So were last night's 15 strikeouts the same as putting the ball in play?
You're willing to live with an increased K-rate if the balls in play are more likely to be hits or homers. If those batted balls aren't more likely to do damage than a ball hit with a less aggressive approach, then the equation doesn't work.
You can't just isolate K-rate as the only variable. It's K-rate versus quality of batted ball. If you can keep the K-rate down while keeping the quality of contact high, that's the ideal. More hard hit balls in play is great. But most players can't do that, and if they choke up to avoid a K, then their exit velocity and expectation of getting a hit or homer with the ball in play goes down.