Myles Straw had a difficult time at the plate during the 2022 season. However, there is reason to believe that next year could be a different story.
It's no secret that Myles Straw struggled at the plate in 2022. All you have to do is look at his stats from the year and see the difficult ride the center field was on. But as bad as it was for Straw at times, there is still reason to believe that he could have a bounceback season in 2023.
Straw has been a solid hitter since he debuted back in 2018. In 2021 he slashed .285/.362/.377 after he was traded to Cleveland at the 2021 MLB trade deadline. Also during the 2019 season, he had a .721 OPS over 128 plate appearances.
This offense production combined with the spectacular defense is why the Guardians signed him to a five year contract exentsion before the season started.
Then Straw simply went ice cold.
Even though Straw wasn't hitting in 2022, that didn't mean he had lost all prescence at the plate. In fact, he was still one of the most disciplined batters on the Guardians and in baseball.
Straw ranked in the 89th percentile of K%, 99th percentile in Whiff%, and 97th percentile in Chase Rate.
These numbers didn't lead to him getting on base all the time but they are still encouraging. Sometimes when players fall apart at the plate they swing at anything in sight. That clearly wasn't the case for Straw.
For the optimists out there, these numbers show that Straw cold heat back up at the plate just as fast as he got cold. Especailly with the shift dissapearing next season which is sure to help all batters.
Does all of this mean that Straw will come out next year and bat .300 with a 1.000 OPS? No. Is he still under a lot of pressure to perform with an crowded outfield and prospects ready to debut? Yes. But it will be worth watching to see how he performs next year.
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