Sal Frelick's Swing Has Changed, But the Key to His Breakout Season is Timing

The transformation of Brice Turang has been a bit more obvious and glamorous, but Sal Frelick has come just as far this year. In 2024, he batted .259/.320/.335, His strikeout rate was quite low, but when he put the ball in play, good things hardly ever happened. Of 980 player-seasons since the pandemic featuring 400 or more plate appearances, Frelick's 2024 has the seventh-lowest hard-hit rate. He was as punchless a hitter as you can be.

What a difference a year makes. Yes, Frelick still has a low hard-hit rate, but now that's mostly because he's so willing to cut down his swing and put the ball in play with two strikes. His strikeout rate is down to 12.9%, because he refuses to swing and miss when there's a chance to make a more productive out. He only had 78 hard-hit balls all year in 2024; he's already at 112 this year.

Much of that stems from the big increase in Frelick's bat speed. He's one of just 12 players whose swing speed has spiked by more than 2 miles per hour this year, and while Turang's increase of more than double that number has stolen the headlines and vaulted him toward 20 home runs, Frelick is turning into a low-grade slugger in his own right—thanks not only to the bat speed itself, but to his change of intent and timing.

For any hitter (but especially one without elite bat speed, to generate well-hit balls even when mis-hitting the ball), the ability to pull the ball is the key to hitting for power. Frelick pulled just 29.3% of his batted balls during his half-season debut in 2023, and 29.5% in 2024. This year, that figure is up to 42.8%. He's not a one-dimensional hitter, by any means, but he's made pulling the ball with authority his Plan A when he steps to the plate this year. That, alone, makes a huge difference. 

To execute that plan, though, a hitter has to not only create bat speed, but get started on time. Now that we can measure the former relatively easily, the temptation is to weigh it more heavily. but for most hitters, the latter is both more difficult and more important. Frelick has a bigger leg kick this year, which has helped generate the force required to swing faster and hit the ball harder. To hit it squarely and catch it farther out front with that bigger move, though, he has to start a bit earlier, too.

Here's a glimpse at the change. First, let's look at a ball he hit hard with his 'A' swing last year. It came on a 2-1 pitch from the Cubs' Mark Leiter Jr.

He was in an aggressive mode there, but even a hard cut only produced a slightly looping line drive to center. Compare that swing and result to what happened on this 1-1 pitch from Kirby Yates of the Dodgers, in July.

You can see how much harder he's swinging now. That leg kick gets everything moving more, and he's willing to risk being off-balance so as to unleash the full force of his lower half at the contact point. But there's also a major timing element here. Let's isolate just the first part of each pitch, as the opposing reliever kicks and fires and Frelick gears up. First, the 2024 version:

Although it's a small stride with the front foot, it's also starting pretty late. He's still raising the foot when Leiter releases the ball, which means he'll barely get it down before the ball enters the hitting zone. He has to use a very short swing to get the barrel to the ball, at that point. Now, here's the same half-clip for the 2025 homer.

His leg kick reaches its peak well before release, and he even slightly coils his front hip in that early phase. By the time Yates lets go of the ball, Frelick is working forward in his lower half and his foot is on its way down. In the last frame of the clip, we see his hands still up and back, but the front foot firmly planted and a torrent of energy racing through his body. The result is easy to imagine, even if you hadn't already seen it happen.

Every hitter's timing signature is different, and every adjustment a hitter makes to their swing requires a change within their own timing band. For Frelick, with this more kinetic and violent swing, the key is that he's getting the foot down on time but not losing the energy he generated by moving so aggressively toward the ball. That's how he's gotten to more power this year without sacrificing contact, and it's how he's gotten around the ball consistently enough to drive it for extra bases.

His numbers don't make one's eyes bug out the way those of bigger sluggers with higher power ceilings can, but Frelick has become a thoroughly dangerous hitter. Any player who can both hit for power and avoid strikeouts as well as he does drives opponents crazy, and Frelick adds plus speed and the ability to hang in against left-handed pitching to that formula. All his power comes against righties, but he can control the zone even left-on-left. He's a tough out in all situations, and against all pitchers. Such players are vanishingly rare, and in Frelick and Turang, the Brewers have two of them, comfortable hitting all over the lineup. It's a huge advantage, and one reason why the Crew are the best team in baseball.