One look at Dansby Swanson‘s .169/.222/.349 slash line is enough to tell an undiscerning observer everything they need to know about the shortstop. They believe he’s at least 38% worse than the average player, as his 62 wRC+ indicates. But a look under the hood presents a lot of conflicting evidence and a great deal of optimism for a quick offensive turnaround.
First up is Swanson’s .179 batting average on balls in play, a mark nearly 130 points below his career average coming into this season. That tells us he’s been disproportionately impacted by bad luck, especially given his career-best 92.