Matt Shaw was demoted to Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday after coming out of the gate cold to start his MLB career, slashing .172/.294/.241 with a 66 wRC+ and one homer. While I’d have been perfectly happy to see him continue working through his struggles at the highest level, there’s plenty of evidence — both statistical and anecdotal — to support a reset in the minors. If forced to guess, I’d say the young slugger suffered from a bad case of indecision at the plate.
There’s so little time to think in the box that hitters can’t afford to wait until the ball is on them to make a swing decision.