A Closer Look: What Happened To Pablo Sandoval?

by Ray Guilfoyle on Jul 14, 2010 8:00 AM EDT in Baseball

In 2009, Pablo Sandoval hit 25 HRs, drove in 90 runs, and had a triple slash line of .330-387-.556. I projected that he would hit 30 HRs and drive in 100 runs this season, but he has made me look pretty bad to date. Kung Fu Panda is hitting just .263-.322-.382 with 6 HRs and 34 RBIs. He began the year hitting in the middle of the Giants lineup, but lately has been hitting 6th and 7th. And I don't blame Bruce Bochy for moving him down in the lineup.

He started the season off well, hitting .368 in April, but has hit .234 in May, .234 in June and is hitting just .186 in July. He was pretty consistent last season hitting .333 in the first half and .327 in the second half.

So what happened to Sandoval? Well, his BABIP of .289 is about 60 points lower than his 2009 BABIP of .350, and below his career BABIP of .331. His power has been virtually cut in half as judged by his .119 ISO vs .226 in 2009. His batted ball figures have fluctuated a bit, but not enough to cause any concern. His LD% has dropped from 18% to 16%, but his GB% and FB% have fluctuated by 1% in either direction.

His plate discipline does show a cause for concern as he is swinging at more balls out of the zone-43% vs 42%, and is not swinging at balls in the zone-77% vs 83% in 2009. His BB%-8.2% vs 8.1% and K% -14.6% vs 14.5%-hasn't fluctuated much this year vs last year.

Is it possible his 2009 season was a fluke? I don't think so, as he flashed 20 HR power in 2009 at A+ and AA. I think he has just been unlucky with his BABIP 40 points lower than his career BABIP, and think more balls will start falling for The Mound Round of Pound.

It is also possible he is playing hurt, which is not surprising as he might be more out of shape than Prince Fielder. Either way, I think he can bounce back in the second half, but I am worried about the huge drop in power.

Poll

Can Sandoval bounce back in the second half of 2010?

Yes, he's a better hitter than he has shown

95 votes

No, he hits in a terrible lineup and could be hurt

41 votes

136 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 4 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

I don't think he's hurt

I just think he’s not as good of a baseball player as everybody thought. His 2009 was way over his head, and this year is way below what his career average will be. I see him as a .290-.300 hitter with 20 HRs, 90 RBI and a hand full of SB per year. These aren’t bad numbers at all for a 3B, but nowhere near what people expected of him.

by rmarx on Jul 14, 2010 9:25 AM EDT reply actions

I don't think he's hurt

I just think he’s fat. One too many Krispy Kreme’s for the Kung Fu Panda.

by Seth Walder on Jul 14, 2010 10:16 AM EDT reply actions

he’s only 23 and apparently going through a nasty divorce/child custody dispute, which no doubt is affecting his focus. The Giants also signed his older brother Michael and assigned him to A+ in San Jose and they’re living together. No doubt that was done to help get him straight mentally. Obviously, the team can’t talk about that personal kind of stuff openly.

Hopefully, the 3 day break will allow him to recharge his batteries and get back on track. The guy can flat hit, he just needs to swing at more strikes, which pitchers are more reluctant to throw him this season. However, it doesn’t help that Bochy keeps telling him to hack at everything, so you never know. I remain optimistic on his long term prospects, but this year may be lost if he can’t snap out of it in the next 2 weeks.

Bonds stands alone.

Neal before Zod!
Official Sponsor of the 1997 San Francisco Giants

by nostocksjustbonds on Jul 14, 2010 12:35 PM EDT reply actions

need a voodoo exorcist

Sounds like he thinks the ex may have put a curse on him…yeah, I did recently see the Wild Thing flick again. Let’s get an Island Magic Man to get the curse off and Panda can bust out. I don’t know about all those stats Ray cited, but what I’ve see is it doesn’t look like the balls are jumping off Panda’s bat like they were last year. Has his stroke changed?

by earonastick on Jul 15, 2010 5:05 AM EDT reply actions