SAN FRANCISCO — Following a rookie season in which he heavily struggled, Brett Wisely understood change was necessary — with his body and with his mind. So, he evolved.
Thanks in part to mechanical and mental tweaks — as well as help from former major leaguer Daniel Murphy — Wisely is 10-for-28 (.357 batting average) with a home run and six RBIs in his first 12 games. The sample size is very small, but the Giants have been happy to have Wisely’s early production on both sides of the ball.
“They’ve been fantastic,” said Giants manager Bob Melvin said of Wisely’s plate appearances. “For him, it’s all about swinging at strikes. Sometimes, when you get to the big leagues, you want to do a little bit too much. Hasn’t really been the case for him. He’s swung the bat really well whenever we’ve put him in the lineup.”
Compared to last season, Wisely’s batting stance is noticeably more upright. Wisely, who hit .175 over 131 plate appearances in 2023, said his swing last year was “super uphill,” giving him difficulty with fastballs at the top of the zone and pitches below the zone. To counter, Wisely has gotten more upright, allowing him to get more on top of the ball.
Here’s Wisely in 2023:
Compared to Wisely in 2024:
“When I’m up like that, I feel like I have a better chance of staying behind the ball, not chasing too much stuff down,” Wisely said. “Obviously, the pitchers up here are good; I’m going to chase here and there. But staying more upright and staying behind the ball is allowing me to see the ball better and control the zone a little bit more.”
Wisely discussed making a change last year with hitting coach Justin Viele, but didn’t want to alter his mechanics in the middle of a season. Upon returning home in the offseason, Wisely incorporated a more upright stance. Among those who Wisely worked with in the offseason was Murphy, one of the better hitting second basemen of the 2010s.
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“He dives deep into hitting,” Wisely said of Murphy. “He dives deep into a lot of the approach stuff. He’s a really good hitter. He said, ‘The taller you are, the more force you have going into the ground, so the harder you’ll hit the ball.’”
Wisely didn’t immediately see results, hitting .188 during spring training. He admitted there was a temptation to revert back to his old stance, but Wisely stuck with the tweaked mechanics. That decision is bearing fruit.
Before being recalled on May 11, Wisely had a slash line of .311/.403/.487 with four home runs in 32 games with Triple-A Sacramento. Wisely’s underlying numbers show improvement as well. The sample size is too small to be conclusive, but Wisely’s average exit velocity (88.9 mph), expected batting average (.280) and expected slugging percentage (.427) are among the metrics that are up. Factor in his defense (two outs above average at shortstop), and Wisely has been plenty productive in recent weeks.
Along with a new stance, Wisely possesses a new mindset. Wisley described his rookie year as “humbling.” He shared that he had “zero confidence” due to his struggles, as well as how he shuffled between the majors and minors. The growing pains helped instilled a maturity in Wisely, who learned the necessity of exuding confidence amidst rough patches.
“If you can lie to yourself and tell yourself, ‘I’m doing good’ when you’re doing bad, over the long period of time, the good mindsets can help you down the road,” Wisely said. “Last year, when I was going good, it was, ‘I’m on top of the world.’ When I was going bad, it was, ‘I’m down at the bottom.’ This year, if I’m going good, I have stay even-keeled, but if I’m going bad, I have to lie to act like I’m going good. I have to lie to myself.”
Injury updates
Thairo Estrada isn’t in the starting lineup jamming his thumb several times on Friday. Melvin said the team doesn’t want him to do too much today and they will see where he’s at tomorrow.
Keaton Winn (right forearm strain) is expected to begin a rehab assignment with Sacramento on Tuesday. Winn has not pitched in a game since May 14.
Michael Conforto (right hamstring strain) began a rehab assignment with Sacramento on Friday, going 1-for-3. Conforto is in the River Cats’ starting lineup tonight, and the team will evaluate from there. Conforto could potentially be activated during the Giants’ upcoming series against the Diamondbacks in Arizona.
All video courtesy of Baseball Savant.
