Midseason Analysis: David Wright

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Offense

• walking more often lately, and now taking bad pitches that he swung through earlier in the season
• gets beat on high fastballs of all speeds — probably the result of focusing on the inside-out swing
• strikeout rate much higher than last year, and appears to be swinging and missing more often than in the past
• has been steady but for the most part unspectacular; not quite ready to be the prototypical cleanup hitter
• teams now pay attention to him when on first base, but is still an efficient and intelligent basestealer

Defense

• aggressive, which helps him to be very good on bunts and slow rollers
• stronger arm than credited for, but still occasionally wild with throws
• better range and more sure-handed than “experts” give him credit for; he utilizes perfect fundamentals in the field, and gets better every day

Second-half Outlook

D-Wright had a tough April, hitting only .244 with no homeruns. Since then, though, he’s steadily creeped his average up, added power, and going into the All-Star break was closing in on .300 and swinging a hot bat. Since he did not participate in the Homerun Derby, we can assume he’ll continue to use that nice, fluid swing that did him so well before July 2006. He’s still concentrating on using the inside-out swing the majority of the time, which will cut down on the strikeouts and lead to more singles and doubles. Expect him to start looking to turn on inside pitches in late July and early August — turning the tables on the scouting reports and sending some fly balls over the leftfield fence.

As stated above, his strikeout rate is much higher than last year. However, it is improving every month. In April, he was striking out once every 4.6 plate appearances; May, 1/4.8; June, 1/5.7; July, 1/6.2.

Wright was just starting to come on when the All Star break appeared; he should have a strong second half and finish with numbers similar, or better than, his 2006 output.