The 2018 Dodger Season has started with a lot of this:



Chris Taylor has hit leadoff for the Dodgers all season, and so far he has posted an OBP of .283. One of the major causes of Taylor’s dip in production is shown in the video above.



In 2017, Taylor struck out looking 42 times, the 16th-most in MLB. So far this season, Taylor’s looking strikeouts have spiked. Eighteen of Taylor’s 33 strikeouts have been called, and his called strikeout total is the highest in the league. For somebody who is tasked with setting the table for the rest of the offense, a looking strikeout is one of the worst ways to end a plate appearance. The Dodgers’ offensive issues stretch beyond Taylor, of course, but blame for the team’s poor performance starts at the top.



One would expect that a generally passive approach would be present for a player who frequently strikes out looking (the “Logan Forsythe approach,” familiar to Dodger fans), but...