Andrew Vaughn Is Finding His Power Stroke

Andrew Vaughn is beginning to find his power stroke. On Friday night the rookie launched his second home run of the week, sending a Jacob Junis fastball sailing deep into the left field stands. The home run would give the White Sox a 2-0 lead over the Royals and ultimately serve as the game winner in a 3-1 victory. It was his second home run in three days. "I don't want to get excited, but fuck the home run". Those were the words of White Sox hitting coach Frank Menechino when asked about Andrew Vaughn earlier this week. A couple hours after uttering those words Andrew Vaughn launched a ball 436 feet for his first career home run. The ball came off his bat with an exit velocity of 110 mph. It was a moment that will forever be etched in the memory of the 23-year old. "That was a pretty special moment," Vaughn said after the game. "It came at a good time too. It gave us a little bit of a lead. I'll never forget it. I knew on this one tonight. It felt pretty good."

The recent power surge should come as no surprise to people that have followed Vaughn. He finished his collegiate career with 50 career home runs, tied for second most in Cal history. Vaughn has drawn a difficult assignment in the majors this year. He is being thrust into the lineup after limited minor league experience and expected to figure out how to hit major league pitching. All while simultaneously playing a position he has never played before in left field. While the home runs have been scarce early the quality at bats have not been. He has consistently been driving the ball. The numbers don't accurately reflect it because many times he has hit it right at someone. On April 24th he had an hard hit percentage of 83 percent and an average exit velocity of 92 percent. Both rank well above the average MLB percentile rankings. Since April 24th he has raised his average exit velocity to 93.8 percent. Amongst the current MLB average that is around the 95th percentile. He has also shown patience at the plate, drawing 13 walks with an OBP of .367. His base on balls percentage is in the 89th percentile. This is all part of Vaughn's approach at the plate, which is the reason the lack of early home runs did not frustrate him. "I'm never trying to go up there and hit a home run," Vaughn explained. "Hit the ball hard, get it in the air a little bit and try to make some magic happen" Going 23 games without a home run did not bother Frank Menechino either. "I've told Andrew to hit .300, 'I don't care if you don't hit one home run. Hit .300, work on hitting .300' And if he goes into that where he's going to look to hit .300?" Now that Vaughn is finally getting regular playing time he is beginning to emerge as the type of offensive force the White Sox envisioned when they drafted him. He has seven hits in his last ten games. On April 29th he recorded a three hit game against the Tigers. His contributions show why the White Sox put so much faith into him despite the lack of seasoning in the minor leagues. He has patched up the hole in left field nicely and stabilized the middle of the lineup. Frank Menechino said it takes 1,500 at-bat in the majors to figure out who you are as a big leaguer. Vaughn is only 98 in and he is already beginning to figure it out. It will be scary to see what he looks like when he truly discovers who he is as a player. In the meantime just sit back and enjoy the show.