Rupp said work he did on his swing path this offseason has been paying off for him at the plate, Joe Harris of MLB.com reports.
Rupp said he made an alteration to his swing, "working more down towards the ball." He is hitting .250/.274/.417 with a home run in 60 at-bats while splitting time behind the plate with Carlos Ruiz. He has benefited from a .359 BABIP thus far and his strikeout rate has jumped nearly 10 points compared to last season, so Rupp's average may be headed downward despite the improvements to his swing.