Jorge Polanco 2.0: A Hitter Reimagined

In his prime, Jorge Polanco was an athletic enough shortstop whose only serious deficiency was his throwing arm. That carried over to his work in the batter’s box, too. Polanco used to run pretty well, and it was an important part of his game. From 2017-21, Polanco averaged 17 infield hits and four more via bunt per season–and those averages were pulled down by the truncated season in 2020. Because of those skills, he developed an approach focused on hitting line drives, and on making contact.

That aspect of his game is gone. Polanco’s average Sprint Speed, according to Statcast, has dropped from well above-average to slightly below, and the capacity he used to have for hitting an extra gear when he smelled a hit is kaput. He has just 13 infield hits on swings and two via bunt since the start of 2022, and he last had a competitive run in which he reached the elite speed threshold set by Baseball Savant early last season. 

It’s normal for this to happen, but Polanco resisted the trend at first. Then, he was pulled with unusual suddenness down into the mud where older players run, because of the ankle injury he battled for years. Now, he deals with semi-chronic ankle, knee, and hamstring trouble, and speed just isn’t a significant asset for him.

The slower, balkier legs are the result of injuries, but Polanco has also had to contend with slightly slowing hands and eyes, for which the only blame we can assign goes to the frailty of the human condition. He’s only 30, but 30 is the new 35 in MLB, and that whip-quick, line-drive swing with the high contact rate is fading into memory, from both sides of the plate. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that, with a high baseball IQ and a work ethic that matches it, Polanco has reimagined himself at the plate. He needed a swing adjustment and an approach adjustment, and because he’s a switch-hitter, that really meant he needed two swing adjustments and two approach adjustments. However many that adds up to, he made all of them. Despite lingering injury trouble, he’s boosted himself to a batting line of .260/.342/.467 this year. If he’s producing any worse than he did at his peak a few years ago, it’s only by a bit. He’s radically reshaped his production, but not lost it. Let’s talk about how.

You rarely see the data presented this way, but I think it’s important to do so. Let’s break Polanco up into the two hitters who really live within him, one from each side of the plate. First, here are some key statistics for him as a right-handed batter (facing lefty pitchers), from 2019 through last week.

This article continues with a deeper dive of how Polanco has become a very different player, but it is exclusively for Twins Daily caretakers. To become a Caretaker and read the rest of the piece, you can subscribe here. You'll support the writers that provide you free Twins stories and analysis every day, both in-season and offseason.