Trying to Find His Footing: Taking a Look at Mitch Garver’s Early-Season Struggles
By Brittany Wisner, edited by Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - In Monday’s game versus the Atlanta Braves, Seattle Mariners designated hitter Mitch Garver stepped to the plate in the bottom of the 9th inning having recorded just one RBI and three hits in his previous eight games. The Mariners, down one run thanks to another stellar starting pitching performance, had Jorge Polanco on first and looked to Garver to, at the very least, keep the inning going.
After Garver worked the count to 3-2, Braves’ reliever A.J. Minter left an 89 mph cutter over the heart of the plate and Garver did not miss. He unloaded, sending a rocket into the upper deck of the left field bleachers. Watching the ball sail into the stands, Garver threw both hands in the air, dropping his bat as if releasing a 100-pound weight. While the crowd and dugout erupted, he slowly began his walk toward first, taking a brief moment to look up at the sky and exhale what one could imagine to be an entire month’s worth of frustration.
It was a moment that he would refer to after the game as simply a "relief."
Garver has not gotten off to the start that he has wanted to with Seattle. The 33-year old veteran, who signed a $24 million, two-year deal with the Mariners this off-season, is posting a .143 batting average, .255 on-base percentage and .298 slugging percentage in his first 25 games with the Mariners.
“In a time where things aren’t going my way and I’m not feeling quite like myself, to be able to come through for the team in any way, shape or form is a huge W,” Garver said of his first career walk-off home run on Monday.
It’s easy to see why he is not feeling like himself. The catcher-turned-DH has a history of being an above average hitter when healthy. Just last year, he slashed .270/.370/.500 in 87 games with Texas where he played a pivotal role in helping the Rangers win a World Series Championship.
So, what may be causing this diversion from Garver’s track record of success?
Seattle Mariners designated hitter Mitch Garver throughout the early games of the 2024 season so far. (Photos by Kevin Ng)
Injury History
When Garver has struggled in the past, it has almost always been accompanied by injury, something that has plagued him mightily throughout his career.
Garver’s current 67 wRC+* is the lowest that he has posted in a single month since June of 2022 when he put up 59 wRC+. Garver was battling a torn flexor tendon at the time and would go on to have season-ending surgery to repair it just a month later.
Mitch’s best year offensively came in 2019 with Minnesota where he mashed 31 home runs with a 155 wRC+ as part of the Twins’ catching platoon. He would sustain minor injuries throughout that year behind the plate but the major injuries wouldn’t begin until the following year.
In 2020, Garver suffered an intercostal strain that would keep him off the field and lead to a career-high 45.7% strikeout rate. He would go on to post decent numbers in 2021 when on the field – .256/.358/.517 with a 139 wRC+ – but a combination of shoulder, wrist, knee and back injuries, plus an emergency groin surgery, would limit him to just 68 games that year. Garver would suffer the aforementioned flexor tendon injury in 2022 and a left knee sprain would delay his 2023 season until June.
Most of these injuries were sustained behind the plate which is primarily why the Mariners have brought him in with the clear intention of keeping him in the DH role.
While the team has not made any indication that Garver may be working through something – although he did miss two games in the beginning of the year with back spasms – it is reasonable to speculate if minor injury may be playing a part in his decreased production given the trends we have seen throughout his career.
Plate Approach
Looking at the information we do have, one glaring difference so far this year is in Garver’s plate approach.
A historically selective hitter with a good eye, Mitch is currently chasing pitches outside of the zone at a career-high rate of 24.6%. Additionally, when he is chasing, he is only making contact on those pitches at a rate of 36.4% which is the lowest of his career (outside of the wonky 2020 season).
He is only swinging at pitches in the zone at a rate of 54.6% which is the lowest in his career outside of 2019. A big difference, however, is that in 2019 he was making contact with those pitches in the zone at a whopping 85.6% rate.
Garver is also striking out 31.6% of the time, a career high and substantial increase from his average strikeout rate of 25.9%. His chase rate and strikeout rate are likely connected, as he is putting himself behind in counts by chasing pitches outside of the zone, his chances of striking out increasing every time he falls further behind.
It is also interesting that Garver is swinging at pitches in the zone less frequently while his overall swing rate remains relatively in-line with what he has done in the past.
Change Is Hard
What might cause a player to abandon a disciplined plate approach for the first time in his career can only be speculated, but it is worthwhile to discuss the more subjective aspect of hitting as a potential cause: the mental game.
For Seattle Mariners designated hitter Mitch Garver, his walk off homer against the Braves was a relief point considering his early struggles at the plate this season. (Photos by Liz Wolter)
After his walk-off home run on Monday, Garver was asked if he has found hitting as just a DH to be more difficult.
“Yeah, it is, for sure,” he responded. “I’ve played the most mentally-intensive position for the majority of my career and to leave that position and become a DH, it’s challenging.”
“It’s a hard position and I think every player in the game will tell you that.”
The challenges of being a DH have long been documented by players over the years. The ability to stay focused between at-bats when you are not taking the field every half inning can be a mental grind. If a player has a poor at-bat, they don’t have the defensive part of the game to shift their focus to, allowing players more time to dwell on bad plate appearances. Playing in the field can also boost confidence and provide another opportunity for a player to excel if they are not finding that success at the plate.
Across the league, we have seen a steep decrease in DH production over the years and many teams have transitioned to using the position as a way to provide a sort of off-day for players (Hannah Keyser of The Ringer wrote a great piece on how the use of the DH has shifted over the years if you’re interested in diving in more).
Garver’s comments on the difficulty of being primarily a DH possibly hint at a struggle he may be having mentally adjusting to his new role. If he is pressing to contribute at the plate because he does not have opportunities to contribute in the field, that could certainly be causing him to chase more and stray from his once disciplined approach.
Add on top of that a transition to a new team – and desire to prove oneself to that team and fanbase – and we could really be underestimating what Garver may be dealing with mentally.
Time Comes For Us All
Lastly, what unfortunately cannot be overlooked as a potential factor for Garver’s struggles is simply his age.
We now have the data that tells us bat speed generally begins to decrease for hitters around age 31 (Mitch turned 33 in January).
It is possible that the decline in his production is simply a symptom of father time catching up; however, I do think it is important that we take last year’s production into consideration when speculating whether or not age is playing a role in Garver’s offense.
What’s Next?
Mitch Garver will look to start feeling like himself again and build on his Monday night heroics as the Mariners embark on a seven-game road trip.
The Mariners will fly to Houston for three games against an Astros team that is off to its worst start to a season since 1969. They are 10-20 and in last place in the AL West.
They then travel to Minnesota to take on the Twins who have won 10 games in a row as of May 1st. They are 17-13 and in 4th place in the AL Central.
* Weighted Runs Created Plus (wRC+) quantifies how a hitter’s total offensive value compares with the league average, while adjusting for things like park factor. Average is always 100, so a wRC+ of 67 is 33% below league average
