Dozier’s power surge reaching historic levels

MINNEAPOLIS — As the calendar turned to June 1, Twins second baseman Brian Dozier was hitting .202 with five homers and 17 RBIs in 46 games.

It was a continuation of his second-half struggles from last year, as Dozier was batting .207/.285/.348 with 14 homers over his previous 115 games dating back to the 2015 All-Star break. It was fair to wonder if the league had adjusted to him and his pull-happy ways, as his power was always thought of as a surprise — considering the most homers he ever hit in the Minors was nine in 2011.

But Dozier maintained it was the best he had ever felt — he had changed his offseason diet and worked with hitting coach Tom Brunansky on his mechanics to move farther off the plate — and while it sounded almost delusional at the time, his message turned out to be prescient.

No one could’ve imagined, however, just how much Dozier would turn it around, as he’s been the game’s best power hitter since then, and has been a bright spot in an otherwise forgettable Twins season with 39 homers in 135 games. Since June 1, Dozier is hitting .314/.374/.694, leading the Majors with 34 homers and 75 RBIs, while pacing the AL with 73 runs in 88 games.

It’s been even more glaring recently, with 22 homers over his last 37 games, which is nine more than any other player and only two fewer than the Marlins have as a team over that span.

“As a player and a coach, including my short time as manager, I’ve never seen a power surge like this at this level,” said Twins manager Paul Molitor. “It’s just become such a regular occurrence. It just hasn’t stopped.”

As Molitor noted, it’s actually become rarer for Dozier to homer than not recently, as he’s gone deep in 19 of his last 37 games, with 22 homers over that stretch — including tying a club record with homers in five straight games until that streak …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com