“No grounders,” Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson, the 2015 American League MVP and one of the movement’s most vocal proponents, said earlier this year. The change he made is illuminated by his average launch angle — 11.1 degrees in 2015, 16.6 degrees in 2016. His launch angle has gone from 7.8 degrees in 2016 to 11.2 this season, through May 25. At least publicly, though, Zimmerman remains skeptical of advanced analytics such as launch angle, sounding more like Williams than Donaldson. “You never want to impose a higher launch angle on someone who’s not a power guy.

Source: National Post June 02, 2017 16:18 UTC