Angels bat-tracking data analysis

This story was excerpted from Rhett Bollinger’s Angels Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

HOUSTON — With the help of new technology and MLB’s incredible analytics department, a new trove of a bat-tracking data was publicly released last week.

With that in mind, here are a few interesting takeaways from the new data as it relates to Angels players:

Adell swings the bat hard, but maintains contact with two strikes

Outfielder Jo Adell has one of the hardest swings in baseball, as it averages 76.6 mph, which is tied for the sixth-hardest in baseball with Aaron Judge. He’s right in line with slugger Kyle Schwarber (77.1 mph) and Braves superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. (76.7 mph). But swing speed isn’t everything, as Giancarlo Stanton has by far the hardest swing in the Majors at 80.6 mph but has been a below-average hitter this year.

That’s why MLB also tracks the squared-up rate and blasts, which — despite his prior issues with strikeouts — Adell has been able to still produce with two strikes. He’s produced a blast on 16.9 percent of his swings with two strikes, which leads the Angels and is much higher than the league average of 10 percent. It’s a good sign for Adell, who is experiencing a breakout year and is aware of his ability to swing harder than his peers.

“I’m pretty aware that when I swing, I’m not getting cheated on it,” Adell said. “The numbers show what that is. But I think more so than that, when I’ve gotten my A-swing off, I’ve been able to do damage with it. I think that’s the most important thing.”

Trout still possesses plenty of bat speed

Angels superstar Mike Trout remains out after undergoing surgery to repair his left meniscus on May 3, but the bat swing data prior to his injury shows he still has one of the game’s hardest swings. Trout has an average bat speed of 75.7 mph, which ranks tied for 11th with Yordan Alvarez, Willson Contreras and Gunnar Henderson.

Trout also ranks highly with his blast percentage but struggled to make consistent contact this year, which explains why he had a .220 average but 10 homers in 29 games. Trout knows he needs to improve his contact rate, but when he gets ahold of one, he doesn’t get cheated. He said he tries to stay short to the ball, although his swing length of 7.6 feet is tied for first on the team with Mickey Moniak and Adell.

“For me, it’s about being short and quick,” Trout said. “I think when I get long and slow, that’s when my at-bats get out of whack. So I always tell myself to be short and quick.”

Schanuel has short, slow swing but high contact rate

Rookie Nolan Schanuel has an interesting profile for a first baseman. His average bat speed of 65.9 mph is the third-slowest swing in the Majors, while his swing length of 6.7 feet is tied for the seventh-shortest along with Corey Seager. At first glance, the bat speed is a concern, but the slowest bat in the Majors belongs to Luis Arraez, and Steven Kwan and Justin Turner have also had success with slow bat speeds.

Schanuel makes up for it by squaring up the ball on 37.3 percent of his swings, which is the third-best mark in the Majors behind Arraez and Mookie Betts. It’s not a recipe for power, but he does possess elite bat-to-ball skills that could make him an unorthodox contact-hitting first baseman.

“I’m a pretty old-school player,” Schanuel said. “I’ve never really looked into launch angle or exit velo. If you hit a ball hard enough to find grass, it’s a hit. Same thing if you hit it 70 mph. A hit is a hit.”

Sandoval is the king of inducing swords

Lefty Patrick Sandoval has had an up and down year but has been pitching better recently with a 2.63 ERA in four May starts. His stuff suggests he’s a much better pitcher than what he’s shown overall this season.

Sandoval has induced 10 swords (tied for second in the Majors), which tracks when a pitcher makes the hitter look foolish on a swinging strike. Sandoval has strong enough offerings to dominate hitters, but it’s clear he needs to continue to work on his overall mix and pitch selection.