TORONTO – Taking stock of things during the minor-league all-star break, Kevin Pillar decided it was time for a change.
Sure, the outfielder was getting good results at the plate at triple-A Buffalo, but he failed to make much of an impact in two stints with the Toronto Blue Jays, so he decided to give the adjustment with his hands he worked on during the off-season but bailed on during spring training, another shot.
The early returns, so far, show some promise, as he’s collected hits in each of his first three games since his recall earlier this week and is 4-for-12 with three doubles, an RBI and two runs scored. Combined with his stellar defence, high energy, and aggressive play, he’s looked much better.
“There was definitely a swing adjustment that I went through down there, it happened right after the minor-league all-star break,” said Pillar. “I went home during the break and started thinking about some of the failures up here and what adjustments needed to be made. It was a good time while I was down in the minor-leagues to put it to the test. It allowed me to be a little shorter and more compact which allows the ball to travel a little more, gives me a little longer to read the pitch.”
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The way he’s done that is by lowering his hand position and moving them tighter to his body. In turn, some of the loop from his swing in previous stints is gone.
“Just looking down the middle of the plate, knowing that I can always pull my hands inside and stay short and connected similar to how Mike Trout does it,” Pillar said in explaining how he feels. “You see guys like Eddie (Encarnacion) do it, the shorter you are to the ball, the longer you have to pick up the spin and recognize what pitch it is.”
Pillar is now batting .250 in 29 games with the Blue Jays after the 25-year-old hit .323/.359/.509 in 100 games at Buffalo, earning team MVP honours. The 25-year-old started working on the change to his hands after posting a .583 OPS in 36 games with the Blue Jays last year.
“Things didn’t go well right away (during spring training) so I kind of abandoned ship,” said Pillar. “I just got to a point where an adjustment needed to be made, so I went back to it and had success with it, and figured it would work up here.”
The results so far are encouraging him to stick with the adjustment.