Diamond Deep Dive Week 5: It’s time we talk about Trent Liolios

The junior is currently one of the Big Ten’s best in nearly every offensive category.

Two weeks have gone by, and Big Ten baseball is in full swing. From the ‘Cats winning a series against conference rival Illinois to losing multiple midweek matchups against mid-major opponents, it’s been a roller coaster of a ride.

The biggest bright spot amid this chaos of a schedule has been Trent Liolios. The California infielder has managed to go from struggling to hit above the Mendoza line to ranking second in the conference in OPS.

What is it in his game that has led to this drastic success from year to year?

Patience is a virtue

One of the biggest changes for Liolios has been his patience at the plate, and this is reflected heavily in his K/BB ratio. Over his first two seasons combined, he struck out over twice as much as he walked, with 31 walks and 67 strikeouts. He appeared overly eager at the plate, creating a tendency to jump early at poor pitches.

This season, however, has seen a huge change. Against Fordham, he worked a 15-pitch walk with the bases loaded. It’s not just single at-bats either. This newfound patience at the plate has been evident throughout the season. So far, through 83 plate appearances, Liolios has walked 11 times and struck out only 12. This is, of course, a small sample in the early season and includes matchups against smaller teams. The caveat, however, is that K/BB ratio is one of the most transferable skills across competition levels. If this was a point of struggle for Liolios in the past, there’s a good chance that these numbers are more sustainable.

Similar points of Liolios’s career have shown improvement but never at this level of all-around success. When playing for the Wenatchee AppleSox of the West Coast League during the summer of 2023, Liolios punched out 10 times while recording 10 free passes. That was across 69 PAs and 21 games. The difference here is success in other parts of his game.

With the AppleSox, Liolios hit a measly .161 with one homer, creating a final stat line where his on-base percentage was higher than his slugging. He wasn’t a power threat at that point, but a hitter who pitchers weren’t afraid to challenge. The difference is that now, as a junior at Northwestern, he’s clobbered nine homers in 21 games. He hit four in one day when Penn State came to Evanston for a doubleheader.

What interests me is how he may be approaching at-bats differently. When opposing teams were scouting last season, they likely didn’t circle Liolios as a major power threat, but they certainly are now. With the AppleSox, his patience could, in many ways, be explained as an attempted slump buster, trying to get on base to break out of a rough streak. With the ‘Cats, his upcoming patience will likely increase as pitchers pitch around him out of fear. The more likely you are to cause devastation with the bat, the less likely a pitcher will be to throw you something near the strike zone. If Liolios can take advantage of this, he could start getting on base at an even more absurd rate.

The Toe Tap

Liolios has implemented a toe tap to his batting stance this season. This element of batting has notably helped pros at all levels, from Matt Chapman to Chipper Jones. On the left, you see Liolios hitting a walk-off double against Illinois. On the right, you see him hitting an opposite-field RBI single in a game against Maryland last season.

The toe tap can have many benefits to a hitter’s swing, many of which are prevalent in his newfound power and control. For starters, many see the toe tap as a means of transferring energy. On the right, Liolios goes straight from his batting stance into an outward leg kick and a swing. In the video on the left, Liolios first places down his left leg, transferring his body weight onto it before toe tapping. From there, he is able to transfer nearly all of his body weight to his right leg, allowing him to tap into significantly more power.

This is evidenced by his nine homers in the first 21 games of the season. It took the entirety of last season before Liolios reached nine homers. This season, he’s matched it just two weekends into conference play.

@NUCatsBaseball on X, formerly known as Twitter, on the left. Northwestern Athletics on YouTube on the right

Another helpful element of this is the balance that this toe tap can create. It allows the hitter to have more control over his swing as the pitch comes in. Oftentimes, this stance allows the hitter to see the ball for slightly longer before committing to a swing. This can reduce the flailing motions that fans sometimes see out of hitters when they go to swing late or swing off-balance at balls with a lot of movement.

As a result of these elements, this toe tap may have also allowed Liolios to increase his K/BB ratio. Being locked and loaded early on in the pitcher’s windup has allowed him to get a better eye for the ball as it comes through the zone and to maintain better balance throughout his swing.

The development at such a high rate is fascinating to see, especially considering the relatively minimal changes to Liolios’ approach. While the initial setting of his left foot followed by the toe tap is new, he maintains the same leg kick afterward. His attack angle hasn’t undergone any significant changes. His feet typically end up planted in the same spot. The one major difference typically comes before the pitch is even thrown.

It makes me continue to wonder what small changes could help the rest of Northwestern’s lineup. It’s also a testament to the Wildcat coaching that a new side of Liolios has been unlocked — one that makes him the most dangerous hitter in the lineup.

PA of the week: Jack Counsell goes oppo

Jack Counsell transferred to Northwestern from Michigan ahead of his sophomore season. The son of Cubs manager Craig Counsell has proven that he can absolutely tap into some power, knocking the first home run of his college career against Illinois.

This was also an opposite field home run — a more daunting task that often requires additional power. Counsell has shown the ability to hit the ball to all fields but could continue to slide up the lineup if he puts together more ABs like this.

This just further helps Counsell’s attempt to work his way into a starting role. Vince Bianchina was the starting second baseman at the beginning of the season, but Counsell has since taken over, starting each of the team’s last 13 games.

After receiving very limited playing time with the Wolverines, Counsell seems to be cementing himself as a potential infielder of the future for Ben Greenspan and company.

Another diamond deep dive has now come to an end. The ‘Cats have a tall task on hand for this weekend, duking it out with the Maryland Terrapins in College Park.