Robinson Cano Still Doesn't Like to Walk

Last night, Robinson Cano got two more hits and two more runs batted in. That’s what Robbie does. He’s now got 63 hits on the season and 30 runs batted in. As the five hitter behind Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira, that’s awesome. There is, however, something Robinson Cano still doesn’t do: take walks.

Now, I’ll obviously grant Cano that his approach has worked and he’s a dynamite hitter. But, that doesn’t change the fact that he hasn’t walked since May 13. That’s not good. Of course, it’s worth noting that Cano’s hit .353 since then, but with no walks his OBP is .353, too (he hasn’t been HBP either), and slugged .490. Essentially, Cano’s either getting a hit or making an out, and that’s not desirable. His O-Swing% this year is 35.3% so far this year, which would be a career high by almost a full percent (career average 31.1%, league average around 25-27%), so perhaps if he cuts down on chasing, the walks will come.

Maybe I’m expecting too much from Cano by thinking he can suddenly start taking his walks, but it’d be nice if his walk rate could at least get a little higher over 6%. I do have a prediction, though. I think when Cano ages, his plate discipline will get better and the walks will finally show up. Why? Well, as Cano gets older, his batting average is likely to decline. However, his power will probably keep developing. As Cano’s BA skills begin to fall, perhaps he can transform his game (he’s definitely got the talent to do so) and become a more on-base/power player. That is, as he begins to hit more home runs, pitchers will be more willing to pitch around him and he’ll essentially be forced to take some walks.

Okay that sounds a lot more crazy on “paper” than it did in my head. Was that crazy?

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