New York Yankees: Brett Gardner has rediscovered his power swing

Aaron Judge isn’t the only one supplying the Yankees with power. Brett Gardner has already hit as many home runs in the month of May as he did all of last season.

The New York Yankees have been generating plenty of power in 2017. Their 66 home runs as a team are tied for the major league lead with the Milwaukee Brewers, and rookie slugger Aaron Judge has clubbed the most round-trippers in baseball with 15.

Believe it or not, the player ranking second on the Yankees in home runs is none other than veteran outfielder Brett Gardner. His solo blast in the third inning of last night’s win over the Kansas City Royals was Gardner’s ninth of the season, pushing him ahead of Matt Holliday.

Even more impressively, the 33-year-old Gardner has already surpassed his home run total from last season, when he hit seven over 148 games. That matches his total in this month alone, and there is still over week to go in May.

Earlier in his career, Gardner was known more for his speed than his bat. The outfielder swiped 96 bags between the 2010 and 2011 seasons, leading the American League in the latter campaign with 49 steals. From his debut in 2008 through 2013, Gardner hit only 23 home runs.

Then, something happened in 2014. Gardner accumulated a career-high 17 homers that year. And he followed that up with 16 more the next season. He wasn’t exactly setting the world on fire, but it was a notable uptick in power output for a player who had largely built his reputation as a speedster and solid defender.

Last year, Gardner’s bat cooled off significantly. He managed just seven homers and posted a 90 OPS+, the first time he fell below 100 in that category since 2011. Was decline finally setting in for the veteran?

In April, the answer appeared to be yes. Gardner slashed a paltry .205/.318/.329 last month with two home runs and four RBI. With Judge’s emergence as well as strong play from Aaron Hicks and Jacoby Ellsbury, Gardner was in danger of losing some playing time in a suddenly crowded Yankees outfield.

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Less than a month later, and Gardner has arguably been the Yanks’ second most valuable player after Judge. He’s batting .356/.429/.726 and knocking homers with the best of them. While his pace will likely slow down at some point (his uncharacteristic 23.7 percent HR/FB ratio says it probably will), he’s already well on his way to setting a new personal best.

The key to Gardner’s power has always been his ability to pull the ball, especially in Yankee Stadium. Six of his nine home runs this year have come at home. Few players have been able to make better use of the stadium’s short right field porch over the years than the lefty-hitting Gardner. When he turns quickly on an inside pitch, he can send the ball over the fence in a hurry.

In 2014 and 2015, Gardner’s high-water marks in terms of home runs, he pulled the ball 40.2 percent and 34.9 percent of the time, respectively. That fell a bit last season to 33.6 percent, which might partly explain his slump in the power department. So far in 2017, he’s working a 42.7 percent pull rate. That would be a career high if you discount 2012, when he played only 16 games.

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If Gardner can keep pulling the ball, he should continue finding the right field seats at Yankee Stadium, especially on mistake pitches. He by no means looks like your traditional power hitter, but the Yankees certainly won’t complain as he continues to help them win games.

Statistics courtesy of Fangraphs.

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