Weaker Ramirez

Hanley Ramirez of the Florida Marlins remains mired in a slump.  His .200/.298/.295 slash line pales in comparison to his .306/.379/.506 career numbers.  There doesn't seem to be a change in his approach at the plate or the way pitchers go after him.  Opponents still work him down and away, and Hanley still recognizes balls and strikes as well as he did in 2010.  He simply does not seem to be as strong.

Hanley Ramirez, fly ball distance and line drive rate, 2008-2011.Ramirez suffers from a bad back, and that prevents him from swinging hard.  His average fly ball distance this season stands at 291 feet.  Over the previous three seasons, it came in at 321 feet.  From 2008-2010  he put the ball in play as a line drive about 20% of the time, and hit .787 on those liners.  This season, only 13% of his balls in play are line drives, and he's hitting .667 on them.

The good news is at the end of the graph.  His fly ball rate is spiking upward.  If his back is healing and his strength is returning, Hanley could return to a decent average and help pull the Marlins out of their funk.