This is the guy this team needed for a while. Who could do worse than Marcus Giles at leadoff? (Suprisingly, Marcus is doing fairly well over in San Diego) Anyone replacing Marus was likely to match his numbers or do better. Although I knew Kelly was a solid player all around, he has far exceeded my expectations. He is getting on base, scoring runs, and has some pop (5 hrs so far) to add to it. Not only that, he is playing pretty good defense for his first season at second base. Anyone still calling for Martin Prado?
Article
"DENVER -- On April 17, Kelly Johnson was hitting .150, and the Braves were wondering just what they had on their hands.
Wasn't the converted outfielder supposed to be hitting, but taking time to get comfortable with the transition to second base?
But over the next 10 days, Johnson led the Majors in batting average at .514 (18-for-35), was second in on-base percentage (.622) and seventh in slugging percentage (.829). And suddenly, the Braves have an all-around force where there used to be a question mark."
Now obviously he won't be hitting this great all season, but a .280 avg and .380 obp throughout the season is possible from this guy. I wouldn't be surprised if it was better. This guy has a great eye, so even if doesn't get hits, he is still walking. He has 20 walks this season so far, which is top 3 in the Majors. While he was doing poorly to start the season, I stumbled upon this interesting information from rotoauthority.com.
Once a week, RotoAuthority will cover players who boast a contact rate of 85% or better, but are hitting below .290. By virtue of how often these guys put the bat on the ball, they have a decent shot at raising their averages. Contact rate is calculated as (AB-K)/AB. Additionally, we'll look at those hitting over .300 with a contact rate at 80% or less.
This week, we'll look at players with at least 30 plate appearances on the season. The underachievers:
| NAME | AVG | CR |
| Brian Schneider | 0.125 | 90.63% |
| A.J. Pierzynski | 0.138 | 89.66% |
| Jason Kendall | 0.140 | 88.37% |
| Kelly Johnson | 0.167 | 88.89% |
| Chris Young | 0.172 | 89.66% |
| Albert Pujols | 0.176 | 88.24% |
| Mike Sweeney | 0.179 | 89.29% |
| Melky Cabrera | 0.182 | 90.91% |
| Ronny Paulino | 0.182 | 87.88% |
| Juan Pierre | 0.186 | 90.70% |
| Brandon Phillips | 0.189 | 89.19% |
| Omar Vizquel | 0.189 | 86.49% |
| Shannon Stewart | 0.195 | 87.80% |
The list goes on for another 30 players or so, but here at # 4 on the list is Kelly Johnson. So in reality Johnson was hitting the ball but was hitting them directly to a player. Looks like his luck has arrived along with a little help from hitting instuctor Terry Pendleton.
"Actually, Johnson said he led off for a couple of weeks in Double-A, and was in that spot for a few other games over the years. He attributes his recent surge to some of hitting instructor Terry Pendleton's advice finally sinking in.'It's in the way I've thought about attacking the ball,' Johnson said. 'I'm still looking for the right pitches to swing at, but I'm more aggressive going after them. My swing is on a flat plane a lot longer through the strike zone.'
'[Pendleton] came to me a couple times and said it, but the hard part is having it click in your head. People can tell you something one way, and it doesn't click, and tell you another way, and it makes sense.' "
Is it possible for Johnson to be at the same level as Phillies 2nd baseman Chase Utley? Is this guy for real, or is it a fluke? Only time will tell.
No comments:
Post a Comment