Anthony Rendon was an All-Star, Silver Slugger and 3rd in MVP voting in 2019 with the Nationals. His injury issues with the Angels have been well documented, and he is on pace to play in the most games (over 58) with the Angels in 2024. What has interested me though is his lack of power from 2020-2024 after his increase in power from 2016-2019. Surely there is something in the numbers to pick out right? Let’s see.
| Year | Age | HR | SLG |
| 2019 | 29 | 34 | 0.598 |
| 2020* | 30 | 9 | 0.497 |
| 2021 | 31 | 6 | 0.382 |
| 2022 | 32 | 5 | 0.380 |
| 2023 | 33 | 2 | 0.318 |
| 2024 | 34 | 0 | 0.280 |
*COVID shortened year
We see a significant decrease in homers (this trend can be seen in doubles as well), leading to a decrease in slugging. These years should be prime years for Rendon, and we could blame injuries for sure but let’s compare to Mike Trout, who has had his share of injuries and only 2-years younger than Rendon.
| Year | Age | HR | SLG |
| 2019 | 27 | 45 | 0.645 |
| 2020* | 28 | 17 | 0.603 |
| 2021 | 29 | 8 | 0.624 |
| 2022 | 30 | 40 | 0.630 |
| 2023 | 31 | 18 | 0.490 |
| 2024 | 32 | 10 | 0.541 |
*COVID shortened year
It’s worth noting in 2023 that Trout struggled hitting the fastball (that’s a story for another day), leading to more strikeouts and lower slugging. Regardless, we can see that when Trout was healthy, he was still Mike Trout (for the most part). What gives with Rendon? Well, for that we need to look at what he is swinging at and the contact metrics.
| Year | Avg Exit Velo (MPH) | Avg Launch Angle | Barrel % | Chase % | Whiff % |
| 2019 | 90.4 | 19.5 | 12% | 20.6% | 12.9% |
| 2020* | 90.1 | 19.5 | 6.3% | 16.7% | 14.7% |
| 2021 | 89.1 | 22.3 | 5.6% | 21.9% | 17.2% |
| 2022 | 89.6 | 18.7 | 8.3% | 18.6% | 19.6% |
| 2023 | 90.1 | 16.2 | 4.8% | 16.9% | 17.9% |
| 2024 | 88.1 | 14.1 | 2.5% | 17.5% | 12.5% |
*COVID shortened year
In terms of baseballs he swings at, Rendon is still elite in chase % and whiff %. So the pitches he is swinging at are still good pitches and he makes contact. The average exit velocity has been similar, although the lowest in 2024, but we see a significant decrease in barrel % and varying launch angle. To me (not a hitting coach), it seems like he does not have a consistent swing because the launch angle has been up and down the last several years. This is the first year Statcast is tracking bat speed, and Redon’s average bat speed is 68.4 MPH, which is not good at all. Interestingly, his 34.5% squared up % is elite.
Rendon’s eye at the plate is still elite, which gives promise for the future. Obviously he needs to stay on the field, but also needs a more consistent swing, more bat speed, and increase in launch angle for more consistent barrel %. Could be his injuries leading to this as well.
I, and all Angels fans, are hoping he figures it out for 2025.
Analytics In The Outfield 