Kennys Vargas has so much power that Minnesota Twins manager Paul Molitor is trying to keep the first baseman’s power potential in check.
On Wednesday, Vargas took a pitch against the Tampa Bay Rays well over the fence for his team-leading fourth home run of the spring.
In-game home runs are exactly what Molitor wants to see. But he doesn’t want Vargas spending his batting practice at-bats launching mammoth blasts – he wants Vargas to work on hitting line drives.
“We try to keep him from playing Home Run Derby in batting practice,” Molitor said Wednesday, according to the Star Tribune. “I was trying to remind him every round – if you hit a home run, I want it to be a line drive. That’s a constant message we have with him and Oswaldo Arcia – they want to have that home run competition in BP, which doesn’t mean anything. It’s fun once in a while at the end of your round … but in general, it isn’t how you want to go about getting better as a hitter.”
Molitor: Trying to keep @kennys_vargas from playing Home Run Derby in BP, wants his focus on mechanics, not hitting 60-mph pitches 500 ft.
— Phil Miller (@MillerStrib) March 25, 2015
The Pioneer Press adds that Molitor doesn’t want Vargas to become comfortable with being a designated hitter; defensive will be an area of his game they continue working to improve.
Vargas is hitting just .230 this spring, but General Manager Terry Ryan, according to 1500 ESPN, informed the media Wednesday that Vargas will almost assuredly begin the season at Target Field.
For more on what Vargas’ life at spring training is like, check out “The Kennys Vargas Show,” as presented by TwinsBaseball.com.
Just caught your home run ball @kennys_vargas !!! My daughter says Thank You! #Twins pic.twitter.com/F4DCwMO5wc
— Eric Perkins (@PerkatPlay) March 25, 2015
