His power was in decline starting last year. Some will point and say "he changed his approach to focus more on line drives as opposed to lifting it" but over the last 2 or so months of 2022, he hit a grand total of ONE homer. Just one. Also, per Savant, he struggled against high velocity. I could see signs of decline last year, but they were only slight. This year, most of his hard hit balls have been grounders with very low or negative launch angles. Most of the balls he has lifted have been softly hit. I think he is nursing some injury, as apparently he has been limping/grabbing his leg at times, but I also think some of it is age-related. Others have said he seems to be staring at more pitches in the zone, but according to Savant, his zone swing has dropped from 66.1 to 63.5 - only a 2.6% drop. Not nothing but not that much.
His launch angle went from 11 degrees during his prime years to 8 degrees last season to 6 degrees this season. His mechanics have definitely changed and got worse this season. His max exit velocity did drop 2 mph from last season but is still around 111 mph which is what Goldschmidt's max EV is, so Abreu still has enough power to get it out of the ball park. I honestly don't know what is wrong with him, but I bet the Astros know his mechanical issues through video analysis. I doubt anyone knows what's going through his head.
This dude still on the team / in the lineup(?)... because $19.5MM is the way regardless of performance.... got it. Take a seat and take it in for a few, just bc you came from a shitty org doesn't mean you don't abide ... JFC dude... catch up. Also-- realize this team actually needs you probably more than you think... quit being a knucklehead.
This has gone far beyond a poor start. Time to put him on the injured list and give him through a thorough and invasive if necessary physical and find out what the hell is going on. If this is something he knew about and was hiding to get one last contract the Astros should void that contract and sue for damages.
Not looking like a wise signing for sure. The Astros are going to have to do something soon. Do you sit a 19 million dollar signing?
Everyone who complains about not making $300M+ contracts should remember this. We could have Abreu for twelve years instead of three if you had your way. Now I'm hoping Abreu rediscovers how to hit so the $300M plus folks can bring up this post.
He’s a .220 singles hitter. That’s who he is at this point. At the very least he should only be a part time player the rest of the season.
I don't agree with the kowtow treatment of Abreu simply because he is a highly paid veteran. This aint the White Sox, you made the choice to join a championship team and you are expected to perform. Step one is to move him down the lineup, step two is give him a reset by playing the DL game then sending him on a rehab to figure things out. If that still doesn't work, bench him and some combo of Diaz, Brantley (if healthy, I'm not optimistic), and Dubon to cover 1B, or make a trade. Really I think just skip step 1 and go to step 2. I'm not giving up on him yet, but at some point you have to admit the signing was a mistake and move on (i.e. Woody Williams, Jason Jennings, Preston Wilson....)
Damn watching yuli makes it that much worse we signed this guy hopefully he starts coming around soon
Here goes: His walk rate is identical to his career average, so his plate discipline is not the issue. His k rate is only 3% above his career average, so his ability to make contact is not the issue. He has a max EV in excess of 110mph this season, so his potential to make hard contact is still there. He is getting beat by pitchers throwing inside and something(???) is causing him to make weak contact at poor angles. That could be his swing, it could be an injury, it could be in his head, it could be he has lost some of his coordination and/or strength due to age related decline; only the last one of those is permanent.
Interesting to watch the side angle and see the disconnect between hips and arms in his swing. All we have to do is keep within striking distance, because eventually Abreu will fix his timing and the rest of the team will get healthy. Then, look out...
Great break down of his woes..... dude is literally hacking / flailing at the ball with just his arms, and no body strength/power stance like how he used to.
Yep. There is a not so slight hitch or delay in his swing. Its very noticeable. Cant believe it hasn’t been corrected. I agree, very strange to be struggling like this for a former mvp. I honestly think the dude is injured.
