Biggest MLB Duds of Week 24, Position by Position
It would be easy to fill out this week's MLB All-Dud team with members of the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals, two teams that have faltered in must-win weekend series against the Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants, respectively.
But believe it or not, there have been far worse individual efforts from players on contending teams around the game than anyone on either of those clubs. That includes Texas center fielder Ian Desmond, who no longer looks like a sure thing to be named American League Comeback Player of the Year.
As was the case last week, players on contending teams who deliver dud-worthy performances will get the nod over those not on contending clubs as we fill out our 10-player roster, which features one player per position, including a designated hitter and starting pitcher.
Who joined Desmond on this week's squad? Let's take a look.
Catcher: Yasmani Grandal, Los Angeles Dodgers
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If you're healthy enough to play, you're healthy enough to be included on our All-Dud team. So while Yasmani Grandal is dealing with a sore elbow that has been "bothering him a while," according to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick, the 27-year-old played in six games for Los Angeles last week.
In retrospect, the Dodgers might have been better off with Austin Barnes or Carlos Ruiz instead. Grandal went just 3-for-21 with six strikeouts and a pair of double plays as Los Angeles went 3-3 in the games in which he played.
Had he produced anything offensively, it's easy to think that the Dodgers—whose three losses included a pair of 3-0 shutouts at the hands of the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins—could have emerged victorious in at least one of those contests.
Dishonorable Mention
Sandy Leon (BOS): 7 G, .227 BA, .598 OPS, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 6 K
First Base: Mitch Moreland, Texas Rangers
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For players in their walk years like Mitch Moreland, a strong finish to the regular season can be worth millions on the open market. That the 31-year-old has been markedly more productive since the All-Star break (.836 OPS) than he was before it (.707 OPS) is only going to help his case as a free agent.
Weeks like the one he just had, in which he recorded only a pair of singles with seven strikeouts in 20 trips to the plate, do nothing to increase his potential earning power, though. Neither does a September that's seen him pick up hits in only five of the 14 games in which he's played, resulting in a .208/.269/.292 slash line.
Dishonorable Mention
Adrian Gonzalez (LAD): 7 G, .154 BA, .395 OPS, 1 RBI, 3 BB, 6 K
Second Base: Joe Panik, San Francisco Giants
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Joe Panik entered Week 24 on a tear, having hit .326 with a .947 OPS over his previous 25 games, which included both a six- and seven-game hitting streak. It looked as if the 25-year-old had finally turned a corner.
Based on his results last week, that turn found him staring at a dead end.
Panik hit just .048 (1-for-21) with an MLB-worst .135 OPS over seven games, though he did manage to drive in three runs and struck out only once. With six of San Francisco's last 14 games coming against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Giants need Panik to get back on track if they're going to make a run at the NL West crown.
Dishonorable Mention
Robinson Cano (SEA): 6 G, .148 BA, .407 OPS, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 K
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Third Base: Kyle Seager, Seattle Mariners
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Seattle's slim playoff hopes didn't take a huge hit as a result of Kyle Seager's Week 24 struggles, as the Mariners went 4-2 in the six games in which he played, but the team needs its third baseman to produce like he was before last week if it has any chance of getting over the hump.
Seager went just 3-for-23 with a solo home run against the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday, finishing the week hitting .130 with a .461 OPS. Up until that point, he had been on fire in the 50 games since the All-Star break, hitting .308 with 18 extra-base hits (10 home runs), 31 RBI and a .908 OPS.
Dishonorable Mention
Hernan Perez (MIL): 6 G, .091 BA, .182 OPS, 3 K
Shortstop: Francisco Lindor, Cleveland Indians
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It wasn't a great week for one of baseball's most overlooked young stars.
Francisco Lindor posted a paltry .120/.241/.160 slash line and wasn't his usual smooth-fielding self at shortstop, mixing in some terrific plays with some missed opportunities to record an out. Perhaps more troubling is his continued ineptitude to produce with runners in scoring position.
Lindor stepped to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning against Detroit on Saturday with one out and runners on second and third in a scoreless game. A fly ball to the outfield likely would have given Cleveland the lead. Instead, Lindor struck out swinging against Tigers reliever Alex Wilson.
Among qualified shortstops this season, only Miami's Adeiny Hechavarria (.610 OPS) has been less productive with runners in scoring position than Lindor (.618 OPS).
Dishonorable Mention
Eduardo Escobar (MIN): 7 G, .036 BA, .136 OPS, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 5 K
Left Field: Jayson Werth, Washington Nationals
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Jayson Werth didn't embark on another remarkable on-base streak last week like he had earlier this season. In fact, the veteran outfielder had trouble getting on base at all, reaching safely only six times in 28 trips to the plate for a .214 on-base percentage.
As you'd expect, the rest of Werth's weekly numbers weren't much better, as he hit .185 with a pair of RBI and 10 strikeouts, with nine of those whiffs coming over his final 19 plate appearances. In the 25 games since his on-base streak came to an end on Aug. 19, Werth has hit .222 with 25 strikeouts and a .666 OPS.
Dishonorable Mention
Angel Pagan (SF): 7 G, .179 BA, .567 OPS, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 4 BB, 6 K
Center Field: Ian Desmond, Texas Rangers
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Ian Desmond might still be viewed as one of the favorites to take home the AL Comeback Player of the Year Award—we'll take a fresh look at his odds this coming Tuesday—but weeks like the one he just had do nothing to help his candidacy as the election cycle nears completion.
Desmond went just 3-for-21 with a walk, seven strikeouts and a .325 OPS for Texas last week—a performance that contributed to the Rangers dropping three of the five games in which he played. Since the start of September, he's hitting .241 with a .702 OPS and more strikeouts (15) than hits (14).
Dishonorable Mention
Adam Jones (BAL): 7 G, .148 BA, .443 OPS, 3 BB, 5 K
Right Field: Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals
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Normally, a week that saw Bryce Harper go without a hit would send Washington, D.C., into a panic, with congressmen and senators scrambling to pass a bill that prohibits opposing pitchers from lobbing anything but batting-practice fastballs toward the reigning NL MVP when he steps to the plate.
But Washington has held a comfortable lead in the NL East for more than a month, so a bad week from Harper in what's been something of a disappointing season for the 23-year-old barely registers on Capitol Hill.
Still, there has to be some concern that Harper went without a hit last week in an 0-for-15 showing that saw him strike out seven times. Sure, he drew nine walks, but that's more a case of teams simply not wanting to pitch to him than Harper showing outstanding plate discipline.
If Harper carries this slump into the playoffs, the Nationals could be looking at another quick exit.
Dishonorable Mention
J.D. Martinez (DET): 7 G, .115 BA, .294 OPS, 2 BB, 7 K
Designated Hitter: Victor Martinez, Detroit Tigers
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Victor Martinez's surgically repaired knee continues to give the veteran issues to the point where even serving as a full-time designated hitter isn't enough to alleviate the problem.
“His right-handed swing looks all right, though I know yesterday wasn’t great (0-for-4),” Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said before Detroit's series-opening game against Cleveland on Friday, per Chris McCosky of the Detroit News. “But that knee is going to be bothering him, from time to time, for the rest of his life.”
While unfortunate, the fact remains that the Tigers need a productive V-Mart in the middle of their lineup if a trip to the playoffs is in their future. Weeks that find him hitting .208 with a .571 OPS and unable to drive the ball with any oomph, like the one he just had, don't help the team's chances.
Dishonorable Mention
Albert Pujols (LAA): 7 G, .214 BA, .571 OPS, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 4 K
Pitcher: Andrew Cashner, Miami Marlins
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Miami continues to hang around the fringes of the National League playoff picture, but the Marlins have no chance of making a last-minute push for a postseason berth if they're going to continue getting outings from their pitchers like the one Andrew Cashner delivered last Monday.
Cashner was dreadful against last-place Atlanta, allowing six hits and seven earned runs over just two innings of work, walking two and striking out none.
"[Cashner] couldn't get anybody out," manager Don Mattingly told reporters after the game, per the Sun Sentinel's Tim Healey. "They just kept coming. And he didn't seem to have any answers."
A lack of answers has plagued Cashner since he arrived in South Beach at the trade deadline from San Diego in exchange for the team's top position prospect (Josh Naylor) and injured reliever Carter Capps. In nine appearances (eight starts) for the Marlins, he's pitched to a 6.13 ERA and 1.74 WHIP.
Dishonorable Mention
Wade Miley (BAL): 1 GS, 0-1, 1.1 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 1 BB
Unless otherwise linked/noted, all statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com, FanGraphs and MLB.com and are current through games of Sept. 17.
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