Robinson Cano: Time to Panic About Superstar's Regression at the Plate?

After the first five games of 2012, New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano's batting average sat at .304. It seemed that he was poised for yet another All-Star season.

Oh what a difference a month makes.

Six games into May and Cano;s average has plummeted to a mediocre .261. Even more disturbing is the fact that since that fifth game, Cano has had only seven extra-base hits in 23 games. Adding salt to the wounds, he has had at least one strikeout in eight of his last nine contests.

He began the year hitting third in the New York Yankees order, but because of his anemic production, manager Joe Girardi has moved him to the fifth spot. At the rate he's going, he'll be hitting ninth in another month.

Is it time to panic over the very weak start to the season for Cano?

A look at his performance since 2008 would indicate that you shouldn't push him off a cliff just yet.

Year	May	June	July	August
2011	.250	.303	.311	.345
2010	.336	.333	.276	.292
2009	.272	.270	.330	.347
2008	.295	.287	.327	.290
Average	.288	.298	.311	.319

As the grid shows, Cano's batting average gradually improves as the season progresses. In fact, a look at last season shows just how dramatic an increase he had—hitting .250 in May, and by August he had figured things out, rocking the month with a .345 average. Clearly the Yankees second-bagger prefers warmer weather.

A look at slugging pct over those same years reveals a similar result.

Year	May	June	July	August
2011	.407	.475	.500	.637
2010	.509	.510	.582	.491
2009	.465	.410	.544	.585
2008	.432	.416	.495	.490
Avg Slg Pct.	.453	.453	.530	.551

While May and June appear identical, it is undeniable that Cano's power increases significantly in July and August.

So, what does all this mean? It means that the New York Yankees need to be patient. Their incredible second baseman has proven that his production will increase as the season grows older. 

Barring injury, it is more than likely that Cano will be right back where he started by the end of the year—batting third and driving in runners for the potent Yankees lineup.