A look at a big outlier among Mark Trumbo's 2016 stats

During a season where he hit 47 home runs (four more than anyone else in the majors), made the All-Star team and won a Silver Slugger Award, there was one line on the stat sheet that was very unimpressive for Orioles slugger Mark Trumbo.

You would think a right-handed power hitter might mash against left-handed pitching. But in 2016, Trumbo hit just .173/.223/.385 against lefties with 10 home runs. He hit .284/.334/.550 with 37 homers against right-handed pitchers. His OPS was .932 versus right-handers and .608 against left-handers.

But if you look at Trumbo's career numbers, that stat looks very much like an outlier.

Trumbo against southpaws the last five seasons:
2012 - .266/.301/.506 with .808 OPS
2013 - .265/.324/.599 with .923 OPS
2014 - .250/.333/.463 with .796 OPS
2015 - .289/.330/.526 with .856 OPS
2016 - .173/.223/.385 with .608 OPS

Pretty clear which numbers are not like the others. For his career, Trumbo is a .251/.298/.489 hitter against lefties with a career .787 OPS.

That was not a small downturn, that was a big drop in Trumbo's 2016 stats against southpaws, yet he still led the league in home runs. That probably provides both hope that the Orioles as a team can fare better versus left-handers this year and that Trumbo might have a decent chance to produce similar power numbers as he did last season.

In Sarasota a few days ago, I asked Trumbo his take on his stats against lefties last year. He sounded like a player that had some very specific thoughts on it. But for competitive reasons, he only wanted to say but so much.

"I will say that I think there has been somewhat of a stylistic change in the way left-handed pitchers are working (hitters)," he said. "Maybe what was in fashion a few years ago has changed a little bit. I think the trends and how most left-handers are pitching right-handed batters has shifted a little bit.

"And I think last year it took a lot of time to catch on. But I think we have a little better idea of what is going on. It doesn't mean results are going to come automatically, but you know, if you watch around the game, the mold of what most people consider left-handed pitchers of the '90s and things like that, that is not the same way they are pitching us now - location-wise and use of pitches. Can't give too much away, but if you watch pretty intently, you might see a bit of a change."

As a team, the Orioles ranked last in the American League in batting average (.234), slugging (.391) and OPS versus lefties (692) in 2016.

In addition to help they could get from Trumbo producing more to his track record against southpaws in 2017, others provide the club a chance for big improvement in this department. New catcher Welington Castillo has these career numbers versus lefties: .287/.354/.485 with an .840 OPS. Joey Rickard hit .313 with an OPS of .861 last season against lefties and Craig Gentry has a career .350 OBP versus southpaws. Adam Jones, who slugged .313 against lefties in 2016, has a career .415 slugging against them.

Here are some other thoughts from Trumbo:

On the Orioles returning most of their team: "I think for me, the biggest thing is, we had such a good team and got results. We had a good feeling of what we wanted to do pretty much on a daily basis. You can't argue with the fact that we were a first-place team for a lot of the season last year and we basically have the same team back. So there is no reason to think that we can't improve upon what we did last year and be even better."

The Orioles are said to be a team with excellent chemistry. Is chemistry almost as important as their talent?: "That is always so hard to say. I will say I think that if you have just the talent side without some of the other intangibles - from experience I think having good clubhouse guys and a good environment counts - that can get you those extra few wins. Especially when you need them the most. Just talent alone and no continuity, you have a talented team. But I'll take the combination of both any day."

After such a strong 2016, does Manny Machado still have room to improve?: "Based on the combination of age and the youth factor on his side, he is bound to get better, through experience and a few other things. Even if he stays the same, that is a pretty good ballplayer. I'm sure if you ask, there are probably a few things he'd like to improve upon. But if he does what he has always done, we're going to be all that much better for it."