Welcome back to Week 17 of our Patience or Panic series, where we take a look at three struggling players and provide recommendations on how you should react to their slow starts and subpar performance. We’re in the thick of it now and can have more confidence in the underlying numbers.
Colt Emerson, 3B/SS, Seattle Mariners
Colt Emerson is an almost 21-year-old highly rated SS prospect with the Seattle Mariners who was called up in mid-May. FanGraphs gave him a 45/60 Hit, 40/50 Game Power, 50/55 Raw Power, 50/50 Speed, and 55 Future Value. He wasn’t a standout in any category in the minors, but he was a very solid all-around player.
As so many youngsters do, he’s struggled somewhat to start off his career. In 171 PA, he has a .195/.265/.377 slash, 33.9% K%, 7.6% BB%, and 84 wRC+. However, in the last month he has been much worse. In 77 PA since June 18, he has a 39.0% K% and 19 wRC+. Have pitchers found his weak spots?
A climbing O-Swing% and declining Z-Swing% and Z-Contact% are not a good combination, and they explain his untenable K%.
Source: Baseball Savant
He specifically is struggling to make contact with pitches up in the zone, as many do. He is whiffing so much it is difficult to even get an idea of his batted ball metrics.
Verdict: Short-term panic. Emerson is struggling so mightily he may be demoted when Brendan Donovan comes off the IL in a week or so. However, he has not shown much swing-and-miss throughout his minor league career, so I suspect this is just early career struggles. Usually MLB exacerbates issues that were already there, not make entirely new ones. I have every confidence in him long-term.
Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, New York Yankees
Now for something completely different. From a young player to a declining veteran. At 38, Goldschmidt is one of the oldest players in baseball. He had a respectable 2025 and started off 2026 very well. His 124 wRC+ this year is more than solid, but it is masking his recent struggles. In 59 PA since June 25, he has a .127/.186/.218 slash, 37.3% K%, 6.8% BB%, and 5 (yes 5) wRC+.
It is rare to see such a stark correlation between an increase in GB% and a drop in wOBA. Also, his FB% very closely tracks with his wOBA.
Lastly, look at his Oppo% trends.
This is more unusual to see. Generally, production improves with more pulled balls, but the opposite has been true with Goldschmidt.
Verdict: Panic. Goldschmidt’s recent struggles may be a combination of being pitched inside more and a slowing bat. He has a 99th percentile iLoc%. During his unexpected hot streak, he was successfully going the other way a lot while pulling fly balls. With a younger player, I’d say there is a good chance they could adjust, but Goldschmidt may no longer be physically capable of making the necessary adjustment, and word gets around.
Cody Bellinger, 1B/OF, New York Yankees
With a 116 wRC+, overall Bellinger is having another solid season. He brings a little bit of everything offensively (and defensively). Like Goldschmidt, he has been struggling since late June. In 86 PA since June 23, he has a .190/.256/.241 slash, 26.7% K%, 8.1%, BB%, and 42 wRC+. Most of those numbers aren’t overly concerning for a slump, but a .051 ISO over that period is an extreme power outage.
He has experienced a slight drop in Launch Angle and FB% over this period, but nothing drastic.
The sharp increase in O-Swing% followed by K% are the most concerning numbers.
Verdict: Patience. Bellinger’s contact ability is too good to be down for long. His 0% HR/FB% isn’t likely to continue either, considering his Batted Ball metrics are OK, even through this slump.
Photos courtesy of Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Aaron Polcare (@abeardoesart on Bluesky and X)
