Los Angeles Angels third baseman Oswald Peraza is off to the best start of his major league career at the plate, hitting .269 with 4 home runs and 8 RBI.

Oswald Peraza’s impressive start is likely due to his change in approach at the plate. In his last three seasons with the New York Yankees, he stood with his body slightly more open and aimed his swing a bit more to the left. During his New York Yankees tenure, he had a stance angle of 12 degrees open and a swing direction of 8 degrees pull.

His old hitting style had his front hip and leg pointing toward third base at the start of his swing. On April 18, 2023, Oswald Peraza played against the Los Angeles Angels in the bottom of the first inning. 

Jose Suarez threw a four-seam fastball. Peraza started his swing when the ball was about 10 feet from home plate. Once he began, his front leg and hip turned toward third base. This movement made him hit the ball on the ground toward shortstop.

Hitting ground balls to the left side was common for him with the Yankees. From 2023 to 2025, he hit ground balls 50.6% of  the time, and 41.9% of those were pulled to the left side of the infield . His hitting style also resulted in a .190 batting average, 7 home runs, and 30 RBIs as a Yankee.

Change

This season, he has made one big change in his first 18 games. He has closed his stance with an angle of 4 degrees open and a swing direction of 4 degrees pull. This has changed his swing timing, the way he hits the ball, and how hard he hits it.

As a Yankee, Peraza used to intercept  the ball about 3.2 inches in front of home plate, likely because of his old style. In 2026, during his first 18 games, he began intercepting the ball 0.2 inches in front of the plate. This new timing has helped him hit the ball harder and straighter. In 2026, he reached his highest average exit velocity: 88.7 miles per hour.

All these changes have helped him hit the ball up in the air and straight away. In 2026, 48.6% of his batted balls have gone straight, which is the most in his career. Of those straight hits, 27% have been fly balls. Conversely, he is hitting only 40.5% of his ground balls, a career low.