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The slugger exhibited a consistently bad plate approach during his first two stints with the big club, striking out 48 times with only seven walks in 166 appearances. He swung frequently at pitches outside the zone but made contact only 49.6 percent of the time – only three qualified hitters in baseball have a lower rate.
Pitchers made simple adjustments and Vargas became an easy out. During his second turn with the Twins this year, after returning from a May demotion to Rochester, the switch-hitter struck out 18 times in 54 plate appearances and didn't draw a single walk. It was ugly. The front office became so frustrated that they bumped him all the way back to Double-A, even though he'd crushed at Rochester earlier in in the season. There were rumblings that he may have exhausted his opportunities with the organization.
When the Twins sent Vargas down to Chattanooga, he was given a clear directive: take better at-bats. It was the only way he was going to turn around his suddenly fledgling career. And to his credit, Vargas has just done that.
In 51 games between Double-A and Triple-A since his latest demotion, he has struck out 46 times with 39 walks in 219 plate appearances. That's a 17.8 percent walk rate, which is a huge improvement over his previous 10.6 percent mark in the minors, and obviously dwarves his 4.8 percent rate in the majors.
This has enabled Vargas to post an excellent .416 OBP even though his hitting has been good-not-great (.274 average and .491 slugging percentage).
We all know that the big Puerto Rican, whose size and swing have been compared to David Ortiz, is a terror when he makes contact, capable of crushing the ball as hard as anyone in the league. Working the count has been an issue, but the numbers since he was last shipped down serve as a hopeful harbinger that he's ready to take a step forward in that department. Obviously there's a huge difference between the pitching in Double-A/Triple-A and the majors, especially for a 25-year-old with considerable MLB experience, but Vargas has clearly taken to heart the need for improved strike zone control. He's never shown this kind of patience in his career, at any level.
And so I don't think I'm alone when I say I'd like to see Vargas get another shot. Unfortunately, the guy who replaced him at DH isn't going anywhere. Miguel Sano has shown the type of discipline at the plate that was amiss for Vargas, and he's also putting together one of the most impressive power displays for a 22-year-old rookie in the game's history. With Joe Mauer and Trevor Plouffe entrenched at the infield corners, it's tough to see a path to regular playing time for Vargas, barring injury.
Still, you have to think that the Twins, who are very much in the postseason mix as we approach September call-up season, would love to have Vargas' intimidating bat available for occasional starts and – more importantly – pinch-hitting duty down the stretch.
If the 25-year-old can turn things around, it will go down as a perfect example of how patience can pay off – both for player and organization.
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