The swing tweak that may have fixed Jose Peraza

Hitting coach Don Long has worked with Jose Peraza since before either joined the Cincinnati Reds. Long was the minor-league hitting coordinator for the Atlanta Braves when Peraza was working his way through the Atlanta system.

Even back then, Long worked to get Peraza to stride to the ball. Only now, in August of Peraza's second season learning the big leagues, have the pair finally struck upon something that seems to be working.

On Wednesday, Peraza went 2 for 3 with a walk in a 8-3 win over the San Diego Padres at Great American Ball Park. It was the latest in a string of strong outings for the 23-year-old infielder, who entered the game hitting .378/.452/.405 in his previous 42 plate appearances.

That's a small sample size, but that change has coincided with a change in Peraza's mechanics at the plate. Before, Peraza would pivot his front foot on his toe, twisting his hip inward as the pitch arrived. Here's how it looked, this captured from a game a month ago:

When he swung, Peraza's top half would open up too quickly. It made breaking pitches down and away hard to identify, and made pitches inside look like meatballs when they weren't. Unsurprisingly, he struggled, hitting .246/.272/.319 through July 26.

Peraza's swinging wasn't much different last year, though. That season, he finished batting .324/.352/.411. But there was some fool's gold in that line, as Long pointed out.

Peraza's batting average on balls in play was .361, perhaps unsustainable for a guy not known for hitting for power. He also chased balls outside of the zone at almost the exact same rate he has this season.

"It looks like everything’s right, but if you dig into it a little bit more, he got more hits but he still chased a lot," Long said. "The ultimate goal isn’t just to be that. The ultimate goal is to be better than that."

Long has tried to find different fixes for the issue. Back when he last had Peraza with the Braves in 2013 instructional league, he worked with Peraza to take a step back with his front foot and then stride forward. Peraza would do it in the cage, but would revert to his old habits in game action. That worked stopped that winter, when Long was hired by the Reds.

Earlier this year, Long had Peraza try a leg kick. The hitting coach isn't a big fan of the mechanism, but acknowledges that some hitters find success with it. Here's Peraza using it in a June game against the Padres in San Diego:

That experiment didn't last long, and Peraza went back to the toe-twist. But since the All-Star Break, Long and assistant hitting coach Tony Jaramillo have been working on the latest solution. They pulled up video of Colorado Rockies star Nolan Arenado to use as a model.

As a pitcher comes set, Arenado shifts his weight between his front and back feet. When the pitcher delivers the ball, the Rockies slugger takes a small step back with his back foot, and then strides forward with his front foot.

Peraza has been working to emulate that since July 18, Long said. It didn't click immediately. Peraza would take the step back with his right foot, but still pivot on his left toe, completely defeating the purpose. But the last five games, Peraza's been able to fully incorporate the change.

Here's a swing from Tuesday:

Peraza no longer falls over the plate when he swings. He keeps his body parallel to the incoming pitch and swings more with his legs than before. It also allows him to better recognize pitch type and location.

Before July 27, he swung at 38.8 percent of pitches outside the zone. Since then, he's cut that to 23.3 percent. He's making more contact, and whiffing less often.

"I don’t want to give up my at-bats," Peraza said through interpreter Julio Morillo. "I want to have great at-bats. That’s my focus right now 100 percent, how to take really good at-bats. I think we’re seeing the results right now.”