Has Alex Avila Ever Been This Hot? (It's Close)
By Will Burchfield
@burchie_kid
Alex Avila, at the moment, is the hottest hitter in baseball.
Only this streak he's on, this improbable batting barrage, is nearing two months in length.
At what point does "hottest" simply become "best?"
Among hitters with at least 50 plate appearances, Avila leads the majors in average (.382), OBP (.488) and OPS (1.194). He has made hard contact on a whopping 60.4 percent of batted balls, another category in which he ranks first.
"If he keeps hitting like this," said Brad Ausmus, after Avila went 3-3 with a homer and a double in Detroit's 9-3 win over Texas on Saturday night, "he's gonna find himself playing every day."
The Tigers have been judicious with Avila's playing time thus far given his age (30) and injury history. But even with the team reaching full health, Avila, signed primarily to be the backup catcher, is going to force his name into the starting lineup.
"I think we gotta be careful with him a little bit, but he's certainly going to be in there again (Sunday)," said Ausmus.
How couldn't he be? Every time Avila steps to the plate, it seems, he's either lifting a ball into the seats or lashing one into the gap.
"He's probably just trying to impress his dad," Ausmus said with a chuckle. "No, he's just having good at-bats. He's swinging the bat well, he's using left field a lot more than he had when he was here earlier when I was managing (in 2014 and 2015). He was a lot more pull-oriented. Now he's driving the ball to left center (and down the) left field line a lot more."
Said Avila, "I feel pretty good hitting the ball where it's pitched. Whether it's away or in, I feel comfortable being able to put a good swing on it. I know most of my power's going to be to left center, usually that's where I've been most consistent, but when the ball's in I do have to show that I can pull it as well."
He made that clear in the first inning on Saturday night, when Rangers starter A.J. Griffin came inside with a fastball and Avila yanked it into the right-center field seats. Then, in the fourth, he swatted a fastball on the outside corner into the left-center field gap for a double and another RBI. Just to be sure.
"He never really gets out of his zone -- occasionally on a breaking ball moving down, but he's always gotten his walks," said Ausmus. "Matter of fact, I think he's actually being a little more aggressive in the zone than he was in prior seasons."
Speaking of prior seasons, has Avila ever ridden an offensive wave like the tsunami he's on now?
"I'm not really sure," he said. "I know I had some good months in 2011 and some good months in 2013 as well, but I don't know the exact numbers on it."
Let's see for ourselves.
First, the 2017 reference points: 25 games, .382 AVG, 1.194 OPS, 5 HR, 18 RBI. Here are the best offensive streaks of his career of a corresponding length.
2011
April 6 - May 4: 23 games, .333 AVG, 1.001 OPS, 5 HR, 20 RBI
June 1 - 30: 24 games, .346 AVG, .960 OPS, 2 HR, 17 RBI
August 2 - 27: 22 games, .408 AVG, 1.300 OPS, 7 HR, 17 RBI
2013
September 1 - 27: 22 games, .359 AVG, .993 OPS, 2 HR, 7 RBI
And that's it. In no other year, as Avila suggested, did he come close to matching the heater that he's on now.
But that run in August of 2011 clearly stands out. It's the only offensive streak of his career that bests his current one. The difference is that, back then, Avila was playing just about everyday so the streak was much shorter in literal duration. What's most impressive about this year's stretch is that Avila has made it last nearly seven weeks (and counting) despite intermittent playing time.
Or is it due to the intermittent playing time? As Ausmus said a couple days ago, a wry grin forming at the corners of his mouth, "He's swinging the bat well -- maybe he's swinging the bat well because he's not being overused."
Either way, the Tigers are loving it.
"It's a lot of fun to watch, man," said Avila's good buddy Justin Verlander. "I know he's worked really hard to get himself back. The talent's there, we saw it early in his career and it doesn't just go away. I think he got beat up a little bit for a period of time and I think you're seeing what he can do. I mean, he started the All-Star Game (in 2011). So I think he's just healthy and feeling good and doing what he can."
Verlander picked up the win in Saturday night's game, holding the Rangers to three runs over seven innings. He received a hand from Avila both at the plate and in the field. After Avila made a juggling catch on a foul fly ball down the first base line to end the seventh inning, Verlander greeted him between first and second base with a glove bump and a big grin.
"He said, 'Nice catch, and you hit a homer -- just like old times,'" Avila recalled.
Said Verlander, "I think in 2011 he hit a homer almost every time I started."
Indeed, nine of Avila's 19 home runs in 2011 came in games in which Verlander was the starting pitcher.
As Avila was running off the field and toward the Tigers dugout, a chant broke out in Comerica Park. MVP! MVP! MVP!
Statistically, anyway, the fans weren't wrong. Through 41 games, Avila leads the Tigers in both Wins Above Replacement (1.4) and Win Probability Added (1.07). He has been their hottest hitter, their best hitter and their most valuable one, too.
Asked afterward if he'd heard the chants, Avila asked which ones.
Well, the MVP ones, of course.
"Oh jeez," he said with a laugh. "What a question."
And what a start.
Note: All stats courtesy of fangraphs.com.