Off Speed Howard
David Pinto | Sunday, March 27, 2011 at 7:55PM Ryan Howard saw his home run production and slugging percentage drop in 2010. His ability to slam off-speed pitches declined the most:
| Pitch | 2008-2009 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|
| Fastball | .609 | .607 |
| Slider | .473 | .378 |
| Change Up | .597 | .319 |
| Curve | .443 | .483 |
The visual representation of the three off-speed pitches makes the point clearly:
Ryan Howard slugging against off-speed pitches, 2008-2009.Ryan got full power against these pitches in every part of the zone.
Ryan Howard slugging against off-speed pitches, 2010.In 2010, his coverage was nearly limited to the lower middle of the plate, where he still hit the curve decently. I wonder if it's a vision issue? His slugging against the fastball indicates he can still hit that pitch, and he can pick up a curve ball, which takes a very different path than a change or a slider. For some reason, the latter two pitches might look like fastballs to Ryan now.
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