Ryan O’Hearn has been the perfect hitter on an underachieving Baltimore Orioles staff thus far this season. Furthermore, he’s been among the best hitters within the recreation. The 31-year-old first baseman/outfielder boasts a 185 wRC+, a mark at present topped by solely Aaron Choose, and Freddie Freeman. Over 180 plate appearances, O’Hearn has left the yard 9 instances whereas slashing .340/.428/.558.
He started to bash after leaving Kansas Metropolis, the place he posted a .683 OPS over elements of 5 nondescript seasons with the Royals. He was designated for task and subsequently dealt to the Orioles in change for money consideration in January 2023. Baltimore then dodged a bullet. The O’s additionally DFA’d him, solely to see him go unclaimed, permitting them to assign him to their Triple-A roster. Known as as much as the majors two weeks into the 2023 marketing campaign, O’Hearn proceeded to do what he hadn’t carried out along with his outdated staff: sq. up baseballs on a constant foundation.
Because the begin of the 2023 season, the left-handed-hitting O’Hearn has the very best batting common (.286) and on-base share (.346), and the second-highest wRC+ (130) amongst Orioles who’ve come to the plate no less than 250 instances. Enjoying primarily in opposition to opposite-handed hurlers, O’Hearn has logged 1,042 plate appearances over that span.
How did he go from the waiver wire to laying waste to massive league pitching?
“I feel it’s simply been an evolution of hitting,” O’Hearn instructed me over the weekend. “It’s been taking one thing from each hitting coach I’ve had over time, studying one thing totally different from all of them. Once I received right here in 2023, the three hitting coaches — Cody Asche, Matt Borgschulte, and Ryan Fuller — had a plan for me. They confirmed me one thing I used to be doing improper. It was centered round my posture. I’d land hunched over, and that was one of many issues we labored on.
“Dan Hennigan — he was the director of hitting for the Houston Astros — has additionally helped me perceive plenty of issues,” added O’Hearn. “I’ve labored with him each offseason for the previous three years. We’ve labored on hitting breaking balls. He taught me what staying linked means. Loads of hitting coaches say, ‘Keep linked,’ however they both know what it means or they don’t clarify it appropriately.”
How would O’Hearn clarify it?
“It’s the space between the barrel of the bat and my again shoulder; the space between them [should be] the identical till contact,” he stated to my query. “Take into consideration that. I’m turning with the barrel of my bat and my left shoulder, and the space stays the identical till contact. Then my arms launch by means of the ball. That’s staying linked. If the arms begin to go, that’s not linked.”
Requested if staying quick to the ball is a part of the equation, O’Hearn responded by saying that the often-heard phrase is generic and may imply plenty of issues to lots of people. To him, getting the barrel to the ball extra effectively is just a matter of executing what Hennigan — “The primary hitting coach to elucidate it to me and really have it make sense” — taught him.
The teachings realized have helped him up his contact charge. O’Hearn fanned 26.8% of the time throughout his Kansas Metropolis days, and that quantity is simply 17.3% as an Oriole. Improved plate self-discipline has performed a component. O’Hearn’s O-Swing% has declined in current seasons, whereas his stroll charge has gone up.
He has additionally gotten higher versus same-handed pitchers. Together with his outdated membership, O’Hearn slashed 169/.244/.257 with a 35 wRC+ over 164 left-on-left plate appearances, whereas with Baltimore, he has a .268/.324/.402 line and a 108 wRC+ throughout 106 PAs. This season particularly stands out. More and more displaying that extra reps versus southpaws are merited, O’Hearn has gone 10-for-29, with simply 4 strikeouts to go together with three free passes.
Bettering his outcomes in opposition to lefties has required no secret method. As a lot as something, it has been his getting extra alternatives to face them, paired with the aforementioned fine-tuning of his stroke. As for the higher plate self-discipline, let’s simply say that he’s continued to mature as a hitter.
“I’m simply getting higher, man,” stated O’Hearn. “Attempting to get higher. Hitting is an limitless search to be good. No one ever masters it. I’m certain if you happen to requested Aaron Choose, he would let you know that there are issues he needs to get higher at. So yeah, simply attempting to get higher. Attempting to get a bit of smarter, a bit of wiser, as I am going ahead.”
On an Orioles staff that has gone backward, O’Hearn continues to maneuver in the correct course. Amid little fanfare, he’s an underrated hitter having a career-best season.