TORONTO – At the end of April, as the Boston Red Sox arrived in Toronto for a three-game series with the Blue Jays, hitting coaches David Popkins, Lou Iannotti and Cody Atkinson had some ideas for Brandon Valenzuela. 

The rookie catcher, recalled when Alejandro Kirk broke his thumb at the beginning of the month, was struggling badly in the box, batting .147/.171/.235 through his first 13 big-league games, with 14 strikeouts in 35 plate appearances. Factoring into the poor results, the hitting coaches believed, was a big leg kick that caused Valenzuela to jump at the ball and led to head movement that made pitch identification and tracking tougher.

For example, here’s a strikeout on a chase slider from Arizona’s Ryne Nelson on April 19.

So, drop the leg kick, they told him, because timing up a big move is hard, especially with inconsistent playing time. You’re strong enough that you don’t need to generate extra force with your body, they added. The general principles were, “relax, go for line drives, simplify your body, do it for a few days, don't move your body a lot,” Valenzuela remembered.

On April 29, in an 8-1 win over the Red Sox, he did just that, shifting from the leg kick to a rock back and forth as the trigger on his swing, going 2-for-3 with a home run (on the swing below) and a walk as a result.

“It clicked right away,” he explained. “I started seeing the ball better. I feel like I have better ABs and I'm giving the team a chance with my ABs.”

Since then, Valenzuela is batting .294/.396/.565 with six homers and 14 RBIs in 30 games and has 15 walks against 16 strikeouts in 102 plate appearances. His work behind the plate has also improved during that........

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