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Trea Turner didn’t have much to say by way of an explanation when he was asked about his struggles against left-handed pitchers early this past September.
“I feel like I’ve always hit righties better, in general,” Turner told reporters in Nationals Park. “Just coincidence, I guess. I couldn’t tell you.”
Through 198 games and 815 career plate appearances, Turner has a .311/.354/.529 line vs righties and .279/.328/.358 line vs lefties, with 31 of 39 doubles, 13 of 14 triples, and 24 of 25 career home runs off right-handed pitchers.
In 73 games and 324 PAs in 2016, in his first extended run in the majors, Turner put up a .348/.378/.607 line vs righties and a .317/.338/.413 line vs left-handers.
In 2017, however, Turner had a .296/.346/.491 line vs right-handers and a .245/.311/.319 vs left-handed pitchers, with 17 of 24 doubles, all of his triples (6) and all of his homers (11) off righties.
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In an article at MLB.com, writer Joe Trezza looked into what was behind the 24-year-old shortstop’s reverse splits, noting that while, “Turner shows all the traits of an elite modern leadoff hitter,” against right-handed pitchers, “... against lefties, Turner devolves into a leadoff hitter from an earlier era: still lots of speed but very little power.”
Trezza points, “to hard-hit rate,” which, he notes, “... measures how often a batter hits the ball with an exit velocity upwards of 95 mph,” writing that, “Turner's plummeted last season -- from 41 percent against righties to 32.5 percent against lefties.”
Turner’s hard contact percentage was lower against left-handed pitchers (24.7%) than right-handers (27.3%) as well, according to Fangraphs.com.
As noted in the MLB.com article, however, Turner’s plus speed, “... allows him to often outperform some below-average quality of contact.”
Will Turner’s numbers against left-handers improve with more at bats against major league lefties considering how quickly he’s moved up since he was drafted in the first round in 2014?
Did his fractured right wrist lead to the more dramatic drop-off vs lefties last season?
Have any other thoughts on his lack of power vs lefties thus far in the majors?
Aaron Judge and Mike Trout are beasts. They are also statistical oddballs. Welcome to the weird world of reverse platoon splits. #MLB https://t.co/rvZzLjqeFY
— Joe Trezza (@JoeTrezz) December 4, 2017