CLEVELAND — Sometimes, a hitter needs to hit the reset button.
So much goes into hitting, from the mechanics of the swing itself to a different approach to each new pitcher, that it can become easy to get a little bogged down, particularly in this era of the game with truckloads of data also available.
Hitters are just about always working on something with their swing or approach at the plate, always adjusting, always tinkering. For the Guardians' Will Brennan , it wasn't leading to the results for which he had hoped.
So in talking things over with the Guardians hitting coaches, including Chris Valaika, the group came to a conclusion: Brennan needed to simplify things, erase some of the swing thoughts from his head and try to improve his pitch selection.
Instead of the constant work on his swing, it became a more refined approach with a renewed focus on swinging at pitches with which he could do more damage.
And the positive results have followed for Brennan .
"Val has worked really hard with me on not trying to focus so much on the mechanical aspect of things and really focus on the approach and really just slow things down and try to make sure I'm swinging at good pitches," Brennan said after his two-homer performance in Thursday's 6-3 win over the Seattle Mariners . "It's starting to show up."
Brennan has looked like a new hitter over the last few weeks. Leading up to the end of May, Brennan was hitting just .230 with a .664 OPS. He wasn't doing much to force manager Stephen Vogt 's hand in terms of how often he had his name in the lineup.
But since June 1 , Brennan has been a productive hitter in the lower part of the Guardians lineup, hitting .333 with a .953 OPS, three home runs, two doubles, five RBIs and eight runs scored in 45 at-bats. And that was before a game against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday , when Brennan drew two walks (along with a single), another sign his pitch selection has improved compared to the hitter the Guardians saw in April and May.
Brennan had started to make some better contact through that stretch, but a few hard-hit balls ended up being caught for outs. Finally, after a frustrating period of time, results have begun to show up.
"When you're hitting the ball hard, you want to see it fall," Vogt said. "I don't care how much you say, 'Hey, good swing,' or, 'Stay right there.' You want hits. You want results. For Will, his swings the last couple weeks have been phenomenal."
The improved pitch selection has seemingly opened up everything else for Brennan, who was in the 97th percentile in the majors with a 12.1 percent strikeout rate. In essence, Brennan was swinging at pitches he wouldn't be able to actually drive, and it was costing him chances to force pitchers to throw over the plate.
It has offered Brennan, in his second full season in the majors, another lesson of dealing with adversity.
"You always have to keep your head up and keep your confidence," Brennan said. "One thing about me, I always love just putting the work in, show up and get ready to do stuff in the cage. No matter what happens the night before, it's always a new day the next day. The past few weeks [included] kind of a change of plan and it's starting to pay off a little bit."
There are opportunities in the Guardians outfield to be had. For as long as Brennan hits anywhere close to his recent rate — after Friday's win, he had reached base multiple times in five of his previous seven games — an everyday spot will be his to lose.
"For Will, specifically, he's had a couple stretches like this," Vogt said. "He's in a position to sustain it right now."
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis1@gannett.com. Read more about the Guardians at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/cleveland-guardians. Follow him on Threads at @ByRyanLewis .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Guardians' Will Brennan's power streak has team optimistic
