A Glimpse into Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s Season

“It sucks,” Chisholm remarked before Wednesday’s game, noting his batting average of .217, which trails his performance from last year by 25 points. His on-base plus slugging percentage has also dipped by 121 points to .692. “Sometimes, I feel like I’m just about to break through, and then I end up striking out three times or going 0-for-4. You hit three balls hard, and they just become outs. Then you find yourself in the same situation the next day, hitting three hard again but still going 0-for-3.”

“You just have to get over it and keep trying,” he added.

More specifically, hitters who thrive on fastballs, especially four-seamers, are finding it tough. In a recent game against the Yankees, Chisholm went 1-for-3 with a walk. Last season, he had an impressive .548 slugging percentage against fastballs—a mark that’s actually better than what Aaron Judge is achieving this year.

This season, however, his overall performance has taken a hit, particularly against four-seam fastballs. A metric called Run Value showed that he had a minus-11 rating against four-seamers, which ranked him as one of the least effective players against that pitch in the league, behind only Cal Lowry and Ezequiel Tovar.

What’s the reason behind this decline? “I don’t know,” Chisholm said, pausing briefly. “That’s a good question.”

Before stepping up to play, he was batting .187 against four-seamers, with a slugging percentage of .309, which isn’t exactly a strong showing and has drawn the attention of his competitors.

As his effectiveness against fastballs diminished, pitchers began adjusting their strategies when facing him. In May, Chisholm had a 46.5 percent success rate against fastballs, but that number has risen each month, reaching 58.9 percent in August.

To combat this, Chisholm has been more aggressive at the plate. From Opening Day through June, he faced 173 first-time fastballs, swinging at 42 of them—about 24.3 percent.

Since July, he’s encountered 73 first-time fastballs, and considering his opponents’ tactics and his own struggles, he swung at 36 of them—roughly 49.3 percent, registering two hits in seven attempts.

“That’s probably because I’m not hitting them well and I know the fastballs are coming,” Chisholm explained ahead of his game against the Mariners.

The backdrop to this year has been less than ideal for Chisholm. Confident as ever, he had hoped to achieve his lofty goals of hitting 50 home runs and stealing 50 bases this season. But with batting averages of .171 and .231 respectively, he has found himself statistically behind the curve, which has led to diminishing confidence from his coach, Aaron Boone.

His struggles haven’t just been at the plate; he’s also faced challenges on the basepaths and was tied for the most errors among American League second basemen with eight. Minor injuries, including twisting his ankle recently, have also hampered his performance.

“Physically, I’m fine,” he insisted. “I think mentally, I’m doing very well.”

Chisholm clearly wants to improve, yearning to crack the puzzle of evolving pitch strategies. “I feel like there’s a lot of different four-seamers these days,” he noted, reflecting on how the pitch has changed over time. “They aren’t as common as they used to be, and honestly, I’m not sure why.”

Compounding his difficulties, his bat speed has dropped from an average of 73.9 mph last year to 73.2 mph this season. It’s likely that the pressure of significant financial stakes doesn’t make things easier, either.

Timing at the plate has been another issue, as suggested by his hitting coach, James Rowson. “If Jazz’s timing is off or if he doesn’t prepare in time, you start to see irregularities in his swing, whether with four-seamers or breaking balls,” Rowson explained.

While Chisholm may not yet have solved his hitting dilemmas, he’s certainly aware of the challenges ahead. “I’ve been focusing more on fastballs in the second half of the season,” he shared.