Gomes Trouble Zone

Reader John Tyler Moore requested we take a look at Jonny Gomes. Gomes played more games in 2010 than in any other season in his career. This may have taken a toll on his game as he put up a league average OPS+.

Compare his 2010 heat map to his two prior years:

Jonny Gomes 2008-09
Jonny Gomes 2010

The drop in production on pitches in the upper part of the zone isn't helped by Gomes' slight tendency to swing at high pitches.

Jonny Gomes 2010

In the upper part of the zone, most of Gomes troubles came against right-handed pitching. In the zone outlined below, Gomes wOBA was 124 points lower against RHP. His K-rate was also 20.5% vs. RHP, compared to 6.7% against LHP.

Gomes will be a free agent at the end of the season. The Reds would love to see him put up his 2009 numbers over the course of a full season before possibly signing him to anything more than another 1-year deal. Look for him to work on improving his swing versus righties, particularly on pitches located up in the zone.

Comments

[Aaron]

How about a post on Justin Masterson? Thanks.