Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez has seen a significant decline in production against the slider. Over his first 37 appearances of 2026, he is hitting .150 with zero home runs. This is a 46% decrease from his first 37 games of 2025, as he hit 278 with one home run.

Salvador Perez’s struggles against the slider are likely due to two changes to his hitting approach.Perez has decided to stand closer to both the plate and the pitcher. He is standing 28.3 deep in the batter’s box, the closest he has been to the pitcher in his career.

Salvador is also standing 27.1 inches off the plate, the closest he has been to the plate in his career. He is standing 0.3 inches closer to pitcher and the plate than the first 37 games of 2025.

In addition, he has chosen to narrow his stance. Over the first 37 games of 2025, he had an open angle of 29 degrees, and this angle decreased by 10 degrees over the first 37 games of 2026.

These two elements have contributed to his changing his intercept point . Over the first 37 games of 2026, he has intercepted the baseball 1.8 inches in front of the plate. This is an inch earlier than the first 37 games of 2025. The change in the intercept point has contributed to him finishing his swing mechanics slightly earlier .

Salvador Perez will begin his hitting mechanics as soon as the opposing pitcher separates the baseball from his glove. When the pitcher separates the ball from his drive, he will raise his left leg until it is above his right knee. 

Once this occurs, he will shift his weight slightly forward before putting his left foot down and begin the process of opening up his hips to bring the bat into the zone. In 2025, he would allow the pick to be much closer to the opposing chapter before putting his foot down and opening up his lips.

On April 16 2025, Salvador Perez faced Clarke Schmidt of the New York Yankees. Salvador began to raise his left leg as soon as Clarke separated the baseball from his dove. He lifted his legs significantly above his right knee. 

At this point, Clarke Schmidt was still in the beginning stages of his pitching motion as he had the ball behind him. Despite this, Salvador Perez began to move forward as she got ready to put her foot down. 

Salvador was finishing the process of shifting his weight forward when Will was about to release the baseball. Parents began to slowly bring down his foot. 

By the time his foot touched the ground, the baseball was 2 to 3 feet away from home plate. He proceeded to open up his hips and bring them back into the zone . Opening up his stance with the baseball close to home plate allows him to keep his legs parallel to the pitcher as he brings the ball back into the zone. Therefore, it helps him put extra force behind the baseball. 

He hit the slider, which was located down and inside, 104.2 miles an hour, for a single to left field. Unfortunately, Salvador Perez’s decision to stand closer to the pitcher and plate had hurt him in 2026.

This is because his left leg is hitting the ground earlier, causing the hips to open up sooner as well. As a result, his legs are drifting towards left field as he brings the bat into the swing.

The change in timing was showcased against the Detroit Tigers . On April 14 2026, Salvador lifted his leg as closer Kenley Jensen was separating the ball from his love. Once his legs were above the right knee, he shifted his weight forward. However, Salvador brought his foot down as the ball was 4 ft from home plate. 

The earlier timing contributed to his hips opening up significantly before he was ready to bring the bat into the straight zone . 

Consequently, the upper body was pointed toward right field, and the lower body was pointed toward left field. The change in alignment reduced the force with which Salvador Perez hit the ball .

The slider, which was located low and over the middle of the plate, came off at about 56 miles per hour. Due to the reduced exit velocity, Salvador hit a weak ground ball towards third base for an out.

The hitting approach changes have caused his average exit velocity to decline. In 2026, the exit velocity has been at 87.8 miles an hour, 2.2 miles an hour lower than 2025.

These changes are likely the catalyst behind his decline in performance against the side. I’m using the slider as an example to illustrate the declining performance because opposing teams are throwing it frequently. 

Salvador Perez has seen the slider 88 times in 2026, 15.2% of the time. The second-highest frequency among all pitches. Salvador Perez’s struggles against sliders have played a big role in his overall offensive struggles. Over his first 37 games, he is hitting 199 with five home runs and 17 RBI.