Blue Jays' Kazuma Okamoto made a key change leading to 1.108 OPS hot streak

Blue Jays' Kazuma Okamoto made a key change leading to 1.108 OPS hot streak originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Kazuma Okamoto struggled in the early days of his MLB career after coming over from Japan.

One change seems to have unlocked his swing, though, and the Toronto Blue Jays are reaping the rewards of an immense hot streak.

The shift? Okamoto moved back in the batters box approximately 6.8 inches.

Since then, he has a 1.108 OPS.

This graphic from Mike Petriello exhibits the change:

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Okamoto also appears to have moved about two inches closer to the plate in making this change.

There are a couple of obvious outcomes to a move like this.

The first is velocity. The concern often for hitters coming from NPB to MLB is that they won't be able to keep up with the high-speed fastballs stateside. That's probably sometimes true, and maybe Okamoto simply gave himself more time to hit the fastball by moving back.

Moving back also allows for just a bit longer time to recognize pitches. Yes, standing forward in the box may eliminate a bit of the late movement on a breaking pitch -- but if there's less time in the first place to see that the pitch will be moving, it isn't as helpful.