Trevor Larnach off to strong start after making adjustment

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MINNESOTA — Trevor Larnach looks different at the plate now that he’s healthy and taking advantage of his opportunity in the Majors — and it’s in part because, well, he actually looks different at the plate.

Take a look at Larnach’s open stance with more pre-swing movement from last year, then take a look at his more neutral stance with the simplified pre-swing load from this season, and the difference is apparent.

Long stymied by health issues and a steady diet of offspeed pitches that have combined to prevent Larnach from establishing a foothold in the Majors following his debut in 2021, he has taken advantage of his early opportunity in ‘24 by starting 7-for-20 (.350) with four extra-base hits, a needed spark in a deeply scuffling lineup.

He’s hoping his patience through his years of shuttling between Triple-A and the Majors has finally paid off.

“Imagine you’ve always wanted something your entire life, and it kind of gets given to you and taken from you, given to you and taken from you,” Larnach said. “And some of that’s on you, and some of that’s on some of the things that happen that are out of your control. It definitely tests your resilience in a way.”

It’s still very early this season, but the important thing is that Larnach feels comfortable and reactive with this new swing — and given what could be an extended opportunity created by Matt Wallner’s early struggles, Larnach is hoping this could finally be his window to stick.

“I’ve always felt that I can play up here, whether I’m dealing with injuries or a lack of knowledge and understanding of myself,” Larnach said. “Quite honestly, you pray and just ask that they stick with you to help battle through those downfalls.”

It used to be that Larnach’s open stance with his legs fairly close together would lead to that longer stride towards home plate as he began his swing, which he felt caused him to be more off-balance when trying to adapt to offspeed pitches — and among the 402 hitters who have seen at least 2,000 pitches since 2021, only 13 have seen a lower percentage of fastballs than Larnach.

So this offseason, he initially worked to eliminate the leg kick altogether and adopt a wider base, then found he naturally added a small step back into his swing that felt comfortable — and it’s that sort of in-between approach that has helped him find success so far this year.

“The ability to stay through pitches and compete against offspeed pitches, a lot of that comes from your lower half and your lower half’s ability to get into the ground, get into the ball, stay through a ball well,” manager Rocco Baldelli said.

Due to the emergence of Wallner and injuries to his hand, groin and core over the years, Larnach was limited to 188 games in the last three seasons.

So he’s hoping to meet this opportunity head-on.

“I’ve learned from the past. I’ve done everything that I possibly can to put myself in a good position, and now, at this point, I’m just trying to execute,” Larnach said. “I know there’s some things I can’t control, so I don’t worry about those. I just do my job to the best of my abilities.”