Joey Wiemer Has a New Swing, and It Will Help Him Achieve a New Swing Rate

[Matthew Trueblood]

When we talk about plate discipline, we tend to do so in almost exclusively mental terms. This spring, though, a key Milwaukee Brewers contributor came to camp with an overhauled swing. That should invite us to think about the skill in physical terms, too.

Image courtesy of © Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

In one way of viewing things, the challenge of hitting is a math problem. You're working against a clock, and that clock is only going to run a second or two, from the start of an opposing pitcher's windup to the pop of the catcher's mitt (if things get that far). You have to get a swing started on time, and deliver that bat barrel to the baseball sometime before the shortest clock in sports runs out.

Of course, the problem is less in getting that swing done on time than in knowing when to cut it loose, and when to withhold it. That's why pitching machines don't strike out pro hitters. A hitter has to see the ball right out of the hand, even as they get some kind of movement going, but they also have to be under sufficient control to stop if the pitch isn't what they thought it was, or if it's going to be so far outside their hitting zone that they can't do anything with it.

Last season, Brewers rookie outfielder Joey Wiemer didn't leave himself enough time to make good decisions. He undertook a complicated swing, with a multi-phase load and several moving parts. It included a leg kick and a toe tap, as part of (basically) a three-part stride. He also brought his hands way down low, after starting with them up high, and all those big moves carried his body in a couple of different directions.

In order to get through all that and beat that clock, Wiemer wasn't deciding whether or not to swing when he recognized a pitch and knew what he wanted to do with it, but when he saw it at all. Here's him chasing a slider in the dirt, from a left-handed pitcher, no less.

 I know, I know, he almost holds up. Maybe he even does hold up. He doesn't get the call because his body goes so far forward, though, and it's hard to fault the umpire. Besides, here he is doing it again:

This was a patterned problem for Wiemer, because again, swinging as soon as you see the ball takes a major portion of what is supposed to be the platoon advantage for a hitter (seeing the ball sooner) and turns it into a disadvantage. Wiemer swung more against left-handed pitchers last year. He chased non-strikes more, and he whiffed more when he did swing.

Yet, Wiemer's swing still works best--that is to say, his power and his bat speed--against left-handed hurlers. When he sees the ball and starts that swing and he's right about what pitch is coming, he hammers lefties. Against righties, it's not nearly as pretty.

Wiemer still has tremendous potential at the plate. He hit .256/.336/.465 in the minor leagues in 2022, and eventually, he's capable of replicating that batting line in the big leagues. He just needed to quiet down that swing--to give himself a longer clock, and more time to discern whether a pitch is worth swinging at or not.

Lo, and behold:

So… the Brewers were not lying about Joey Wiemer simplifying the swing… This is a humongous change

Courtesy of Brewers IG: pic.twitter.com/uZMxqBbDFw

— Spencer Michaelis (@smichaelis234) February 19, 2024

That's a simple swing. He's cut away the grandiloquent hand-talking, and the stride is down to a simple toe tap and slide. If Wiemer is likely to see time mostly against left-handed pitchers in 2024, then this kind of adjustment should make him much more effective against them.

The clock of a big-league career can run much, much longer than the one that starts when a pitcher lifts his stride leg. At other times, though, it can seem to run just as fast. Things sped up on Wiemer in 2023. The changes he's made entering spring training are the kind that can stop the countdown clock, at least for a bit--because they let him win the race against that much, much shorter one.

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[Trax]

Don't give up on Joey.  Yet.

[Jake McKibbin]

It's so exciting to see someone make such drastic changes and put in so much work to create this. It's one swing but that extra time can hopefully play to his advantage, and be more selective where and how he does damage

[Samurai Bucky]

One other thing to notice is his head.   The two examples had him facing some nasty offspeed pitches, but his head was always moving up and down.  Quiet hands combined with a quiet head (eye level) should help immensely.

[eddiemathews]

KISS...of Joey can concentrate on driving the ball up the middle, he has the power to hit it out to all fields. That'd be kinda exciting.

[Matt Breen]

I'm excited for Wiemer. I just hope the Brewers give him whatever he needs to improve and succeed. If that means some time at AAA - so be it. 

[alwz4gbp]

I'm happy to see this.  I like the kid but that swing of his was horrendous.  Even though it "worked" for him in the minors, at least one coach along the way should have known that it wasn't going to stand up in the majors.  Glad to see that he's working it out and more importantly, showing that he is coachable.  I really want this young group of OFers to beat all expectations.  This could be a pretty special group.  

[Fear The Chorizo]

Lets see how Wiemer looks in a game against live pitching before throwing parades for this swing change...for all we know that clip in the cage was part of a hitting drill designed to simply put bat to ball or hit the baseball to a specific spot on the field.  In that video, it looks like there's little to no follow through on the swing, i.e., it wasn't a full speed cut.

 

I seem to remember talk of Wiemer's reduced leg kick and hand movement in spring training last year, too.

 

I'm all for him quieting down his hands and reducing the noise/movement.  Hoping what he's worked on over the offseason translates to games.

[Jim French Stepstool]

2 hours ago, reillymcshane said:

I'm excited for Wiemer. I just hope the Brewers give him whatever he needs to improve and succeed. If that means some time at AAA - so be it. 

Unless he's an absolute monster throughout the month of March, I'd lean pretty heavily towards him starting out in Nashville. Of course the LH-heavy OF & Taylor being gone plays against that.

[Rick Daltons Flamethrower]

Likeable player. Potential, potential, potential.... really hoping it is more than just potential. Hope he proves it this season. I'm in his corner.

[JohnBriggs12]

16 hours ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

Unless he's an absolute monster throughout the month of March, I'd lean pretty heavily towards him starting out in Nashville. Of course the LH-heavy OF & Taylor being gone plays against that.

The additions of Hoskins and Sanchez has fortified the offense against LH pitching enough that they should be able to be patient with Wiemer especially if Chourio makes the club out of spring training.  Personally, I thought they were a bit premature in unloading Taylor but not so much just because he was a RH bat.  Beyond Yelich, there simply is very little major league experience in the OF and I'd rather have all those young guys getting regular AB's either in the majors or AAA.  Maybe moving Frelick to the infield solves that.