Where did Napoli’s Power Go and is it Back?

Starting in mid-July and carrying into early August, Mike Napoli was just about the hottest thing in Cleveland. He was belting home runs at a torrid pace (13 home runs in 33 games between July 1 and August 11) while “Party At Napoli’s” t-shirts were flying off the shelves at Progressive Field. There was so much positive energy around the Tribe slugger that some, including Cleveland.com Beat Reporter Paul Hoynes, suggested that Napoli’s 2016 season should warrant some MVP consideration.

While not going remotely that far, Napoli had been the right-handed power bat that Indians fans have whined that the team lacked for years. As of August 11, Napoli was batting .261/.346/.531 with 29 home runs and Cleveland was ready to celebrate their first 30 home run hitter since Grady Sizemore in 2008. The only problem was, Napoli’s power seemed to vanish after he hit his 29^th bomb on August 11 against his former team, the Los Angeles Angels.

Over Napoli’s next 21 games, he only managed to record one extra base hit, a double against Boston on August 15. Interestingly enough, he maintained strong plate discipline, walking 11 times in that span. He also wasn’t completely lifeless at the plate, as he did manage 15 singles, resulting in a .222 batting average with a .326 on base percentage.

Naturally, this was a huge concern for Tribe fans. Just as the Indians were entering the most important part of their season, one of their biggest offensive weapons was a shell of himself. What was the reason behind Napoli’s sudden drop in power? We can safely say Napoli’s drop in power was not an adjustment made by opposing pitchers, based on data from Brooks Baseball. The image on the left are pitches seen by Napoli this season up until his power-slump, where the right reveals how he was pitched during his drought.

More or less, during both time periods, pitchers were attacking Napoli with pitches low and away most frequently. In a way, this was good news – pitchers didn’t discover a way to drain Napoli of his power. Further, Napoli’s approach and contact ability seemed to remain the same during his slump. As previously mentioned, he walked 11 times in 87 PA’s, good for a 12.7 BB%. This is actually better than his season mark of 11.4%. At the same time, he was swinging and missing less than usual, posting a 20% strikeout during the power drought, which is much better than his 30% rate for the season.

So what was causing Napoli’s sudden drop in power? Well, while we may never know for sure, it is very possible the 34 year-old was dealing with some nagging injuries. Various Indians’ reporters spotted Napoli icing his knee after games in August, and Terry Francona has expressed in multiple interviews that he is making an concerted effort to keep Napoli as fresh. Not only is Francona often DHing Napoli while Carlos Santana plays at first, but Napoli also seems to get days off a little more frequently than many of his teammates.

Napoli is on pace to easily break his previous career highs in games (139) and plate appearances (578) from 2013 with Boston, so it is of no surprise that his body may be wearing down a little bit, especially considering the fact that he is 34. Without a doubt, Francona has been right to handle Napoli with care in the past few months.

As it would happen, Francona’s caution with Napoli has seemed to pay off. Whatever issue Napoli was having with his power, it seemed to go away as suddenly as it arose. On Monday, Napoli finally blasted his 30th home run of the season and it was a no-doubter that traveled 409 feet and came off the bat at 109 mph. Then, Napoli followed up his homer Monday with another dinger on Wednesday that also left the bat at 109 mph but this time traveled a whopping 427 feet.

Perhaps hitting home runs 30 & 31 in a span of three days wasn’t enough evidence that Napoli was no longer struggling with his power. To remove all doubt, on Thursday, the Tribe first basemen hit the most impressive foul ball anyone will ever see. While it only counted as a long strike, Napoli nearly sent a ball to Quicken Loans Arena; this ball left the bat at 113 mph and traveled an estimated 464 feet.

While it was initially concerning that Napoli struggled so mightily with his power, fans can take solace in the fact that it seemingly was only the result of Napoli getting a little worn down. Even more assuring is that the past few games provide a reason to believe Francona’s management of Napoli’s playing time is paying off. Assuming both Napoli and Francona continue to be diligent in managing the wear on the 34 year-old’s body, fans have little reason to worry that the Tribe’s cleanup hitter won’t continue belting home runs throughout the rest of 2016.