Twins' Joe Mauer has aggressive approach, pulling the ball more

Twins first baseman Joe Mauer has adopted a more aggressive approach at the plate this year. As a result, he's using more of the field, something Mauer has been working on since spring training. 

Mauer has pulled more than a third of his hits to right field this season, compared to 22 percent in his career leading up to this year. 

"We talked about this in spring training. It's more of a physical thing than anything, just being able to move and being able to get to those pitches," Mauer said, per Fox Sports. "I've always had that approach of trying to spray the field. It's no different this year."

Mauer is swinging earlier in the count this year, which is helping to put pitchers on the defensive. 

"For a long time, pitchers just threw strike one to Joe without fear of repercussion," manager Paul Molitor said. "He's causing pause in that regard for opposing pitchers."

Mauer is hitting .302 this year with 13 RBI.