A rookie trying to make his way in the rough-and-tumble big leagues can be very challenging, but here's a blessing for most of 'em: Unless they're a much-heralded prospect, pitchers will generally challenge them in the strike zone with fastballs until they prove they can hit for at least some power. If the kid proves capable of hitting those pitches, then pitchers will step off the gas and nibble. That young player, who already has had to adjust to major league velocity and stuff, must adjust again.
That's the reality that Houston Astros first-base rookie Tyler White is dealing with now. White played well this spring, made the team and jumped out to a .412 batting average with three homers in the first two weeks, but pitchers backed off and he's just 5-for-52 (.096 average) since April 14. Ouch.
The thing is, though, White has been ready for this second chapter for a long time, so he should be as ready for that second chapter as any 25-year-old with 90-plus plate appearances could be.
Two things White said this spring showed that he was anticipating how the majors would react to him. White, who has always had great plate discipline in the minors -- he had more walks than strikeouts in his minor league career -- told Evan Drellich in March that he wanted to focus on tapping into his power and dealing with the high fastball.
He knew what was coming!
Sure enough, the first two weeks -- when White was just some young guy -- pitchers filled up the strike zone and peppered him low and away. Forty-five percent of his pitches were in the zone, including 55 percent of his first pitches, and as his early heat map shows (below), pitchers were slamming that outside part of the strike zone. That's the book on a guy when there is no book.
But check out what has happened after those first few weeks. His strike zone percentage has remained similar (44 percent), but now just 41 percent of his first pitches are strikes, and his heat map has changed. They're trying to get him out high and away -- just as he predicted -- and they're beginning to nibble more.
So what does he do to adjust? I caught up with him last week to talk about his swing and find out.