With a Simple Timing Adjustment, Joey Wiemer is Breaking Out

In May, Joey Wiemer had a slash line of .188/.274/.306 for a .580 OPS. At times, it looked like, even despite his defense, he needed to be sent down to work on some adjustments that could allow his power to come through at the major-league level. He had some early-season BABIP luck, beating out infield dribblers, but hasn’t produced solid, consistent contact at any point.

He has an expected batting average (xBA) of .195, has an expected weighted on-base average (xwOBA) of .284, and a hard-hit rate in the 28th percentile for the league. Not the power-hitting right fielder we expected, and his swing-and-miss tendencies have had him looking almost blind at the plate through May. So why the optimism?

Everything with Wiemer, since joining the Brewers in the fourth round in 2020, has been centered on simplifying his swing, which looks wild to say the least. When things go wrong at the plate, the Brewers usually go to their default answer: “Let’s eliminate his leg kick.” That (non-)movement is catching the league by storm, with the likes of Jeremy Pena adopting the approach, as well as Keston Hiura.

In this case, it seems to have worked. Before Wednesday, Wiemer had just 13 out of 108 batted balls hit 102 mph or harder. Since Thursday, though, he has hit six out of 12 batted balls over that mark, producing much more regular, solid contact and more professional at-bats. On Sunday, he had a 103-mph groundout, a 106-mph single, and 104-mph ground ball that (alas) became a double play. On Monday, he hit two doubles, one of which was over 110 mph, and his only out came after hitting a ball just foul into the upper decks in the Great American Ball Park.

In his most recent home run, look how much less stressful the swing is:

432 ft... that's gas!#ThisIsMyCrew | @JWiems17 pic.twitter.com/EPixrisXWQ

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) June 2, 2023

Wiemer has had just four strikeouts in his last 22 at-bats. In the 64 previous trips, he had 25, a 39-percent strikeout rate. In his recent at-bats, he seems to have developed better timing, with a much smoother swing, but this could be due less to the toe tap he worked on in the late minors last season than to his awareness. His pitch recognition has looked far superior to what we saw earlier in the season, and he’s able to hit through the ball rather than simply poke at it when anything offspeed comes at him. He’s getting into better counts and doing damage.

In short, the main difference between Joey Wiemer of a month ago, and the version we have now is his calmness at the plate. His swing has evolved to look far less panicky, and he has a better idea of what pitchers are trying to do to him.

Compare the above clip in terms of timing to his first AB in the major leagues:

Duck-snort double for Joey Wiemer's first @MLB hit! pic.twitter.com/kiMwbqoNvP

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 1, 2023

It’s resulted in him being able to attack pitchers, as well as take his walks, with five walks in the last week and a slash line of .318/.444/.545. That’s to go along with some BABIP misfortune, with some balls rifled at fielders. If we’re seeing the Joey Wiemer breakout, then the Brewers will be going a long way towards fixing their impotent May offense.

Joey has arrived.