Hunter Dozier making long-awaited adjustments as Kansas City Royals wind down season
The final three weeks of the regular season might not drastically change the year for any player. But a strong finish seemingly can only help Kansas City Royals corner infielder/outfielder Hunter Dozier.
This spring, the Royals committed to Dozier, who turned 30 last month, with a contract extension that likely keeps him in the club’s plans through at least 2024.
His versatility and willingness to play multiple positions gives the Royals options for shaping the major-league roster and integrating prospects such as Bobby Witt Jr. and Nick Pratto.
Dozier’s character and work ethic have been something the organization has held up as a model.
However Dozier’s production this season has slumped well below what anyone expected — himself included.
“It has just been one of those years where I’ve just kind of been grinding through days,” Dozier said recently.
Through 134 games, Dozier has slashed .214/.285/.388 with 15 home runs and 49 RBIs. In 73 games before the All-Star break, Dozier’s struggles were even more stark and inescapable as he batted under .200 and slashed .174/.242/.344.
A hand injury in the opening series of the season lingered and likely contributed to some mechanical issues with his swing. He also missed time with concussion symptoms after a collision with Chicago White Sox slugger Jose Abreu in May.
Dozier expressed confidence recently that he could still make significant fixes at the plate in the final weeks of the season, and it wouldn’t take an offseason of wholesale changes to get himself back on track.
“I’m not far off,” Dozier said. “I don’t think I need to make any big changes or anything. I think it’s just continuing to work. Then this offseason, really work on the things I’ve been doing bad this year and things I need to improve. For whatever reason, I haven’t been able to be super consistent this year.”
He went on to say “hopefully something clicks” in the final weeks of the season.
Prior to the season, Dozier had what he described as the best spring training of his career and seemed ready to regain his form of 2019. That season, he slashed .279/.348/.522 with 65 extra-base hits, including a career-high 26 homers, as well as 84 RBIs.
“I’m just trying to do whatever I can do to try to get back to what I’ve done years in the past,” Dozier said. “I’ve had good days, bad days.”
Recently, Dozier’s bat has provided a boost to the Royals lineup.
In his last 13 games (12 starts), Dozier has slashed .333/.370/.810 with 10 extra-base hits, including five home runs, nine runs scored and 10 RBIs.
Dozier had struggled to minimize extra movement in his swing, particularly head movement, and it led to a high volume of swing and miss as he struggled to identify pitches.
Royals manager Mike Matheny said he’s seen significant strides in Dozier’s pitch recognition, his ability to adjust his swing path which has led to his recent results.
“I think the walks were the first thing we were noticing,” Matheny said. “Then you start seeing him use the whole field. He drives the ball to the right side (Monday), gets into a situation for a sac fly and he hits it to right field, driving the ball the other way. Those are all great indicators of him moving in the right direction and getting some confidence.”
This story was originally published September 23, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
