Houston Astros: How to Fix Carlos Gomez

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Apr 7, 2016; Bronx, NY, USA; Houston Astros left fielder Colby Rasmus (28) and center fielder Carlos Gomez (30) celebrate after scoring against the New York Yankees during the fourth inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports /

Before I get started, I am not an MLB baseball scout, instructor, or expert. I am just a high school teacher with the passion for the Astros. While I was not overly excited following the trade, I was a big Brett Phillips and Josh Hader fan, and I understood why Jeff Luhnow felt like he had to make the move for Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers at the time. There was a reason that the Brewers were looking to trade Gomez.

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This post will not focus on the fact that Gomez has been terrible this year, even Gomez understands that he has struggled. While I am on the topic, I know that we are frustrated with his performance, but please refrain from calling him out on Twitter directly. These players are people too, and they do care about how they play, they don’t need the constant reminders.

Gomez may be homerless in this season, but the most shocking stat is that he ranks second to last in OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) with a .486 OPS. He trails only Erick Aybar, who has a .426 OPS. What happened to the player who was a two-time All-Star between 2012 and 2013?

According to Ryan Parker, Gomez started off his career trying to be a leadoff hitter to capitalize on his speed. His swing and lower part of the body was not made to look for making contact, and it was designed to drive the ball. His hips tended to open before his arms moved, which was normally a sign of a power hitter. He added the leg kick which transformed him into a power hitter.

He also started his stride a little later than he did before, which kept him more balanced at the plate. This season, we have seen Gomez with some awful swings, where he is swinging so hard he knocks his helmet off. There is no balance to his stride, more of a player just trying to swing to hit the ball as hard as they can.

We also have to consider that he started at an early age of 21 in 2007, so he has had eight to nine years of all out play that put a toll on his body. Sometimes players just lose it suddenly, but has it been that sudden, as he has dropped in slugging percentage for four years now since his high of .506 in 2013? He is still swinging for the fences, but coming up empty.

Next: What is going on with Gomez?

What is going on with Gomez?

Apr 9, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Houston Astros center fielder Carlos Gomez (30) loses his helmet while diving into third base during the eighth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports /

Gomez might say that he is healthy, and maybe he is, but remember the New York Mets walked aways from an executed trade that would have Gomez in the Mets’ blue uniform instead of the Astros’ orange one. Why? There were reports that the Mets saw something wrong with Gomez’s hips, which his agent denied. Could there be something wrong with his hips that is causing too much reliance on his arms and upper body? Early in his career his hips were too fast, now it has reversed on him.

Scott Boras: “Carlos Gomez has never seen a hip doctor and has never had a hip issue in his playing career. Anyone who suggests that is …
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 30, 2015

I talked to a baseball person, he feels like with Gomez’s age and injury history, and he needs to change his trigger at the plate. Gomez has the same swing that he did when he was an All-Star player, but it’s longer and more rotational. Last year’s hamstring and oblique troubles could have changed his ability to swing. Gomez’s legs and hips are a big part of his swing, and he is lowering during the swing and throwing off his head. Plus the alleged hip issues that canceled the Mets trade could be a factor too.

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Without a proper trigger at the plate, he could have to swing a little harder to try to catch up to the ball which could throw off his balance at the plate, which is why he looks like he is off balanced every time he swings and misses. As players age, they have to adjust their swing to adapt to their current athleticism, and this is something that Gomez may not have done. What is happening with his head is probably the most pressing issue, you need to see the ball to hit the ball.

Plus, the pressure of not performing this year has drained his confidence, which even after a balanced swing on a foul ball, he attempts a bunt in Sunday’s game. Following that game where he called off George Springer on a fly ball that he couldn’t get to that lost the game, he was noticeably depressed following that game. Believe it or not, these guys have pride in their play, but when they get in a funk this deep into the season, it’s hard to bounce back.

While he has shown that he can’t be a contact hitter early in his career, he is not historically this bad, and his contact percentages are crazy. He has a career 84.8% contact rate on pitches he swings at in the strike zone, and it has decreased to 74.4% in 2016. His percentage of contact made outside the strike zone dropped from a career 59.5% rate to 42.4% in 2016. Worse yet, pitchers are throwing more pitches in the strike zone because they know that he has trouble hitting it, increasing from a career 45.6% of pitches in the zone to 49.4% in 2016. This increase means that pitchers are not afraid of him.

Next: How does he fix this?

How does he fix this?

May 15, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Houston Astros center fielder Gomez (30) congratulates left fielder Rasmus (28) after scoring a run during the fifth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports /

He could already be seeking help, but he needs to be open to receiving help. I’m sure he is already doing this, but he needs to watch film of his All-Star days and look at what he did back then compared to his swing right now. He needs to get out to the ballpark early and take extra batting practice and find a new trigger that leads to a more level swing. He needs to change his approach mentally and physically at the plate. He is defeated right now as a player, which is a far cry from the guy who got MVP votes four years ago.

Gomez needs to forget about trying to pull the ball and be shorter to the ball. He’s hitting top half first because he is trying to cheat because he can’t use his legs like he used to. The biggest thing he can work on is his balance and trigger like I mentioned earlier, become more of a situational hitter versus the power guy he once was. Part of the balance could come from him digging more into the dirt with his back foot to keep his stability in his swing. Pitcher’s have also started pitching more inside on him because they know that he can’t reach it.

Now his struggles are affecting him defensively, so he is in a bad place right now. It does not help when your GM says publicly that he needs to play better, or he will be benched. In what was supposed to be a contract year for Gomez, many experts projected that he could have earned one of the largest contracts in the outfield free agent market. With the way he is playing, I’m not sure that he will want to continue playing beyond 2016.

Maybe the Astros need to reach outside of the organization to find someone who is willing to work with Gomez to help refine his swing. I know David Hudgens is the hitting coach, but why can no one help him figure out what is wrong? What about Jake Marisnick, Luis Valbuena, Tyler White, and Preston Tucker, why can’t we figure out how to help these players succeed? Chris Carter struggled last year with the Astros, but now he is a decent player with the Brewers.

I am not trying to place the blame elsewhere, but it seems like Gomez is not getting any better. Brian McTaggart does not support this theory because he was surprised during spring training how clean the Astros play was then. You can listen to the rest of McTaggart’s interview above.

Before you say it, the Astros can’t send Gomez down to the minors without his permission, and there was a reason why the Astros brought up Tony Kemp to put some pressure on Gomez to get moving. Should Gomez as to go work on things in the minors, yes, but that is easy for me to say. Besides Evan Gattis volunteers going down to Double-A to work on catching, not too many MLB players will willingly admit they need to go down and work on things.

However, benching Gomez for a few games could get his attention. Plus, it would give him an opportunity to work on his swing. Instead of playing him 6-7 games in a week, drop him down to 4-5 days with Kemp on the team. Once again, I’m not a baseball expert and these are just some things that I have noticed while looking at videos from now/then as well as researching his early years and discussions with a great baseball mind.

Next: Houston Astros: Talking Stros Thinks It’s Tony Kemp Time

One thing that is not struggling is his ability to have fun playing baseball and kid around. Maybe the shenanigans are a way to hide his frustration, but in most cases it seems to be rubbing Astros fans the wrong way which has led to him being the scapegoat in 2016. Stay ‘sexy’ Carlos, but get some more hits.

Thanks to Jeremy Booth for taking the time to talk to me about Gomez. He is the head guy at Program 15, working with college and minor league players on improving their skills.

***Stats from Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs***

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Houston Astros: How to Fix Carlos Gomez

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