Giancarlo Stanton Has Rediscovered His Home Run Stroke
Miami Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton has been the king of the home run highlight over the past few years.
Saturday night in Milwaukee, he added another long bomb to his highlight package.
In the fourth inning of the Marlins' 7-5 victory, Stanton launched a home run that hit the bottom left corner of the center field scoreboard in Miller Park.
The true distance of the home run was 460 feet, the fifth-longest home run in 2016.
The speed off the bat was 112.2 miles per hour, his second-fastest of the season.
Stanton struggled through most of April but has turned it on of late.
Over his last seven games, he is batting .385 with 5 home runs, a .606 wOBA, and a 279 wRC+. He has walked more times (7) than he has struck out (6).
That being said, Stanton is still carrying a staggering strikeout rate of 30.3 percent, 13th-highest in the bigs.
Even more troubling for Stanton thus far is his hard hit rate, which sits at a potential career-low 27.8 percent.
Stanton's aggressive swing has been most successful in early counts this season. Seven of his eight home runs have come within the first three pitches of an at-bat.
Another one of Stanton's big home runs last week came on a 1-0 count against Clayton Kershaw.
Kershaw knew immediately that he made a mistake. That ball traveled 433 feet and was part of Miami's five-run sixth inning against the Dodgers' ace.
Giancarlo's display of power was the catalyst for a 7-3 road trip for Miami, which included a seven-game winning streak and four-game sweep of the National League West leading Dodgers.
Our numbers see the Marlins as the MLB's 13th-best squad and give them a 26.2 percent chance to reach the playoffs.
