Daric Barton Baffled by Breaking Stuff

The Oakland Athletics have scored the third-fewest runs in the American League this year, and one of the main reasons is the punchless performance of first baseman Daric Barton. The lefty hitter appeared to break out last season, batting .273/.393/.405 while reaching the double digits in home runs. But in 2011, Barton has a .212/.325/.267 triple-slash. He has yet to hit a single round-tripper, and his .055 Isolated Power isn't far above that of the average pitcher (.040 ISO). Barton's bat has been so bad that the Athletics just sent him to Triple-A to work out the kinks.

Barton is enduring a lost season at the plate because he can't seem to make solid contact on breaking stuff. He was about average against curveballs and sliders last season, posting a .270 wOBA. In 2011, however, Barton has a .100 wOBA versus breaking balls and has yet to pound out an extra-base hit. Only Bill Hall (released by the Astros) and Xavier Paul (designated for assignment by the Dodgers) have fared worse against curves and sliders.

While Barton is known for his superb strike-zone judgment, he hasn't been able to lay off breaking balls near as well this season. Check out his swing rate on curves and sliders thrown out of the strike zone in 2010 and 2011:

  

  Barton's outside swing rate on breaking stuff in 2010

Barton's outside swing rate on breaking stuff in 2011

Barton chased just 12.6 percent of curveballs and sliders thrown out of the zone in 2010, well below the 31 percent average for non-pitchers. This year, Barton has gone fishing out of the zone 27.4 percent of the time against breaking balls (34.1 percent average for non-pitchers).

If Barton wants to help lift the Athletics' offense and return to the majors, he's going to have to solve his problems with breaking stuff. Otherwise, he could spend his summer helping the River Cats chase another Pacific Coast League title.

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Don't Lowball Me!

(2011 data through June 7th)

For purposes of this list, we define low ball as any pitch that located below a line 6 inches above the bottom of the PitchFX strike zone, even if it was outside of the actual strike zone (for example, balls in the dirt or pitches way inside are included if they were below the line).

One thing stands out: 9 of the top 25 worst hitters of low pitches this season are catchers.  Is this due to catchers struggling to bend down to hit the low pitch as a result of knee issues?  Hideki Matsui (OAK) also makes the current list and his knee issues are well documented. 

At the end of 2010, only 4 catchers made the list (min. 100 plate appearances decided on a low pitch).  But if we take all data from 2009 to the present with a minimum of 150 plate appearances decided on a low pitch, 10 catchers are in the Top 25.  It's possible that with last season being the "Year of the Pitcher," more non-catchers flooded the top of this list, with offense down across the board.  Or it could simply be that catchers overall tend to be among the weaker hitters in the league.  Or maybe 2010 was just be an outlier.

As much as I'd like to speculate that catchers have trouble hitting low pitches as a result of knee problems, the current 2011 list is most likely a product of a small sample size.  Nonetheless, we'll keep an eye on how the list changes throughout the season.