Dustin Ackley: Why His Swing Will Make Him an Excellent Big-League Hitter

Just as he did following his call-up to the Major Leagues on June 17 of last season, Seattle Mariners second baseman Dustin Ackley continued to hit on Wednesday morning in Japan.

With the game still scoreless headed into the top of the fourth inning, Ackley led off the frame by belting a home run to center field—and this was no cheap home run, either. Ackley turned around a Brandon McCarthy fastball and deposited it an estimated 420-430 feet to dead center.

The A’s responded with a run in the bottom half of the inning, as Kurt Suzuki tied the game with a double to left field.

The game remained deadlocked at 1-1 until the top of the 11th inning when Ackley once again came through with a go-ahead RBI single to center field that plated shortstop Brendan Ryan. He then stole second base and eventually came around to score on Ichiro Suzuki’s fourth hit of the morning.

Ackley, a University of North Carolina alumnus, finished the game 2-for-5 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored.

As he did on his home run earlier in the game, Ackley displayed the excellent bat control that made him the No. 2 overall selection in the 2009 draft, as he got his hands above the baseball and smoked a mid-90s, chin-high fastball on a line to center field.

That’s part of what I found so impressive and what makes Ackley such a special hitter: His bat path is extremely short and quick, which is why he demonstrates a distinct ability to always barrel up the ball.

Given his open and upright stance, his swing can be visually misleading at times. Technically, his hips do drift forward before his hands, but that’s simply the nature of his swing. Ackley actually keeps his hands back at all times—regardless of how he uses his lower half—which allows him to utilize the whole field.

More importantly, his quick wrists and bat path allow him to jump on quality fastballs, but retain the balance to also drive offspeed pitches.

While he will hit more home runs than people expect, Ackley is more inclined to hit for a higher average, with a considerable amount of doubles and triples.

Appearing in 90 games for the Mariners last season, the left-handed hitting second baseman batted .273/.348/.417 with 29 extra-base hits, which yielded a 2.7 fWAR and 117 wRC+.