Swing Analysis
Tyler Greene

11/26/2011

One of the off-season topics for the St. Louis Cardinals is the question of the shortstop and whether Tyler Greene is someone that the Cardinals can count on or whether, as they did in 2011 with Ryan Theriot and Rafael Furcal, they need to find another option.

Based on what I see in Tyler Greene's swing, I don't believe that, over the course of a full season, Tyler Greene is going to be able to deliver significantly better numbers than he has delivered over the past three years. Let me explain why I say that.

Tyler Greene

The clips above shows Tyler Greene hitting a home run to left field. While this ball went a long way, I have some concerns with the hitting mechanics that Tyler Greene used to hit this ball.

Tyler Greene

The first thing that I see in the swing of Tyler Greene is something that is relatively easy to fix. The thing to notice is how much Tyler Greene's back foot moves. That is an indication that Tyler Greene is bleeding off energy and may have to swing harder as a result. That could be a good thing because it indicates that, if Tyler Greene was able to fix this problem, he could swing just a bit easier and, perhaps, improve his average.

Tyler Greene

The biggest thing that I see in Tyler Greene's swing is a fairly serious problem with his back elbow.

The thing to notice is how, as he starts his swing, Tyler Greene's back elbow slides forward of his hands. This is something that you don't see in the swings of high-level hitters. Instead, good hitters tend to keep their hands forward of their back elbows because that improves their leverage and helps to keep their swings short.

Albert Pujols' Swing

However, you do see this pattern in the swings of hitters who hit well through the AAA level but who struggle at the major league level.

Matt Pagnozzi

The clip above shows the back arm and elbow of Matt Pagnozzi. He has yet to manage to hit well at the major league level. His swing shows the same pattern; notice how his back elbow gets ahead of his hands for several frames.

Another Leaky Back Elbow

The clip above, of a client of mine, shows the same pattern. Notice how his back elbow slides forward of his hands and his back hip. This lengthens his swing just enough that, while he is able to hit well at the AAA level, he still hasn't managed to get this flaw out of his swing and struggles to hit well at the major league level.

I have spent a significant amount of time working with the hitter above and suggesting ways of dealing with his problem with his back elbow. Given that he hasn't been able to fix this problem, you have to wonder if Tyler Greene will be able to fix his problem and will ever live up to his billing, at least at the plate.