This spring, Kyren Paris took the Angels’ organization by storm, posting a .400/.449/.667 line that took him from forgotten prospect to unexpected addition to the 26-man roster. After two brief big league stints in 2023 and 2024, where he hit .100 and .118, respectively, leading many to believe that the 23-year-old was a bust.
However, when that hot hitting carried over to the regular season, Paris slashed a mind-numbing .400/.488/.914 from opening day until April 12th, the baseball world at large began to take notice. However, from April 13th through April 24th, Paris has been mired in a 1-for-26 slump with no walks and 15 strikeouts, calling into question the legitimacy of his breakout.
Paris’s early-season hot streak seemed more substantial because of the work he did in the offseason. Rather than simply being the beneficiary of good luck, Paris sought out help over the offseason, working with Richard Schenck, Aaron Judge’s personal hitting coach, and completely overhauling his stance and mechanics. Paris’s setup at the dish looks a lot like Judge’s, and the spring training and early-season results appeared Judge-like as well.
However, baseball is a game of adjustments and plenty a young player have fizzled out quick, unable to adapt to the way pitchers attack them once the book is out. Paris is experiencing this now, and he’ll have to improve in very specific areas to avoid turning into a pumpkin and proving his early season success was merely a mirage.
Angels’ star Kyren Paris needs to make these key adjustments to prove his breakout is for real
Paris wasn’t going to bat .400 over the course of the season, however, if he wants to prove that his early-season success wasn’t a fluke, there are some specific adjustments to prove that he can get back on track.
What pitchers have realized is that the young Angel is prone to chasing pitches, particularly those above or below the zone. On the season, his 29.5% chase rate ranks in the 34th percentile in baseball. When he chases, he usually misses, posting a 44.6% whiff rate that ranks at the very bottom in the first percentile.
Paris has seen a lot of fastballs above the strike zone and has offered at those pitches at rates much greater than average. Per Baseball Savant, Paris has swung and missed at pitches in four six-inch sectors above the strike zone much more than the average hitter in most scenarios. His whiff rate above the strike zone and on the inside corner is 0% versus a league-average of 26%; however, in the other three sectors directly above the strike zone his whiff rate ranges between 40% and 67% while the league average sits between 24% to 25% depending on the sector.
In addition, Paris has struggled with sinkers down in the zone as pitchers have figured out that working north to south against him with velocity is the key to getting him out. From opening day through April 12th, Paris posted run value of 6.9 against fastballs and 0.0 against sinkers, however from April 13th through April 24th he’s seen those run values dip to -1.2 against fastballs and -1.9 against sinkers.
When he was on a tear in the early going, Paris saw 56.2% of pitches in the zone and only swung at offerings outside the strike zone 25% of the time. From April 13th on, the zone percentage has dropped to 50.8%, and his swing rate at balls outside the strike zone has skyrocketed to 33.9% as pitchers have realized that the youngster is prone to chasing.
Whether the issue is overconfidence after going on such a tear in the early going or an issue with pitch recognition, Paris is going to have to make the necessary adjustments to lay off pitches above the zone, while also reacting quicker to pitches with velocity at the bottom of the strike zone.
The good news is that these issues are common amongst young players as they tend to get swing happy, especially once they experience some early success. The bad news is that not all are able to overcome those bad habits and develop a mature approach at the plate. For Paris, only time will tell which path he will follow.
