Laurila: Q&A with Dustin Fowler on his biggest adjustment
From SABR member David Laurila at FanGraphs on February 13, 2019:
Dustin Fowler may need to make an adjustment. The 24-year-old outfielder is coming off a rookie campaign that saw him slash an anemic .224/.256/.354, with six home runs, in 203 plate appearances. The Triple-A portion of his season was encouraging — a .310 BA and an .817 OPS — but his performance against big league pitching fell short of expectations. He went into the year ranked as Oakland’s No. 4 prospect.
He’d already made a notable adjustment. Prior to being acquired by the A’s in the 2017 trade deadline deal that sent Sonny Gray to the Yankees, Fowler had lowered his hands at the urging of then hitting coach, P.J. Pilittere. The reason was twofold: the team that drafted Fowler out of a Dexter, Georgia high school felt it would help him tap into his power. Every bit as importantly, his left-handed stroke wasn’t consistently catching up to high-octane heat.
Fowler talked about the 2016 adjustment midway through last season.
Read the full article here: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/dustin-fowler-on-his-biggest-adjustment/
Originally published: February 13, 2019. Last Updated: February 13, 2019.