Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said he wasn’t quite sure what to make of rookie second baseman Tommy La Stella in the days following his May 28 call up from Triple-A Gwinnett.
Was La Stella arrogant or standoffish? Was he too serious? Was he just quiet?
A month later Gonzalez says he can tease La Stella about his stoic facade.
“He’s great. I love him,” Gonzalez said. “I’ve got to know him more. I’ve appreciated him more and more. He’s OK. He’s a little different. He comes off a little high-strung, serious, but he’s not.”
La Stella’s approach to hitting has been exactly what the Braves need.
Entering Tuesday La Stella leads NL rookies with a .281 batting average (minimum 100 plate appearances). On a team that often relies on home runs to score and struggles with situational hitting, La Stella is patient, focuses on making contact and is surging again after a slump.
In his first 16 games with the Braves La Stella hit .411 (23-for-56) with seven walks, five strikeouts and a .476 on-base percentage. Then he was 3-for-41 (.073) with a .133 OBP in his next 11 games, including five in the leadoff spot.
After Gonzalez gave La Stella a day of rest and moved him back down in the order, La Stella was 5-for-13 with three doubles, a triple, six RBIs, four walks, and a .529 OBP in that span entering Tuesday. La Stella snapped an 0-for-23 streak at Philadelphia on Saturday and had a bases-loaded RBI single in the eighth inning of Monday’s comeback 5-3 victory against the Mets.
Mention of that big hit gets the La Stella to crack a smile.
“That was awesome,” he said. “It was a huge moment with everything that was going on.”
La Stella said he doesn’t think his slump could be attributed to pitchers changing their strategy after learning more about him.
“To be honest with you, I’m not really so much concerned about what they do to me,” he said. “I’m going to stick to my approach and what I do well and hopefully it works out.”
La Stella said he got away from what works for him during the rough stretch. He said he tries to “control the strike zone” by not chasing pitches.
“It’s an obvious statement, and it’s a lot harder to do when you’ve got guys that are throwing good stuff up there,” he said. “Obviously it doesn’t work out the way I plan it all the time but it’s something I really work on.”
La Stella has produced in clutch situations and also when game circumstances aren’t in his favor.
Entering Tuesday La Stella is 12-for-40 (.300) with runners on base and 9-for-25 (.360) with runners in scoring position, including 4-for-10 with a walk and no strikeouts with RISP and two outs. With the bases loaded, he’s 4-for-5 with a double, a triple, seven RBIs and no strikeouts. With two strikes, La Stella is 17-for-59 (.288) with 11 RBIs, eight walks, 11 strikeouts and a .373 OBP.
“I like to think I control the strike zone,” La Stella said. “Hopefully I’m not going to offer much out of the strike zone and I’m going to get a decent pitch to hit. I’m not necessarily looking for something I can drive out of the ballpark. If I can get a barrel on it I will take a good swing at it.”
