李灝宇 (Hao‑Yu Lee) is an exciting player to watch, but at 23 years old,
he still has significant areas to improve. Wasn’t it fun watching him hit
against his fellow Taiwanese countryman Kai-Wei Teng on June 16th? This
moment was significant because they are the only two active players from Taiwan
in the majors. In a league where Japanese prospects are often given the benefit
of the doubt, they are rare gems in the Taiwanese baseball community.
Hao Yu Lee is going to be a great player one day; however, it
is going to take some time. With hard work, he can get the hang of it. His exit
velocity is only 87.5 mph, which is well below the MLB average of 90–91 mph. His
hard-hit rate is nearly 10% lower than the MLB average, at 30.9% compared to
MLB’s 38–40%. He has a Whiff% of nearly 31% and a K% of 27.3%. These numbers
suggest there may be mechanical issues in his swing.
What he needs to work on
Hao Yu Lee needs to shorten his swing by reducing
unnecessary movement in his batting stance before the swing. Watching his two at-bats
against his countryman, Kai-Wei Teng (P), he moved his bat excessively, which caused
a delay in his swing and caused the barrel to enter the zone late, giving him very
little leeway to make mistakes. The other obvious problem he has is that his
leg kick is not syncing with his swing, causing his timing to be off, either
too early or too late.
What he needs to focus on
His arm strength at 79.3 mph is mediocre, which causes
problems defensively. With a -4 OAA (Outs Above Average), he has cost his team
four outs, which suggests he needs to make defensive adjustments. A 0 OAA is
exactly average. Weight training and improving throwing control are musts. He could
develop arm strength and throw control by working out with, believe it or not,
a pitcher. Yes, a pitcher, because no other position requires throwing control
as consistently as pitchers. In retrospect, he needs to become stronger, just
like Shohei Ohtani had to do early in his career. I’m not saying that he should
become a two-way player like Shohei, but he should at least approach his career
as if he were training like one.
In conclusion, Hao Yu Lee has the tools and potential to
become a strong major league player, but his development will depend on
improving his swing mechanics, timing, strength, and defensive consistency. If
he can make those adjustments, he has a real chance to become an important
player in the Detroit Tigers organization for years to come.
.jpeg)
No comments:
Post a Comment