Jimmy Rollins - With Increased Patience comes Increased Slugging

 

 

 

 

 

I have a personal theory on spring training stats. The majority of individuals feel that their mostly useless, but I think if a player is seeing the ball well and exhibiting patience, then they’ll probably take a number of walks. Seeing the ball & exhibiting strike zone control can translate into positive regular season habits. The majority of the leaders in spring training walks (as of March 12th) include player’s that are known for their patient approach (Sheff, Rameriez, Howard). But one player really stands out, one Jimmy Rollins. Again, these are spring training stats but Jimmy has taken 8 walks in 29 plate appearances. In 2006, he walked 57 times in over 750 plate appearances. If we look at his career trend in BB: K & accompanying slugging percentage it looks like:

 

  

As we can plainly see, as Rollins has matured as a hitter, he has cut down on his strikeouts, increased his walk percentage, and in turn, has seen a sizeable gain in his slugging percentage. Plainly put, good things have happened when he’s exhibited increased plate patience.

 

I see his high spring walk percentage as a positive signal. We’ll keep an eye on this throughout spring training.