Myles Straw’s offensive rebound boosting Guardians’ 2023 lineup
- Myles Straw and the Guardians believe he was thinking too much at the plate last year
- Straw finished the 2022 season on a high note after taking a more intent-driven approach
- Straw has now started 2023 on a torrid stretch, in which he’s added a dynamic to the bottom of the Guardians lineup
CLEVELAND — You’re gonna have to swing the bat to make something good happen.
It’s a simple thought for a hitter. And, yet, it is that straightforward sentiment that saved the Guardians’ Myles Straw from a lengthy slump and now has him off to a hot start in 2023.
For much of last season, Straw’s speedy wheels were stuck in the mud, spinning but not finding any traction. Between 2022 opening day and Sept. 4, he had hit just .196 with a .519 OPS and 73 strikeouts in 489 plate appearances. Steven Kwan took his place in the leadoff spot, and Straw was hitting ninth and searching for answers. His defense kept him in the lineup.
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It was around the beginning of September last year when the answer became clear: swing early and swing with some aggression. But to go a bit deeper, it was about Straw no longer trying to be so decisive at the plate. He was thinking too much, and it led to opportunities with hittable pitches passing him by.
In a way, he was walking to the plate with almost a more timid mindset than one looking to do real damage.
“Yeah, just kind of being in my own head, thinking too much at the plate instead of just going up and competing,” Straw told the Beacon Journal of his offensive turnaround. “So it’s just kind of letting those things go and going up there with confidence and just staying aggressive and knowing that I belong and I’m a good player. That’s the kind of mindset you need to bring up there, and it definitely makes a difference.”
That difference, for the Guardians lineup, has been massive. From Sept. 5 to the end of the regular season last year, Straw was a completely different hitter, posting a .330 average, .377 on-base percentage and a .769 OPS while stealing six bases without being caught over his final 28 games. Suddenly, he transformed from a struggling outfielder holding onto playing time due to his defense to one of the hottest-hitting No. 9 hitters in the game.
In essence, Straw needed a mental reset as a hitter. It led to a torrid finish, and the Guardians went to work building off that progress this winter.
“We were talking about being more intent driven and looking to get the head out, looking to be more aggressive in the zone on those pitches rather than looking for balls and then missing the strikes that you should hit,” hitting coach Chris Valaika told the Beacon Journal. “So it was just resetting that mindset with him. And then this winter working with him, we came to Cleveland together. We did a week here just working on some technical things, but the overarching theme was just the intent and looking to do damage.”