Biggest MLB Duds of Week 2, Position by Position
In the grand scheme of things, one week in April doesn't mean a whole lot over the course of a 162-game MLB season.
However, for a handful of players around the league off to slow starts, one week must feel like an eternity when the scoreboard shows a sub-.200 batting average or a double-digit ERA.
With that in mind, what follows is a look at Week 2's biggest duds of the 2016 MLB season, with one player chosen to represent each position along with a starting pitcher and a closer.
To qualify as a dud, a player needed to significantly struggle relative to his expectations over the past week.
There is still plenty of time for the following players to get on track, but the early returns have not been good.
Catcher: Russell Martin, Toronto Blue Jays
1 of 10
Stats
2-for-16, 1 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB, 7 K
Overview
The Toronto Blue Jays offense as a whole has come up well short of expectations to this point, as it's hit a paltry .214 while averaging 3.92 runs per game.
"Obviously we haven't hit like we would hope to," manager John Gibbons told Ken Fidlin of the Toronto Sun. "I think I have seen some signs of us breaking out of that. We've faced some very good pitching and maybe we haven't gotten a lot of big results but we have put together a lot of good at-bats."
Catcher Russell Martin is among the key bats that have struggled, and while he continued to slump this past week, it marked some slight improvement from his 1-for-17 clip in the first week of the year.
Martin hit .197 in April last season before rounding into form and once again being one of the most productive backstops in the game, so there's no major cause for concern just yet.
First Baseman: Lucas Duda, New York Mets
2 of 10
Stats
3-for-21, 1 RBI, 2 R, 0 BB, 4 K
Overview
Lucas Duda got off to a terrific start last season but slumped badly in June and July, when he hit a combined .182/.287/.376 and struck out at a 29.6 percent clip.
This time around, he's been slow out of the gates and is now looking to get hot as the weather continues to warm.
"I am still trying to get that comfort level going in the box, and for the most part, I’m seeing the ball just OK," Duda told Mike Puma of the New York Post. "Hopefully as we get deeper in the season I get more comfortable and having better results."
The Mets lineup as a whole has been relatively quiet in the early going, as it's hit .218 and averaged 3.1 runs per game.
More than a few people need to pick it up, but Duda is an important piece of the offensive puzzle after posting an .838 OPS with 27 home runs a year ago.
Second Baseman: Kolten Wong, St. Louis Cardinals
3 of 10
Stats
1-for-17, 2 RBI, 2 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Overview
Despite an up-and-down performance last season, the St. Louis Cardinals rewarded second baseman Kolten Wong with a five-year, $25.5 million extension this offseason.
Few second basemen possess his combination of power, speed, athleticism and upside, and the deal could turn out to be another terrific move by one of the best front offices in the game.
However, the early returns have been disappointing.
For a Cardinals team that is leading the majors with 81 runs, Wong is batting just .200 and still searching for his first extra-base hit of the year.
"We know that we can hit," Wong told reporters, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com), after a struggling Cardinals offense broke through for 12 runs on April 10. "It's all about us kind of getting together. Hitting is contagious. Once a couple guys start getting hot, it usually ends up with the whole team hitting."
He was right about the offense picking up as a group; he just hasn't been part of the fun.
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Third Baseman: Kyle Seager, Seattle Mariners
4 of 10
Stats
2-for-20, 1 2B, 3 R, 2 BB, 3 K
Overview
A 16.7 WAR player over the past four seasons, Kyle Seager is among the most underrated players in the game.
He may not be a 30-homer threat, but his mix of power, on-base ability and defense makes him well worth the seven-year, $100 million extension he landed prior to last season.
That being said, it's not been pretty here in the early stages of 2016, as he's hitting .132 and has gone 2-for-13 with six strikeouts with runners in scoring position.
Manager Scott Servais opted to give Seager the day off on Saturday against left-hander CC Sabathia, giving him a chance to clear his head, as he explained to Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times:
"Kyle is a grinder and a team guy and he has had some bad luck along the way too. But a day off won’t hurt him at all. A lot of times it’s more mental than physical. Just sit back and look at the game from the bench and realize it’s not maybe as hard as we make it out to be. Sometimes you watch guys put at-bats together. It just gives you a different perspective on the game.
"
Shortstop: Danny Espinosa, Washington Nationals
5 of 10
Stats
2-for-22, 3 RBI, 1 R, 3 BB, 8 K
Overview
Danny Espinosa thrived in a utility role last season, posting a .719 OPS with 21 doubles, 13 home runs and a 1.9 WAR while playing five different positions.
With Ian Desmond walking in free agency, Espinosa has taken over as the team's primary shortstop this year—at least until top prospect Trea Turner is deemed ready.
That could come sooner than later if things continue on like they have so far.
Espinosa is hitting .161 with one extra-base hit on the year, while Turner is off to a scorching start in Triple-A.
Through eight games, he's gone 14-for-28 with four extra-base hits and four stolen bases.
"If you keep playing well, it's only a matter of time before you get that opportunity," Turner told Josh Jackson of MiLB.com. "I'm definitely paying attention [to the Nationals], but I'm focused on winning the games down here."
Left Fielder: Eddie Rosario, Minnesota Twins
6 of 10
Stats
2-for-21, 1 RBI, 2 R, 3 BB, 4 K
Overview
The Minnesota Twins have an interesting decision to make about their future outfield, with four young players, Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano, Eddie Rosario and Max Kepler, vying for three spots.
No one on the Twins is hitting right now, but those first three guys have struggled, and Kepler is 0-for-5 since being promoted.
Rosario was a pleasant surprise as a rookie last year, posting a .748 OPS with 18 doubles, 15 triples, 13 home runs and 50 RBI to finish sixth in American League Rookie of the Year voting.
He's hit just .139 with 11 strikeouts in 36 at-bats so far this year, and if Kepler picks things up, he could find himself at risk of losing playing time going forward.
"I’m hoping the guys that we consider to be our starting outfielders play better and then I won’t need to try to change it up very much,” manager Paul Molitor told Mike Berardino of the Twin Cities Pioneer Press after Kepler was called up. "I like people that can play every day and contribute, but I don’t have a number of games set for Max’s stint here."
Center Fielder: Keon Broxton, Milwaukee Brewers
7 of 10
Stats
0-for-12, 1 R, 1 BB, 9 K
Overview
The starting center fielder in six of the first 10 games for the Milwaukee Brewers, speedster Keon Broxton went 0-for-16 with 11 strikeouts to start the year before being optioned to Triple-A on Saturday.
The Brewers acquired Broxton from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for first baseman Jason Rogers during the offseason, and he appeared to have a shot at significant playing time with Ramon Flores and Kirk Nieuwenhuis as his biggest competition.
Instead, he'll now need to prove he can provide something with the bat down in the minors.
"With Keon, it's not the way we wanted it to go for him," manager Craig Counsell told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "He's going to get a chance to play every day and get it going. Hopefully, this is just a bump in the road."
Speed has always been the 25-year-old's best tool, but he did hit a respectable .273/.357/.438 between Double-A and Triple-A last season.
That line included 27 doubles, 12 triples and 10 home runs, along with 39 steals.
Right Fielder: Paulo Orlando, Kansas City Royals
8 of 10
Stats
3-for-19, 1 R, 6 K
Overview
With Alex Rios gone in free agency and Jarrod Dyson on the disabled list with a strained oblique, Paulo Orlando has been given a prime opportunity to prove himself as the Kansas City Royals' everyday right fielder.
The 30-year-old was a solid contributor as a rookie last year, posting a .713 OPS with 14 doubles, six triples and seven home runs in 251 plate appearances.
He came out of the gates hot this year with a 3-for-4 performance on Opening Day, but he's gone just 3-for-19 since, and Reymond Fuentes earned the start in right field on Saturday.
Orlando and Fuentes are probably both safe as far as their roster spots are concerned, as Terrance Gore will likely be the one heading back to the minors once Dyson returns.
However, Orlando still has a chance to earn significant playing time as the right-handed hitting side of a platoon with Dyson if he can pick up his production.
Starting Pitcher: Steven Matz, New York Mets
9 of 10
Stats
1 GS, L, 1.2 IP, 6 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
Overview
The New York Mets' vaunted rotation has not gotten off to the start that many expected.
Jacob deGrom is nursing a lat injury, Matt Harvey is 0-3 with a 5.71 ERA through three starts and young lefty Steven Matz didn't make it out of the second inning in his season debut.
For Matz, it was still just his seventh career regular-season start, with three more postseason starts under his belt.
The 24-year-old has all the potential in the world, but it's important to remember just how inexperienced he is at this point, so there are going to be some ups and downs.
"He looks like a young guy who needs a month in Triple-A to clean up some things," one scout told Kevin Kernan of the New York Post.
That's a bit of an overreaction to one rough start, but it is important that Matz doesn't put the bullpen in a tough spot again like he did his first time out.
He'll be on the mound again Sunday against the Cleveland Indians, as he looks to get his season rolling.
Alfredo Simon deserves a mention here as well after he lasted just 0.2 innings in his start against the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday. He allowed four hits, three walks and five earned runs while throwing 49 pitches before getting the hook.
Relief Pitcher: Glen Perkins, Minnesota Twins
10 of 10
Stats
1 G, BS, 1.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Overview
After an 0-5 start, the Minnesota Twins finally appeared to be in line for their first victory last Sunday, as they led the Kansas City Royals 3-1 heading into the bottom of the ninth.
Closer Glen Perkins blew just three saves all season in 2015, but he couldn't nail down his first opportunity of the new year, as he allowed three hits and two earned runs, and the Twins eventually went on to lose in extra innings.
That was just the start of the bad news for Perkins, though, as he was then placed on the disabled list on Wednesday with a shoulder strain.
Kevin Jepsen has converted a pair of save chances in his absence, and with Perkins struggling with his velocity this spring on top of the injury, the ninth inning job may not be waiting for him when he returns.
All stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com, unless otherwise noted.
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