Ever since coming to the Motor City prior to the beginning of the 2014 campaign, Ian Kinsler been doing rock-solid work in a Detroit Tigers uniform. One element of his game that seemed to be in decline, however, was his power.

Kinsler, who was a 30-30 man in both 2009 and 2011 for the Texas Rangers, hit 17 home runs for the Tigers in 2014, but dipped down to only 11 last year. The only season in which he had ever hit fewer homers was his 2010 campaign, when he played in only 103 games and hit nine long balls.

Despite the drop in his power last year, Kinsler was still very productive at the plate, slashing .296/.342/.428 with a 113 OPS+. In his age-33 season, it simply seemed that he was transitioning into more of a line-drive hitter who was going to hit for more average and less power moving forward.

This season, though, Kinsler is off to a sizzling hot start, slashing .340/.358/.600 with a tied-for-team best four homers already. Considering the fact that he didn’t hit his fourth home run until July 20 last season, Kinsler’s power surge has certainly come as a pleasant surprise. It may be worthwhile to note that he also hit five home runs in spring training of this year, perhaps foreshadowing that he had regained his power stroke.

Clearly, at the top of the order, Kinsler’s biggest job is still to get on base ahead of Justin Upton, Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez and J.D. Martinez. That said, if he can hit for more power again and it doesn’t come at the expense of batting average, walks and OBP, it will clearly be a big bonus for the Tigers.