Perhaps the weight of an organization is too much for Yoan Moncada. Since his promotion to the Chicago White Sox, the slugging middle infielder has ground to a .182 batting average – albeit, with a few dramatic performances – and a .327 on-base percentage. Moncada’s OBP is outstanding considering his haunting strike-out rate, but as he approaches 100 at-bats in the show, it is time to start making adjustments.
Let’s face facts, Moncada has trouble with the changeup. Every switch-hitter has a weak side and Moncada’s weakness is when he flips to the right side of the plate. He is batting a dreary .218 from the left side but that smacks of virtuosity compared to his .121 average against left-handers.
I’m certainly not suggesting he should abandon his ambidextrous approach, and quite frankly, the league isn’t too concerned about his ability to hit from either side. They are waiting for him to prove he is worth a match-up before burning a bullpen arm.
Moncada’s problem isn’t which side he hits from; it’s his pitch selection.
His approach needed considerable adjustment once he joined the White Sox. Moncada trimmed down his strikeouts and elevated his walks at Triple-A – something that has carried over into the big leagues to varying degrees. Still, his patience at the plate has yielded inscrutable returns.
Moncada has been less aggressive early in the count since joining the big-league squad making more weak contact and more hard contact on pitches than he did in an abbreviated appearance with the Red Sox. Meanwhile, he is chasing over 10 percent more pitches out of the zone than last season and making almost nine percent better contact. Yet, somehow he has managed to earn more walks than before.
Most of this his walks have been products of eye-balling close pitches in risky counts, but Moncada deserves credit for demonstrating command of the strike zone. However, after mining further into the data Moncada is an easy mark for the changeup.
It’s a classic set up; speed up his bat with the fastball and pull the string. Over 30 percent of Moncada’s strikeouts have been on changeups. He is one of two players who faced less than 1,000 pitches and rank in the top 60 for strikeouts. It doesn’t matter which arm it comes from; Moncada is a sucker for the changeup diving out of the zone.
When all manner of outs is tallied on the eephus pitch, Moncada falls victim to the changeup on 3.70 percent of pitches – second on the White Sox to Leury Garcia. Pitchers aren’t afraid to attack Moncada in any count with the pitch as long as it is located down and away.
And even when Moncada can get the barrel on it, he doesn’t do much damage.
Charts and statistics serve many purposes, but the true testament to the epic struggle Moncada is having with the changeup is that he has yet to log a hit on the pitch. Rick Renteria and Todd Steverson must address this with their young stallion of a middle-infielder. Now is the time to have Moncada home in on how pitchers are going to use the changeup off the fastball, while also learning how to sit back and protect against change of speeds.
