Last year, as a rookie, Bobby Dalbec made a quick and strong impression in September, smashing eight homers in 23 games while compiling a .600 slugging percentage.
There were challenges, too, as would be expected. The biggest of those was a lack of contact. Dalbec struck out 39 times in 80 at-bats, a rate that would seem unsustainable.
Reflecting back on his first month in the big leagues, Dalbec was candid.
"I think it gave me kind of a template of what I need to work on and things I need to execute better,'' he said of his experience. "Obviously I got exposed a little bit. but I felt like I made good adjustments on the fly. Swing decisions earlier in the count is a big thing I want to focus on and just being ready, allowing myself to see the ball as best I can. So I focused on starting so early that I almost felt uncomfortable and then work from there instead of being late and having to play catchup all the time. It's been translating and everything feels really good.''
As Alex Cora noted Tuesday morning, Dalbec's strikeout totals are not the result of chasing pitches out of the zone, but rather, pitch identification.
"I would say effort level and holding my direction throughout the swing (is key),'' said Dalbec. "Letting the ball travel and trusting my swing and my path and building my speed behind me and allowing me to make decisions later so I can do more damage early in the count and not have to get into those deep, deep counts. While I still want to work walks and will do that, being able to get balls in the play earlier in the count and with authority (is important).
"It's just (about) trying to see the ball as early as I can. I could have the prettiest swing in the world, but if I was blind, I wouldn't be able to hit anything. So I'm really focusing on the mental side and just staying within myself and kind of fine-tuning those things, being able to make adjustments on the fly.''
If there's something that Dalbec feels has improved in Year 2, it's his ability to correct things faster.
"Now I feel like I'm in a better position to make those adjustments quicker where it won't take four games to get that going, it will take one or a couple of at-bats,'' he said.
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"When you throw strikes and attack the zone, everything is easier for you as a pitcher,'' said Perez. "That's what I was trying to do to today. When you attack the hitters early, the hitters don't have too many chances to hit the ball. It's going to be easier for you and you can get out of the inning quick.''
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