/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/48923207/usa-today-9131396.0.jpg)
Some guy just published an article yesterday about why Troy Tulowitzki might be in a steep decline. The same guy tweeted out two nights ago why swing adjustments should always be taken seriously in light of the success of Jose Bautista:
Top example of why IMO swing changes should always be taken seriously. They don't always pan out, but when they do.. https://t.co/mFcv5k47dd
— Timothy Finnegan (@TimFinn521) February 23, 2016
Well, it's time to ease up on that steep decline talk for now, because Tulo appears to have done what teammate Joey Bats did years ago and made a major mechanical tweak to his swing. See the video and link below:
Tulo's new swing from https://t.co/vBa22zUf08 pic.twitter.com/Hl5Wh4X9Tn
— SaberCoach (@SaberCoach) February 24, 2016
Tulo really loads off a big leg kick and uses more momentum to drive his weight forward into the oncoming baseball, which theoretically should allow him to get more force behind his batted balls if he can keep barreling the ball up with the new swing. It is a significant shift from his previous swing.
Swing adjustments don't always work out, of course. They often times just make for spring training stories for people to write about, like a pitcher who is throwing a new pitch. But sometimes, these adjustments can lead to surges in production that won't be identified by projection systems. Mechanical adjustments like this are major changes in process at the plate, and sometimes a hitter develops a completely different skillset with new mechanics. It can make what happened in previous seasons less meaningful. Teammate Jose Bautista is the perfect example. Justin Turner, as the great Broc Miller of Project Roto pointed out to me last night, is another great example of that.
I don't know if Tulo will be better off going forward, but this is something that could very well be a driving force behind a rebound season for him in 2016.
Follow on Twitter @TimFinn521