Texas Rangers: One bold prediction for every position player

Odor leads AL second baseman in home runs

Back to Odor, it’d be nice if he could regain his power stroke in 2019. He showed vast improvement at the plate last year; however, his power took a big hit. He went from hitting 30 home runs in 2017 to just 18 in 2018.

Odor is among those tied with Guzman with three home runs this spring. He is continuing the approach of honing in on a specific part of the strike zone to do damage. If he can carry his patience over from last season and start launching those pitches that enter his predetermined zone, he could be set for rejuvenated HR totals.

He’s always had the bat speed and he’s always been able to cover the width of the plate. It’s all about laying off the bad pitches and driving the good ones. That’s the goal for every hitter, but Odor has long been an extreme case, at least until June of 2018.

He is surely capable of leading AL second basemen in homers. His 33 long balls ranked third among AL second basemen in 2016. Brian Dozier hit 40 that year and Robinson Cano hit 38. Both players are now in the National League. Jose Altuve and Gleyber Torres will be his biggest competition throughout the upcoming campaign.