By Max Carlin, from Cardsblog.com
The swing-change revolution has transformed countless careers. It has turned Josh Donaldson from nobody into an MVP, J.D. Martinez from waiver-wire fodder into a $110 million player.
Every day, it seems like a new player has revamped his swing, adding precious degrees to that launch angle.
Luke Voit is trying something different:
Luke Voit is working to reduce - yes, reduce! - his launch angle this spring. He wants to make his swing less susceptible to the high fastball. He is 4-for-5 this spring.
And so far, it’s working. Voit is 6-for-10 this spring with a walk, four RBI, two runs, and — this is particularly notable — zero strikeouts, per MLB.com.
Voit has long been a successful offensive player in the minors. In 2016, he generated a 145 wRC+ in 134 games for double-A Springfield. Last year, he ran a 152 wRC+ in 74 games with triple-A Memphis. In 62 games with the big club, he was slightly less dominant, however, posting a 94 wRC+.
Strikeouts proved a major problem for Voit in his rookie year. After striking out just 15.2 percent of the time in Springfield and 17.3 percent in Memphis, he K’d in 25 percent of his 124 plate appearances with the Cardinals.
So, caveats for small sample size in mind, Voit’s lack of swing-and-misses so far this spring is a highly encouraging departure from his big-league track-record. If the swing-change is working, if he is now capable of limiting strikeouts and translating that minor-league mashing to the bigs, Voit’s an intriguing player.
Voit’s bat coming around is exciting, but it isn’t exactly an earth-shattering development. He’s always been able to hit at lower levels. This is what matters: Voit might be hitting now, and he might offer more than just depth at first base. So, is there a role for him with the Cardinals?
I lean no. Last year, Jose Martinez emerged as yet another success story of the swing-change revolution. He was a dazzling offensive player, posting a 135 wRC+ in 307 plate appearances, splitting his innings in the field nearly evenly between the outfield and first base.
Realistically, it’s unlikely that an improved Voit can match Martinez’s offensive production. Defensively, Martinez is a definite negative, but especially after the Matt Adams experiment, I doubt Cardinals fans have high hopes for Voit to be any better in the outfield.
If I were to rephrase the initial question, to ask “does Voit have a role in the MLB now?” the answer might be “yes.” If he can play an even moderately credible corner outfield position, his seemingly improved bat and versatility could make him a real MLB player.
While he might not, even in this improved iteration, have a role with the Cardinals as of right now, Voit can be an important insurance plan.
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Every year March is one of the best months for Cardinals baseball fans because it means Spring Training. It means the long wait for baseball to return is finally coming to an end and baseball is back. Spring Training is an important time because each team is preparing for the new season.
If Martinez crashes back down to earth like a brick dropped from a window, Voit will be there to step in, serving as the fourth outfielder and backup first baseman.
If Matt Carpenter, who’s already dealing with a back ailment, is sidelined, Voit can fill the void.
In the MLB, injuries are too commonplace, bizarre fluctuations in production are too rampant. In other words, an MLB team can never have too much insurance. After his swing change and positional shift, Luke Voit might not be the impact player that a J.D. Martinez or Donaldson is, but he could be some more of that always-welcome insurance. The Cardinals will happily settle for that.
All stats courtesy of Fangraphs unless otherwise noted
Cardinals Positional Outlook: Starting Pitcher - Cardsblog
We continue our position outlook series with the Cardinals starting rotation. The goal is to assess the Cardinals major league talent at the position today, in the short-term future, and in the long-term future. We have already completed all of the hitter positions.
