After he ‘gave up at-bats’ last year, Marlins’ Jazz Chisholm Jr. enters 2022 more focused
Jazz Chisholm Jr. entered spring training in one sense with a more serious edge to him.
Before getting ahead of ourselves, a quick note: The Miami Marlins’ fun-loving, easy-going second baseman is still going to flash his big personality. The swagger, the colored hair, the big chains, even a new ice-cream-themed glove will be present when he steps onto the field.
But Chisholm also knows that confidence has to be backed up on the field. And there are areas where he can improve on from his first full MLB season last year, one in which he hit .248 with 18 home runs, 23 stolen bases and a .728 on-base-plus-slugging but also struck out 28.6 percent of the time and committed 24 errors in the field (14 at second base, 10 at shortstop).
He sees the areas where he struggles, the times where he mentally stopped when at-bats weren’t going in his favor. He knows that needs to change.
“I don’t forget games,” Chisholm said as spring training began. “I can tell you every pitch of every at-bat I had last year. Me knowing and watching video, I could tell when I gave up at-bats. I’m watching the swing. I’m watching the way I go after the ball. I could tell after a pitch happened or a bad call happened that I was already like ‘I don’t want to play.’ This year, I feel like I’ve matured from that and grown up a little bit. That’s not going to happen no more. We’re going to be ready for that.”
That’s the type of commitment Marlins manager Don Mattingly wants to hear and wants to see. He knows what Chisholm brings at his best. He has the blend of speed (94th percentile sprint speed) and power (71st percentile average exit velocity and 84th percentile max exit velocity) that provides a legitimate threat at the plate when things are working.
But that value only comes when the production is there on a day-to-day basis.
“Consistency,” Mattingly said. “Consistent work, consistent approach, consistent focus, consistent with what he’s doing. Not all over the map. Hot and cold, you don’t win with that. I need somebody that’s consistent day in and day out. We know what we’re gonna get. Obviously we know we’re gonna have cold and hot to everyone. But in general, we need Jazz to be an every day we-know-what-we’re-going-to-get guy.”
Chisholm wants that, too. And he’s putting in the work. In addition to the typical workout routines during spring training — batting practice and defense drills — Chisholm has also been working with former Marlins outfielder Juan Pierre to improve his bunting, an aspect of his game that he seldom used last year despite it working to his advantage with his speed.
Chisholm called Pierre, who had 201 career bunt hits during his 14-year MLB career, the “best bunter this game has ever seen.” Having that resource has been beneficial.
The biggest advice he has received from Pierre so far?
“Just to stay calm and don’t run before I put the ball down, just knowing that I’m fast and knowing that I can beat the ball to first base,” said Chisholm, who only recorded two bunt hits last season despite his speed. “He’s just telling me, ‘Hey, put it down first, and then you move,’ and I feel like that worked a lot. I felt like I put it down, watched it hit the ground, and then I started running.”
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