Patience at plate paying off for Twins’ Rosario

Eddie Rosario has changed his approach at the plate and it’s showing.

The Minnesota Twins outfielder has become much more selective in 2020 and the numbers are overwhelming.

In 18 games and 75 plate appearances this season, Rosario has walked eight times. That might not seem like a lot, but in 2019 he had 22 bases on balls in 137 games and 590 PA.

Rosario is averaging one walk per 9.38 plate appearances – easily the best rate of his six-year career. Rosario’s previous best ratio came in 2017, when he walked one every 16.83 plate appearances.

But it’s not even just drawing walks.

He’s seeing 4.09 pitchers per at-bat – Rosario’s previous high was 3.71 in 2016 and last season he had a career-low 3.51.

In addition, and not surprisingly, Rosario has fewer overall strikes in 2020, with 61.9% of the pitches he sees either a swinging strikes, foul ball or called strike. His career rate entering this season was 68.7%. Just 13.7% of those strikes this season have been swinging – again, the lowest percentage of his career (previous low: 18.5% in 2019).

Rosario’s new-look approach starts at, well, the start of every at-bat. He’s swinging at only 20.0% of first pitches. His career rate entering 2020 was 39.4% and last season he swung at a first pitch a career-high 42.1% of the time.

Rosario has reached 2-0 count 18.7% of the time (career high), a 3-0 count 12.0% (was at a career rate of 3.8% entering 2020) and a 3-1 count 13.3% (another easy career high; he was at 5.8% entering this year).

As a result, again this should come as no surprise, Rosario’s strikeouts are down in 2020. He’s fanning 12.0% of the time, which is a career low. He’s decreased his K% every year since entering the majors and was at 14.6% in 2019.

With favorable counts, Rosario is getting more power hits. He’s hitting a home run every 11.2 at-bats – yes, a career high (previous high: 17.6 in 2019), has an extra-base percentage of 10.7% (previous high: 10.5% in 2017) and 53% of all his hits have gone for extra bases (previous high: 40% in 2017).

Rosario is slugging .522 – previous career high is .507 – and while his .829 OPS isn’t a career best, his 125 OPS+ is.

Rosario has been mainly been batting fourth and fifth this season (he didn’t bat in the five spot at all in 2019) and that’s helped him accumulate 17 RBI, which is fifth most in the American League (he’s also third in home runs, seventh in runs and eighth in HR/AB).

Other notes:

— Minnesota has allowed just 1.75 runs per game at Target Field, site of this weekend’s three-game series against Kansas City. Th next-lowest home mark in the majors is 2.44 runs per game for the Chicago Cubs while Cleveland is No. 2 in the AL at 2.90 r/g allowed.

— The Twins have hit 23 solo home runs – the Royals have hit 23 total this season – meaning 71.9% of Minnesota’s homers have scored just the batter. That’s the second highest rate in MLB with only Toronto (17, 73.9%) ahead of the Twins. Byron Buxton, Max Kepler and Rosario each have four solo home runs.

— The Royals have been caught stealing an MLB-most eight times. No other team has more than five.

Statistics courtesy Sportradar and baseball-reference.com