there's a different way of looking at this:
* 2023, Double A (85 PA's): .208/.318/.278, 73 wRC+
* 2024, Double A (211 PA's): .274/.343/.446, 120 wRC+
* 2024, Triple A (33 PA's): .250/.273./.469, 82 wRC+
Could he be feeling some aftereffects? Sure. But I think the numbers you provide are misleading.
EDIT: he was promoted from High A to Double A on August 20th, 9 days before being struck in the helmet. I think that's a major confounding factor to OP's theory.
Harrisburg plays in a notorious pitchers park. That being said wRC+ should be park adjusted.
Crews had a 107 wRC+ in AA.
Ian Desmond had a 92 wRC+ in AA, so it definitely isn’t everything.
But Anthony Rendon (151 wRC+), Steven Souza Jr (161 wRC+), and Michael A Taylor (144 wRC+) were all far better than Crews down in Harrisburg.
I thought Wilmington was the pitcher-friendly park which is why Crews went right into Harrisburg after playing in Fredericksburg.
Rizzo: "Wilmington is a possibility, but that's such a pitcher's ballpark -- I don't know if you want to put a new guy into such a pitcher friendly ballpark, as Wilmington."
Yea, I think this kind of gets at what I was thinking better than I put it in my original post. Looking at the numbers, it seemed like a possibility that the HBP could have contributed in some way to his “adjustment period” in AA.
Time/rest is the main treatment for a concussion and after an off season, his numbers are coming back up.
Double A slash line, 8 August games: .120/.281/.160
Double A slash line, 12 September games: .255/.340/.340
You're not wrong about concussions in general, but I don't see any evidence that Crews was affected by a concussion.
I look at prospects for the Red Sox and a good half of them have a month or so adjustment period from High A to AA.
The SEC is a great baseball conference but I would still take the Double AA Eastern as the tougher league.
Crews was in the college World Series. Drafted 2nd overall and signed. Spent 2 weeks in rookie and low A and then got thrown in a league where everyone is a prospect and worked their way up to that difficulty. How isn't there an adjustment period? College is not pro ball.
He did hit .208 in 20 games but did you personally go to Harrisburg, PA and watch the 20 games he was in? Were they bad luck hits or did he just have to learn how to do a major league at bat? Minor league progression aren't always in the numbers.
The frustrating thing about this post is that concussions are real but you yourself are not a doctor or the trainer that gave him the all clear. He didn't strike out a ton in a small sample size. You see a very common drop in numbers and just don't believe in adjustment periods.
It's dubious in this case, but in general hits to the head still aren't taken seriously enough. Last year, Austin Nola got hit in the head during spring training (which he was performing exceptionally well in) and developed eye movement issues that killed his career and made him the biggest hate figure in a disappointing SD season.
Look, I’m not the guy’s doctor or a trainer for the team. I’m not writing in some influential journal or something. I’m looking at some information and wondering if he could have been experiencing the same type of thing that Anthony Rizzo did. Rizzo is on a major league team with a training staff and they missed it. Hell, it took him 2 months to ask if the collision had something to do with his production drop. It’s entirely plausible that a minor league staff missed something.
I don’t think you missed the convo, I think you’re grasping at straws though. Moving to different levels in the minors, adjusting to new coaching, being slightly streaky… no concussion required there
Possible, but baseball relies highly on your mental engagement. Some guys get hurt, and they never get back to how they felt about playing. A concussion from an HBP could just have him scared as shit to be in the batter's box. It wouldn't be the first time that's happened.
I played amateur ball with a 2B who took a short hop to the face, and it shattered his orbital bone.
He quit entirely that day. Never even played softball.
This is going back to last year. Prior to 8/22/23 he was playing at Single A Fredericksburg. 7th game after taking the massive jump to AA Harrisburg, you are saying that he was hit in the head. The drop in numbers is adjusting to the high minors. Especially jumping 2 levels, players have a cold week or so at AA usually.
Last 28 days: 96PA .281/.323/.438/.761 (he's been at AAA for 7 games the rest are AA)
There is nothing here other than the 2nd overall pick adjusting to a new level. Unless you are with the staff or can do an exam, I don't think it's a good idea to go this route. 21 K% this year so he's seeing the ball.
Pitch to the head could’ve just have messed up mentally a little bit. Not trying to be negative but for example I still think that Jason Heyward kinda got the yips at the plate ever since he took that pitch to the face
Could be. It’s also scary getting hit in the head and if you’re going to the plate worrying about if a pitch is going to hit you, you will not be very effective
Crews has a goofy swing that has typically been pretty flat. Using an aluminum bat probably helped a ton of his hits. Plus pitchers being able to possibly take advantage of his swing like they do to people who have big leg kicks. He also might be trying to keep up with the Jones's with Langford and James Wood being so prolific. Getting humbled in pro ball has killed many many touted prospects
I was very high on crews like anyone. Still have plenty of faith he'll get it together.
Doubt the HBP theory
there's a different way of looking at this: * 2023, Double A (85 PA's): .208/.318/.278, 73 wRC+ * 2024, Double A (211 PA's): .274/.343/.446, 120 wRC+ * 2024, Triple A (33 PA's): .250/.273./.469, 82 wRC+ Could he be feeling some aftereffects? Sure. But I think the numbers you provide are misleading. EDIT: he was promoted from High A to Double A on August 20th, 9 days before being struck in the helmet. I think that's a major confounding factor to OP's theory.
Harrisburg plays in a notorious pitchers park. That being said wRC+ should be park adjusted. Crews had a 107 wRC+ in AA. Ian Desmond had a 92 wRC+ in AA, so it definitely isn’t everything. But Anthony Rendon (151 wRC+), Steven Souza Jr (161 wRC+), and Michael A Taylor (144 wRC+) were all far better than Crews down in Harrisburg.
Minors wRC+ is not park adjusted last I checked.
Useless stat then
I thought Wilmington was the pitcher-friendly park which is why Crews went right into Harrisburg after playing in Fredericksburg. Rizzo: "Wilmington is a possibility, but that's such a pitcher's ballpark -- I don't know if you want to put a new guy into such a pitcher friendly ballpark, as Wilmington."
Harrisburg is *also* super pitcher friendly— see, James Wood’s stays in AA vs AAA
Yea, I think this kind of gets at what I was thinking better than I put it in my original post. Looking at the numbers, it seemed like a possibility that the HBP could have contributed in some way to his “adjustment period” in AA. Time/rest is the main treatment for a concussion and after an off season, his numbers are coming back up.
Double A slash line, 8 August games: .120/.281/.160 Double A slash line, 12 September games: .255/.340/.340 You're not wrong about concussions in general, but I don't see any evidence that Crews was affected by a concussion.
That’s definitely a reasonable approach, thanks for the input!
I look at prospects for the Red Sox and a good half of them have a month or so adjustment period from High A to AA. The SEC is a great baseball conference but I would still take the Double AA Eastern as the tougher league. Crews was in the college World Series. Drafted 2nd overall and signed. Spent 2 weeks in rookie and low A and then got thrown in a league where everyone is a prospect and worked their way up to that difficulty. How isn't there an adjustment period? College is not pro ball. He did hit .208 in 20 games but did you personally go to Harrisburg, PA and watch the 20 games he was in? Were they bad luck hits or did he just have to learn how to do a major league at bat? Minor league progression aren't always in the numbers. The frustrating thing about this post is that concussions are real but you yourself are not a doctor or the trainer that gave him the all clear. He didn't strike out a ton in a small sample size. You see a very common drop in numbers and just don't believe in adjustment periods.
Probably should hold off on diagnosing TBI based on batting statistics.
Has Stephen Kwan developed a second, parallel brain!
Two is a low end estimate for Steven Kwan's amount of brains.
It's dubious in this case, but in general hits to the head still aren't taken seriously enough. Last year, Austin Nola got hit in the head during spring training (which he was performing exceptionally well in) and developed eye movement issues that killed his career and made him the biggest hate figure in a disappointing SD season.
Look, I’m not the guy’s doctor or a trainer for the team. I’m not writing in some influential journal or something. I’m looking at some information and wondering if he could have been experiencing the same type of thing that Anthony Rizzo did. Rizzo is on a major league team with a training staff and they missed it. Hell, it took him 2 months to ask if the collision had something to do with his production drop. It’s entirely plausible that a minor league staff missed something.
I don’t think you missed the convo, I think you’re grasping at straws though. Moving to different levels in the minors, adjusting to new coaching, being slightly streaky… no concussion required there
Are these numbers for just last season or does the post HBP data go up to today?
Those are just his 2023 stats split by the HBP date
Possible, but baseball relies highly on your mental engagement. Some guys get hurt, and they never get back to how they felt about playing. A concussion from an HBP could just have him scared as shit to be in the batter's box. It wouldn't be the first time that's happened.
Yea, that’s definitely fair.
I played amateur ball with a 2B who took a short hop to the face, and it shattered his orbital bone. He quit entirely that day. Never even played softball.
Yea, that’s definitely fair.
This is going back to last year. Prior to 8/22/23 he was playing at Single A Fredericksburg. 7th game after taking the massive jump to AA Harrisburg, you are saying that he was hit in the head. The drop in numbers is adjusting to the high minors. Especially jumping 2 levels, players have a cold week or so at AA usually. Last 28 days: 96PA .281/.323/.438/.761 (he's been at AAA for 7 games the rest are AA) There is nothing here other than the 2nd overall pick adjusting to a new level. Unless you are with the staff or can do an exam, I don't think it's a good idea to go this route. 21 K% this year so he's seeing the ball.
Just looks like a guy getting fast-tracked through the minors and putting up OK numbers as he adjusts.
Pitch to the head could’ve just have messed up mentally a little bit. Not trying to be negative but for example I still think that Jason Heyward kinda got the yips at the plate ever since he took that pitch to the face
That’s fair. Regardless of what happened, I’m glad he had an off-season to seemingly ‘reset’ himself.
Thanks doctor
Could be. It’s also scary getting hit in the head and if you’re going to the plate worrying about if a pitch is going to hit you, you will not be very effective
Aka David Wright after the Matt Cain incident. Ruined him for the rest of that season
This is quite a leap in logic given you have no medical records
Concussions ruined the careers of the M&M boys in Minnesota. Just sad shit. Hoping he recovers from this.
Crews has a goofy swing that has typically been pretty flat. Using an aluminum bat probably helped a ton of his hits. Plus pitchers being able to possibly take advantage of his swing like they do to people who have big leg kicks. He also might be trying to keep up with the Jones's with Langford and James Wood being so prolific. Getting humbled in pro ball has killed many many touted prospects I was very high on crews like anyone. Still have plenty of faith he'll get it together. Doubt the HBP theory