The resurgence of Prince Fielder: What's he doing differently in 2015?
Prince Fielder is back and having a very successful 2015. So what's he doing differently?
By
Dayn Perry
•
3 min read
Are you surprised by Prince Fielder's success this season? In some ways, you should be.
After 129 games, the Rangers' slugger is batting .316/.383/.474, which is good for an OPS+ of 132. While Fielder has had an excellent career, this resurgence comes despite some things working against him. First, Fielder is in his age-31 season, and as a big-bodied type with little defensive value he's not the kind of player who tends to age well. Also, he's coming off a 2014 season in which he put up a career-worst OPS of .720 and was limited to just 42 games because of a herniated disk in his neck -- a condition that eventually required cervical spinal fusion surgery. On top of all that, Fielder has been a regular DH in 2015 (he has just 148 1/3 innings in the field this season), and going from regular defensive duty to DH detail typically exacts a cost at the plate.
Still and yet, Fielder is producing at the high-level for the surprise contenders in Texas. To be sure, the fact that Fielder's neck issues have been addressed no doubt has a good bit to do with his renaissance. However, a subtle change in approach by the veteran hitter also seems to have been a boon.
First, know that pitchers are pretty much attacking Fielder the same way they have for years -- fastballs most of the time, followed by breaking and offspeed stuff. Also, they're still working him low and away. Check out the relevant heatmaps. On the left, you'll see how pitchers approached Fielder from 2007 through 2014. On the right, you'll see how they've worked him this season. Both images are from the point of view of the left-handed batter ...
(Heatmaps via FanGraphs)
The red indicates a higher percentage of pitches, the blue a lower percentage. So, yes, you still don't come inside against Fielder. The difference, though, is that Fielder has been less pull-conscious this season. The margins aren't cavernous, but in 2015 he's running the lowest pull percentage and highest opposite-field percentage of his career. Mostly, he's been successful at going the other way against fastballs and breaking stuff ...
(Chart via Brooks Baseball)
As you can see, there's more of a left field batted-ball drift this season when Fielder puts the wood on fastballs, sliders, and curves. So, willful approach or a loss of bat speed? Back in spring training, hitting coach Dave Magadan helped Fielder emphasize staying back in his swing and letting the ball get deeper. That, of course, can lend itself to going the other way. There's also evidence that Fielder is hitting the ball with something close to vintage authority these days, at least when going the other way. When he goes to the opposite field, he's got an OPS of .905, which is his highest mark since 2012. As well, 31 percent of the balls he's taken to left field have been classified as "hard-hit," which is his highest such mark since way back in 2007. Fielder is showing less authority to the pull field, so, yes, some skills decline is almost certainly at work, too. That said, Fielder's shift in outcomes suggests he's responding to his new limitations in a sensible and productive way.
More evidence to that end: Fielder's swinging the bat more than ever (his swing percentage of 50.5 percent is his highest since his rookie season), he's putting the bat on the ball more than ever (his 82.9 percent contact rate is a career high), and he's running the lowest strikeout percentage of his career (and he's doing so when strikeout percentages are on the rise, league-wide). That implies a more controlled swing and greater emphasis on contact over power.
To be sure, there's no getting around the reality that Fielder is in his decline years, but, as so many others have proved, decline isn't linear, especially for great players. Fielder is healthy, and he's hitting, thanks in part to a more "age-appropriate" strategy at the plate. His contract, which runs through 2020, is still going to look pretty ugly on the back end, and maybe he's in for a little BABIP regression. Right now, though, Fielder's a productive, middle-of-the-order bat for a team that may be bound for the playoffs. All of those things seemed quite unlikely just a few months ago.
