Chansky’s Notebook: Growing Pains ...Middle East

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Vance Honeycutt is still chasing bad pitches.

Carolina’s baseball superstar of 2024 signed a $4 million contract with the Baltimore Orioles, and he is struggling with the few negatives he had as an All-American.

To advance to the major leagues with a short trip from Aberdeen, Maryland, he has to improve on his negative reviews and bad stats, which run from mild to worse than they were at UNC.

The biggest problem that we watched as a long ball hitter was his habit of swinging at bad pitches and, consequently, striking out a lot. Pitch recognition is not his only area of criticism from Major League scouts, who say he needs to change his swing.

Honeycutt is still getting high scores in speed, defense, arm and power. He holds Carolina records for homers in a season (28) and college career (65) but that won’t help his continued poor showing at the plate.

We didn’t mind Vance striking out 224 times in three seasons because of his home run stroke, his speed and defensive play in center field. He looked like a pro, and the Orioles agreed. But Honeycutt is having as much trouble as the last-place big team.

He has hit only three homers for the IronBirds and ended May with 67 K’s in 179 at-bats and an average of .201. He doesn’t keep up with what they call draft-peer norms by chasing bad pitches 26 percent of the time compared to the baseline 15 percent and makes contact 68 percent against the norm of 80 percent.

Obviously, he is facing better pitchers in High-A ball, where they can exploit his pull-heavy swing and tease him with pitches close to the strike zone. One analyst went as far as saying he “needs some kind of overhaul or reset” because he sees strikes but is not hitting them with power.”

Just as he did in college, Honeycutt still has an elite eye for taking walks. Aberdeen has a big, pitcher-friendly ballpark, which shows by his .262 batting average on the road in smaller parks while getting on base 46 percent of the time.

By no means are the Orioles giving up on the Salisbury product. They have a highly rated developmental infrastructure, calling Honeycutt a coaching/approach fix and not a lost cause.

Fan reviews include this one: “A very fun player to watch, just needs some time to learn plate discipline and making more consistent contact in the zone.”

A player who strikes out a lot and draws his share of walks seems like a contradiction. Honeycutt must be hunting for pitches he can hit over the left field wall, like he did at The Bosh and he still gets caught either chasing bad pitches or checking his swing.

The jump from college to professional is hard based on how many great players make it to the show and struggle. Let’s go, Vance!

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications

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