Jose Abreu said he has “no doubt” his power numbers will pick up soon after a slow start.
After finishing his first two seasons with 66 home runs, 69 doubles and a .540 slugging percentage, the White Sox first baseman has just five homers, six doubles and a .403 slugging percentage through the first 38 games of 2016.
“Once the balls start dropping and my swing starts getting hot or in shape, the extra bases are going to come,” Abreu said Sunday through a team interpreter. “I’m very confident. That’s something that’s going to happen, and I’m feeling good right now.”
Abreu went through a similar stretch to start last season. Through the first 38 games of 2015, he had six homers and seven doubles and went 25 games in April and May with only one homer.
He doesn’t like playing in cold weather, so that could be one factor that will help him heat up. He already has started to raise some of his numbers. After his average dropped to a season-low .176 on April 25, he’s up to .248. He has a slash line of .283/.371/.491 in the first 13 games of May.
Manager Robin Ventura said Abreu has been making harder contact. He noted that Abreu was swinging the bat well last week in the Texas heat and just missed a homer on a long sacrifice fly after a storm Tuesday against the Rangers.
“He just has to continue to stay with it,” Ventura said. “We know what he can do. We don’t look at it like a guy is getting older and losing pop. People are pitching him different. Once the lineup gets more consistent, it’s going to happen.”
In the meantime, Abreu, 29, said he has been happy to see different players stepping up daily in helping the Sox to a 24-14 record.
“It’s not that we are just depending on one guy,” Abreu said. “Every day can be me, Todd Frazier or one of the other guys. Every day is somebody else, and that’s good because we are a team and we want to win as a team.”
After a day off Monday, the Sox face a new challenge — bouncing back from their first stretch this season of four losses in five games. It’s not an easy task considering they play 17 games in 16 days, including seven against the defending World Series champion Royals and three against the runner-up Mets.
Abreu said having a veteran group with lively personalities, such as Frazier, Brett Lawrie and Jimmy Rollins, helps the team focus on each game rather than dwelling on losses.
“The most important thing for me this year is the energy that Todd, Brett and Jimmy bring every day,” Abreu said. “They are very good players, but their personalities are something that probably make a difference in this team because they come every day with a desire to win games, with a desire to help the other guys to be better. And that’s very valuable for us. I like it.”
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