Alex Rodriguez Up in the Zone

Alex Rodriguez(NYY) (Click to enlarge) A-Rod wOBA by Pitch Location

	Up	Middle	Down
2008-2010	.415	.424	.348
2011	.819	.460	.312

Best Hitters on Inside Pitches

Top MLB Hitters on Inside Pitches (Click to enlarge)

Interesting notes: Alex Rodriguez (NYY) is actually making less contact on inside pitches compared to his three previous seasons (72.2% to 80.9%.)  However, he's yet to strike out on an inside pitch this season.  In his three previous seasons, 19.3% of his plate appearances decided on an inside pitch were strike outs.
Stephen Drew's (ARZ) 2010 batting average on inside pitches ranked in the bottom half of the league; his .636 currently ranks second this season.
Ten of Matt Kemp's(LAD) thirty-one HRs since the beginning of 2010 have come on inside pitches.
Brandon Inge (DET) is swinging at 13.6% fewer inside pitches compared to last season; his .377 BAbip on inside pitches since 2008 is 7th best in all of baseball.
Of Starlin Castro's (CHC) 29 hits this season, 14 have come on inside pitches, including one HR, one triple, and three doubles.

Derek Jeter's Hit Types

Derek Jeter 2011 Hit Type

	%	AVG	BABIP	SLG	HR%	wOBA
Line Drive	10.0%	.250	.200	.250	0.0%	.180
Fly Ball	10.0%	.200	.200	.200	0.0%	.180
Ground Ball	76.0%	.289	.289	.316	0.0%	.269
Pop Up	2.0%	.000	.000	.000	0.0%	.000
Total In Play	100.0%	.265	.260	.286	0.0%	.241
Total	100.0%	.241	.260	.259	0.0%	.268

Although it's only been 61 plate appearances into 2011, Derek Jeter(NYY) seems to be picking up where he left off last season. His ground ball tendencies seem to be intensifying and even when he does get under a ball, he doesn't get much distance on it. In case you happened to notice, bunt data is not included in the chart which is why the percentages don't add up to 100.

Since Jeter's major hitting woes appeared to begin in 2010, here's his combined 2010 and 2011 hit type data, followed by his prior two seasons.

Derek Jeter 2010-2011 Hit Type

	%	AVG	BABIP	SLG	HR%	wOBA
Line Drive	15.9%	.660	.640	.920	2.0%	.669
Fly Ball	16.2%	.294	.229	.686	7.8%	.392
Ground Ball	65.5%	.245	.245	.260	0.0%	.226
Pop Up	1.2%	.000	.000	.000	0.0%	.000
Total In Play	100.0%	.318	.305	.431	1.6%	.322
Total	100.0%	.267	.305	.362	1.3%	.314

Derek Jeter 2008-2009 Hit Type

	%	AVG	BABIP	SLG	HR%	wOBA
Line Drive	19.8%	.756	.747	.977	2.3%	.753
Fly Ball	20.3%	.308	.209	.790	12.1%	.437
Ground Ball	57.0%	.267	.267	.273	0.0%	.242
Pop Up	1.5%	.059	.059	.059	0.0%	.053
Total In Play	100.0%	.373	.352	.518	2.9%	.380
Total	100.0%	.319	.352	.444	2.5%	.366

Watching Jeter hit has been pretty frustrating over the last year. The ground ball tendencies wouldn't be so annoying if he was making better contact overall. The drop in average on his line drives has been a big problem for Jeter. Since he's not really a home run hitter, he relies more on liners to prop up his average and power numbers. Jeter's .640 BAbip on line drives since the start of the 2010 season puts him in the bottom 8% of all major league hitters. I'd love to say that he's hit a rough patch of luck, but it's just not the case.

Derek Jeter Contact & SLG% (Click to enlarge)

I posted Jeter's contact graphics a few months ago but I figure they're worth revisiting. The one area he tends to hit the ball well is also the area he has been making less contact. If Jeter is experiencing an overall drop in bat speed, it would explain why he's making less contact in his power zone, as well as why his ground ball and line drive averages are down. The balls he puts in play would not be hit as hard, making it a lot easier for opposing defenses to field and convert them into outs. I'm not saying this is the case, but it would certainly explain a lot.