23-year-old first base prospect C.J. Kayfus is playing at a very high level for the Cleveland Guardians’ Double-A team, the Akron RubberDucks.
He is currently slashing .444/.545/.733 with two doubles, four triples, and a home run in 12 games, with a 255 wRC+.
Kayfus is no stranger to succeeding in Double-A, though.
Last year, he posted a 142 wRC+ at the level, comfortably above the league average for hitters.
However, his performance dipped considerably since the calendar flipped to August: in his final 31 games, he slashed a disappointing .181/.262/.293.
What did Kayfus do to get off to such a good start this year?
He worked hard on his physique.
He came to the realization that it’s not about how you start, but instead, it’s how you finish.
“He put a lot of time in this offseason on the physical side,” Guardians VP of player development Stephen Osterer told Tim Stebbins of MLB.com. “I think we saw that transfer into some of his movements in his swing, and then the idea is to continue to impact the ball, and he’s already done that. We’re seeing a really locked in version of him, in a great physical spot, and obviously off to a hot start.”
Playing professional baseball is not as easy as it might seem sometimes.
Depending on the level, there could be five, six, or even seven games in any given week for several months.
That’s a lot of wear and tear for the body, and declines in performance like the one Kayfus experienced last year are completely normal.
It’s part of the development process.
For now, he is enjoying a nice stretch that could result in a promotion to Triple-A very soon.
However, he and the organization will pay close attention to how his body holds up this time around.
That’s when the offseason work will be validated.
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