New York Yankees fans have made Isiah Kiner-Falefa the target of all kinds of criticism since last season.
Despite his hard-working ways, he always seemed to underperform offensively.
In fact, numbers don’t lie: he finished with a .642 OPS last year and is at an equally poor .644 this year.
But if we dig deeper, we find some encouraging signs for the future.
He actually had a terrific May, his best month as a Yankee by far.
IKF had his best month as a Yankee so boom. A graphic pic.twitter.com/cWZYfZDJGm
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) June 1, 2023
He hit three homers and had eight extra-base hits overall.
Things started to click for him starting on May 16, to be exact.
Up until that point, he was struggling to hang on to his roster spot.
But since that date, he hit .342/.375/.684 with three homers and a 189 wRC+.
League-average performance is set at 100.
Last year, he had an 84 wRC+ and this year, he is at 77.
After May 16, though?
189.
He told Bryan Hoch of MLB.com that he is making a concerted effort to hit the ball with authority.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa credits his offensive success to a change in mentality. Basically, he's swinging harder. Sounds simple, right? Last year, as the starting SS, he was trying to slap the ball around & make contact. Now: "I need to drive the ball to stay on the field."
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) May 31, 2023
He has been working on re-introducing a leg kick as a timing mechanism, and it’s paying off.
Since he is not playing shortstop regularly and instead fulfilling a utility role, he packed on some pounds, too.
Those are the factors contributing to IKF’s recent surge.
Will he be able to sustain some of that gains?
Only time will tell.
History says no, but he is a hard worker and an avid student of the game, so there is a chance.
The Yankees will surely take any production they can get from IKF.
NEXT: Aaron Judge Has Made A Notable Change To His Game
