The broken lawnmower sat on the dirty patio table, as my father and I stared at it sweating in the Texas summer heat. The device was confounding us. The needed repair was made (in this case a new carburetor), it was put back together, and yet it still had a problem.
It still didn’t work.
This shouldn’t be happening. Everything looked right, but it wasn’t doing what was expected to our consternation. Every new solution that didn’t work compounded the frustration, seemingly pushing us further and further away from our goal.
Questions Unanswered
That same feeling must have haunted Leody Taveras on April 23. In the bottom of the sixth, Taveras struck out looking against White Sox reliever Matt Foster. As Taveras returned to the home dugout, the giant scoreboard in right center told a horror story.
A batting average of .087. An OPS of .247. Only four hits, but 23 strikeouts in 50 plate appearances.
Taveras would be pinch hit for two innings later, and sent down to the alt site two days after that before the Triple-A season began in May. By then the cries of bust among the fanbase had begun.
This super prospect they’d heard about for years had shown nothing except a propensity for making outs, and it bothered them immensely.
It was supposed to work. Taveras was highly touted, super athletic, and overflowing with baseball talent. Yet as fans and teammates watched alike, nothing went right. The results weren’t there. There were more repairs needed.
The “what” wasn’t hard to ascertain. An elite defender since he stepped on a pro diamond, Leody’s bat was starting to lag behind. His short trip to the majors in 2021 amplified it to the whole baseball world. The “why” however was still undetermined, a question in need of an answer.
It was a question evaluators had been trying to solve for much longer however.
Uncertain Movement
In 2019, Taveras was promoted to Frisco midseason. The move was exciting if not perplexing. Just 20 years old at the time, Taveras was having success at then High-A Down East; a .745 OPS fueled largely by strong on base skills but minimal power. More importantly it was the first sustained success at the plate he’d had in organized baseball. Two full years at High-A and Low-A had produced sub .700 OPS each year. Even a stint in the Dominican Winter League was unproductive heading into 2019.
Removing Taveras from that environment where he was having success felt confusing, especially given his age. Nevertheless, it was exciting to see the top prospect at the home park. Maybe his second time as a Wood Duck had solved the problem went the speculation
Taveras played 65 games with Frisco in 2019, and the results were closer to 2017 and 2018. Another sub .700 OPS, another round of more strikeouts than walks. Something wasn’t right with the young man.
Which is perplexing because it looked right.
In talking with a contact in the Carolinas before Leody’s arrival, I asked if there was anything that was obvious about his swing that was hampering him. The response was no, there was nothing overtly working against him. That was confirmed watching him the first few days during batting practice and games. Nothing looked wrong at all.
The struggles came in 2020, then 2021. Leody’s hitting was a problem without an obvious solution. Not one that was visible to the rest of us at least.
Minor(s) solutions to major problems
After a few weeks in Triple A, he seemed to have an idea of what his solution was as he told the Athletic’s Levi Weaver:
“I think this year has been really hard for me,” says Taveras, 22. “This is a big year because I’m learning a lot. I’m just here working and trying to be consistent. That’s one thing that I didn’t do very well early in the year. I think the last couple weeks have helped me a lot; I’ve tried to be more consistent at the plate. … As a switch-hitter, I’m two different hitters. Sometimes you feel good on the left side, and on the right side, you’re fucked up. And then you change that to the right side and the left side (is off). … If I can be consistent on both sides, I can be the same hitter.”
Taveras’ time in Round Rock allowed him to find the consistency from both sides he needed. An OPS over .800, a career high 17 homers to go along with 13 steals showed off all the tools in the shed across 87 games. A good part of this resurgence is an increased contact rate from both sides of the plate. He’s also making more contact in the zone, whiffing less, and making more out of bad pitches per the Statcast Meatball Swing% metric at 79.2. The main damage zones? Inside, regardless of whether he’s hitting righty or lefty. Missing inside to Taveras right now is dangerous for a pitcher.
Despite that fact, Leody’s pull rate is not what you’d expect. Per Statcast, his pull rate is only 18.2% this year as opposed to a whopping 40.3% in 2020. 81.8% of the time this season he’s going either straight with the ball or going opposite field. These are all positives, especially for a player that four months ago so badly needed them.
Returning to glory
How good it must have felt for Taveras on August 31, when he drove a ball opposite field into the Rangers bullpen for a solo homer. To look up at the same scoreboard that taunted him in April, only to see it exploding in colors and celebration now as he rounded the bases. It probably felt better than discovering the fix to the lawnmower that sweaty summer day, but both felt like victory in the face of obvious yet debilitating adversity.
The man his manager calls Leo is starting to act like his Latin counterpart: ruling his domain with pride and power.
The doubt overcome
The future at his command
The lion now roars