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Will Beckham rebound in 2012?

December 2, 2011, 11:54 am

 

JJ STANKEVITZ

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Since Gordon Beckham's rookie year of 2009 -- in which he posted a .347 on-base percentage and had 43 extra-base hits -- he's been progressively worse in each season. That's fascinating in its own right, as highly-touted youngsters with good debuts don't usually go that route. But every important statistic has gone the wrong way in 2010 and 2011, with his strikeout rate rising and his walk rate falling as the two most worrying trends.

 

With that in mind, then, why is there an "expectation" within the White Sox organization that Beckham's offense will finally come around next year?

 

Most likely, the team's coaching changes have something to do with it.

 

Only looking at Beckham's stats, there's little hope for improvement. His plate discipline, which was pretty good in 2009, has escaped him. In 2011, Beckham was a free-swinging, low-contact hitter -- his swing rate at pitches out of the strike zone was 7 percent higher than the MLB average and his contact rate was 1.6 percent lower than the average.

 

When he did make contact it was weak, evidenced by this: about one in every five fly balls he hit stayed on the infield.

 

Beckham just seemed to be caught in-between throughout 2011, never really sure if he should be more aggressive or patient from at-bat to at-bat. Maybe that's where Jeff Manto comes in.

 

There's been a lot of hand-wringing over Manto's perceived anti-walk philosophy, sure. And perhaps that won't fit with the best way to get Beckham back on track -- in 2009, Beckham walked about once every 10 trips to the plate.

 

But maybe something as simple as having a pair of new voices in his head will help in Manto and Robin Ventura.

 

Beckham's 25, just on the border of too young on which to give up. This next season is probably make-or-break for Beckham's career in the majors as a starter (he plays good enough defense at multiple positions to catch on as a reserve if the hitting doesn't work out, for the record).

 

Because being pessimistic isn't as fun, I'm going to say that I'm cautiously optimistic Beckham can succeed at the plate next season. The coaching changes will do him well, and he'll come around at the plate. He won't be great at the plate, but combined with his excellent defense he'll be nice and valuable to the Sox in 2012.

I'm pretty convinced Gordon Beckham is just a glovesman.

I'm pretty convinced Gordon Beckham is just a glovesman.

I'm pretty convinced there's a great hitter buried in there but a combination of difficult technique, poor coaching, and his mental state have conspired to keep it hidden.

Like Kevin Love.

I used to root for Beckham like crazy, but now a deep malaise has set in and I couldn't care less anymore if he makes it or not.

He's so mentally fragile when it comes to hitting, unless the Sox hire a sports psychologist for him I don't see him doing a whole lot in a Sox uniform.

I think GB numbers will improve slightly, getting away from Walker cannot hurt.............GB will never be the player alot of us thought he would become coming out of college!

Edited December 2, 201114 yr by Soxfest

Conventional wisdom after reading the article is that it might be 50/50

 

But really I think the kid has the talent

He's so mentally fragile when it comes to hitting, unless the Sox hire a sports psychologist for him I don't see him doing a whole lot in a Sox uniform.

 

They hired a psychologist for the team last year. How'd that go?

He's so mentally fragile when it comes to hitting, unless the Sox hire a sports psychologist for him I don't see him doing a whole lot in a Sox uniform.

 

The same used to be said about #14

Alex Gordon's '11 gives me hope.

They hired a psychologist for the team last year. How'd that go?

 

Hire a better one?

I would think he'll be better in 2012, but how much better is the question. I don't think he's the guy we thought he was when he came up. My guess is that he's a .260-.270 hitter with moderate power...maybe 15 HRs a year. And that would be fine as far as I'm concerned.

I would think he'll be better in 2012, but how much better is the question. I don't think he's the guy we thought he was when he came up. My guess is that he's a .260-.270 hitter with moderate power...maybe 15 HRs a year. And that would be fine as far as I'm concerned.

 

With his D, I take that.

He's so mentally fragile when it comes to hitting, unless the Sox hire a sports psychologist for him I don't see him doing a whole lot in a Sox uniform.

It's more than just his mental state that makes his performance at the plate suffer. If it was only that, I'd feel better about him rebounding after Greinke's issues and comeback.

I think he's going to have a helluva year. I think he had issues with Ozzie from day 1....OG didn't like some rookie coming in and stealing attention from the "face of the franchise". Walker obviously was unable to coach Gordon. I think having a different hitting coach and an intelligent and level-headed manager will do wonders for Gordon's confidence. What we saw in '09 wasn't a mirage...he looked like a very impressive hitter...that didn't just disappear.

 

I think he's going to have a helluva year. I think he had issues with Ozzie from day 1....OG didn't like some rookie coming in and stealing attention from the "face of the franchise". Walker obviously was unable to coach Gordon. I think having a different hitting coach and an intelligent and level-headed manager will do wonders for Gordon's confidence. What we saw in '09 wasn't a mirage...he looked like a very impressive hitter...that didn't just disappear.

 

I tend to agree with this (optimistically). I think Robin will come in and have a positive effect on him, sit him down and help him through his issues. After all, many have talked about Robin's famous drought to begin his career at the plate and how Gordo had an analogous situation- who better to get Gordo on the right track than the guy with a proven track record?

Look at what happened to Beckham, Dunn, and Rios swings this past year-pathetic. Walker should have been let go a long time ago, but at the same time I think a hitting coach is the most overrated coach needed in baseball. A player in the majors should have their swing intact by that time. Why Dunn, Beckham, and Rios completely changed their swings were beyond me. Beckham's at his best when he goes to Right-Center and we haven't seen that since his rookie year.

Edited December 3, 201114 yr by PolishPrince34

what you see is what your gonna get out of beckham. I will say his defense is very nice though

what you see is what your gonna get out of beckham. I will say his defense is very nice though

If that's the case, then he's only going to be with this team through the end of the 2013 season. They'd offer this version of Beckham arbitration once, but he's not playing well enough to be a 2nd year arbitration player.

hes not going to post big numbers. we can hope his average goes up.

hes not going to post big numbers. we can hope his average goes up.

 

From .230? Yeah, I certainly hope so.

i can hope for .270 avg 14 hr and 60 rbi season.

i can hope for .270 avg 14 hr and 60 rbi season.

 

So, in essence, his rookie year. After the last two, I'd take that.

So, in essence, his rookie year. After the last two, I'd take that.

 

With his newly found defensive acumen, I'd take that in a heartbeat.