Cron displaying improved plate discipline

SEATTLE — C.J. Cron isn’t just getting more hits to fall in lately — it appears he is evolving into a more disciplined Major League hitter.

It’s still very early, but Cron has so far doubled his walk rate, while slicing his strikeout rate by about a third. He’s swinging at fewer pitches outside of the strike zone, making more contact within the strike zone and seemingly taking a major step in his development, the type that eludes most professional hitters.

“Sometimes plate discipline is something that stays the same for a player from when he’s 12 years old to the time he stops playing, at whatever age,” manager Mike Scioscia said. “You just never know.”

Cron entered Saturday’s game at Safeco Field on another one of his signature hot streaks, sporting a .444/.500/.689 over his last 14 games to lift his batting average by 126 points, from .153 to .279.

But it’s his peripherals that perhaps give this stretch a little bit more stability.

Cron has struck out only 13.8 percent of the time, well below the Major League average (21.2 percent) as well as his rate from the last two years (21.8 percent). He’s walking 9.5 percent of the time, slightly above the Major League average (8.3 percent) and well above his rate from 2014-15 (4.1 percent).

“If he keeps up that pace,” Scioscia said, “he’s …

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