Ramón Urías: Is the Baltimore Orioles infielder turning a corner?

If you were watching the Baltimore Orioles clash with the Yankees on Monday night in the Bronx, you were probably ecstatic when Ramón Urías hit the go-ahead and eventual game winning home run to right field off Yankees ace Gerrit Cole in the 6th inning, with the Orioles winning 6-4.

I’ll say, I was excited when that happened too. I didn’t think much of it at first other than it was a great home run that sparked the Baltimore Orioles, especially after Aaron Judge had just clobbered his second home run of the game, which tied the game at a 4-4 score. But it was something that Brandon Hyde said after the game that sparked this article:

"“Ramón swung the bat good all night. I mean, Ramón’s been scuffling from a stats perspective, but he’s been hitting the ball hard for the majority of the time this year. He just hasn’t had results. And then he got a few.”"

That quote got me thinking. It got me thinking that there was more to be seen under the surface stats that anyone can see. So, I did some digging, and this is what I found. The first thing I should mention, and this is a bit of a disclaimer, is that Urías has only played in 35 games this season.

Ramón Urías: Is the Baltimore Orioles infielder turning a corner?

That’s the majority of the 43 games the team has played, but it’s still a small sample size. That being said, there are some improvements that have been noticed. Stats are prior to beginning of play on May 24th.

In the analytics age of baseball, teams have begun to focus a lot on exit velocity and launch angle when it comes to hitters. That’s immediately what came to my mind when I heard Hyde say that Urías has hit the ball hard more this year.

Last season, his exit velocity was averaged at 89.6 miles per hour, according to baseball savant. This season, it’s up to 91.6, an improvement of exactly two miles per hour. As Urías has seen improvements in his exit velocity this season, he’s also seen an improvement in his launch angle.

Last season, the ball was leaving his bat at a 5.2 degree angle, and this year, it’s up 3.1, to a 8.3 degree angle, which has increased not only his exit velocity, but also his hard hit percentage, which has gone up 7.5 percent in it’s own right.

Although Urías has seen improvements analytically, his surface numbers have also seen improvement. In the month of April, Urías hit zero home runs. In May? Three. He had only three RBI’s in April, and he’s improved that to an 8 RBI May, for 11 total.

Four of his six doubles this season have come in the month of May, and has 15 of his 28 hits in May. Now, this may give you the impression that Urías is on his way to some super star, breakout season, where he hits 30 homers and drives in 100 RBI’s.

While that is something that could very well happen, it’s not fair to jump that far ahead. He still has his struggles, and is early in his playing days, but he has improved so far in the month of May, and that’s a win for both Urías and the Baltimore Orioles.