Detroit — You know in your head that you can’t chase home runs. As his manager AJ Hinch says, “The fastest way to get to a bad place offensively as a player is to go up to the plate with the sole intention and expectation to hit the ball out of the ballpark.”
But what if hitting home runs is part of your offensive DNA? What if hitting home runs is part of your sense of self-worth as a ballplayer? How are you supposed to feel a month into the season, 70 plate appearances in, and you see that big, empty zero in the home-run column?
“It’s hard not to get antsy,” Tigers catcher Eric Haase said. “The good part is, I’m still impacting the baseball. I’m still getting hits. Still getting on base. I feel like the home runs will come.”
They always have for Haase, typically in bunches. In 2021, he clubbed 16 homers and knocked in 40 runs in June and July. He hit nine in July alone. Last September, he hit five in 23 games. So, he’s not freaking out about the drought. Not by any means.
“We get post-game reports on the pitches we’re swinging at and where they are in the zone,” Haase said. “We’re acutely aware of what’s going on. I see how I’m getting pitched and I see the adjustments I’m making. I’m started to take some walks, which is fantastic, and for the most part, I’m swinging at pitches I want to swing at.”
Going into play Tuesday, Haase was slashing .250/.314/.297. The slugging percentage and the 76 OPS-plus are well below his norm. On the plus side, his walk rate is up (8.6%) and strikeout rate is down (27.1%). The chase (33%) and swing-and-miss (36.5%) are still up.
“Yeah, there’s still a little bit of chase in there, but I’m a guy who is going to take chances and play leverage,” he said. “I’m going to err on the side of being on a pitch and chasing outside the zone rather than missing something over the heart of the plate.
“I’m OK with that.”
He’s crushing fastballs, as he typically does (8-for-19), but he’s not had his usual high damage-to-contact ratio. His launch angle is down by six degrees (11, down from 17 last season) and his ground-ball rate (49%) is at a career high.
“It’s frustrating,” he said. “If I’m in the box, I am there to do damage, and not doing damage has been kind of frustrating. But, still being able to contribute takes the weight off a little bit. If this is me struggling right now, then it’s OK.
“It’s just, everything gets magnified when you are not winning.”
The more-level swing is by design. Haase struggled with pitches at the top of the strike zone, especially fastballs, when his launch angle was 16 degrees and 17 degrees in 2021 and 2022.
“I made a conscious decision to try to be better at the top of the zone,” he said. “Normally, the pitches I hammer are down, and there was a lot of swing-and-miss at the top. Naturally, trying to get to those pitches would make me a tiny bit more level.
“But, I’m not trying to swing down, not trying to get on top; it’s just where I’m setting my sights.”
In other words, that shouldn’t negatively impact his ability to drive the ball out of the park.
“I’m OK with the good at-bats,” Hinch said, when asked about Haase’s current power shortage. “We can’t just chase results and say we’re going to sell out for homers. It’s not that easy at this level. So, we’re going to keep preaching good at-bats, controlling the strike zone and keep hitting the ball hard. We expect the power to come.”
So does Haase.
“Of course, I want to hit homers,” he said. “That’s a guaranteed way to help your team.”
Mets at Tigers
▶ First pitch: 6:40 p.m., Comerica Park
▶ TV/radio: Bally Sports Detroit, 97.1
Scouting report:
▶ RHP Max Scherzer (2-1, 3.72), Mets: This will be his first start back off his suspension for using sticky stuff in his last start, on April 19. He’d been off to a so-so start to the season. His command had been unusually spotty, walking seven hitters in 13.1 innings and working too much in hitter-friendly counts (opponents hitting .323 against his fastball). His secondary pitches, when he’s in the zone, have been lethal (hitters are 3-for-30 against his slider, changeup and curveball).
▶ LHP Joey Wentz (0-3, 6.45), Tigers: He’s coming off a strong start (5.2 innings, two runs, six strikeouts) against the Orioles. His changeup has been a sneaky-good pitch for him as teams continue to stack right-handed hitters against him. He’s thrown 63 of them, all to righties, and they are 1-for-18 against the pitch with five punch-outs.
Twitter: @cmccosky