Cubs Quick Hits: Kris Bryant’s Flatter Swing Resulted in Fewer High Flies
With an eye on improving his contact, Kris Bryant made a concerted effort to flatten his swing last year. A less loopy swing, in theory, should translate to fewer high flies and more hard-hit line drives. That’s exactly what happened.
In 2015, 27% of Bryant’s batted balls were launched at angles greater than 36 degrees. But last season, only 16% of the balls he put in play had such steep launch angles. Check out the donut graphs — mmmm, donuts — for more comprehensive data on Bryant’s batted-ball trajectories over the past two years (warning: colors of donuts do not correspond with one another).
If you like this kind of thing, it’s just one of the cool tools you can find at the new xStats.org.