Article: Byron Buxton Recalled

[tobi0040]

Perhaps I am seeing what I want to see then. . . . But I thought his swing look much more purposeful and not as arms flailing as a before.

Smalley compared his pre and post leg kick swing and said he thought the leg kick would reduce the sweeping motion he was making, which would in turn help him against breaking balls away.

[Mike Sixel]

And, the Fangraphs article is up:

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/theory-and-implementation-with-byron-buxton/

 

[DJSim22]

Correct me if I am off, but I believe he was 7-47 before the leg kick and 7-17 with it.  Extremely small sample size, but encouraging still.  Getting him on base regularly should jump start this offense a bit. 

[Badsmerf]

Let kick or no leg kick, he looks like he is adjusting. He is swinging at better pitches, and laying off some just outside the zone. He should have started the year in AAA, we might have seen this version earlier.... or, he would have still needed to be sent back down and we would see this version later.

 

I'm just glad he is with the twins and playing well. He will be fun to watch.

[AlwaysinModeration]

Five game hit streak since his recall, including 4 for his last 8. 7 for 19 overall, plus reached on an error (his speed might have factored into the error), beat relay on a double play, and a sac fly. Has 7Ks in the 5 games, and no walks, but has only Ked once per game in last three. SSS, but great start! Hope he gets a hit or two today. Dropping a bunt down would be nice to see, plus a walk or two.

[Linus]

His pitch recognition seems better. He's laid off some breaking balls outside the zone but is aggressive on pitches he can handle. You can see he has some pop in his bat - his hits aren't cheap.

[HitInAPinch]

A different article / new approach Buxton is using.  Pretty interesting stuff.

 

http://www.1500espn.com/twins-2/2016/06/new-approach-why-byron-buxton-is-visualizing-hits-to-the-second-baseman/

 

I didn't watch the entire game yesterday, but Buxton looked much better.  It's not a leg kick, closer to a slide step.  Doesn't matter; it's a timing mechanism.  Wash, Rinse, Repeat !

 

Like this quote from Molitor:  “Generally not too many hitters are going to be looking at the left field corner,” Molitor said. “It’s just not the way to hit. You’ve got to look out to where you just try to cover as many pitches as you can.”

 

Sound like someone else we know with hitting issues?

[longstrangetrip]

 

His pitch recognition seems better. He's laid off some breaking balls outside the zone but is aggressive on pitches he can handle. You can see he has some pop in his bat - his hits aren't cheap.

 

Yeah, I agree that pitch recognition has been far and away Byron's biggest issue in the majors.  He honestly hadn't shown me in his previous ML stints that he could tell a breaking ball from a fastball, and that resulted in a bizarre number of 0-2 counts.  Pitch recognition is a broad term, but often it has to do with a lack of confidence more than lack of talent.  If you're not confident at the plate, you are going to be overthinking rather than being instinctive...and that split second of over-thinking can lead to a lot of bad decisions at the plate.  And a lot of 0-2 counts.  I'm not going to jump to any conclusions after just 6 games back, but nobody can argue that the results aren't entirely different from what we have seen before.  3 hits today has his BA over .250 on the season, and his slugging average has moved ahead of Mauer's (among many others).  And his speed and defense, as always, continue to be game changing.  Wouldn't it be terrific if the kid has finally figured it out.

[Loosey]

 

Five game hit streak since his recall, including 4 for his last 8. 7 for 19 overall, plus reached on an error (his speed might have factored into the error), beat relay on a double play, and a sac fly. Has 7Ks in the 5 games, and no walks, but has only Ked once per game in last three. SSS, but great start! Hope he gets a hit or two today. Dropping a bunt down would be nice to see, plus a walk or two.

Clairvoyant . . . .