Should Fantasy Baseball Owners Give Up on Hunter Pence?

Eric StashinApr 21, 2010

Hunter Pence is a player who owners have had high hopes for, at least it seems, for the past few seasons.

Year after year, it feels like we ask the question of if this will be the year that he finally puts it together and puts up a big year. It’s not that he’s been bad, but we always seem to be expecting more.

That’s where we were heading into 2010 and thus far, the expectations have far exceeded the results. Just look at his production through Monday:

TOP NEWS

45 At Bats
.156 Batting Average (7 Hits)
1 Home Runs
2 RBI
4 Runs
1 Stolen Bases
.156 On Base Percentage
.222 Slugging Percentage
.167 Batting Average on Balls in Play

That line just doesn’t even tell the entire story. A few other notes that need to be mentioned:

He had not yet drawn a walk
He has always been a ground ball hitter, but he’s currently at a career high of 54.1%
He had just one extra base hit

It’s been almost unbelievably bad, so you have to ask the question of if you should try dealing him now, before all of his value dries up? It’s an easy answer, but it’s one that we sometimes need to remind ourselves of.

He clearly is better then he’s played so far, so why would we give up on him after just over two weeks of struggles? He’s never drawn many walks, but none?

Last year he had set a career high of 9.0% and there clearly is a lot of potential upside here. Will he match his career high? Probably not, but he’s going to start to get into a grove sooner or later.

He’s likely pressing right now, but once he finds his stroke things will change.

He’s also drawing a lot of poor luck. A .167 BABIP is impossible for him to continue. Just look at his prior two seasons:

2008 - .301
2009 - .308

All you need to do is be patient, and you will reap the benefits.

The power is a different story. A lot of the expectations this season had to do with his turning 27 years old and the potential for his flyball rate to increase. Given his early results, that may not happen.

Still, having hit 25 HR each of the past two seasons, there’s little doubt that the power will be there, sooner or later.

So, yes, it’s been a terrible start to the season but it is just a matter of time before he starts to turn things around. I know it’s frustrating, considering the high expectations we entered 2010 with, but with time and patience you should benefit.

It’s easy to write off a player after just two weeks, but that easily could be a mistake. Have patience, especially with a player like Pence who has proven his worth the past few seasons, and you should get the results you expected.

What are your thoughts on Pence? Will he be able to right the ship, or will 2010 be a disappointment for fantasy owners?

For some 2010 projections, click here . Among those we’ve already covered include: