let’s talk about miguel sano for a hot minute...

in last night’s broadcast roy smalley mentioned that sano was backsliding in his swing — adding too much pre-launch movement and causing a poor swing plane.

while there may be a little bit of that, it is not nearly as pronounced as last year — http://twinsdaily.com/articles.html/_/minnesota-twins-news/minnesota-twins/how-miguel-sano-turned-his-season-around-r8282 — when he couldn’t catch up to any kind of fastball.

take a look at these two swings on 95 mph fastballs (video synced to pitcher’s arm swing).

L is from september and R is from last night.

there’s the leg kick last year and just a small lift/toe tap this year. when players default to the toe tap, they know they are getting beat.

he’s not starting his swing early enough.

look at how he’s in a strong position on the L but hasn’t even sunk into his legs on R

a lot of power hitters - donaldson, bautista, etc - talk about the virtues of starting the swing early.

it gets them in a strong position but it also allows for tracking the ball better.

sano is reading and reacting to the pitcher. it’s no wonder he’s getting carved.

like last year, given the necessary reps, sano will regain his timing.

fortunately the twins have 4 million thumpers in the lineup so they can carry the team as sano figures it out.