Under Achievement of the Highest Order

It makes sense to me that a team would want to give the most plate appearances to its best player(s). Of course, identifying who your best player(s) is/are isn’t always easy, especially before the season begins. Did the 2010 Toronto Blue Jays know prior to the first regular season game that Jose Bautista was going to be their best player (by far)? No. Conversely, did the 2011 Seattle Mariners know that Ichiro Suzuki was going to suddenly stop hitting like a major league baseball player? No.

However, at some point during the season, a team’s coaching staff and its scouts should be able to identify which player(s) is/are struggling and which player(s) is/are surging, and make some lineup adjustments. Obviously you cut a player like Ichiro more slack, and are less eager to jump on the 2010 Jose Bautista bandwagon after a career of mediocrity (at best), but by the all-star break you should be looking to adjust if a turnaround hasn’t occurred.

We’re roughly 100 games into the MLB season, and yet there are teams consistently, erroneously, giving plate appearances to some seriously poor performers. Here is a list of the main culprits:

1)       Ichiro Suzuki: I know he’s just been traded, but prior to that he easily led his team in plate appearances (and is 8^th in the league) despite hitting approximately 23% worse than the average MLB player (by wRC+). Yikes. As amazing as Ichiro was for many years, since day 1 of 2011, he’s been awful. The team did trade him, so kudos for that, but still, he should’ve been relegated to batting near the bottom of the order a long time ago, regardless of his reputation and past success.

2)       J.J.Hardy: I like J.J. Hardy. I think he’s been underrated most of his career, and he’s an excellent defensive short stop by any measurement. At the plate, though, he’s been hit and miss, and this year he’s been all miss. Hardy has good power for a middle infielder, although right now his .153 ISO is more above-average than it is good, but his consistently low BABIP and less-than-discerning eye at the plate have combined to make him 2/3 as good as your typical batter. And yet, he’s seen more time at the dish than anyone else on his team, routinely batting out of the #2 slot in the order. A .266 OBP should be batting 9^th, at least until he shows the ability to drive the ball again.

3)       Starlin Castro: I know, fantasy baseball owners will probably think putting him on this list is stupid. But this guy’s reputation as a good hitter is far from deserved. He has excellent contact rates, but his patience is almost non-existent. A 3.6% walk rate is awful, especially for a top-of-the-order hitter, and his total offensive output is something like 17% below average. Yet there he is, leading his team in opportunities to hit, despite a .304 on base percentage. He’s still young, and has speed, but seriously, bat him 6^th or 7^th.

4)       Dustin Ackley: I’ll cut the Mariners a little slack—their team is awful. Nobody in this lineup can hit well. Also, Ackley is young, and they’re trying to develop him. Still, with a .223/.306/.322 triple slash, this guy shouldn’t be getting anything close to the plate appearances that he has. John Jaso would probably be their best leadoff candidate, and he’s a back-catcher by trade. I hope that Ackley turns out to be a good player, but right now he looks lost. Some more seasoning in AAA would probably be the best course of action (a la Justin Smoak), as he’s merely 24 years of age.

5)       Marco Scutaro: This surprises me, because Scutaro has been one of the more reliable hitters in baseball over the past few seasons. He isn’t a stud, but he’s been consistently average-to-above-average. Despite a move to the friendliest hitting confines in MLB, he’s slapping it around to the tune of .271/.324/.359. Ew. Hopefully he figures it out sooner rather than later, because the Rockies really want to trade him to a contender. Maybe Boston will have him back.

6)       Jemile Weeks: Obviously the recurring theme here is that teams like to have speedy players at the top of the order, but at what cost? Coming from a historically progressive team like the Oakland A’s, this surprises me. Weeks is young, and showed promise as a rookie last year (10% above average hitter) but as his BABIP has dropped from .350 to .246, so has his production (29% below average). The BABIP should turn around based on the type of contact he typically makes, but he has virtually zero power, so it might be unrealistic to expect him to turn his grounders and liners into hits the way others might. His quickness should make up for a lack of power, but so far no dice. So much for speed never slumping.  

7)       Michael Young: Texas is crazy loaded with talent, but Ron Washington and his staff aren’t my favourite for doling out playing time. Michael Young has shown his age this season, and is hitting an anemic .270/.299/.346, which, in hitter-friendly Texas, is about 33% worse than league average. I know Mike Napoli hasn’t quite repeated his 2011 success, but he should be in the lineup daily, and should never lose at bats to Michael Young.

8)       Yunel Escobar: Escobar has been moved lower in the order, and the Jays don’t have any obvious replacements for him, but his .299 on base percentage is terrible, he has very little power, and he doesn’t walk much (6.0% walk rate). Battling injury now, rumour has it the team is willing to trade him. His solid defense and decent base running make him a viable SS option, though, so I don’t understand the motivation to deal him. They’re going to need to bat him at the bottom of the order if they don’t deal him though.

9)       Jeff Francoeur: KC signed him to a questionable contract, and he’s blocking the path of their hot young prospect Wil Myers. This guy has had a couple of solid MLB seasons, but for the most part he walks way too little (4%) and just doesn’t do much with the ball when he does make contact. A career .268/.310/.427 triple slash isn’t the kind of thing you should be forcing into a corner outfield position, nor is it the output you expect from a guy seeing regular plate appearances in a power spot in the order.

There are several other players I could talk about, but these to me are the most glaring. Sometimes teams use the excuse of developing a youngster, but I’m of the mindset that further AAA seasoning is best for everyone. At least the player should be limited to the #8 or #9 spot in the order when he is called up until he proves worthy of a loftier slot. Additonally, the old adage of speed at the top of the lineup is ridiculous if that’s all the player can do. If he can’t get on base, then he shouldn’t be batting ahead of the team’s best run generators.

Some day teams will figure it out, but seeing decisions like these makes me think those days are still a very long ways off.