Dodgers News: Grandal Worked On Making Adjustments At The Plate
When discussing Yasmani Grandal’s strengths, being one of the better hitting catchers isn’t always something that’s mentioned. It can almost be guaranteed it’s never the first attribute pointed to. That instead goes to his better-than-average catching and framing abilities.
However, Grandal’s bat has gone through some hot streaks and shown great signs of life this season. Batting .277 heading into play Saturday, he’s nearing his career high .297 batting average after a sluggish start to the year.
According to Greg Hadley of the LA Times, Grandal made some changes after returning from a stint on the seven-day concussion disabled list and is working on adjusting to the pitchers who made adjustments when facing him:
I feel fine. Hitting-wise, there were a few tweaks here and there,” he said. “I just wasn’t feeling it. That was just the result of not being able to swing for a whole week. … It was just a matter of time. We’re 60 games into the season, and I’ve changed the way I hit. And I’m hitting pitches I wasn’t hitting before, so now the league is adjusting you, and you have to adjust to the league again.”
Grandal had monster month of May, hitting .375/.478/.661 with four home runs and 18 RBIs. He cooled off after returning from a concussion, hitting just .237/.341/.421 over the last two weeks. The 26 year old did go 3-for-12 in the most recent series agains the Arizona Diamondbacks, including a home run in the finale of the three-game set.
Grandal displays a good use of adjustments in the batters box as well as behind the plate, as he has the third lowest catchers ERA in the Majors at 3.34, trailing Salvador Perez of the Kansas City Royals and Yadier Molina of the St. Louis Cardinals.
In 45 games with the Dodgers, Grandal is slashing .277/.387/.454 and is projected to hit around 16 home runs this season.
Yasmani Grandal Sees Carlos Frias Improving
Cue the Grandal haters…oh. Wait. He’s doing great and the kemp trade looks like a genius move now. Never mind…
Blue I will gladly say that The Front Office is looking brilliant at this point. Grandal is hitting 277 and just hit his 7th HR. Kemp is 248 with 2 HR and 33 RBI and not a great Defensive Fielder. I was against the trade. Looks like I was wrong. The great news is the Dodgers are in First Place with all of the injuries. That is amazing. Bolsinger has been a revelation and Pederson is a very different Lead off man but gets the job done and defensively he has been terrific. I have followed the Angels and was thrilled to get Kendrick. I hope we sign him for the next few years. Go Blue!!
I’m a dodger fan and l see Grandal playing well and Joc.P.BUT Kemp his kemp dont forgethe