Ryan Braun crushing the National League

[splitterpfj]

AVE OBP SLG OPS

342 386 632 1018 Braun

266 335 421 756 League Average

 

Oh, he's also 6 for 6 in stolen base attempts.

 

Thanks, as always, to baseball-reference.com.

 

Braun's page

[homer]

I think those are actually his numbers against all teams - not just the national league (he's appeared in a lot of interleague games).

 

But I think the point of your post was that he's awesome and I happen to agree. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[jason21nl]

Braun has been everything and more than I thought he would be. The guy can just flat out hit the baseball. HIs D has been OK too. He'll go through a slump at some point this year but if he keeps it up, he will give it a good run for ROY.

[molitor fan]

In a small sample versus lefty pitchers, Braun has 14 hits in 27 at bats, with 9 of the hits for extra bases - yes, 1 in every 3 official at bats is an extra base hit....along with 6 walks vs. only 3 strikeouts, this has resulted in a 1.810 OPS against southpaws.

 

That would be best labelled as sick ladies and gentleman.

 

Edit: Accuracy

[dadofandrew]

What's really amazing is 7-10 days ago, he was hitting .300 while for the most part, looking as lost at the plate as I would a salad bar. Since then, he's been red-hot.

[RightFieldCoder]

I think those are actually his numbers against all teams - not just the national league

 

Yes, but he's also comparing Braun's numbers to the other 3B of the NL, hence he's crushing them.

[rluzinski]

He has such an ugly approach at the plate but I sure can't argue with the results so far. Still, 114 AB is a pretty small sample, so I'm temperating my enthusiasm. I doubt he'll finish the year with an OPS over 1.000. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[Never Outhustled]

It says how awesome Braun has been that he leads the team in OPS, despite the domination that is Prince Fielder.

[Principessa21]

Quote:

---

He has such an ugly approach at the plate

---

There's really no way you're going to convince me of this. I've watched nearly all his ABs this year, and this statement doesn't reflect what I've seen. Does he draw a ton of BBs? No. Will he chase a bit? Yeah. He's a rookie, and I don't understand how his results don't make you satisfied with his approach. Elaborate?

[Boy Jeenius]

I find that statement curious too. Guy's hitting .340 and his approach is questionable? He drives the ball where it is pitched to all fields. I don't think I've yet to see him pull an outside pitch into a 22 hopper to short. His mechanics are very sound. He has a real short, compact swing, uses his legs well, keeps his hands inside. Please explain what we are missing.

[1e Corbeau]

Obviously, I'm answering for someone else here, but I think the gist is that Braun himself is unsatisfied with his own approach. He's stated that his pitch selection is not where it needs to be. He's a percfectionist, it seems, and isn't happy with himself for chasing all those low and away breaking pitches.

 

His still feeling the adrenaline, he says.

 

Bill and Brian have been gushing about this the last few games.

 

It's hard to argue with the results, though, regardless of how he feels.

[TheCouga23]

The only flaw I have seen is that he is overly aggressive, and he swings at some bad pitches. The fact that he is still hitting .342 while doing this speaks volumes. What is he going to hit like once he finally settles in?

[bullox]

If by ugly approach you mean absolutely crushing the baseball, then I agree.

[mothershipconnection]

The problem is that unless your name's Vlad, you probably can't maintain results like this if you're chasing too much. Soon, opponents will find the pitch you'll chase but can't hit. It seems that a lot of free swingers that start out hot end up having some serious growing pains, like Jeff Francoeur. Braun, fortunately, has a history of being happy taking a walk, so I'm sure he'll show more discipline as he matures.

[dvoiss]

Because of sample size I reserve the right to take this back later but right now Prince is no longer the best hitter on this team. This guy is clearly the real deal. His current numbers are nuts. 21 RBI in his 1st 29 games in the bigs. That's ridiculous.

 

The one thing he could improve on , if you're looking for a weakness, would be his walk rate (9 BB/114 AB)and his K rate (27 in 29 games) but other than that he's a complete stud.

[tomwopat]

He did mention a recent interview that he's working on getting his plate discipline back. Hard to argue with his hacktastic approach when it's producing results right now, but it's reassuring to know that he's concious of what he needs to improve.

[endaround]

Not to go too off topic, but the idea that Vlad is a free swinger just really isn't true. Vlad doesn't walk at a Bond's rate, but he isn't an Estrada or a Soriano. His OBP for his career is about 60 points higher than his BA. Vlad is fairly selective, his hitting zone is just larger than anyone else's ever.

[rluzinski]

Braun has basically hacked at everything and destroyed pitchers anyway. If anything it's a compliment, since I think he'll settle down as he matures a bit.

[Dragonbait]

Somehow i feel that having Prince behind him doesnt hurt either.

[TooLiveBrew]

end, to be fair, I think the comparison that strikes many is a very young Vlad, who did fit the bill of 'free swinger.' You're 100% right, though, that he's not anymore. However, he remains a great 'bad ball/pitch' hitter, thus many don't realize he's shed most of his free-hacking ways.

 

If Braun can mature similarly, and with his focus clearly on improving his discipline I'd bet he will, we'll be lucky!

 

 

(I love Vlad!)

[rluzinski]

Somehow i feel that having Prince behind him doesnt hurt either.

 

I think it's pretty over stated, though.