John Jaso Has Been Really Good Lately

John Jaso has been swinging a hot bat for over a month

The 2017 season could not have gotten off to much worse of a start for Pirate left-handed hitter John Jaso. The first baseman/outfielder did not collect his first hit of the season until April 19th. However, ever since he has collected this first base hit he has been a very productive hitter.

When John Jaso rolled out of bed on April 19th, he was batting a cool .000. At this point, he was 0-for-17 on the season. This included drawing just 2 walks, while having struck out 4 times. However, he has been a completely different hitter since then.

John Jaso’s struggles came as a surprise. Entering the season, John Jaso had 2,289 career plate appearance. He owned a .359 on-base percentage, .340 wOBA, and a 118 wRC+ in these 2,289 plate appearances. So, entering the season, Jaso had been an above league average hitter during his Major League career.

This alone should have told everyone and anyone who would listen that John Jaso was bound to turn things around. The past 7 weeks this is exactly what has happened. John Jaso is starting to produce at an above league average level once again.

On April 19th, John Jaso went 2-for-4 against the St. Louis Cardinals. The pair of singles that Jaso collected back on April 19th were his first hits of the season. Since this game, he has taken off at the plate.

Including his game on April 19th, John Jaso has accumulated 113 plate appearances the past 7 weeks. He owns a .270/.354/.450/.804 slash line, 11.5 percent walk rate, .180 ISO, .345 wOBA, and a 116 wRC+ during this stretch.

John Jaso has also been hitting the ball with authority during this stretch. During his past 113 plate appearances Jaso owns a 26.3 percent line drive rate, 35.5 percent hard contact rate, and has hit ground balls at just a 30.3 percent rate.

The contact Jaso has been collecting, combined with his drop in ground balls, indicates that his current hot stretch is certainly sustainable. Since the Pirates’ next series takes place at Camden Yards in Baltimore, meaning the Bucs will be able to use the designated hitter, look for Jaso to be the team’s DH on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Next: Williams Has Earned The Right To Stay In The Rotation

There is no denying that John Jaso’s 2017 season got off to a miserable start. Due to this, his overall numbers this season are not very pretty. However, the past 7 weeks he has been swinging a very hot bat and his numbers are steadily improving. Once again, John Jaso is a good left-handed bat for the Pirates to have.