Gregory Polanco Is Annihilating Baseballs

The tools have always been there for Pirates outfielder Gregory Polanco, it has just been a question of whether he could put it all together with consistency in the big leagues. Well goodness, he has put it together this April! His average exit velocity is 92.8 mph in 2018, and his hits have had an average exit velocity of 100.9 mph! This is in stark contrast with his average of 86.5 mph on hits last season, which ranked 280th among Major Leaguers. Hitting Baseballs with this kind of force is nothing short of annihilation, based on the early results. His two solo home runs against the Cubs on the 12th, were a great example of how well he has played so far.

His average launch angle is 13.2 degrees, differing from a mark of 16.2 degrees last season. His launch angle on hits in 2017 was 10.1 degrees, and this year it has increased to 18.6 degrees. Even though his average launch angle is slightly down, lifting the ball has become more common for him when punishing mistakes. He has been able to get to more of his power already, as a result of hitting more balls in the air. Already having bashed five home runs so far, he looks set to easily surpass his career high of 22 taters back in 2016.

Seeing him hit the ball on average so much harder than he used to, is impressive in and of itself. When one looks at the individual batted ball outcomes, they see things like his eight batted balls hit at least 105 mph or harder. For comparison’s sake, Aaron Judge has nine, who hit the ball harder than anyone in Baseball last year. Additionally, Polanco’s twelve hits with exit velocities over 100 mph are equal to Judge’s twelve base knocks above the said velocity.

Here are his 2017 results against different pitches:

Pitch Type	Pitches	Hits	AB	AVG	SLG
FF	588	44	146	0.301	0.404
SL	247	10	55	0.182	0.436
CH	176	9	45	0.200	0.356
FT	163	10	48	0.208	0.313
SI	102	9	25	0.36	0.640
CU	100	3	18	0.167	0.167
FC	83	3	17	0.176	0.294
KC	39	3	10	0.300	0.500

Given that all of his hits have been either on four-seam Fastballs, two-seam fastballs, or changeups this season, it seems likely that hitting breaking balls are a weakness in the outfielder’s game. His 0.182 average against such pitches last season, seems to confirm such a suspicion. However, his .436 slugging percentage against sliders, provides reason for optimism surrounding his ability to hit the pitch. This illustrates that Polanco can still crush pitches he usually struggles with. He hit four of his eleven home runs in 2017, off Sliders.

As for the question of whether Polanco is simply getting lucky on batted balls, the answer is that his BABIP is .231 — Which is actually the lowest of his career, across four previous seasons. Being as productive as he’s been, without much luck on balls in play, speaks to the talent he possesses. When he hits the ball hard, Polanco really can do some serious damage, as illustrated by his nine extra base hits in eleven games so far.

Polanco has hit more balls thrown middle-away this season, showing his ability to punish mistakes more often than he did previously. The heatmap on the left shows the locations of his 2017 hits, with his 2018 hit locations on the right:

He has gotten better at pulling his hands in and driving pitches he previously didn’t have as much success against. Last season he didn’t have many hits in the location where he’s now mashing pitches — A sign that he has probably matured as a hitter recently. The fact that there isn’t a darker zone towards the middle of the plate is due to it being the beginning of the season, so there is not concern at this point over his ability to hit pitches thrown basically right down the middle. Considering how hard he’s hit the ball on pitches towards the outside part of the plate, it would seem safe to assume that he’d crush pitches thrown more middle-in if given the chance.

Another encouraging development in his game, has been an increased number of walks this season in comparison with how often he’s done so previously. Polanco only walked 27 times last year in 411 plate appearances, yet in his 53 trips to the dish this season, he has nine walks already. Perhaps he’s just taken awhile to mature as a hitter, and only now is he beginning to flourish in the big leagues. The data suggests that he may have finally taken the big step many in Pittsburgh have long been waiting for.

Staying healthy this year will be key for him, as he missed time last season during three separate DL stints due to hamstring strains. If he can do so, the Pirates will have a dynamic outfielder who has become more patient at the dish, more selective in terms of the pitches he offers at, and most importantly annihilates mistakes for extra base hits.

What is looking great for the Pirates, is the extension they recently signed him to:

Losing Andrew McCutchen hurt, even if it mostly meant saying goodbye to a well-known star in Pittsburgh. With the emergence of Polanco, the Pirates may already have found their new face of the franchise. Given the abilities Polanco has shown this season, it is looking like his contract will be a major bargain for the Pirates. With the new star set to stick around in the Steel City for the long haul, it’s time for Pittsburgh to say hello to Gregory Polanco, only now in recognition of his immense talent and importance to the future of their team.

All Data in this article was taken from Fangraphs, Statcast,  Brooks Baseball, and Spotrac.