Robinson Cano’s eight-game surge to the top

Robinson Cano might have put on a few big performances early in the season, but for the most part he looked lost at the plate. This is not something we expected to see from the man with the prettiest swing in baseball. He showed signs of recovery in late April, but it wasn’t the kind of recovery we expected. He pulled plenty of 1 for 4 performances in that stretch, leaving his average between .250 and .270 for a stretch of 15 games. In fact, from May 2 through May 5 he was hitting .255, having gone 1 for 4 in each of those games. That’s a four-game hit streak, sure, but not the kind of performance we’ve come to expect from Cano.

Something seemingly clicked for him in the final game of the series in Kansas City. With the Yankees needing a win to secure a series tie, Cano led the offense by going 2 for 5 with a homer and 4 RBI. In the eight games since he has gone 15 for 32 with two homers and four doubles. The surge has raised his average all the way to .303, which is second on the team behind Derek Jeter. Of his 14 RBI on the season 10 have come in these last eight games. Cano also leads the team in doubles with 12.

While Cano’s numbers aren’t quite where we’d expect them — he’s still missing a little power — he’s made it clear that he can reach those numbers in no time. It took just eight games for him to gain 50 points on his average and drive in 10 runs. Imagine what this might look like in another eight games. Imagine what it might look like at the end of June as we approach the halfway mark. It might be frustrating to see such a highly regarded player struggle out of the gate. But it’s equally pleasing to see him turn things around in such a short period of time.

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Joe Pawlikowski