Biggest MLB Duds of Week 5, Position by Position
The only good duds are Milk Duds—and we're all out of those.
Instead of filling our bellies with that delicious treat, we were forced to stomach some awful performances on the field in the first week of May—the fifth of baseball's regular season.
Taking traditional and advanced statistics into consideration, here's a look at those who aren't buying into the idiom that April showers bring May flowers.
Catcher: Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals
1 of 11
Like legendary South Central Louisiana State University linebacker Bobby Boucher, Salvador Perez loves his mama. And after reading about the relationship he has with his mother Yilda Diaz, courtesy of the Kansas City Star's Vahe Gregorian, it's tough to name Perez a dud on Mother's Day.
But Perez just wasn't good last week, recording only three base hits in 20 at-bats, walking once and striking out six times. Of the nearly 20 players in the red for adjusted offense in Week 5, Perez was the only catcher to make an appearance.
Dishonorable Mention
Tucker Barnhart (CIN): .182 BA (4-for-22), .445 OPS, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 7 K
First Base: Chris Davis, Baltimore Orioles
2 of 11
The good news for Chris Davis is that he's no longer without a home run in May, taking Oakland's Jesse Hahn deep in Game 2 of Saturday's day/night doubleheader between the A's and Orioles. The bad news? He's gone deep as many times this month as Bartolo Colon.
“I felt like the last couple games, my at-bats have been getting a lot better, my swing just didn’t feel like it was right the last couple of weeks,” Davis told the Baltimore Sun's Jon Meoli after the game. “The last few days, it’s starting to get there."
While Davis may have started feeling more comfortable at the plate as the week rolled on, the numbers say otherwise. The slugger mustered only two hits in 24 plate appearances—that home run and a single—to go along with a walk, a hit by pitch and nine strikeouts.
Dishonorable Mention
Paul Goldschmidt (ARZ): .150 BA (3-for-20), .520 OPS, 1 R, 7 BB, 8 K
Second Base: Neil Walker, New York Mets
3 of 11
After a torrid start to the season that saw him hit .307 with nine home runs, 19 RBI and a .962 OPS at the end of April, Neil Walker's bat has gone cold.
The 30-year-old second baseman mustered only a pair of singles in his first game of the month against San Francisco, finishing the week 2-for-23 (.087 BA) with a .247 OPS, the lowest among qualified National League batters by more than 100 points and the second-lowest OPS in all of baseball last week.
Dishonorable Mention
Omar Infante (KC): .158 BA (3-for-19), .358 OPS, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 4 K
.png?w=256)
Third Base: Adonis Garcia, Atlanta Braves
4 of 11
Maybe this is cheating, seeing as how Adonis Garcia spent all but one of the five games in which he played last week in left field, not at third base. But the 31-year-old had been a fixture at the hot corner in Atlanta up until this point, so as far as we're concerned, he remains eligible for the position on our All-Dud team.
At least he was. Garcia found himself optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett after finishing off an unproductive week that saw him hit only .158 (3-for-19) with a double, two RBI and five strikeouts.
While down on the farm, the plan is for him to continue getting work in left field, an idea the 31-year-old isn't fully on board with, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Dishonorable Mention
Chris Coghlan (OAK): .118 BA (2-for-17), .328 OPS, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 5 K
Shortstop: Andrelton Simmons, Los Angeles Angels
5 of 11
When Los Angeles dealt veteran shortstop Erick Aybar and a pair of pitching prospects to Atlanta for Andrelton Simmons, the Angels were trading for an elite defender at a premium position, not necessarily someone who was going to be a difference-maker in the lineup.
And while Simmons drove in three runs with the two hits he recorded last week, he still managed to hit only .091 (2-for-22) with a putrid .258 OPS and, as you'd expect, post a negative wRC+ (minus-26) to rank as one of the least productive qualified batters to start the month.
“Andrelton is trying to find a comfort zone in the batters’ box,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia explained to the Orange County Register's Jeff Fletcher. “I wouldn’t say he’s necessarily pressing, but he’s expanded the zone a little bit. He’s probably trying to do a little too much. He just needs to exhale.”
Dishonorable Mention
Elvis Andrus (TEX): .167 BA (4-for-24), .375 OPS, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 3 K
Left Field: Michael Conforto, New York Mets
6 of 11
If Michael Conforto, Bryce Harper and Mike Trout all broke into the majors at the same time, it's possible we might view Conforto superior to his outfield counterparts, thanks to some number-crunching from the folks over at Fox Sports.
But that doesn't make up for the awful week Conforto just had at the plate. The 23-year-old hit just .083 (2-for-24) with a solo home run, three walks and 12 strikeouts. Not only did that give him one of the week's highest strikeout rates (44.4 percent), but it nearly equaled his strikeout total for April (15).
Dishonorable Mention
Colby Rasmus (HOU): .130 (3-for-23), .371 OPS, 2 2B, 6 RBI, 1 BB, 7 K
Center Field: Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles
7 of 11
While some in Baltimore might be concerned about Adam Jones' slow start to the season, Orioles manager Buck Showalter isn't one of them, as he explained Thursday to the Baltimore Sun's Jon Meoli:
"Adam wants to contribute in every phase of the game. He’s won, I can tell you, two or three games for us by his play in center field. The play he made the night before last on the line drive, not many center fielders come get that ball. Most of them back off of it.
But in my list of things [I'm] concerned about, I think he’s going to do what Adam has done for us many years. I’ve got a long memory. He will. He’ll be fine.
"
Showalter may be right, but defense aside, Jones hasn't looked comfortable at the plate since returning from an oblique injury. That was evident last week, when the five-time All-Star hit only .130 (3-for-23) with a pair of RBI, two walks, three strikeouts and an OPS of .330.
Dishonorable Mention
Chris Owings (ARZ): .071 (1-for-14), .421 OPS, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 4 BB, 2 K
Right Field: J.D. Martinez, Detroit Tigers
8 of 11
Sometimes, a player can be his own worst enemy, and a manager needs to step in and force that player to take a step back. Such was the case in Detroit this week when it came to right fielder J.D. Martinez.
"He’s been scuffling lately,” Tigers manager Brad Ausmus explained to Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press as to why he gave the 28-year-old Friday off. “Different players handle it differently. J.D.’s mental approach is very detail-oriented, so it can become very draining, especially when he’s struggling. He’s really the last man standing.”
Speaking of last, that's where Martinez finds himself when it comes to adjusted offense; his minus-73 wRC+ was by far the worst in baseball last week. Martinez managed only a pair of singles in 23 at-bats, striking out six times and grounding into a pair of double plays.
Dishonorable Mention
Jarrod Dyson (KC): .063 (1-for-16), .292 OPS, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 4 K
Designated Hitter: Prince Fielder, Texas Rangers
9 of 11
Prince Fielder has looked more like the court jester than the heir to the throne in Texas this season. But you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone in Arlington laughing at the husky slugger's lack of production, a trend that continued in Week 5.
He hit only .172 (5-for-29) with a pair of doubles and one RBI, failing to draw a walk while striking out four times. Fielder's .414 OPS on the week was tied for last among qualified designated hitters with Seattle's Seth Smith, but his minus-4 wRC+ stood alone as the worst at the position.
Dishonorable Mention
Seth Smith (SEA): .174 BA (4-for-23), .414 OPS, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 7 K
Starting Pitcher: David Price, Boston Red Sox
10 of 11
When Boston signed David Price to a seven-year, $217 million deal over the winter, the plan was not for him to serve as the New York Yankees' offensive spark.
But that's exactly what happened last week, with the Yankees tagging Price for 12 earned runs and 15 hits over 11.2 innings across two starts, drawing four walks while striking out seven times.
“My first six or seven starts sucked," Price told the Boston Globe's Dan Shaughnessy after Saturday’s debacle. “It’s not fun for me. I don’t enjoy it. I’ve got to get better."
So far, the only people enjoying Price's time on the mound have been Boston's opponents.
Dishonorable Mention
Mike Pelfrey (DET): 2 GS, 9 IP, 15 H, 10 ER, 3 BB, 6 K
Relief Pitcher: Caleb Cotham, Cincinnati Reds
11 of 11
It's only fitting to have a representative from baseball's worst bullpen serve as the reliever on this week's All-Dud team, and boy, was Caleb Cotham a dud with a capital D.
The 28-year-old got shelled in four relief appearances, allowing eight earned runs and 12 hits over four innings of work, walking as many batters (three) as he struck out. He failed to record an out in his final appearance of the week against Milwaukee, serving up five hits and earned runs, including a grand slam to Aaron Hill.
Dishonorable Mention
Ryan Pressly (MIN): 4 G, 3.2 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 5 BB, 5 K
Unless otherwise noted, all statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs and are current through games played May 7. All contract information courtesy of Cot's Contracts (via Baseball Prospectus).
Hit me up on Twitter to talk all things baseball: @RickWeinerBR
.png?w=480)
