CLEVELAND, Ohio – No hitter from the Cleveland Indians has had a bigger change from spring training to summer camp than shortstop Yu Chang.
The 24-year-old from Taiwan has been one of the camp’s most pleasant surprises for manager Terry Francona and his coaching staff as Chang has thrown tape measure homers and struck with authority during live at-bats and games intra-squad.
Francona said a slight adjustment with Chang’s hips has opened up his ability to strike for power constantly. In Arizona, Chang hit .250 in 13 games with three doubles and a home run. But his hips tended to be out of position at the plate, robbing him of the ability to drive the ball most of the time.
“His hips had a way to move forward and then it all came with that,” Francona said. “Now he’s there and he’s hitting that front end. It is low and fast for the ball.
The change has allowed Chang to reach his full power potential, which has been considerable. He has four home runs against the club’s initial rotation since the start of live at-bats and in-game games. During Saturday’s 5-3 win over Pittsburgh, he led the lead race in the eighth inning with a double against Pirates reliever Dovydas Neverauskas.
“You are starting to see how strong he is with how far some of these balls go and how fast his hands are,” Francona said. “She just put herself in positions before where she couldn’t show it.”
Cleveland Indians infielder Yu Chang celebrates after hitting a three-run homer during the second inning of Wednesday’s intra-squad game. Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com
Indians starting pitcher Mike Clevinger, who allowed a home run by Chang during an in-school game on Wednesday, said it’s easy to see that the shortstop is comfortable at home.
“Yes, when it all sounds like a shot when they hit a bat,” Clevinger said. “You definitely see a more relaxed turn at bat, much more capable of stepping back on the count than as someone fighting.”
Chang told reporters last week through Zoom that when he returned to Taiwan for three months, he focused on mental adjustments in an effort to improve his mentality.
“I did a normal job, like it was the offseason, but I made some mental adjustments to improve my mindset,” Chang said. “I feel great right now. I can see the ball very clearly. All I want is to keep doing it at the same pace and work on normal things. “
Clevinger said that two years ago, during a brief appearance in spring training on a minor league field, he first realized the tremendous power that Chang possesses.
“I just saw him take BP and everyone was talking about how awesome his pop was, how easy it was,” Clevinger said. “It just came out of his different bat.”
Clevinger said he saw Chang hit a home run against a minor league pitcher who was shooting 94-95 mph. The ball passed over the batter’s eye on a windbreak in a back field at the club’s Goodyear training complex.
“Everyone acts like it’s normal and I say, ‘What the hell? Are you kidding me?’ “Clevinger recalled.” They’re like, ‘No, he does this all the time.’ ”
“He hit one that looked like a Happy Gilmore golf course over the batter’s eye with a pitcher who threw 95!”
With Mike Freeman and Christian Arroyo apparently ahead of Chang for utility box player positions on Cleveland’s first-day 30-man roster, a trip to Eastlake where the club’s taxi team is training could be in the future. Immediate of the young shortstop. But his efforts during summer camp have clearly given Francona and his coaches something to think about to move into the regular season. Could Chang be a phone call away if the club’s lineup falls into an early depression?
Chang was modest when asked about his chances and investing his fortune on the spring training plate.
“It could be good luck,” said Chang. “The wind is helping me with the ball flying out of the park.”
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