A little more than a month ago I had an article about guys who had made improvements over the season. Today I am dipping back into that well to look at Ryan LaMarre who has really turned his season around with a strong second half performance.
On July 1st LaMarre was hitting .220/.311/.307. Since that day he has hit .296/.363/.500. The difference in production has been huge. So, let’s take a deeper look into the peripherals from these two sets of stats:
| Date | BABIP | BB% | K% | K/BB | IsoP |
| Jul 1 to Aug 25, 2013 | .328 | 6.0% | 16.3% | 2.73 | .204 |
| Apr 4 to Jun 30, 2013 | .268 | 10.4% | 19.2% | 1.85 | .087 |
There are differences all over the place here. First, LaMarre has seen much better luck on balls in play. In the first part of the season he had a very low BABIP, while in the more recent stretch he has been in a range that would fall in line with normal for the minor leagues, especially given his speed. The second is the plate discipline. While his strikeout-to-walk ratio has gone backwards, he has cut down on his strikeout rate. Perhaps being more aggressive earlier in the counts has resulted in more contact and thus lower walk rates. The biggest difference though has been the power. LaMarre simply didn’t hit for any power in the first part of the season and since July 1st has posted an IsoP (isolated power = SLG-AVG) that is well above-average.
So, where has the difference come from? Well, it is impossible to say for sure, but he has gone through some mechanical changes that could explain what is a big reason behind the big improvements.
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Last season LaMarre went to an entirely different set of hitting mechanics, likely to compensate for his foot injury. From looking at the changes though it was clear that no power was going to come from there as he was swinging mostly with only his arms at that point in the season. He worked all offseason once he was healthy to re-work his swing. He scrapped just about everything he had changed during the 2012 season.
To start the year he had gone back to a similar set up that he had used to begin 2012, though instead of just a leg kick to load and transfer his weight forward he was utilizing a toe-tap then step. At some point in May though he began to make a change and went away from the toe-tap then step method to a simple front leg up and step method.
Going back and searching for the point in which he made the switch I saw quite a few games worth of at bats from various games in May, June and July. In May and June, it stood out how often his balance just looked off, which was affecting the timing he had at the plate. In July he began showing better balance and timing at the plate. Getting his foot down at a better time, keeping his balance point and weight shift in much better.
Perhaps it just took some time to adjust to the new mechanics after making the switch, but whatever the reason was, a light has gone off for LaMarre. While in Pensacola earlier this month and watching him, he seemed to be striking the ball with authority, often. His bat was quick while there isn’t a ton of loft, the power to the gaps is there right now.
It has resulted in big improvements in power output, power output that has been projected for him for quite a while but that he has never been able to show in the past. Power has really been what has held his game back in the past. He has had solid walk and strikeout rates, has very good speed and strong defense in center, but his lack of power has been the big issue. His 10 home runs this season are easily a career best.
If the boost in power that he has shown in the second half is real, when coupled with the rest of his game he could still be a part of the Cincinnati Reds future in the outfield.
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