Hunter Goodman will symbolize the Colorado Rockies in tonight’s All-Star Recreation, and whereas he performs for the worst crew within the majors, he’s under no circumstances a quota-filling choice. The 25-year-old catcher is slashing .277/.325/.517 with 17 dwelling runs and a 120 wRC+ over 345 plate appearances. Furthermore, his 52 RBI are probably the most amongst senior circuit backstops.
Three months earlier than his All-Star choice, he was featured right here at FanGraphs in an article titled Hunter Goodman Isn’t Picky. When my colleague Davy Andrews penned the April 9 piece, Goodman had seen 63 pitches exterior of the strike zone and swung at 33 of them, giving him a 54.1% chase fee. He additionally had a 66.1% general swing fee.
As Davy wrote, “That is about as excessive as baseball will get.”
I introduced up the article when the Rockies visited Fenway Park final week, and Goodman’s response was gold. Having learn my colleague’s column, the younger slugger replied, “That man higher not present up right here.” He was kidding — the phrases got here with a smile — after which he turned severe.
“Actually, I used to be hitting fairly effectively on the time,” recalled Goodman, who then had a wRC+ simply north of league common. “I used to be getting a number of pitches to hit. However sure, I used to be swinging so much. Beginning the 12 months, I used to be making an attempt to be aggressive and making an attempt to see the place I used to be at. It’s like every part else; the extra you get going, the extra issues begin to relax. Over the season, it’s gotten higher. Being within the lineup daily has helped so much with my timing.”
A fourth-round pick of the College of Memphis in 2021, Goodman has already performed a profession excessive 85 video games on the massive league stage this season. He debuted in late August two years in the past, and his lackluster 2024 marketing campaign — a 61 wRC+ over 224 PAs with the Rockies — comprised 70 video games, plus 31 extra in Triple-A.
The attack-mode method isn’t new. As Davy additionally identified, Goodman got here into the season with a higher-than-ideal chase fee, and whereas it has improved — particularly in comparison with the primary two weeks — he’s not precisely morphing into Juan Soto. A leopard can solely change his spots a lot.
“I’ve at all times been an aggressive hitter, and that’s the factor,” stated Goodman, who now has a 36.5% chase fee and a 55.7% general swing fee. “The coaches and I’ve talked about it. I don’t wish to be up there considering ‘swing much less,’ I wish to be up there seeking to do harm. I imply, my method hasn’t actually modified, however I do wish to be just a little extra selective.”
In response to Rockies co-hitting coach Nic Wilson, augmenting that attack-mode mindset with a extra nuanced method will solely make Goodman higher.
“With Goody, the selections are at all times going to be vital,” stated Wilson, who was Colorado’s minor league hitting coordinator earlier than shifting into his present place in mid-Could. “When he’s swinging at pitches which might be good for him, he’s harmful. That’s an ongoing dialog. We’re working every day. Even again when he was in A-ball, it was a giant level of focus.”
When our 2024 Colorado Rockies Prime Prospects checklist got here out that April — Goodman was ranked fourth with a forty five+ FV — Eric Longenhagen wrote that “Goodman’s energy is sensational. He takes epic, max-effort swings and is able to placing balls out to all fields.”
Requested if honing in on a sure zone would additional enhance the extent to which he punishes pitchers, the erstwhile Memphis Tiger neither agreed nor disagreed.
“I feel it relies upon,” replied Goodman, who has 5.8% stroll fee and a 26.8% strikeout fee on the 12 months. “In June, I hit homers in a bunch of various areas within the zone. There are occasions the place I’m going good, and if it’s a strike I’ve an opportunity to do harm. There are additionally instances the place I’m going unhealthy, and I would like it to be in a sure spot. It’s about determining when these instances are.”
Goodman doesn’t essentially agree with the notion that he takes max-effort swings, a minimum of not when he’s going effectively.
“After I get in hassle is when I attempt to swing too exhausting,” he advised me. “I wish to preserve it good and easy. It’s like a managed aggression. It doesn’t really feel like my effort stage is tremendous excessive, though possibly it might appear like that from the surface.”
Which brings us again to his plate self-discipline. Requested how Goodman rebounded from his chase-tastic begin to the season, Wilson cited how the psychological and bodily are intertwined within the batter’s field.
“By way of changes, we’ve tried to alleviate just a little little bit of stress in his setup,” the hitting coach defined. “Early on within the 12 months he was just a little tight in his shoulders. When he’s having a number of success, it’s with a really fluid transfer. It’s a giant transfer — it’s dynamic — however there’s not a number of stress in it. He’s shifting like an athlete. He’s sort of gotten again to that, and it’s performed fairly effectively for him.
“It’s all tied collectively,” Wilson added. “Whenever you really feel good within the field, you’re going to make higher choices. That’s a giant a part of it. When Hunter appears like he’s on time and is ready to hit the pitcher’s greatest heater, he’s going make higher choices. When he does that, he’s going to do a number of harm.”