San Francisco Giants: 5 Positive Takeaways From April

Buster Posey Is Heating Up

Prior to hitting his first home run of the year on April 21, the seemingly transcendent Buster Posey was hitting .231. Since the home run, he’s hitting .385 with two additional home runs and eight RBI. But the caveat to Posey’s hot streak is the fact that the Giants are 3-5 during that span.

Apr 28, 2013; San Diego, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey (28) is congratulated by manager Bruce Bochy (left) following a two-run home run during the eighth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

If you’ll pay a visit to Posey’s hitter’s profile at Baseball Prospectus, you’ll see that pitchers are giving him a heavy dose of pitches on the outside half of the plate, particularly fastballs.

With some good location, pitchers are picking up strikes to get ahead of Posey, who’s hitting .143 when he’s behind in the count. That average will rise, but it’s a testament to how careful pitchers are pitching to Posey. No longer can he sit on the 2-0 or 3-1 fastball. In those counts, he’s either getting walked or being thrown an off-speed pitch.

But nevertheless, Posey has found his groove lately.