The scoop on Schoop: Coolbaugh on his breakout season

With a batting average hovering near .300 and an OPS 130 points ahead of last year, Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop is having his best season. The 25-year-old from Curacao is maturing on offense before our very eyes with a career-best walk rate and is on pace for 31 homers and 100 RBIs.

Orioles hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh has watched Schoop raise his game while avoiding pitches down in the zone. Schoop has chased fewer pitches this year and he has sure done damage with those that are more to his liking.

"You look at some hitters that are having better years than in the past, like Justin Smoak with Toronto, they have raised their strike zone and raised their sights," Coolbaugh said. "That is what he has been able to do in a nutshell.

"Even though he is aggressive, he is able to raise his sights and eliminate some pitches that he chased before down and out of the zone. Typically, that is what pitchers test you with in a young player's career. They go strike to ball down out of the zone and you can't do anything with that pitch. This year, he has been able to eliminate that pitch as much as possible, knock on wood. It is a credit to him as he comes every day looking to get better."

According to FanGraphs.com stats, Schoop chased more than 40 percent of pitches out of the strike zone every year of his career, and he was at a career-worst 43 percent last year. That rate is now a career-best 35 percent. Schoop is swinging less this year. Schoop got a first-pitch strike on him 66 percent of the time last season and that is down to 57 percent now. He's giving himself a better chance to get into good hitter's counts.

"For him, he has always been a free swinger," Coolbaugh said. "If you look at some of the guys from Curacao, that is how they were raised. To swing the bat. You have Didi Gregorius, he's a notorious first ball hitter. That is the way they were groomed. Over the last couple of years, I think he's understood himself better and he is having a great first half.

"You have to recognize what you can do to eliminate things that make it harder on yourself. He always constantly wants to get better. He is never satisfied where he is at. He has put himself into position to get more walks and more RBIs instead of trying to force something to happen. He recognized what he needed to do."

Schoop is probably never going to be a hitter with a high walk rate or one that takes a lot of pitches. But he has some impressive raw power that we've often seen translate into games. Plus he has taken some hits to right field this season, as well.

Schoop is batting .293/.347/.534 with 23 doubles, 15 homers, 49 RBIs and an OPS of .881. Schoop has produced against both left-handed (.915 OPS) and right-handed (.868 OPS) pitchers. In 28 games in June, he batted .327 with eight homers, 25 RBIs and an OPS of 1.019. He is batting .375 with runners in scoring position. His 38 extra-base hits are four off the American League lead. So, yeah, pretty solid season he's putting together.

Is the sky the limit for his bat?

"Right now, he is still in the stage of trying to reach his ceiling, whether it be this year or the next year," Coolbaugh said. "He is understanding how he got there and that allows him to go back and keep a basic foundation on how to be successful. If he does that, who knows what his ceiling will be? He is still going through the process of trying to find out who he really is (as a hitter)."

It seems hard to believe but this is already Schoop's ninth year in the organization. The Orioles signed him at 17 in August 2008 and he has been one of the best international amateurs they've ever produced. He might have a shot to make this year's All-Star team.

Schoop often answers question about his improved play by simply saying, "I want to get better." With him, it is more than just words.

"When people say they want to get better, that doesn't always mean that they have to do it by their numbers," Coolbaugh said. "I think he wants to get better by being an overall player. Being more consistent. Being able to give himself the best chance to do damage at the plate as a professional hitter. When he is on defense, playing good solid defense And doing things that make him a more complete player. I don't necessarily think he is trying to get better to chase numbers. They will take care of themselves as he hones his craft. Right now, he is trying to get better at honing his craft."