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I also wonder if the umpires are in Ackley's head. Command of the strike zone seems to be so integral to Ackley's comfort zone and the umpires don't seem to appreciate his pickiness at the plate.
I also happen to agree with Jason Churchill's assessment of Ackley's swing mechanics -- he tends to float or drift forward, doesn't always lock the front leg, and does have a Longer than average path to the ball. Ackley has great hands and wrists and I'm not saying it can't work -- Ichiro had a heck of a career with some similarly peculiar swing mechanics -- but it is certainly not a classical swing archetype. Churchill also said that Ackley is working on shortening his stride, but doesn't yet own the change. Anyway, I encourage people to read the Prospect Insider article about Ackley.