At What Point Is a Slump No Longer a Slump

Answer is it depends. Age, history, what the AB's look like, what the contact is, what does practice look like, how is the mental approach...if he is a 2 or 3 year starter with a couple hundred AB's that say he is a 300 plus hitter or whatever it is probably going to take a while and probably should.

Is the player is struggling to get hits but have good at bats or is he Gary Sanchez at the plate? How is the fielding and attitude? If he is doing all the prep work I ask as the damage to the team psyche can be fatal if you pull the plug on the kid

What those guys said.  If he is proven as one of the better bats in the program, much longer leash, if even a question.  I've seen, on occasion, where a top guy just has one of those years.  He is still a top guy and the one you want in the game when it's on the line.  Now, there are plenty of ways to approach getting him out of the funk and that may include subbing guys for certain AB's, games, etc.

The one thing that is almost certain - every situation like this is truly unique and the guy or dad in the stands isn't going to know the whole picture.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBgGaGUnvA0

^^^ one of my favorite lines, "GB with eyes" and it holds a lot of truth.

I agree with most of the posts above. I'd look at the AB's more than the batting average. I watch a kid on my son's team take bad swings at bad pitches resulting in k's, popups, and ground outs. He can absolutely crush a baseball, no doubt, but until he learns to swing at better pitches he will be a .100 hitter. Then there is a kid actually hitting .100. He has a ton of hard hit balls right at kids and a couple really bad strike 3 calls by the ump. Now the kid with the better AB's started finding some holes and is 7 for his last 10 with a few doubles.

Is he just "one of the better bats" or "one of the best bats"? Like, top 4? Or top 2?

Makes a world of difference.

I've seen top hitters be given infinite chances, and they've never disappointed. As long as the player is working at max off the field and there's nothing dramatic going on physically or mentally, it'll come back. Slumps are often self-reinforcing, batter does bad, feels bad, then does worse, feels worse. Good way to break the cycle is for coach to allow him to continue to hit, show confidence in him.

Christian Yelich and Cody bellinger batted like. 200 last year for 60 games and still played every day. 20 games is not a lot in baseball.

It depends a bit on how you slump though. If you strike out 40% and otherwise just hit weak pop ups and dribblers it might be indicative of something.

But if he just did not hit the ball totally great and has some bad luck to he might get more leeway. How much depends on the status of the player.

Circling back...

The hitter in question is supposed to be the best overall hitter in the program. He plays in the Cape and he's somebody we were expecting to lose in rounds 5-10 last year. He's a plus defender, but right now looks bad at the plate. Like real bad, a lot of Ks in bad at bats in plenty of key situations.

I know he's a better hitter than this, but how long do you keep in in the 3/4 hole? When do you start pinch hitting, or giving somebody else the Sunday start to prove themselves.

Like I said, we've been winning so it hasn't been an issue. But you watch an AB and then say hmm, when was the last time ____ got a hit.

Saw something happen at a powerhouse program within the past few years where their best hitter as a sophomore didn't hit his weight the next two seasons but started every game.

I wouldn't bench him yet, but I'd sure move him around in the order.

My oldest son's HS teammate hit about .150 his senior year, after hitting .450 as a junior and signing with a Big West school (where he starts and is hitting .350).

Coach absolutely refused to move him out of the leadoff spot.  It was nuts.

might be hiding an injury...seen this plenty.  Any type of sore arm, shoulder, wrist, etc., can impact swing mechanics in a subtle way that can affect timing, swing plane, etc.