Robinson Cano has been off to a good start this season. I’ve been fairly critical of the deal since December of 2018 but credit where credit is due, Robinson Cano has been good recently.
After his performance last night, he is hitting .412/.462/.559 with a .438 wOBA and a 187 wRC+. It’s not been luck either, his hard hit rate is 56.7%, his exit velocity is 91.8 MPH, and his exit velocity on balls in the air is 95.6 MPH.
So what is he doing different from this season as opposed to last? So the biggest thing that jumps out to me is his ground ball rate. Cano’s career ground ball rate is 48.4%, this season it is 36.7%. I’m genuinely curious as to whether or not this is just a byproduct of a small sample size, or has Robinson Cano is trying the “ground balls are bad philosophy.” I certainly hope he has because hitting the ball in the air has saved Justin Turner‘s career along with many others.
Another change I noticed is that Cano is pulling the ball more and is doing more with them. Last season, he pulled the ball 34.9% of the time but this year, he is pulling it 43.3% of the time. You might be wondering, “Well, isn’t Cano better off spraying the ball?” The answer is no. Cano slugged .611 and hit .292 on balls that he pulled last season. Cano has good numbers when he hits it to the opposite field but pitching staffs game plan so much now, that Cano will be setup to pull more often than not. Cano can either try to pull more (he had a .903 OPS when pulling the ball in 2019) or inside out it to hit it up the middle (only a .725 OPS when hitting the ball up the middle in 2019).
Think that is not a big enough difference? Well when he pulled the ball last season, he hit it on the ground 62.8%. That number early this season is 38.5%. For Cano, pulling a ball on the ground probably means hitting into the shift. But pulling it in the air has a good chance of becoming a hit. I don’t think I need to explain any further as to why him putting the ball in the air when he pulls it is beneficial.
These underlying numbers will probably not remain this drastic (nor will his actual production) but the general trend will hopefully be the same. If Cano hits the ball in the air more often and pulls it in the air, he will be a much better hitter than he was in 2019. Cano is definitely not the same hitter he was in 2009-2016 but if he can adjust his game and incorporate analytics into his process at the plate, he could extend his production by another few seasons.
