I honestly think it has to do with the major league approach out in by our major league staff (this May bleed over into the minors of course). Segura, Realmuto, and Harper all started off great this year (as did a lot of players). However, after about a month with our guys instructions they all fell off the map (Harper has recovered). Players like Crawford and Santana have gone to other major league staffs and gotten better (Santana had one of his worse years with the Phillies). This is pretty substantial evidence that something is wrong with our approach at the plate.
One thing I’ve noticed that I have mentioned many times is that we often hit the ball hard, but hit it way to far up in the air instead of straight. I don’t know why this might be, but my guess is putting too much focus on launch angle.
Something has to change and I’d start by getting rid of Mallee. Will it fix anything? No, probably not, but it sends a message to Kapler to get the hitting fixed or your next. Unfortunately I think Klentak is a proponent of the current approach so I’m sure he won’t do anything to send a message.
The pitching woes are understandable because of lack of talent in the rotation and horrible injury luck in the bullpen. The hitting woes are unacceptable with the talent we have on that side of the ball and the resources (both money and player/prospect wise) we spent there this summer.
