ARLINGTON — Josh Smith knew he needed to tweak his swing. It wasn't that hard to understand why.
“I was hitting about $50, so I decided to make a change,” Smith said Saturday. “That was a bit of a hassle, so I decided to make some changes.”
It's not perfect, but it's close. Smith played in 90 regular season games with the Rangers last year and hit .185/.304/.328, but only hit .143 in August and .128 in September. His defensive versatility and aptitude made him worthy of a major league roster. His bat limited him to little more than a limited platoon role and injury replacement, at least through his first two seasons in the major leagues.
And to be fair, he's still the latter through nine games this season. Since Smith broke his wrist on Monday against the Tampa Bay Rays, All-Star Josh Jung has started four games at third base and only had one at-bat in the previous two games as a late-game substitute. I wasn't there.
The difference is the bat.
Thanks in part to his swing changes and refined approach, Smith has hit .357/.471/.500 in 17 at-bats this season with four RBIs, three runs scored, three walks and two doubles.his baseball savant The page turns bright red. His expected batting average and pursuit percentage are both in his 99th percentile league-wide, and his sweet spot percentage (96th percentile), expected slugging percentage (94th percentile), and walk rate (91st percentile) each rank in the top. Masu.
“I feel good. Obviously there's only three or four games left, so I've got to keep working,” Smith said. “I try to be as perfect in the cage as I am in practice. That way, when I get into a game, I can just work on my play without thinking too much.”
Regarding swing changes: He has adjusted his setup to keep his head “stacked” over the center of his body throughout the load, and his batting stance is not as wide as last year. Smith trained at Globe Life Field in the offseason, reinventing his stance with assistant hitting coach Seth Conner.
His approach at bat has also changed. He's become less comfortable with power, and coach Bruce Bochy noticed Smith's swing last year, which resulted in fewer flyouts and more balanced hacks.
“As a young player, you want to make an impact to stay in the big leagues,” hitting coach Tim Hyers said. “I think he now has a sense of security that says, “I can play here, and I can help the team win.'' I think that's where the positive aspects of his skill level come into play. ”
Consider this a step in Smith's continued professional growth. Smith, a 26-year-old former second-round pick out of LSU, didn't have much trouble hitting in college or in the minor leagues, hitting over .290 in four seasons from Single-A to Triple-A ball. His average dropped below the Mendoza line in his first season as a major leaguer in 2022 and continued to drop last year.
Last May, while training hard to replace Corey Seager at shortstop, Smith said he adopted a new mental approach to hitting to avoid overthinking at the plate. This winter, he published a perverted hit book.
“Before, I was just hitting and I didn’t really know what I was doing,” Smith said. “I've been trying to learn a little bit about swinging to know when something is wrong and how to fix it. I've been down the path of trying to learn about hitting.”
Lesson well learned.
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