3 White Sox hitters that will benefit from banning the shift

A slate of experimental rules is set to be tested in the minor leagues next season. Among them is banning the shift. This change comes from the ashes of the MLB lockout in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. How will it affect the Chicago White Sox?

The shift has been a hot-button issue for years. Teams have been doing it since Ted Williams was playing, yet he still managed to hit .406 in 1941.

Today’s game is defined by launch angles and home runs so the art of hitting to the opposite field is scarce. Hitters like Joey Gallo have been tormented by the shift.

In the MLB’s experimental new rule, teams must have at least four players on the infield. Two of those infielders are required to be on either side of second base. It will be implemented in Low-A, High-A, Double-A levels for the 2022 season. In 2021 Double-A rules required all infielders to be on the infield dirt.

The goal is to get more balls in play and generate more offensive excitement. The new rule is expected to be implemented in the MLB in 2023. It will also force teams to find more athletic infielders. Middle infielders will be required to cover a lot more ground now that they can’t sit in shallow right field surrounded by three other teammates.

Another underrated aspect of banning the shift is the impact it will have on pitchers. When all the defenders are stacked up on the right side of the infield against a lefty, the pitcher only has one choice. Pepper the inside portion of the strike zone. Specifically hard and in. Now, pitchers will be forced to use all four quadrants again.

There are some Chicago White Sox players that could do without the shift.

This change should also be very beneficial to a few hitters on the Chicago White Sox who have struggled because of it in the past. Here are three hitters on the White Sox who will benefit the most from this change:

Yasmani Grandal

Yasmani Grandal is one of the best hitters on the White Sox and could get better.

Yasmani Grandal seemed to be your typical three outcome player last season. The majority of his at-bats ended with a strikeout, walk, or a home run. Out of his 279 at-bats last season, 68 percent ended with one of those three outcomes.

Grandal had an impressive .420 OBP. He also led the White Sox in walks with 87 and was second on the team in home runs with 23 home runs. However, he had 82 strikeouts and a .240 batting average.

Grandal went on a blistering hot stretch near the end of the season. The 33-year-old catcher hit .500 in August and .320 in September. His average could have been higher had defenses not shifted on him so much.

The shift was put on Grandal in 263 at-bats. That is a whopping 94.3 percent. The majority of these shifts came when the switch-hitting Grandal was batting from the left side. Opposing defenses only put the shift on during 6.3 percent of Grandal’s right-handed. His wOBA was .394 with the shift and only .307 without it.

The evidence shows that Grandal’s average should have been much higher than .240. He hit the ball hard all season, oftentimes right into the teeth of the defense. His average exit velocity was in the top four percent of all MLB hitters. Meanwhile, his hard-hit percentage was in the 96th percentile and his max exit velocity was in the 83rd percentile.

Yoan Moncada

Yoan Moncada of the Chicago White Sox will love to see the shift go away.

Moncada’s 2021 season was productive at the plate. Moncada drew 84 walks. He also set a career-high in OPS with a .375 OPS and had the third-highest total in the American League. Moncada’s .375 OPS also placed him .050 points above the MLB average. However, his batting average was .263.

The shift was used against Yoan Moncada in 311 of his 461 at-bats. At 67.5 percent, defenses shifted against Moncada the fourth most of any player on the 2021 White Sox. Ahead of him was Brian Goodwin who had the shift applied to him 76.8 percent of the time.

Defenses hardly ever shifted against Moncada when he batted from the right-hand side. As a switch hitter, the majority of his power comes from the left-hand side. Opposing defenses clearly took this into account, shifting 67.5 percent of his left-handed at-bats and only 0.7 percent of his right-handed at-bats.

His wOBA was .380 when the shift was applied on the left-hand side. In his small sample size of having the shift applied when he was batting right-handed, his wOBA was .879. Meanwhile, when the shift was not applied his wOBA was .314 and .319.

Moncada ranked in the 91st percentile in max exit velocity. His average exit velocity was 91 mph which suggests he should have had a few more hits in 2021. His expected batting average was also the second-highest on the team.

Without the shift, expect Moncada’s average to return to its 2019 form. He batted .315 that season, his best offensive season to date. It’s no coincidence that defenses only had the shift on during 11 percent of his at-bats.