Ben Shulman

Anything can change.

Guys can change the way their bodies work, but...

As of right now, I think that they're hoping he makes the routine plays.

It does seem like his hands are pretty good, and so some of those hot shots that are in close proximity but tough to field, he might be above average at some of those plays.

But to me, that's further reason why he's going through this offensive transition.

If you want to get him at DH or get Vlad at DH and Okamoto at first base, where he had played the last couple of seasons after being a third baseman prior, it might just take a little bit off his plate right now because it's hard to work

on all of those things at once.

And hey, there's a baseball game today and you got to step in there against some of the best in the world.

I kind of like the at-bats that I've seen from him so far.

I think he didn't have his best day in the finale of that twin series, but he's lining the ball a little bit more.

He's a guy with big power, and they do pay him to a certain extent to hit home runs, but I do like the contact that he's hitting on the line a little bit.

He's talked to me about kind of changing his sights from thinking pull side to thinking a little bit more up the middle.

He's so naturally pull side anyway that I think he can get a lot out of his bat by not having to exaggerate

rate that motion necessarily.

So I think that he's provided a lot.

You know, I don't know that they necessarily expected to be hitting him clean up or second as often as they have through the first two weeks of the season.

But he's held his own in that lineup.

And for a lot of the days where they weren't producing, it wasn't because of him.

He often was coming up with a hit or two or an extra base hit or something to help them kickstart a rally.

There's no substitute for the major league experience that Alejandro Kirk has unless you have the same experience.