What’s Up With Corbin Carroll? Analyzing the Diamondbacks Star
Sportsgrid Staff
Host · Writer
Carroll's Path to Reclaiming Form
Carroll may never have been in a position to make major adjustments at the plate in his professional career. It's difficult to determine exactly what led to his mechanics going awry. It could be subconscious compensation for an uncomfortable shoulder, or the shoulder may have nothing to do with it. Even the most talented hitters can gradually develop bad habits, making it hard to notice changes in swing mechanics.
During Carroll's prolonged slump, there haven't been any significant mechanical adjustments aside from minor "counter-rotating," which seems more of a feel adjustment than a major visible change. This is more encouraging than if Carroll were experimenting with different setups and pre-swing moves without success.
Teams are cautious about having their star hitters make adjustments, as it can sometimes take the player further from their original form. For players who have found hitting natural for so long, retracing their steps can be increasingly difficult.
Carroll is a rare talent with exceptional bat speed, great barrel control, and strike zone awareness. He's one of the game's most athletic and explosive players, pound-for-pound.
These qualities allow Carroll to get away with more inefficiencies than others, which might explain how some of his swing components slipped over time. Given his physical talent and strong makeup, anything short of a turnaround would be surprising. When that happens is uncertain, but he and the Diamondbacks are taking a gradual approach before considering more dramatic changes.
Re-patterning pre-swing moves, especially as dynamic as Carroll's, can be challenging, but it's likely only a matter of time before the star outfielder returns to form.
This post by Aram Leighton appeared first on Just Baseball.
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Examining Corbin Carroll
Baseball can be unforgiving. Even top talents like Corbin Carroll of the Arizona Diamondbacks face slumps where their usual brilliance fades. This is especially true for hitting, which can falter with minor changes in mechanics or timing.
On June 29, 2023, Carroll left a game against the Tampa Bay Rays with his right shoulder hanging limp after a swing. This was particularly worrying since it was the same shoulder he had surgically repaired after a labrum tear and posterior capsular avulsion in 2021 while in the minors.
Despite the noticeable decline in Carroll's performance since the shoulder tweak, he returned to the lineup after missing just a few games. He exited another game a week later due to discomfort but came back the next day and even played in the All-Star Game the following week.
MRIs have consistently shown no issues, and both Carroll and the Diamondbacks maintain that his shoulder is fine. Their silence on the shoulder regarding his struggles led me to examine his swing mechanics and batted ball data more closely. A few key points stood out immediately.
This post by Aram Leighton appeared first on Just Baseball.
Carroll's Fastball Struggles: A Deeper Look
Carroll's significant decline in production against fastballs is well documented, yet his bat speed has actually improved over last season, as detailed by Yahoo’s Jordan Shusterman in a recent article.
Historically, Carroll hasn't excelled against high fastballs, but this season he has struggled even more against four-seamers at the top of the zone. In 2023, he posted an OPS over 1.000 on four-seamers 30 inches high and above. This season, his OPS against those pitches is under .400.
Such a dramatic drop-off often indicates a mechanical issue, especially for a young hitter with consistent bat speed and supporting exit velocity data.
Carroll's average exit velocity against fastballs is 88 mph, just slightly lower than his 2023 average. However, against breaking balls, his average exit velocity has dropped by 5 mph compared to last year. Issues with his swing path and posture may be affecting his ability to handle high fastballs and breaking balls effectively this season.
Carroll's Swing Adjustments: Unpacking the Struggles
The article referenced featured quotes from both Carroll and Diamondbacks coaches, who pointed to excessive "counter-rotating"—turning too far inward toward the catcher during his load—as a cause for his inconsistent bat angle and struggles with fastballs.
This explanation makes sense because the more a hitter turns inward, the longer it takes for the barrel to reach the point of contact, making it harder to catch up to fastballs. However, there might be more to his struggles than just counter-rotating.
A more noticeable issue in Carroll’s swing is his stride. While he has always used a substantial leg kick, he may now be over-striding. The open-side angle clearly highlights this discrepancy.
Carroll's Swing Mechanics: Foot Strike and Weight Shift Issues
The difference at foot strike is striking. Carroll gains so much ground that his back foot lifts off the ground before the barrel starts moving, and the angle of his back knee is also notable.
Despite Carroll's explosive athleticism, this position diminishes his impact, as he can’t use the ground as effectively with his weight already shifted forward and only the instep of his back foot in contact.
Another consequence of this forward weight shift before his hands launch is the barrel getting stuck behind him. Similar to the counter-rotation issue, this affects his swing path and timing. In the same video, you can see Carroll's bat angle is more vertical in his 2023 swing and not as wrapped around him.
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Carroll's Pitch Challenges: Fastballs and Sliders
In his first 50 games of 2024, Carroll has faced a 6% increase in four-seam fastballs and a 5% increase in fastballs in the upper third of the strike zone. He has also seen more fastballs on the inner half and with two strikes.
This amplifies the pressure on a hitter to anticipate velocity, affecting his fastball chase rates and making him more vulnerable to sharp breaking balls.
Carroll's chase rate against sliders has jumped by 13%, and he's making contact further out front compared to 2023, leading to a 20% increase in ground ball rates against these pitches. With deeper fastball contact and more front-foot slider contact, Carroll exemplifies a hitter feeling "in between," exacerbating his struggles.
Carroll's Journey: Overcoming Early Adversity
As Carroll's sample size of poor performance increases, concern naturally rises. However, it's important to recognize the high bar he set for himself as the unanimous National League Rookie of the Year, leading the Diamondbacks to their second World Series appearance in franchise history and first in over 20 years.
Carroll was Just Baseball’s No. 1 overall prospect in 2023 for good reason. The 8-year, $111 million pre-arb extension he received ahead of the 2023 season was widely considered a smart move, and he remains a franchise cornerstone at 23.
Carroll has rarely faced on-field adversity, dating back to his high school career, where he hit .450 with 22 home runs in four varsity seasons at Seattle’s Lakeside High School. He excelled in major summer events before being selected 16th overall by the Diamondbacks in the 2019 MLB Draft.
He immediately thrived as an 18-year-old in professional baseball, posting an OPS of .896 between the Complex and short-season ball in 2019. Although COVID wiped out 2020 and a shoulder injury limited him to just seven games in 2021, Carroll's strong start to that season included going 10-for-23 in High-A with five extra-base hits.
Returning healthy in 2022, Carroll continued to excel despite being assigned straight to Double-A. Having played just seven regular season games from the end of 2019 to early 2022 and skipping over Low-A and High-A, he made up for lost time impressively. He hit .307/.425/.610 in 93 games between Double-A and Triple-A before earning a call-up to the big leagues, where he posted an OPS of .830 in 32 games.
Carroll's Path to Reclaiming Form
Carroll may never have been in a position to make major adjustments at the plate in his professional career. It's difficult to determine exactly what led to his mechanics going awry. It could be subconscious compensation for an uncomfortable shoulder, or the shoulder may have nothing to do with it. Even the most talented hitters can gradually develop bad habits, making it hard to notice changes in swing mechanics.
During Carroll's prolonged slump, there haven't been any significant mechanical adjustments aside from minor "counter-rotating," which seems more of a feel adjustment than a major visible change. This is more encouraging than if Carroll were experimenting with different setups and pre-swing moves without success.
Teams are cautious about having their star hitters make adjustments, as it can sometimes take the player further from their original form. For players who have found hitting natural for so long, retracing their steps can be increasingly difficult.
Carroll is a rare talent with exceptional bat speed, great barrel control, and strike zone awareness. He's one of the game's most athletic and explosive players, pound-for-pound.
These qualities allow Carroll to get away with more inefficiencies than others, which might explain how some of his swing components slipped over time. Given his physical talent and strong makeup, anything short of a turnaround would be surprising. When that happens is uncertain, but he and the Diamondbacks are taking a gradual approach before considering more dramatic changes.
Re-patterning pre-swing moves, especially as dynamic as Carroll's, can be challenging, but it's likely only a matter of time before the star outfielder returns to form.
This post by Aram Leighton appeared first on Just Baseball.
Stay ahead of the game and elevate your sports betting experience with SportsGrid.
Examining Corbin Carroll
Baseball can be unforgiving. Even top talents like Corbin Carroll of the Arizona Diamondbacks face slumps where their usual brilliance fades. This is especially true for hitting, which can falter with minor changes in mechanics or timing.
On June 29, 2023, Carroll left a game against the Tampa Bay Rays with his right shoulder hanging limp after a swing. This was particularly worrying since it was the same shoulder he had surgically repaired after a labrum tear and posterior capsular avulsion in 2021 while in the minors.
Despite the noticeable decline in Carroll's performance since the shoulder tweak, he returned to the lineup after missing just a few games. He exited another game a week later due to discomfort but came back the next day and even played in the All-Star Game the following week.
MRIs have consistently shown no issues, and both Carroll and the Diamondbacks maintain that his shoulder is fine. Their silence on the shoulder regarding his struggles led me to examine his swing mechanics and batted ball data more closely. A few key points stood out immediately.
This post by Aram Leighton appeared first on Just Baseball.
