Soft Stuff Killing Prince Albert

It's often said that diminished bat speed does in aging sluggers. Thirty-something power hitters, who once made bleacher creatures duck for cover upon being challenged with a fastball, make meek contact or whiff entirely as their quick-twitch fibers fray. At first blush, Albert Pujols seems to fit this narrative perfectly. The 33-year-old, hobbled by a surgically-repaired right knee, has a mere seven homers and a .422 slugging percentage so far in 2013. Pujols is the best first baseman since Lou Gehrig and Jimmie Foxx, but even Prince Albert can't stave off the effects of a slowing bat.

Problem is, that narrative couldn't be more wrong. An older, gimpier Pujols is still crushing fastballs. It's the slow stuff -- breaking balls and changeups -- that's proving to be his downfall.

Pujols' slugging percentage vs. fastballs, 2013

Pujols is slugging .565 against fastballs this season. That doesn't quite match his Herculean production in past years (he slugged .587 versus the heat from 2010-12), but it's still over 100 points above the MLB average (.443). Against slow stuff, however, Pujols isn't nearly so studly...

Pujols' slugging percentage vs. curveballs, sliders and changeups, 2013

Unless pitchers hang one over the heart of the plate, Pujols isn't punishing breaking and off-speed stuff. He's slugging a paltry .279 against soft stuff, a far cry from his .460 mark the previous three seasons and over 100 points below the MLB average (.392). Pujols' lone homer against on a slow pitch in 2013 came on a Pat Neshek slider on April 29.

So far, Pujols has seen only slightly fewer two-and-four-seam fastballs (45.6%) than the average MLB hitter (46.6%). That could change if he continues to make such weak contact on curves, sliders and changeups. Pujols may be on the decline, but the cause is slow stuff, not a slowing bat.

Hamilton Off to Hellish Start with Angels

Josh Hamilton has endured a lousy April thus far. He got the heel treatment from former fans in Texas, his new club is an AL-worst 2-8 and he's dragging down what was supposed to be a juggernaut Angels offense. Hamilton has a .179/.261/.231 batting line and is homerless in 46 plate appearances -- hardly the sort of production becoming of a $25 million a year slugger.

Hamilton has managed to post MVP-type numbers during his career despite being one of the game's most trigger-happy hitters. However, his plate discipline has taken yet another step backward early on in 2013. The Angels might as well return to the California moniker, because Hamilton is swinging -- and flailing -- at everything from Crescent City to San Diego.

Check out Hamilton's swing rate by pitch location this season. It's not just that he's taking a hack at pitches thrown off the plate -- it's that those pitches are in another zip code:

Hamilton has chased about 47% of pitches thrown outside of the zone this year, up from 42% in 2012 and tied with Chicago's Alexei Ramirez for the highest rate in the majors. He's batting .063 (1-for-16) against off-the-plate pitches, managing just a single off a Yu Darvish curveball on the border of the strike zone.

It's nearly impossible to get good results at the plate when you chase, even if you're blessed with superhuman strength and coordination. Hamilton defied the odds by batting .276 against out-of-zone pitches in 2010 (about 100 points above the MLB average), perhaps emboldening him to take his hacking exploits to another level. Since then, however, Hamilton's batting .182 when chasing off the plate.

Hamilton seems to be turning into the baseball equivalent of Icarus, ignoring warnings about his approach and flying too close to the sun. Uber-talented or not, Hamilton's going to lose his wings if he keeps going after so many junk pitches.

Vernon Wells to join in the New York decline

Over the last five seasons, Vernon Wells has hit .258 with 102 homers, 327 RBI, with a .306 OBP, .448 slugging pct., and .754 OPS. He has struck out 337 times in 2587 PA.

That, of course, only tells part of the of the story.

When you look at the five seasons from 2002-06, Wells hit .288 with 139 homers, 487 RBI, with a .336 OBP, .499 slugging pct., and .835 OPS. He struck out 424 times in 3328 PA.

The differences are astounding. 

Still just 34, Wells is approaching the final two years of the seven-year, $126 million contract he signed with the Jays in 2008. They traded him to the Angels before the start of the 2011 season and these two years have been awful, with Wells hitting just .222 wth 36 homers.

Wells with the Angels

Over the last two seasons, he's hit .218 against the fastball, .218 against the change-up, .155 against the curve, and .235 against the slider.

On to New York

Now, he is heading to the Yankees with the New Yorkers responsible or around $13M of the remaining two years of the contract and there are discussions being held as to whether New York can pay most of that in the 2013 season with the hope of getting under 189M prior to the start of the 2014 season.

Over the last five seasons, Wells hasn't shown much in New York, but it is better than in some other locales

Wells has hit .277 (32-118) with seven homers (six hit 2008-10) and 21 strikeouts.

Stranger things have happened, but all indications are the Yanks have not done much to improve themselves with this move, but only time will tell.