Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Meet Eric Thames: the most interesting man in baseball. Thames was drafted in the seventh round of the 2008 MLB Draft, but after several years of floating around different organizations’ minor league system, he decided to take his talent to the NC Dinos of the KBO League in Korea.
After signing with the team on December 9, 2013, Thames hit .343 with 37 home runs and 121 RBIs with an OPS of 1.110 in 2014. In 2015, he became the first player in KBO League history to hit for the cycle twice in a season and became the first member of the League’s 40-40 club for hitting 40 home runs and stealing 40 bases. This rewarded him with the 2015 KBO Gold Glove Award for first basemen and the KBO League MVP. Thames followed up his MVP campaign with a .321 average, 40 home runs, and 121 RBIs in 2016.
Eric Thames’ incredible run in the KBO League resulted in a three-year deal with the Milwaukee Brewers for $16 million. Since signing with the Brewers, Thames has continued to absolutely rake, hitting .373/.479/.881 with eight home runs and 14 RBIs through 71 plate appearances. This included a stretch of five straight games with a home run. Thames has an ISO (isolated power) of .508. The league average is .140. He also has a wRC+ (weighted runs created) of 251. The league average is 100.
If these statistics don’t do it for you, Thames has been so good this season that Cubs pitcher John Lackey and pitching coach Chris Bosio hinted at the possibility that Thames was was using PEDs to hit for the power that has taken the league by storm. In a post-game press conference, Lackey said that the home run that Thames hit off of him was “kinda one of those things that makes you scratch your head.” Bosio, on the Mully and Hanley radio show said:
“Well, the bottom line is [Thames] has hit the ball and we gotta figure out a way to get around [it]. All that other stuff, I’ll let other people worry about. But he’s doing stuff that I haven’t seen done for a long time.
You start thinking about Ken Griffey Jr., Manny Ramirez when he went to the Dodgers, Barry Bonds … You’re talking about some of the greatest players to ever play this game. So, yeah, it’s probably a ‘head-scratcher’ because nobody knows who this guy is. And when he was here before, his body has changed. But, like I said, I’ll leave that to everyone else and we’re just gonna try to worry about how to pitch him better and get him out.”
I have no idea why Bosio included Ken Griffey Jr. in his list of great players who used steroids, but that is beside the point. Lackey and Bosio only made these comments because that is what happens when a relatively unknown player comes out of nowhere and puts on Babe Ruth-esque numbers.
When dissecting Thames’ early season success in comparison to his previous MLB seasons, a few statistics stand out. One is his hard contact percentage. According to Fangraphs, Thames increased his hard contact percentage from 34.2% in his last MLB season in 2012 to 53.5% this year.
Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Another statistic that stands out is his pull percentage. Thames increased his pull percentage from 32.1% in his last MLB season to 60.5% this year. Although pulling the ball doesn’t make someone a better hitter, it can definitely lead to a higher home run total.
The third statistic, and maybe the most influential, is his swing percentage on pitches outside of the strike zone. In Thames’ last MLB season, he swung at 33.6% of pitches outside of the zone, but this year, that number has been cut in half to 16.1%. This increased plate discipline forces pitchers to throw pitches in the strike zone, because if it's not, Thames will probably not swing. He is then able to take advantage of these advantageous pitches, resulting in phenomenal power.
Although it would be impossible for Thames to continue to hit at this clip (Babe Ruth had an ISO of .348 and Thames has an ISO of .508), he can still be a very good player that the Brewers signed to a team-friendly contract.