Raimel Tapia started off the season slowly, but has made drastic improvements this year versus last year. It seemed like he was either hot or ice cold, there was no in between. Bud Black has praised Tapia for making some mental adjustments and changing his approach.
He made a few adjustments, like adding a toe tap, during spring training that negatively impacted his mindset at the plate. After returning to using the leg kick, he seems to have found his groove.
“I was doing my toe tap but staying back, or doing my toe tap then being way out front with my weight, so the leg kick helped me get that balance,” Tapia said.