The Austin Nola dilemma
Austin Nola is somehow blocking the #4 prospect in the Padres system despite not being a good hitter or a good catcher. We need to talk about this.
Good morning! Before we get started, I wanted to deliver a positive piece of news that you’re probably already aware of:
Trent Grisham has started hitting.
In the last week, he is hitting .313 with a .389 OBP and a .563 slugging percentage, although that last number is definitely driven up by Grisham’s walk-off HR yesterday:
While a HR will definitely boost your slugging percentage in such a small sample size, the batting average and OBP are not nearly as affected. In fact, since last week when Grish started finding value by becoming a bunting machine, there were signs that he was started to make better and more consistent contact.
As long as he doesn’t fall off a cliff after this homestand, Grisham may have narrowly avoided losing his job (at least, temporarily). More on that in a second.
Now, we’ve spent a lot of time talking about Trent Grisham’s offensive struggles this season and what the Padres need to do about them, but one guy who is in a similar situation with a lot less attention is Austin Nola.
Yes, I talked about this two months ago, but now we have more to discuss.
So, today, we’re going to talk about what’s going on with Nola’s swing, why he’s still the starter, and what might change if he doesn’t find a spark soon like Grisham seemingly has.
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