On Tuesday, October 24^th, the Schaumburg Boomers signed first baseman Kewby Meyer.

Meyer, a 37^th round draft pick by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2015, played two seasons in their farm system, posting a wOBA of .333 in 2015 for the Princeton Rays(Rookie League) and a wOBA of .361 for the Bowling Green Hot Rods (Mid-A) in 2016.

Meyer transitioned to independent league ball, where the left-handed hitter played for the Salina Stockades of the American Association in 2017, posting a .304 wOBA(using the basic wOBA equation).

Those numbers may not be eye-popping, but there a few percentages that are eye popping compared to a certain major league.

That major leaguer? His name is in the title.

Looking at comparisons in terms of Line Drive, Groundball, and Fly Ball percentages, Kewby Meyer’s Minor League totals over 2 years compares to Cody Bellinger’s 2017 season.

(The reason behind not using Meyer’s 2017 LD, GB, and FB percentages is that the American Association does not have presently available information)

Here are the results:

Meyer’s percentages in the leagues that he’s played in compares to Bellinger’s. The only difference is the infield fly ball percentage(denounced as IFFB%), Meyer hits a fly ball in the infield nearly 3 times as much as Cody Bellinger, meaning that Meyer’s launch angle exceeds 35 degrees too often.

A slight change in approach and swing could fix that.

In an interview conducted by Jessica Mendoza, Cody Bellinger talks about using his hands to load for a swing rather than his body to not only generate more power, but an improved launch angle. Bellinger moves his barrel towards the pitcher while keeping the back elbow firm as he is swinging, thus creating more power through a firm, yet quick swing. Other players like Justin Turner and Chris Taylor hit with a similar approach as well.

In the aforementioned video, Bellinger states he started changing his approach while at Rancho Cucamonga, the Dodgers’ A affiliate in 2014. Were there results with this?

Yes, but not immediately.

Bellinger decreased his infield fly ball percentage each year with his peak coming in 2017.

How about fly ball percentage in comparison to his infield fly ball percentage? As Bellinger’s FB% increased, his IFFB% decreased.

With most Frontier Leaguers, their swings cause “topspin” which cause short fly balls to the opposite field. With a little adjustment in the elbow and barrel, Kewby Meyer could not only improve his launch angle(thus reducing IFFB% and increasing FB%) but also decrease “topspin” and become the Frontier League’s version of Cody Bellinger in the coming future.

Well played, Schaumburg.

The post The Schaumburg Boomers May Have Found the Next Cody Bellinger appeared first on KRUI Radio.

The defending National Champions in the Major Baseball League manage to survive. For now. The mounting of a comeback has begun in Chicago. In a low scoring match between the Chicago Cubs and the LA Dodgers, the Cubs would top their adversaries 3-2 in Wrigley Field.

This particular addition to the series would face off Jake Arrieta and Alex Wood. Unlike other faceoffs between the Dodgers and Cubs, this matchup would only allow runs scored off home runs. In similar fashion to Game 3, the Cubs would strike first on a second inning home run from Wilson Contreras. A 491 foot bomb into left field.

Contrasting the previous outing, Chicago would not merely score once this inning. The 437 foot belt into left by Javier Baez would further the gap. This hit is very significant for the second baseman. The end of a 0 for 20 streak slayed the demons which haunted Baez for longer than any Cubs fan would enjoy.

Despite this, the Dodgers would respond the next inning. Another homer, this one from first baseman Cody Bellinger. The score would stay at a 2-1 standstill until the fifth inning following the 378 foot blast.

Off of another pitch by Wood, Baez would once again swing for the fences. And succeed. A 380 foot solo shot into left field put the Dodgers into a 3-1 hole. In spite of their best attempts, LA would stay in the hole. An eighth inning home run by Justin Turner tightens the gap to a single run once more. Nonetheless, this would be the last run scored by either side.

The bullpens for both Los Angeles and Chicago performed well in Game 4 with both sides totaling more than 10 strikeouts a piece. The Cubs would total 12 strikeouts and the Dodgers, 11. The Dodgers would end up pulling 6 members of the bullpen onto to mound in opposition to Chicago bringing only Arrieta, Brian Duensing, and Wade Davis to close.

In the top of the ninth, Game 4 ends in dramatic fashion with a Bellinger hit turning into a Chicago double play. The Cubs stave off elimination to earn another fight. Game 5 between the Cubs and Dodgers will occur Thursday night at Wrigley Field once again. Clayton Kershaw will be on the mound for the Dodgers facing Chicago’s Jose Quintana with the first pitch at 7:08 pm CST on TBS.

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