It’s been nearly a month since Stephen Piscotty made his Major League debut on July 21st with the St. Louis Cardinals and since then, the rookie has posted a .338 (26-77) average with hits in 17 of 22 games. With the success and regular playing time, his name is no longer a surprise to the opposition but he’s yet to notice a difference in how he’s being pitched.
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“Seeing all these teams for the first time, it’s hard to say if I’m picking up on a pattern at all,” said Piscotty, who thinks he still in the early phase of both sides just feeling it out. “I’m really just looking at the scouting reports of how they pitched other guys. I’m sure they’re going to start to try and figure me out and then I’ll figure them back out.”
“He just does that naturally–he’s a very cerebral player,” said Mike Matheny. “He’s analyzing the at-bats he had, where he came up short. They’re always going to be trying to do the same, but I like his odds of being in a good place to not necessarily fall into the same trap twice.”
Cerebral as the Stanford graduate may be, Piscotty is doing his best to not think too much when he’s in the box.
“When I feel best at the plate is when I’m just reacting,” he explained. “Some of the best balls I’ve hit, I’ve been looking for another pitch and just see another that was good or up in the zone. I really do like to be able to just react when I’m up there.”
“You have to have a lot of skill to be able to adjust and hit different pitches,” added Matheny. “He’s covering the plate pretty well right now–he’s seeing the ball well. He’s going up there with some confidence. I think he’s probably just not making too much out of it. He feels good and he’s got a nice approach–he’s going to stick with it.”
Piscotty enters Sunday with a .429 (9-21) average with runners in scoring position and a .452 (19-42) mark at Busch Stadium.
photo credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
