Matthew Lugo improved his 'swing decisions' during the offseason, leading to his offensive outburst this season
While Red Sox fans have been focusing on the “Big Three” with the Portland Sea Dogs, Matthew Lugo has been doing damage at the plate since he made his debut this season.
Lugo is hitting .302/.396/.651 with nine doubles, three triples, 10 homers, and 34 RBI. 19 walks and nine stolen bases while owning a 1.047 OPS. These massive numbers come on the heels of a rough 2023 season where he hit just .242 with five homers and 37 RBI in 83 games.
What has changed for the 23-year-old prospect?
“I worked on my swing decisions,” Lugo said to Matthew Crory of the Pesky Report Podcast. “That was the first priority for me. When I went into the off-season, I worked a lot on my swing decisions, like attacking the pitches where I do damage.
“I feel like last year, I got myself out a lot by swinging pitches out of the zone and pitches that I really can't do much with those pitches. So the biggest difference for me was just concentrating on attacking the pitches where I do damage and laying the pitches where I can't do much with those pitches.”
Lugo credited his focus on working on his load as a hitter. The load is the squat before the jump, the stretch before the snap, and the tension before the release, according to Rogue Baseball Performance.
“I worked on my load,” said Lugo. “So last year, my load was I had a lot of like hand movement, and it made me consistent on my load. And this year, I made my load more simple and more compact.
“And that makes me stay more on time with the pitcher. And then obviously I recognize the pitch faster out of the hand, and that makes me make a better decision of the play.”
Lugo continues to produce at the plate, and he is putting himself in the conversation for a potential promotion to Triple-A Worcester. The Red Sox are paying attention to what he’s doing in Portland, and his versatility could allow him to offer the WooSox another dynamic bat and fielder on their roster.
