Zach Buchanan

zbuchanan@enquirer.com

Before Tuesday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Zack Cozart reminisced about a couple of his at-bats the night before with assistant hitting coach Tony Jaramillo. Pirates starter Gerrit Cole had thrown the Cincinnati Reds shortstop a couple of nasty sliders with two strikes, and Cozart had taken them both for narrow balls.

“One-hundred percent last year if he throws those, I just swing at them,” Cozart told Jaramillo.

That at-bat wasn’t an isolated display of plate discipline for the 31-year-old Cozart, but the continuation of a new trend for him in 2017. Suddenly, Cozart is patient at the plate.

He leads the majors with 4.57 pitches per plate appearance. His career average is 3.71, which is below MLB average for the span of his career. His walk rate has doubled from a year ago, from 7.3 percent to 14.6 percent. He’s also upped his foul ball rate, helping him to extend at-bats.

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“I feel like I’m walking all the time compared to in the past,” Cozart said. “I’m seeing pitches. I know when I’ve gotten two strikes I’ve battled pretty well. Even when I’ve gotten out, it’s not an easy, automatic out.”

Cozart has a simple explanation for the change, one he’s harped on several times over the first month of the season as he’s hit .333 with a 1.000 OPS. This spring, he changed his pre-pitch set up, resting the bat on his shoulder before the pitcher begins his windup. It prevented him from worrying about his hand position.

That has allowed him to focus better on the incoming pitch. He’s not trying to walk. He’s just calmer.

“I don’t think about the stuff I used to think about,” Cozart said. “When you think about stuff, you just start swinging. You don’t really see the ball as well.”

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