In an offense that already boasts studs like A.J. Pollock (when he's healthy), Jake Lamb, and Paul Goldschmidt, it can be tough to grab some headlines, but that's why we're here.
Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Brandon Drury is showing he's worthy of being included in the above group, and he's doing it despite having a fly-ball rate that's currently sitting at just 27.6%, which is one of the lowest among qualified hitters this season.
So, how has he managed a .304/.348/.500 slash with 8 homers and 36 RBI through 247 plate appearances, along with a 115 wRC+ and .359 wOBA? He's making the most of the balls he's actually putting in play.
Check out how Drury's fly-ball rate (FB%), home-run-to-fly-ball ratio (HR/FB%), soft-hit rate (Soft%), and hard-hit rate (Hard%) have changed each month this season.
| Month | PA | FB% | HR/FB% | Soft% | Hard% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April | 92 | 26.9% | 5.6% | 20.9% | 26.9% |
| May | 92 | 27.7% | 16.7% | 18.5% | 30.8% |
| June | 63 | 28.6% | 28.6% | 14.3% | 46.9% |
His low fly-ball rate isn't much different from what he did through 499 plate appearances in 2016 (29.6%), but what has been different is how hard he's been hitting them. Despite putting up better numbers on fly balls so far this year, his hard-hit rate in this situation has dropped nearly seven percentage points compared to last season.
There's some room for improvement, and if he could also find a way to hit as well on the road (59 wRC+, .266 wOBA) as he does at home (176 wRC+, .458 wOBA), then he'll really be in business.