PITTSBURGH -- Pirates bench coach Don Kelly played nine years in the Majors, so he knows first-hand that sometimes it just takes a jam-shot or a roller with eyes to help get you going offensively. Maybe all Bryan Reynolds needed to break out of his early-season slump was something like his groundout Tuesday, a bouncer that he hustled down the line for, but the call was reversed after a review.
But there’s something to be said about making your own luck.
“He's always working,” Kelly said. “He was hitting earlier this week and really getting after it. I think that's what separates him and others in the clubhouse -- the work they put in.”
Reynolds’ first 30 games were not his best at the plate, slashing .236/.294/.350 with three home runs and 14 RBIs. He battled a shoulder injury for a good chunk of April, which limited him to being just a designated hitter. The game has a different tempo when you don’t field, and it’s not as easy a transition as some might suspect. He also chased more than he normally has, leading to more strikeouts.
While the results weren’t there, Reynolds had some encouraging peripherals. His 91.5 mph average exit velocity thus far would be a career-best if he maintains it. His expected stats (which measure quality of contact and whiffs) are in line with his expected stats from previous years. There is reason to believe that if he just stuck with the plan, his actual results would catch up to what his peripherals suggest they should be.
The Pirates aren’t really in a position to just wait and see on offense, though. They aren’t hitting much as a unit, and getting their All-Star outfielder back to tip-top form could be a catalyst to get them going. Reynolds went hitless in last weekend’s Dodgers series and then in the first game of the Cubs series, when the Pirates were shut out. For the normally consistent Reynolds, that is a slump.
So Reynolds did something he doesn’t do too often: he tinkered with his swing.
“Usually I try not to, but if the ship's going down, I don't want to go down with it,” Reynolds said. “So I'll try some stuff. But I think I got back to kind of what makes me good. Just try to remember that feeling and keep it going.”
The changes Reynolds made don’t appear to be drastic. He offered that when he’s batting left-handed, the difference is with his hands, and when he’s right-handed, it’s more with his load. Those tweaks to the left-handed swing appear to be working, as he took Colin Rea deep in his first at-bat Thursday. He picked up two hits swinging left-handed in Friday's 9-4 loss to the Padres. If you want a sign that May will be kinder than April, that’s a good start.
“[It] gives you some confidence, but [Rea’s] still got a tough heater and I haven't been hitting well left-handed,” Reynolds said after his homer. “Felt good with the adjustments I made and all that other stuff, so I had confidence in that going into it.”
Looking at that left-handed swing on the home run Thursday compared to the opening series against the Marlins, a couple changes can be spotted. Reynolds has moved his hands down a skosh, the bat is set at a different angle and the hands move a little less as he gets to his load:
This isn’t reinventing the wheel, and there really is no reason to consider doing so. Reynolds was hitting the ball hard, but if this could help him make more consistent contact and translate that contact into hits, the benefits are obvious.
Derek Shelton often refers to Reynolds as the team’s best player. Given his pair of All-Star nods and long track record of success with the Pirates, it’s hard to argue any position player has been better since he arrived in 2019. Time will tell if these swing tweaks could help him get back to that form.