Blue Jays' Addison Barger has put August behind him and made adjustments for September
Photo credit: https://passionmlb.com/
A slight adjustment at the plate has Toronto Blue Jays IF/OF Addison Barger back to producing at a level he's grown accustomed to.
In the first four months of his 2025 campaign, Barger was the surging power bat in the centre of the lineup.
He hit 15 homers in 86 games, posting an .824 OPS. In the 31 games since, he has a .586 OPS with four homers.
Blue Jays' Addison Barger makes a slight adjustment at the plate to counter what pitchers have been doing to him in August
With Barger having a rough month of August he made a small tweak at the plate earlier this month.
As the lefty slugger burst into relevance this season, teams formulated and adjusted plans against him.
They quickly ditched changeup usage after Barger mashed those in his opening month. Fastballs slowly ticked down, too.
Lately, Barger said, opposing pitchers attack him with soft offerings away from the plate.
Barger is the biggest pull hitter on the Blue Jays, yanking pitches down the line and into the right-field seats.
His 46.7 percent pull rate this year ranks 23rd among all big-league lefties.
But offspeed and breaking pitches on the far edge had neutralized his strength and pushed up his chase rate in August. So, Barger stepped forward.
It's a barely noticeable inch, pushing Barger's back foot closer to the plate.
But with it, he's found far-corner pitches more comfortable and inside cutters and fastballs still accessible.
In his first game after the tweak, Barger drove in four runs on two hits in the series finale against the Cincinnati Reds.
The drought is over for Addison Barger. It's his 1st HR since Aug. 10. #BlueJays
Brand new game...
Brand new game...
«It's September and we're a first-place team,» Barger said via Mitch Bannon of The Athletic (subscription required). «I'm essentially an everyday player and part of that, so I can't really be upset. Baseball has ups and downs. I'm just trying to manage that and stay afloat.»
On the season, he has a .249/.301/.461 slash line with 19 home runs, 27 doubles and one triple.
He has 65 RBI and four stolen bases, doing a little bit of everything for the Blue Jays offense.
With his ability to play third base and right field, he provides manager John Schneider with some important lineup flexibility as well.
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