Brandon Belt really loves hitting against the shift

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY SportsBrandon Belt experienced a four outfield defensive shift when the Tampa Bay Rays came into town a few weekends ago, and overall, given that he’s a left-handed pull hitter (38.8% so far this year), he sees quite a few defensive shifts in the season.

My beloved Statcast now breaks out this data with a handy leaderboard. While Belt is not the best hitter against the shift, of players with at least 70 plate appearances with a defensive shift being utilized against them (as of this afternoon, that’s a 19-player list), Brandon Belt is 4th with a wOBA of .422. He’s one of six players with a wOBA over .400 and 70+ plate appearances against the shift. That full list…