Matt Chapman heating up for Oakland A’s

The Oakland A’s were hopeful that Matt Chapman would return to form in 2021. He had struggled during the pandemic season before a torn hip labrum scuttled his 2020 campaign. However, he was completely healthy entering this season, with the expectation that he would once again be a key part of the lineup while playing Gold Glove defense.

That was not the case. While Chapman’s defense was there, despite what the metrics would indicate, his bat was ice cold. He had hit three homers in the A’s first 24 games, but had done little else offensively.

Matt Chapman starting to heat up for Oakland A’s

The last 18 games have been much different. Chapman has started to heat up with the bat, posting a .317/.389/.460 batting line in his last 72 plate appearances. While his strikeouts are still higher than usual, as he has struck out 23 times, he has also drawn eight walks while hitting two homers and three doubles.

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Chapman has had a strange year thus far. Although he is doing a reasonably decent job barrelling the ball, ranking in the 76th percentile in barrel rate, he just is not hitting the ball hard. His average exit velocity of 87.8 MPH ranks in the 26th percentile and is the lowest of his career. While his walk rate has been impressive, he ranks in the bottom 7% in the majors in strikeout rate and the 14th percentile in whiff rate.

Considering those disappointing metrics, it is difficult to imagine that Chapman will continue that type of production. It is also fair to wonder if he is completely healthy and comfortable in the batter’s box just yet. But based on his showing lately, Chapman could be getting closer to being that player.

The A’s will certainly take his production. Their offense has been in the middle of the pack at best this season, ranking 12th in the AL in batting average and eighth in OPS. He may not be completely back to form, but there is hope it will happen.

Matt Chapman is starting to heat up with the bat despite what the metrics say. The Oakland A’s certainly hope that production will continue.