Jason Kubel's Two Seasons

by Jesse on Jul 20, 2008 11:00 AM EDT in By the Numbers Comment 1 comment

Something to glance at quickly before the Twins go for a sweep of the Rangers this afternoon.

We've talked a lot about how certain players have contributed to the success of the Twins over the last month, including unlikely heroes Denard Span, Alexi Casilla, Brian Buscher and even Delmon Young. But since June 1st, check out Jason Kubel, and note the drastic changes for him across the board.

Split	AB	H	2B	HR	TB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG
March 31 - May 31	170	41	5	6	66	10	34	.241	.280	.388
June 1 - July 19	105	32	5	7	62	20	18	.305	.416	.590

Those are some pretty dramatic splits, not just in power and contact but in patience and pitch selection as well. If these are the kinds of numbers we can get from Jason for the rest of the season, the middle of the batting order will be in good shape. Certainly, some of that success has come from how he's been used over the last month and a half, with fewer and fewer plate appearances versus southpaws against whom he's struggled. But just that he can hit right handers as well as he has is a very useful skill for an offense that lacks power.

More than the hitting skills, which we've always known Kubel has had, it's the patience at the plate that's been impressing me. It means he's laying off more bad pitches, more pitches he doesn't want to hit, and it might just mean he's able to identify the pitches that he does want to swing at. While it can be argued that this might just be the results of a small sample size, or a good stretch at the plate, I'm hoping it's something a bit more promising than that.

Jason has two and a half months to prove me right.

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He's still learning...

...which warrants additional patience. I’d say by next year if he gets consistent playing time, he could be something really special.

With that said, there are still times when he needs to understand the situation better, such as when he was the pinch hitter against Papelbon in the second game against the Red Sox (in the 9th with Punto on 3rd and one out). His role was to drive a pitch, not to try to coax a walk. There were four pitches that were close to the strike zone and he only swung at one—the last one for strike three, but he is trending upwards, and my own feeling is that the Twins will desperately need his bat if they are to make the playoffs.

"I don't think it's nice, you laughin'. See, my mule don't like people laughing. He gets the crazy idea you're laughing at him. Now if you apologize, like I know you're going to, I might convince him that you really didn't mean it . . ."

by Skippy tastes better than Jiff on Jul 21, 2008 12:09 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs