The amount of time spent lamenting the underperformance of the Twins' offensive output this season has been significant.
While fans expressed frustration on various social media platforms and comment sections in this space, for the players, the exasperation reached the point that they organized their own players' only meeting to try to rally the sticks -- no word on if they went the live-chicken-sacrifice route. If they had, the results would be better by now.
Still, if there was one player who should be leading that meeting, it's Donovan Solano, a late spring signing who has been the antithesis of what has become the Twins' foundational offensive tenants in 2023.
Whereas the bulk of the lineup prefers to pull the ball (7 regulars have a 45% or high pull rate), Solano's pull rate has been a much more mild 37%. Whereas the other Twins hitters are trying to get loft on the ball, Solano has sprayed line drives to the big part of the field. His line drive rate of 31.7% is the best in baseball, topping some guy named Luis Arraez (29.4%) by several marks. He still maintains a strikeout rate of over 20%, but it's downright stingy compared to his contemporaries.
To summarize, he uses the middle of the field, hits line drives, and doesn't give up at-bats. What a novel concept.
Solano's presence has been mainly known since the beginning of June. Specifically, the transition started on May 22 when he went to a full leg kick in his swing.
For the unfamiliar, a player's lower half movements can act as a timing mechanism and increase their ability to use the ground force in the swing. Optimal movement patterns can increase power in the kinetic chain.
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