Looking at Tommy Pham’s Recent Struggles

There’s no player I root for on a personal level more than Tommy Pham. His story is inspiring, he plays with an edge and tenacity, and he feeds on adversity unlike any other. He brings a personality to this Cardinal team that they’ve needed for quite some time. Though he started the year with a bang, the past two weeks haven’t passed the eye test; Pham has, to me, seemed uncomfortable at the plate and has even shown some difficulty tracking balls in the outfield. He still has a 134 wRC+ on the year. He’s by no means had a poor season. Since May 12, however, he’s posted a .227 wOBA. His xwOBA isn’t much better, at .276. This hasn’t been a case of failing to meet expected results, but it also hasn’t been the Tommy Pham we saw through May 11. What follows isn’t a diagnosis of any approach issue, but just a presentation of some troubling symptoms. This is the Jerry Seinfeld of baseball articles. But it isn’t funny. (Hopefully.)

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