James Loney is now hitting .260 on the year for the Mets, with only six homers and 24 RBIs in just under 300 at-bats. With a below-average walk rate of 4.7%, his OBP is .a low 302 and his .OPS this season is now .674, .which is 17% below average. His only somewhat solid glove (7 errors on the season is not great) is not enough to offset his below-average bat and his fWAR is now -.6.
Using Fangraphs, let’s take a look at what type of hitter Loney has been this year:
1. He increasingly swings at both strikes (Z-Swing%) and balls (O-Swing%), which is what one would expect given the below-average walk rate mentioned above:
| O-Swing% | Z-Swing% | Swing% | |
| 2016 | 33.7% | 71.3% | 51.2% |
| Career | 30.2% | 62.2% | 45.6% |
Thought: Negative
2. Loney generally makes contact with what he swings at:
| O-Contact% | Z-Contact% | Contact% | |
| 2016 | 81.0% | 93.1% | 88.8% |
| Career | 78.9% | 92.9% | 88.1% |
Thought: Positive
3. And he sprays the ball around, hitting to all fields:
| Pull Percentage | Center Percentage | Opposite Field Percentage |
| 35.0% | 33.3% | 31.7% |
Thought: Positive
4. But he makes a lot of soft contact:
| Soft Percentage | Medium Percentage | Hard Percentage | |
| 2016 J. Loney | 22.4% | 49.6% | 28.0% |
| League Average | 18.0% | 47.0% | 35.0% |
Thought: Negative
5. And as a result he produces very little against almost all pitch types, especially fastballs and changeups:
| Pitch Type | Runs above average |
| Fastball | -2.7 |
| Slider | -2.4 |
| Cutter | -1.1 |
| Curveball | +2.0 |
| Changeup | -3.3 |
| Split Finger | -0.7 |
Thought: Negative
6. Knowing this, pitchers are throwing more fastballs and changeups and fewer curveballs:
| Fastball Percentage | Changeup Percentage | Curveball Percentage | |
| 2012-2015 | 33.7% | 10.5% | 9.1% |
| 2016 | 36.7% | 14.5% | 6.7% |
Thought: Negative
7. And his production has suffered as a result:
Thought: Negative
Conclusion:
James Loney certainly helped the Mets in the short term when he was picked up in late May. However, the magic has run out and at this point Loney is best utilized as a lefty pinch hitter and late inning defensive replacement.
