Black said the difference between this year and last, when Anderson consistently forced weak contact, is the downward tilt of the pitches. It's not as great this year, which means hitters can match the plane of the pitch and hit balls harder. According to Statcast™, his ground-ball rate had dropped from 53.3 percent in 2016 to 37.5 percent this year. Combined on his fastball and changeup, the ground-ball rate has dropped from 36.6 percent to 31.3 percent.
"There are a couple things on the mechanics side that we were talking to Andy about -- me, Holmie and Fostie identified some things we want to put into play physically," Black said.