Dustin Ackley......Power Hitter?

[PolarVortex]

Did Ryan Braun share some of his Hebrew milkshakes?

 

[gowazzu02]

I always thought Ack attack was a victim of "being the savior" of the crap tastic offenses we've had the past few years. He struggled and he would get in his own head... Surround him with some people who can swing it and he's not the focal point. Let him do his thing. the ability should of always been there....just getting it out,,, and consistently.

 

[cezero]

still with excuses for ackley.

i'm glad he's doing well. we'll see if the success is ephemeral or not by the end of the season. until then, i'll watch with eager anticipation.

 

[unlvmariners]

We have seen brief stints from him in the past of hitting the ball really well. So it is tough to say he will keep it up for an entire season. We have all been waiting for him to break out and become a star maybe this is the year!?!? It would be huge for this team if Ackley (one of the ? going into the season) becomes the player he was anticipated to become or even just a player that is better than he has been would be nice.

 

[gowazzu02]

We have seen brief stints from him in the past of hitting the ball really well. So it is tough to say he will keep it up for an entire season. We have all been waiting for him to break out and become a star maybe this is the year!?!? It would be huge for this team if Ackley (one of the ? going into the season) becomes the player he was anticipated to become or even just a player that is better than he has been would be nice.

yeah this is "september Ackley" We will see if he can keep it up.

 

[SeattleCoug]

Play him while he's hitting. Just not in center.

 

[cezero]

Play him while he's hitting. Just not in center.

Agreed for the most part.

I think last night's switch was mainly because Jackson has a terrible record against that pitcher. Much less than about sending any type of message to Jackson.

I still think CF will be addressed substantially in one way or another by the trade deadline UNLESS Jackson somehow starts hitting like a pro again.

 

[Msfann]

He always looked like a scared little kid at the plate but I think this year it looks like he manned up a little and hopefully outgrew the Ackley that pitchers used to bully into submission. small sample size so far but maybe all we needed was for him to grow up a bit. we can hope at least.

 

[Podunkparte]

He fixed some mechanics last year and it's paying off. I think NWinAZ had a gif of Ackley side by side in college and when he was struggling in the bigs and the amount of body and head movement he had through his swing was really noticeable. He went back to more of his college approach mid last year and that's when he started to hit again.

I don't think this is a fluke and I think Ackley will continue to hit well as long as his mechanics stay sound.

 

[NWinAZ]

He fixed some mechanics last year and it's paying off. I think NWinAZ had a gif of Ackley side by side in college and when he was struggling in the bigs and the amount of body and head movement he had through his swing was really noticeable. He went back to more of his college approach mid last year and that's when he started to hit again.

I don't think this is a fluke and I think Ackley will continue to hit well as long as his mechanics stay sound.

I forgot about that, but I did and it was night and day difference. He seems to be hanging in there better this year. I am happy for him and I hope he keeps it up all year and cashes in. It is early, but right now I wouldn't mind seeing him in LF, Weeks at 1B, and Cruz at DH.

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

He always looked like a scared little kid at the plate but I think this year it looks like he manned up a little and hopefully outgrew the Ackley that pitchers used to bully into submission. small sample size so far but maybe all we needed was for him to grow up a bit. we can hope at least.

Here's a good article on his second half adjustment.
Dustin Ackley: 2015 breakout hitter - Fake Teams

There was no doubt that Ackley significantly hit better 2nd half of the season. His swing now has a LOT more torque and looks MUCH more fluid. Ackley always did this weird hand movement before every pitch. Almost like a tiny little golf swing wind up which made no sense to me. Ultimately it always felt like he was hacking or chopping at the pitch. Now his swing is MUCH more fluid and he's doing less pre-swing movement.

From what I've seen so far this season his swing style mirrors his 2nd half 2014... which is a good sign.

I also think Ackley will flourish with Cruz/Cano around him. I wonder if Cano had much of an impact on Ackley's swing? From what I know Cano is very much a team guy happy to help/share advice whereas guys like Ichiro in the past just did their thing.

 

[gowazzu02]

I forgot about that, but I did and it was night and day difference. He seems to be hanging in there better this year. I am happy for him and I hope he keeps it up all year and cashes in. It is early, but right now I wouldn't mind seeing him in LF, Weeks at 1B, and Cruz at DH.

Am I the only one who can't stand Weeks? How bad is Lomo that Weeks is the prefered replacement. ughh

 

[blstoker]

Am I the only one who can't stand Weeks? How bad is Lomo that Weeks is the prefered replacement. ughh

I think that it has been pretty well established that skill isn't always the deciding factor in McClendon's decisions.

 

[Msfann]

They seem to be doing everything possible to quiet his hot bat, why 2 games off in a row for him when we have an off day after that.

Mclendon sure knows how to cool a hitter down by doing this kinda stuff, I have no idea why though.

 

[unlvmariners]

Am I the only one who can't stand Weeks? How bad is Lomo that Weeks is the prefered replacement. ughh

NO, you are not the only one.

 

[NWinAZ]

Agree that LoMo is so bad he makes Weeks look useful. I like LoMo's attitude and temperament on the field, but I just wish his talent matched those things.

As far as sitting Ackley, there is no lie that would make this palatable for me. I am all for platooning, but not at the sake of your hottest hitter. Even in the off season LMC said it wasn't a platoon as much as a share (forgot actual word but same meaning).

I like a manager who exudes confidence in his ability, but there has to be some proof that his confidence is warranted and that I have not seen yet.

 

[cezero]

Anybody know how many AB's Ackley's had against lefties? That's got to be the thing to be concerned about.

 

[NWinAZ]

Anybody know how many AB's Ackley's had against lefties? That's got to be the thing to be concerned about.

1 for 3 plus a SH.

133 for 562 lifetime

 

[NWinAZ]

Dustin Ackley Career Batting Splits | Baseball-Reference.com

 

[cezero]

Yeah, that's what I figured.

Maybe he'll get a chance to prove he's not just able to hit righties well at some point this year. I can't say that I fault LMC for keeping him away from lefties while he's doing so well in the platoon role they assigned him. We'll see what happens, and if LMC is stupid to a fault with playing Weeks.