Mark Reynolds -- He Has A Good Eye!

[Minestrone]

How can we tell he has a good eye? O-Swing%.
Mark Reynolds had an O-Swing% below the league average of 29%. He hovered around the 27% area. The highest O-Swing%, Vladimir Guerrero -- 47.4%.
This tells you he doesn't swing outside the strike zone as much as the average player.
However, he was second in swinging strike % for pitches in the strike zone, behind only Miguel Olivo, at 16.3% -- Nearly double the league average.

Based on these two statistics alone, would you conclude that Mark Reynolds has a good eye? Would you agree he has the eye for swinging at pitches in the strike zone, he just 'whiffs' a lot?
Will his BB% go up if this trend continues?

Thoughts?

[TuckerBlair89]

I swear to my grave he is the most frustrating player in the world to watch. His stats even indicate it.
It's why I was so excited when we got him. I thought maybe,just maybe he could cut down his K's enough to hit 50HR in Camden. He has done a good job so far at shaving 10-15 K's off, but imagine if he shaved like 30 off?

He is the most Jekyll/Hyde player in the world in my honest opinion.

[Don]

Reynolds problem is pitch recognition and the healthy dose of change ups did him in last year. He has a tough time picking up the ball from lefties throwing a healthy dose of off-speed offerings. They also are learning to push the ball outside a dead pull hitters wheelhouse.

If I am throwing against him, I push the change up and locate the fastball low/away as he is clearly a dead pull light tower power hitter.

[ofahn]

He has a good eye but he also has an all or nothing swing. I don't understand why he doesn't dial it down a bit on balls that he thinks are strikes but not in his sweet spot. With his power he could smack a lot of doubles into the RF corner just by taking what the pitcher is giving him.

[Don]

Also it is one thing to be able to pick up the difference between a ball or strike, but at the parent level you need to do that and pick up the pitch effectively before you would say he has a good eye.

Almost every professional hitter knows the difference between a ball and strike, but it is there ability to recognize the type of pitch and location showing the definition to me as having a "good eye".

[TuckerBlair89]

Also it is one thing to be able to pick up the difference between a ball or strike, but at the parent level you need to do that and pick up the pitch effectively before you would say he has a good eye.

Almost every professional hitter knows the difference between a ball and strike, but it is there ability to recognize the type of pitch and location showing the definition to me as having a "good eye".

Very true. Well I guess you could still make the argument that he has very good "patience" at the plate.
Whether it is due to pitch recognition, inability to hit the ball, or simple patience.

[birdwatcher55]

Being in the AL for a second year, I predict Mark hits 40 bombs this year and noticeably improves on his average

[Matt P]

His eye has never been the problem.

[OriolesRedskins28]

It's extremely frustrating to watch him go through a funk. I've seen plate appearances where he looks lost and swings and misses badly at the first three pitches he sees.

[A_K]

Always seemed to me that he was an extremely selective hitter who simply has a hole in his swing that causes him to miss a lot of hittable balls in the zone. He walks a lot, strikes out a lot, sees a lot of pitches, doesn't hit into many double plays, and hits a lot of extra base hits.

All in all, I don't find him nearly as frustrating as many other fans do. Come to accept his strengths and weaknesses, and suddenly he's not all that vexing: he's a power hitter who sees a lot of pitches but strikes out a lot. There are worse problems to have in your lineup.