Blue Jays' Brandon Valenzuela made a big change as he continues to fill in at catcher originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Toronto Blue Jays are still without their starting catcher, Alejandro Kirk, who remains out due to injury.
That leaves a duo of Tyler Heineman and Brandon Valenzuela holding down the catching duties in the meantime, and they aren't exactly the most formidable hitters.
Valenzuela is doing something to try and change his fortunes at the dish, though, and the early returns are promising. He hit a home run on Wednesday night with his altered swing.
He has pretty much eliminated a leg kick in favor of a much smaller foot tap.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider suggested that will simply help Valenzuela get a better look at the pitch as it comes in rather than having too many moving parts in action at once.
Here's how that looks, via The Athletic's Mitch Bannon:
It can be tough for hitters to make changes like this in the middle of a season. There isn't always the time needed to fully adjust to it.
Valenzuela clearly felt like it was worth the try, and it had to feel good to go deep like this. Maybe it'll be a move that helps him out in the long run.
