Inside: Strong legs may help Rendon regain hitting form.
NEW YORK >> Anthony Rendon might finally be making progress back toward being Anthony Rendon.
Rendon had three hits, including two doubles that left the bat at more than 100 mph, and three walks in games Monday and Tuesday.
Angels hitting coach Jeremy Reed said Rendon, like most hitters, relies heavily on his legs to hit, and the leg issues from fouling a ball off his knee May 3 contributed to him never quite getting his swing back the way it should be.
“His legs are a heavy, heavy part of his swing, how he functions,” Reed said. “It was a big blow for him when he was starting to get going.
“Now we’re starting to see that again. We’re starting to see him working his way back into these positions. He’s always really had good plate discipline and now we’re seeing his legs getting back underneath him and he’s starting to drive the ball.”
Rendon hit .156 with a .438 OPS in his first 18 games after coming off the injured list. Since then, he’s slowly gotten better, although he still hasn’t gotten hot.
In June, Rendon is hitting .272 with a .799 OPS, with two homers.
That’s still a far cry from the .949 OPS he posted over the previous four seasons, which is what earned him the seven-year, $245 million deal after the 2019 season.
Although Rendon appears nonchalant on the field, which certainly frustrates fans who make judgments about his body language, manager Joe Maddon and Reed both say Rendon is doing everything he should be doing to get back to the production they expect.
“He’s in (the cage) every day,” Reed said. “He has a pretty solid routine. He’s actually done a few extra things to try to get his lower half working. It’s a tribute to him. He works his tail off every day to be the player that he knows he wants to be.”
All-Star results coming
Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout are in position to be named All-Star starters when the results of the four-day Phase 2 of the election process are revealed today at 6 p.m.
Ohtani had 65% of the votes at designated hitter as of results posted on Wednesday, ahead of Houston’s Yordan Alvarez (19%) and Boston’s J.D. Martinez (17%).
Trout was atop the outfielder voting with 19%, leading the Yankees’ Aaron Judge (14%), Minnesota’s Byron Buxton (11%) and Houston’s Michael Brantley (11%).
Trout will not be able to play in the All-Star Game because he will still be on the injured list, by that point nearing a return from a strained calf. But if he finishes in the top three among outfielders, he would still be recognized as an All-Star. He would be replaced via a selection of the Commissioner’s office.
Trout is not eligible to come off the injured list until July 17. This week he has increased his workload to 50 swings off a tee and throwing at a distance of 90 feet. He’s also been running on an anti-gravity treadmill.
Future stars?
Angels pitching prospects Reid Detmers and Hector Yan were named to the roster for the Futures Game, which will be held July 11 at Coors Field as part of the All-Star week events.
The Angels’ first-round pick last June, Detmers is the organization’s top pitching prospect. The left-hander has a 3.95 ERA with 76 strikeouts in 41 innings through the first nine starts of his pro career, all at Double-A.
Yan was in major league camp with the Angels this spring after being added to the 40-man roster last winter, but he was somewhat disappointing because his velocity had dipped.
Yan has a 6.41 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 39 1/3 innings at high-A Tri-Cities.
Notes
Left fielder Justin Upton (back) has been taking swings and “feeling pretty normal about it,” Maddon said. Upton is expected to be activated when he’s eligible on Saturday . ... The Angels recalled reliever Aaron Slegers and optioned reliever James Hoyt.