Angle of the bat is wildly different, second more upright and relaxed.
His stance/feet
The second one looks pretty similar to Yeli’s, who is a solid hitter to emulate.
2024: Bat resting on his shoulder (not pre-loaded), less open stance, more weight on his front foot, heavily choked up, hands eye/nose-level
2025: Bat pre-loaded in stance ready to attack, stance opened up, more weight on back foot to generate power and leg drive, hands more elevated, not as choked up on the bat (not pictured: he also developed a much stronger leg kick)
Stance is opened up, bat is raised, back elbow is up. All lead to less movement to the ball with the upper body which is great. He appears to be closer to the plate to help with plate coverage.
I’d like to see swing comparisons. I assume his power comes from his lower body’s momentum. Either that or he’s pretty good position to rotate his upper body and keep the bat in the hitting zone longer. Love the 2nd image.
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One is in St. Louis, the other in Colorado
One is a right handed pitcher, the other left handed.
The catcher is on a different squat in each. One riding his leg knee, one his right.
The umpire is in a higher stance in one.
It appears one is a day game the other is night.
https://preview.redd.it/wmpvc4llmbcg1.png?width=498&format=png&auto=webp&s=2f660103c609fc3b9ef266c9d4df3ef50ec1e99b
Sorry couldn’t resist
Angle of the bat is wildly different, second more upright and relaxed.
His stance/feet
The second one looks pretty similar to Yeli’s, who is a solid hitter to emulate.
2024: Bat resting on his shoulder (not pre-loaded), less open stance, more weight on his front foot, heavily choked up, hands eye/nose-level
2025: Bat pre-loaded in stance ready to attack, stance opened up, more weight on back foot to generate power and leg drive, hands more elevated, not as choked up on the bat (not pictured: he also developed a much stronger leg kick)
Stance is opened up, bat is raised, back elbow is up. All lead to less movement to the ball with the upper body which is great. He appears to be closer to the plate to help with plate coverage.
I’d like to see swing comparisons. I assume his power comes from his lower body’s momentum. Either that or he’s pretty good position to rotate his upper body and keep the bat in the hitting zone longer. Love the 2nd image.
It’s not his stance, it’s all about his toe-tap