Xander Bogaerts Not Worried About Finding Power Stroke: 'If It Comes, It Comes'
By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- With the Red Sox's strong core of young, talented position players, it remains of paramount importance to be patient.
Former top prospect Xander Bogaerts began his ascent into the elite at the shortstop position in Major League Baseball in 2015, leading all qualified shortstops in WAR. He batted .320 and led all shortstops in runs scored with 84. He also led all shortstops in the self-explanatory "Ultimate Base Running" metric, proving that he made tremendous strides on the base paths as well as at the plate.
What has yet to develop in Bogaerts' game is his power stroke; once considered a top five-tool prospect, Bogaerts went from hitting 12 home runs in 538 at-bats in the 2014 season to just seven in 613 at-bats in 2015. His isolated power, an advanced metric that measures raw power, plummeted from .123 in 2014 to .101 in 2015. His ground-ball percentage shot way up while his fly-ball percentage dropped off.
Bogaerts is not worried about his apparent power regression or eventually getting more lift on the ball, nor is he overcompensating to get there. Like his even-keeled teammate David Price, he is going to focus on getting better all-around and not adjust his plans just to try to hit for more power.
"If the power comes, it comes," said Bogaerts, speaking to WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Jonny Miller. "It's not something I'm looking for. I'm not going to go out there trying to hit home runs, because it would definitely change my whole game plan."
What did improve for Bogaerts at the plate in 2015 is his contact; his overall contact percentage rose from 78.1 percent to 81.4 percent, and while his walk rate dropped his strikeouts dropped off at an even higher rate. Bogaerts may have taken a step back in his development as a power source, but he arguably became a tougher out in the process.
He warned Red Sox fans, however, that he could be in for another slow start, because that's how it always goes for him - but he's not worried. For him, it's all part of the process.
"Hitting-wise, no I'm not worried," said Bogaerts. "I've always been a guy who, timing-wise, is bad in the beginning. It takes me a bit longer than most other guys, so I'm used to that."
If batting .274 in April and May is a "bad" start for a 22-year-old in his sophomore season, it should only inspire more confidence in Bogaerts, who batted .336 from June 1st on. He even found that elusive power stroke as the calendar turned to September, smacking three longballs with 20 RBI in 30 games in September and October, with an .876 OPS - so the power could already be arriving.
Bogaerts already gets on base at a higher rate than the average major leaguer and has emerged as one of the better baserunning shortstops in baseball, and he is still just 23 years old. He may not be working specifically on his power, but if and when it arrives for good he will not shy away from it - and by taking his balanced, patient approach, he could end up a better all-around player because of it.
"The type of player I am, if [power] comes it comes, and if it does ill embrace it."
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Have a news tip or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
