2023 RISP: .163/.221/.279 (.500 OPS)
Arguably, the most frustrating issue for Renfroe this season isn’t his poor numbers with RISP (Ward has a .470 OPS), but rather the number of opportunities he gets in those situations. He’s in the 93rd percentile of PAs with RISP while also being among the worst performers in the league with RISP. If you look into Renfroe’s batted ball splits, you can get a better picture as to why his numbers are so horrendous.
Fangraph’s Batted Balls Splits:
| Bases Empty | RISP | |
|---|---|---|
| Line Drive | 13.1% | 19.4% |
| Ground Ball | 35.2% | 45.2% |
| Fly Ball | 51.6% | 35.5% |
| Infield Pop-ups | 7.9% | 31.8% |
| Pull % | 48.4% | 66.1% |
| Cent % | 32.0% | 29.0% |
| Oppo % | 19.7% | 4.8% |
| Soft Contact | 16.4% | 27.4% |
| Medium Contact | 45.9% | 43.5% |
| Hard Contact | 37.7% | 29.0% |
Renfroe goes from your typical “strikeout-flyball”, pull slugger with the bases empty to an extreme-pull, ground ball and popup machine, liability with RISP.
With RISP (min 50 PAs), he has the 2nd highest Pull% in the league behind Joey Gallo and the 2nd largest gap in popup percentage (23.9%) between RISP and bases-empty situations. I think we all, in the back of our minds, somewhat already knew all this, but it’s crazy to see just how extreme the difference is.
Something good to note though, in the last couple weeks, the Angels have been trying to get him more ABs down in the order and it’s been relatively effective, with Renfroe sporting a .930 OPS in the 6th hole this season (47 PAs).
Personally, I think this is the right move going forward when some of the starters come back from injury post-break. It allows Renfroe to be a player that “keeps the train moving” with his occasional pop, rather than the guy who’s driving the train and derailing the entire inning. Unfortunately, Ward is also in the same boat, but he has a much better approach at the plate than Renfroe. I think going forward, it would be ideal for the Angels to try and put Renfroe and Ward in the 6th and 7th hole respectively whenever they start together.
