PHILADELPHIA — Gregory Polanco's familiar problem doesn't have a simple solution. Polanco is stuck in a 3-for-32 slump the past eight games, the result of the 6-foot-5 right fielder's swing becoming long again, according to Clint Hurdle.
Polanco has encountered the problem previously in his career and fixed the issue, only to revert back to bad habits. A short, compact swing helped him produce a 1.206 OPS through the first eight games of the season, and he led the majors with 15 RBIs only one week ago.
His average has since dropped to .197, and Hurdle explained to reporters Thursday at Citizens Bank Park that cage work, as well as a change in mindset, can help Polanco get his swing back. However, Polanco said he isn't sure what has gone wrong.
"I don’t even know what’s wrong with my swing right now," Polanco told DKPittsburghSports.com. "I’m missing pitches. As you see, I’m taking my walks. I’m seeing good pitches, but I’m missing too much. I'm missing just a little bit. My swing might be a little longer than it was in the beginning."
Polanco had a .310/.447/.759 slash line with three home runs, 13 RBIs and eight walks to six strikeouts through the Pirates' first eight games. His plate discipline had improved and his swing looked similar to the one he used in the first half of 2016, when he had a .862 OPS with 12 home runs and 50 RBIs.
He's batted .094/.171/.281 with three hits in 35 plate appearances over his past eight games, posting a strikeout rate of 28.6 percent with a .050 batting average on balls in play. The 26-year-old encountered a similar slump in August 2016, when he had five hits in 50 at-bats.
Polanco then batted .251/.305/.391 with 11 home runs and 35 RBIs in 108 games an injury-shortened 2017. He overhauled his workout regimen over the offseason to strengthen his legs and core in an effort to avoid the lingering hamstring injury that plagued him last season.
He arrived at spring training looking more athletic and leaner, according to Hurdle, and it led to a hot start through the first week of the season, but he's struggled since hitting two home runs in a 6-1 victory over the Cubs last Thursday. It doesn't sound like pitchers are attacking Polanco differently, either.
“He’s going to see secondary pitches in offensive counts," Hurdle said. "He’s been seeing them for years. There are some guys with top velocity that are going to work him tight and some guys are going to work him away. … It goes back to counterpunching for him and getting back to that shortest stroke a 6-5 man can have, and we’ve seen it. Right now, there’s a little bit too much length in it.”
Polanco said when told of Hurdle's diagnosis: "He would know then. He was a hitting coach. He knows my swing. I’m working. I’m working every day. I’m going to keep working until I get back my swing and I’m comfortable."
Over the past eight games, Polanco has swung at more pitches outside the zone — an increase of nearly 11 percent from the first eight games — and pitchers have thrown a first-pitch strike to him 68.6 percent of the time. His swinging strike percentage has also increased nearly five percent from the first eight games. With a lefty starter on the mound Wednesday, Hurdle opted to give Polanco a day off.
Polanco, though, went through his typical pregame routine of 25 swings in the cage and four rounds of batting practice on the field. He's on a mission to discover whatever he lost since the conclusion of the Pirates' first home stand, but he's not entirely sure of what is at the root of his struggles.
"I’m still confident," he said. "As you see, the season is just starting. I’ve been there before. I know how to tell myself that I’ve been there before. I just have to keep working. I just have to keep my head down, stay focused and believe in myself."
Polanco is back in the lineup Thursday, batting second against the Phillies' Jake Arrieta and playing right field. He is of the opinion simply repeating his swing during his pregame workouts will fix the problem. Hurdle, though, said there is a plan in place.
"I always believe in revisiting the swing from the ground up," he said. "Your stance, your balance, … What we’re seeing now is the contact point is a little more advanced than it needs to be. Sometimes players can get excited. He hit a couple balls really hard and really far in Chicago, and I don’t know where that takes him. However, we need to reconnect the dots and get him short because we’ve seen the benefit of the short, quick stroke and how it can play to all fields."