House That Hank Built
Fansided

What Is Wrong With Atlanta Braves’ Nick Markakis?

By Brandon Woodworth

May 30, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves right fielder Nick Markakis (22) celebrates with teammates after scoring a run against the San Francisco Giants in the second inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
May 30, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves right fielder Nick Markakis (22) celebrates with teammates after scoring a run against the San Francisco Giants in the second inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 3
Next
Nick Markakis knows my hater article is coming, knocks a dinger to shut me up.
Nick Markakis knows my hater article is coming, knocks a dinger to shut me up. /

Markakis Is Struggling, But Why?

Nick Markakis silenced some of his critics in a big way last year.  The former Oriole signed a 4 year, $44M deal with the Braves who had already begun rebuilding, and almost immediately after announced that he needed neck surgery.  It seemed like a mistake.

Fresh off of the surgery, Markakis had virtually no time to weight train in the offseason, and that seemingly showed through his 2015 performance.  But what he lacked in power he made up for in walks and an alarming amount of singles through the defense.  He ended the season with a rather robust .296/.370/.376 slash line.

The Atlanta Braves entered the season optimistic that Nick Markakis would be a consistent force to help take the sting out of their current rebuild.  There were reports that the Orioles had tried to re-acquire Markakis from the Braves, to which they obviously declined.  And in April, the Braves faith was seemingly rewarded.  Markakis slashed .302/.406/.430 with 11 doubles and was on his way to another solid season at the plate.  This caused me to pen a piece about why trading Markakis now would be the smartest move for the Braves going forward.

Well there’s an ugly truth the Braves might have to consider: Nick Markakis may no longer a productive every day baseball player.  (I realize how ill-timed this is after going 2-5 with a homer on Sunday… blame my internet service provider for the delayed piece)

That might be a very strong opinion, but he’s currently 296 plate appearances into his season, and here’s what we can observe from this healthy sample size:

  • His power has not and likely will not return (on pace for less than 5 home runs… again)
  • He’s no longer hitting seeing eye singles at an alarming rate (current .279 BABIP against a career .316)
  • His strikeout rate is the highest is has been since 2008, up 2.5% from last year
  • He’s currently on pace for roughly 140 hits, which would be his lowest in any year he has qualified for the batting title

Now to his credit, Markakis is actually hitting the ball off the bat a bit harder this year, as his Hard Hit % via Fangraphs is up over 5% from last year, but it is still generating just warning track power.  Combine this with the fact that he is hitting the ball on the ground less and into the air more, you’re not getting the same Markakis that was seemingly a very good hitter last year.  In fact, he might be taking his power criticisms to heart.

Next: Nick Is Hitting The Ball Up, But Not Away

Home/Braves News