⚾The Shift🔥 | Flash of a Shooting Star

Yoán Moncada's continued presence in the MLB will depend on his ability to recover some of his old tools.

The flick of the wrist was swift and powerful. The bat swung like lightning through the middle of the strike zone and crushed a tender 94 mph fastball. The ball lasted 3.4 seconds in the Dodger Stadium sky, while right-hander Dustin May tried to find enough oxygen to assuage his sorrows atop the blue mountain.

Yoán Moncada had hit the ball. His two-run home run, his third of the year in an Angels uniform, gave them an early lead. Moncada's new teammates smiled in the dugout and greeted him with a helmet, as they usually do to celebrate baseball's most sublime hit. Moncada's brutal line drive sailed over the right field wall at 111.9 mph. It was a 20/30 home run, and for a few seconds, it reminded me of the Moncada of 2019.

Yes, the best version of his career since emerging as a major prospect in Boston. And after striking out 12 times in eight games during his 2016 season debut, the following year, the Red Sox sent him to Chicago to acquire Chris Sale, who remains one of the most dominant pitchers in the game.*

*By the way, it was just a couple of hours since Sale had crushed the Red Sox with eight strikeouts and one run allowed in seven innings to lead the Braves to a 4-2 victory at Fenway Park.

But the fact that he hit a home run wasn't exactly the flash that brought back some memories. Nor was the fact that Moncada crushed a fastball. It's what he's been able to do best throughout his career. This year, 47% of his strikeouts have come while trying to hit breaking pitches, and he's registering a 63% swing-and-miss percentage. So I went further. The reason I reacted was the attitude and conviction with which I saw Moncada hit, essentially attacking the first pitch.