Dominic Canzone’s new approach could lead to lasting big league success

It’s too soon to tell, but we must appease the SEO gods

Let’s get out in front of this right now. It is way, way, way too early to be drawing any conclusions about Dominic Canzone based on his MLB performance in 2025. He surpassed 30 plate appearances just last night. He’s still just below that for his at-bats, hanging out at 29. It would be silly and wildly irresponsible, and you all would, rightly so, yell at me for it.

But here’s the thing. I would like to still talk about Dominic Canzone.

[Pause for a mass exodus]

It’s early, but The Ohio State outfielder looks to have adjusted his approach at the plate in a way that could actually help him stick at the big league level. Not only that, but the data - and Canzone himself - are also lighting up a (flickering!) neon sign that could point in that direction as well.

So here are some things we know to be true...

Dominic Canzone is swinging less than he ever has.

He is also chasing less than he ever has.

He is getting into more fastball counts, and he’s having subsequent success with those pitches (which he’s historically handled well).

And he has adjusted his swing (again).

Here are some things I think could be true...

He could be improving his ability to recognize breaking ball, and upping his pitch selection skills overall.

He has adjusted his swing (again), and alongside a smaller leg kick he’s pulling his hands much less further back as loads. How this specifically seems to manifest, to me, is that he is quite literally able to see the ball better. Because he’s coiling back less, his right shoulder is able to stay lower and subsequently, his own body is better staying out of his way.

I thought maybe I was simultaneously overanalyzing and under-simplifying. Surely a professional hitter wouldn’t swing in such a way that would impede any precious bit of vision as the pitcher releases the ball.

And yet Canzone, in an answer about his improved health, noted “It’s just helped with my mechanics. It’s helped with seeing the ball, just seeing it little bit longer.”

Here are some things I hope could be(come) true...

There is nothing the minor leagues have to teach Dominic Canzone. He’s proven definitively, over many years, that he is an excellent Triple-A hitter; the trick has been in transitioning to the major league level. It’s been frustrating to watch and, I have to imagine, even more frustrating to experience - particularly because there was no readily evident fix. “Overmatched” became the default means of assessment, but it did a disservice to a guy who still had flashes of his Pacific Coast League mashing self. It’s still a small sample size, but the adjustments he’s made at the plate, both mechanically and in pitch/swing selection, and those early results, could be the proverbial Rosetta Stone that allows him to finally translate his AAA performance in the bigs.