MLB

Breaking it Down: Herrera destroys an impossibly low pitch

Photo Credit: Sporting News

Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Odubel Herrera has displayed his consistently displayed his power throughout the season — he currently has a career high ISO of .167 — but he hadn’t quite flashed his full potential yet…until Tuesday night.

In the top of the fifth inning Herrera came up to the plate following a Maikel Franco single, with the Phillies up 3-1. The Braves were carefully attempting to pitch around the 25-year old outfielder by keeping the ball low and inside, and that’s exactly where Atlanta’s ace put it.

Herrera pitch location, Herrera bomb 8-8-2017

All screen caps of the homerun are from the Statcast .GIf at the end of this article

Julio Teheran’s pitch was 0.73 feet off of the ground, which is almost impossible to hit and a pitch that most hitters probably wouldn’t have swung at. Teheran’s pitch was in the right location for another reason, which is that Herrera has been hot garbage hitting pitches low inside; the vast majority of his success has been pitches that are located low and over the middle of the plate.

Herrera heatmap, Herrera bomb 8-8-2017

Unfortunately for Teheran, Herrera demonstrated his quick hand speed and was able to turn on the low and inside pitch…which promptly led to him putting the ball into the restaurant beyond the rightfield fence, seriously.

Chop house landing spot, Herrera bomb 8-8-2017

The ball was so clearly gone off of the bat that Braves right fielder Nick Markakis completely gave-up on it shortly after he turned around.

It was an incredible display of handspeed that allowed the outfielder to turn on that low pitch so quickly, but it would appear to be in his best interest if he doesn’t chase at those low and inside pitches too often. That way, he could improve upon his low incredibly low walk rate (5%) and his higher strikeout rate (23%).

You can appreciate the dinger by watching the below .GIF, courtesy of Statcast.

https://twitter.com/statcast/status/895146647310786562

Or watch the highlight video by clicking on this link.

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