Power versus Average

[canyonjoe]

Last 2 tournaments DD hit very well for average (600 and 700). It wasn't against great pitching so I'm not expecting the SEC teams to give us a ring. She is our 3rd or 4th hitter and draws a lot of walks to create a high On base pct. She is not a big or really heavy kids but is very strong with very quick hands. She did hit one off the CF fence this weekend and had a couple one hoppers off the fence, but mostly she is hitting low line drives or rockets on the ground. This weekend she actually had 5 doubles, One down LF line, LC,C,RC and RF line.

My question as a coach is would you sacrifice 100 points of average to see more HR's or XBH? She does have some pretty good hitters in front and after but is one of those kids who you don't want to see come up against you with game on the line. She rarely will chase or K and is pretty good hitting all speeds.

She will occasion roll over on an outside pitch and has average speed at best.

Because she bats left she also gets the benefit of teams thinking she is a slapper. Good coaches see a swing and change out , but bad teams don't see it.

 

[Jquick823]

From your post it doesn't seem like you need anymore XBH since she had 5. Now if that's 5 in 100 AB's then maybe but 2 weekends your talking what 30 AB's? I'll take 5 from a kid with average speed. I need runs and the only way to score is to cross home. I don't care how we do it I just want to do it as many times as possible each game and preferably 1 more time than my opponent.

A .650 average is a great start to the season. If she's bouncing them off the fence now, next year she'll be blasting them over.

 

[CoogansBluff]

My question as a coach is would you sacrifice 100 points of average to see more HR's or XBH?

Depends on how many more HR and XBH. One way to make a 'guess' would be to see how OPS goes up or down as you add and subtract hits and XBH.

Also consider that the value of advancing a base increases as the level of play is higher.

At lower levels, it's easier to advance on errors, wild pitches, passed balls, etc. Getting on base is huge. Power is just gravy and often not all that necessary.

But at higher levels, the defense isn't giving you much. So players who can advance 2+ bases on 1 swing (not to mention advancing the base-runners 2+ at the same time) become more valuable, IMO. On-base average remains a big deal at all levels, but power hitters become more valuable the higher level you play.

 

[JAD]

Stats can be deceiving, especially against weaker competition. Most coaches I know like to watch players hit. They are observing swing mechanics, pitch selection, attitude, speed, and power.

 

[canyonjoe]

Appreciate all the comments. I really agree with the value of XBH as you get older. After having a team that could go 1st to 3rd a lot to one that's station to station is a big change over last year. At times it requires 4 hits to score a run.

 

[softgabby]

For me, I can hit for both average and power. Last high school season I hit .335. I can go on runs where I can hit .500, .600, .700. But I can understand where I'm hitting .100, .150, .200. My doubles went up and my home runs went up...but I credit that to the bat I use. But I also noticed to that I walk more now and strike out less. I only struck out 10 times all season. But I know that not all power hitters are patient. There was a girl on another team we played against. I had seen clips of this girl. Good hitter. Could hit the ball hard to all fields. She hit a lot of doubles and home runs. But she would swing at just about anything close.