Alex Bregman says he can turn around with slow start

DETROIT — Alex Bregman finds himself in a place both familiar and unfamiliar. The Astros third baseman is known for a slow start to the season, but he is mired in a strong start to the season, amplified by the struggles of the team around him.

Nearly a quarter into the season, no real turnaround has yet manifested itself for either. Bregman remains metronomic in his quest, masking the frustrations his elusiveness might produce.

“You want to perform well, play well and swing the bat well, and obviously you get a little frustrated when you know how much you put into this game on a daily basis,” Bregman said Thursday night. “But that’s also the beauty of the game, at the same time, it’s a game of chess. I’ve had slow starts before and came out on top every time. So, I plan to do it again.

By most measures, this is the worst start to Bregman’s career. He entered Friday’s series opener at Detroit with a .534 OPS, his lowest through his first 34 games of the season. Only seven qualified hitters possessed a lower OPS, while six had a slugging percentage lower than his .260 clip.

Bregman was hitting .198. Notably, he hit .195 in his first 34 games last season before finishing the year with a .262 average, .804 OPS and 25 home runs, exemplifying the type of accumulation he referenced.

One difference is that Bregman’s OPS in 34 games last year was more than 100 points higher than his current one. All but six of his 26 successes are singles. He hit his first home run of the season on April 30. Friday was his only extra-base hit since April 10.

Bregman said he felt there were some positive signs in the series that just ended at Yankee Stadium. On Wednesday, Bregman hit two line drives and two balls with an exit velocity of 99 mph, all for outs. He hit two singles Thursday, a soft line drive to the right side and a sharp ground ball pulled into left field.

Bregman said he was striving to stay on his back leg longer and “throw the bat forward”, feeling he was drifting forward in his swing, and “the last few days it’s been a lot more close to cage work in the game. »

Astros manager Troy Snitker agreed with Bregman’s assessment. Snitker pointed to Bregman’s first two at-bats Wednesday, a 368-foot flyout to center field and a lineout to right field on fastballs thrown by left-hander Carlos Rodón, as examples of Bregman taking better swings.

“He’s had a lot more ‘A’ swings in the last five days or so,” Snitker said. “He had some balls hit hard and he didn’t have much to show for it. But yes, the key is to stay on your back, engage your back leg longer and swing from there.

Bregman has never relied on stellar exit velocities for success, but his current average exit velocity (86.9) and line drive rate (20.2%) would be the lowest of his career. Bregman’s plate discipline remains excellent — he had 14 walks and 18 strikeouts Friday — and he will rarely swing and miss. His 17.5% pop-up rate, however, was nearly double his career rate. He pointed out that his ground ball rate is also up and producing more line drives is a priority.

“It’s about staying back and putting the stick in front,” Bregman said. “Not moving forward too early and being able to control my lead. When I do this, it’s really, really good, and it’s repeatable for months. So the sooner we achieve this, the better the final result of the season will be.

It’s obvious the Astros and Bregman prefer it to be imminent. Houston went 13-24 in Detroit and received inconsistent production from a team that struggled to capitalize on its scoring chances. Bregman isn’t the reason, but he played a role, driving in just four runs in 22 at-bats in the cleanup spot.

On Wednesday, manager Joe Espada moved Bregman down to sixth, the lowest Bregman has reached in the lineup in a regular season game since 2021. Espada said the move was to “try to make him better.” hopefully get him to relax a little and make him go away. The next day, Espada said he thought Bregman’s at-bats there were encouraging.

“He hit some balls hard, I thought he was calmer, his pitch selection was better,” Espada said. “I think it was a step in the right direction.”

The factors behind the Astros’ poor start are widespread. General manager Dana Brown, for his part, has always emphasized the impact a Bregman push could have. During a radio appearance this week on the team’s flagship station, 790 AM, Brown said, “When Bregman gets hot, you’ll see this team roll.” … We need him to be warm. And he’s going to get hot, it’s just a matter of time. But we need him to be warm as soon as possible.

Brown also made a point to say that Bregman is “working hard” amid his departure. Hours before Thursday’s game in New York, Bregman briefly walked through the clubhouse to pick up a pair of batting gloves before heading to the infield cage. Soon after, he appeared for batting practice on the field, exiting the cage after each round and watching video of his swings on a tablet.

“I feel good,” Bregman said after Thursday’s game. “During the season you are going to have ups and downs. And the cream always rises to the top at the end of the season.