Low outs	take	ball
7	FB	Low middle	Swings	foul ball
8	The	Camera	missed	it
9	FB	Low middle	Swings	single up the middle
10	FB	low inside	take	ball
11	FB	Middle outside	swings	groundout to 2B
12	FB	low inside	take	ball
13	FB	High outside	bunt	single
14	FB	Low outside	take	Called K
15	FB	Low middle	take	ball
16	FB	Low outside	take	Called K
17	FB	High middle	Swings	foul ball
18	CB	Low outside	take	ball
19	CH	High middle	Swings	foul ball
20	FB	Low outside	take	ball
21	FB	Low middle	swings	pop up to 2B/error
22	FB	Low outside	swings	groundout to SS
23	CB	Middle outside	take	ball
24	FB	Low outside	Swings	foul ball
25	CB	Low middle	Swings	foul ball
26	FB	High middle	Swings	foul ball
27	CB	Middle outside	swings	fly out to RF
28	FB	High outside	take	ball
29	CB	Middle outside	take	ball
30	FB	Middle middle	swings	fly out to CF
31	FB	Low middle	take	Called K
32	CB	Middle outside	take	ball
33	FB	High middle	swings	foul ball
34	CB	Low outside	Swings	single to LF (LD)
35	CH	High inside	take	ball
36	CH	low inside	take	ball
37	FB	Middle inside	swings	foul ball
38	FB	low inside	swings	fly out to warning track in CF
39	The	Camera	missed	strike
40	CB	High inside	take	ball
41	FB	Middle inside	Swings	foul ball
42	FB	High inside	swings	foul ball
43	CB	Outside middle	swings	foul ball
44	CB	Outside low	take	ball
45	FB	Outside middle	swings	foul ball
46	CH	Outside middle	swings	single to left field (GB)
47	FB	low inside	take	ball
48	CB	Low outside	take	ball
49	FB	Low outside	take	Called K
50	FB	Low middle	take	ball
51	FB	Middle outside	Swings	single to CF (LD)
52	The	Camera	missed	it (ball)
53	FB	Middle outside	take	Called K
54	FB	low inside	take	ball
55	FB	High middle	take	ball
56	FB	middle low	swings	swinging strike
57	FB	Middle outside	swings	foul ball
58	CB	Middle outside	take	Called K
59	FB	Middle inside	Swings	foul ball
60	CH	Middle outside	take	Called K
61	CB	Middle outside	take	ball
62	CB	Low outside	take	ball
63	CH	Low outside	take	ball
64	FB	Low outside	Swings	foul ball
65	FB	High middle	Swings	groundout to SS
66	FB	Middle middle	swings	single to CF (LD)
67	FB	middle low	take	ball
68	CH	Outside low	take	ball
69	FB	Middle high	swings	sac fly to CF (FB)
70	FB	High outside	take	ball
71	FB	Middle inside	swings	doubles to LF (LD)
72	CH	Middle middle	take	Called K
73	FB	Middle outside	Swings	foul ball
74	CB	Middle middle	swings	fly out to CF

The one thing that really stood out to me here was that Zack Cozart swung and missed a grand total of one pitch during the entire series. One other note is that a few of the curveballs may have been sliders, but without knowing the scouting reports on the opposing pitchers it isn’t always easy to tell the two pitches apart (especially with funky delivery type relievers).

Cozart took a total of 36 pitches in the series, showing solid plate discipline most of the time (10 were called strikes, 26 went as balls). During this series, he didn’t show a weakness to a pitch, location or a combination of either. That isn’t to say he doesn’t have them, because just about everyone has one, but it didn’t show up in this series.

My final take is that in my opinion, Zack Cozart is clearly ready to hit major league pitching. He has some pop in his bat and he knows how to make contact. He also isn’t an aggressive approach hitter and seems to get the strikezone pretty well. I think when coupled with his solid defense, he is the Reds best option today to serve on the opposite side of Brandon Phillips.

This was the first in the series where I looked at a position player, so if you have anything you would like to see added to future articles in the series for the hitters, let me know.

Did the Zack Cozart trade market just dry up substantially?

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