Another Leadoff HR for Bloomquist

When I saw that Arizona Diamondback Willie Bloomquist hit a leadoff HR against the Astros yesterday, the first thing I thought was that it had to be a pitch up and in.  Back on April 4th, Bloomquist hit a leadoff HR against the Cubs at Wrigley, and I analyzed how the Diamondback outfielder does well on inside high pitches, particularly fastballs.

Well sure enough, Astros' starter Henry Sosa threw Bloomquist a high inside fastball that he promptly deposited into the left center field stands.  Here's his slugging heat map with his HR pitch sequence:

Willie Bloomquist vs. Henry Sosa (Bot. 1st, 8/10/2011) Heat map data from 2011 season (click image to enlarge)

And here's a look at the location of pitches that Bloomquist has taken deep since the beginning of the 2009 season (11 total HRs):

(click image to enlarge)

It's a wonder opposing pitchers are still throwing him inside; it's really the only area of the zone that he can do significant damage.

Willie Bloomquist's Wrigley Field Dinger

Arizona Diamondback Willie Bloomquist rocketed a leadoff home run off of Chicago Cubs starter Randy Wells yesterday afternoon.  It was only the 14th HR in Bloomquist's major league career; in fact, he has more triples in his career (15) than home runs.

Taking a look at Bloomquist's slugging percentage heat map, we see that while he doesn't generate a lot of power, he does hit inside pitches well.

Willie Bloomquist 2008-10 (Click to enlarge)

Randy Wells threw Bloomquist a 2-1 cutter that came up and in, usually a very tough location for a batter to turn on.  However, Bloomquist deposited it into the left field bleacher seats at Wrigley.

Willie Bloomquist vs. Randy Wells (Top 1st, 4/4/11) (Click to enlarge)

The home run traveled 379 feet.  In 2010, Bloomquist, then a Kansas City Royal, hit a game winning home run off a 92 MPH fastball from Detroit Tigers' Alfredo Figaro, which traveled 385 feet and landed in an almost identical location in the left field seats, albeit in Comerica Park.  Where was that pitch located?

Willie Bloomquist vs. Alfredo Figaro (Top 12th, 8/25/2010) (Click to enlarge)

Bloomquist isn't a home run threat by any means.  But pitchers should probably avoid that upper inside portion of the zone to keep it that way.