Biggest MLB Duds of Week 2, Position by Position
In the grand scheme of things, one week of the MLB season in April does not mean a whole lot.
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 batting average under .200 or a double-digit ERA.
With that in mind, what follows is a look at Week 2's biggest duds of the 2015 MLB season, with one player chosen to represent each position along with a starting pitcher and a closer.
Simply put, to qualify as a dud, a player needed to struggle significantly relative to expectations over the past week. Players with a chance of being unseated by someone else on the roster more than anyone can't afford to rank as a dud, and there are a few such guys on the ensuing list.
There is still plenty of time for the following players to get on track, but the early returns have not been good.
Catcher: Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Miami Marlins
1 of 10
Last Week's Stats
4 G, 1-for-12, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K
Player Overview
In the second year of a three-year, $21 million deal with the Miami Marlins, catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia appears to be on the outs.
Off to a 2-for-25 start to the season, the veteran was officially benched last week in favor of top prospect J.T. Realmuto, and he was none too happy about the news.
"Am I mad? Yeah, I’m mad. I want to play," Saltalamacchia told Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald. "I can’t control this. I can’t grab the lineup and put my name on it. Do I want to be in there? Yeah. There’s not a day I don’t want to be in there. I’m not going to sit here and complain. I want to play. But I’m not going to hurt this team. I’m not going to be the reason."
He could certainly play his way back into the primary role if he gets things going at the plate, but for the time being, Saltalamacchia looks to be at least in a timeshare with the 24-year-old Realmuto.
First Baseman: Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies
2 of 10
Last Week's Stats
6 G, 3-for-20, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 10 K
Player Overview
The Philadelphia Phillies made it clear this offseason that they would prefer to part ways with longtime first baseman Ryan Howard, even offering to pay as much as $50 million of the $60 million left on his contract to unload him, according to Anthony Castrovince of Sports on Earth.
Not surprisingly, they were unable to find any takers, as the 35-year-old Howard is a shell of the player he was in his prime.
While he did manage 23 home runs and 95 RBI in a healthy season last year, he hit just .223/.310/.380 with an NL-high 190 strikeouts in the process.
So far this season, he's looked completely lost at the plate, going 6-for-36 with 13 strikeouts. That led to the slugger being dropped to the No. 7 spot in the lineup this past week.
Second Baseman: Jason Kipnis, Cleveland Indians
3 of 10
Last Week's Stats
5 G, 2-for-20, 1 RBI, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K
Player Overview
Following a breakout 2013 season, Cleveland Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis looked to be on the cusp of superstardom.
An .818 OPS with 36 doubles, 17 home runs and 30 stolen bases earned him an 11th-place finish in AL MVP voting for an Indians team that made a surprising run to the postseason.
However, an oblique injury slowed him significantly last season, and he wound up hitting just .240/.310/.330 with six home runs in 500 at-bats.
Healthy once again, the 28-year-old looked like a prime bounce-back candidate heading into the season, but he's struggled to get things going to this point.
Third Baseman: Adrian Beltre, Texas Rangers
4 of 10
Last Week's Stats
6 G, 2-for-25, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Player Overview
Adrian Beltre was among the handful of players on the Texas Rangers roster not to miss significant time last season, as he remained one of the best all-around third basemen in the league.
Even with his power production dropping off to just 19 home runs after three consecutive 30-homer seasons, Beltre still had an .879 OPS as he finished fourth in the AL batting title race with a .324 average.
Now in his age-36 season, Beltre is putting the finishing touches on what could potentially be a Hall of Fame career, but the Rangers are still counting on him to be the driving force in the middle of their lineup.
So far this year, he is 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position, and he'll need to get it going, or the Rangers could be staring down another last-place finish in the AL West.
Shortstop: Ian Desmond, Washington Nationals
5 of 10
Last Week's Stats
7 G, 11-for-29, 1 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 4 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 4 E
Player Overview
The offensive numbers were there for Ian Desmond last week, but his continued struggles in the field earn him the nod at shortstop.
With four more miscues, he now has an MLB-high eight errors in 12 games this season, and more than one of those have wound up costing the Washington Nationals big.
While he was never a Gold Glove candidate, Desmond has posted a positive dWAR each of the past four seasons, so these struggles come as something of a surprise.
To his credit, Desmond seems to be confident things will turn around.
"I'm gonna work way my way out of it," he told Chris Johnson of MASN. "I don't think I can work any harder than I'm working. I guess if this is the biggest problem in my life I got, then I guess I'm doing all right. At the end of the year, it's gonna be good looking back at this and knowing I made my way through it."
Left Field: Christian Yelich, Miami Marlins
6 of 10
Last Week's Stats
5 G, 3-for-21, 1 RBI, 2 R, 1 BB, 7 K
Player Overview
Fresh off a breakout season in 2014 and a shiny new seven-year, $49.57 million extension during the offseason, Christian Yelich has been one of numerous Miami Marlins hitters off to a slow start in 2015.
The 23-year-old hit .284/.362/.402 with 30 doubles, 21 stolen bases and 94 runs scored last season, while also winning a Gold Glove for his stellar defense in left field.
Big things are expected moving forward, but first he'll need to break out of this early-season funk.
We're obviously dealing with a small sample size, but his line-drive rate is way down (21.2 percent to 13.3 percent) and his ground-ball rate is way up (61.0 percent to 80.0 percent) in his first 44 plate appearances of 2015.
Center Field: Jon Jay, St. Louis Cardinals
7 of 10
Last Week's Stats
6 G, 3-for-22, 3 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Player Overview
Jon Jay was a pleasant surprise for the St. Louis Cardinals last season, hitting .303/.372/.378 and scoring 52 runs as the team's primary center fielder.
He's still penciled into that starting role for the time being, but with Peter Bourjos and Randal Grichuk also on the big league roster and battling for at-bats, he can't afford to keep struggling at the plate.
Bourjos is an elite defensive outfielder and brings a nice speed element to the lineup, while the 23-year-old Grichuk has significant upside and more power than Jay or Bourjos.
The Cardinals are in a good position with the multiple outfield options, but Jay personally won't be in a good position much longer if he can't get things going at the dish.
Right Field: Shin-Soo Choo, Texas Rangers
8 of 10
Last Week's Stats
5 G, 1-for-16, 2 BB, 6 K
Player Overview
Healthy seasons from Prince Fielder and Shin-Soo Choo were supposed to play a major role in helping the Texas Rangers turn things around in 2015 after a disappointing season last year.
Fielder is off to a terrific start, hitting .383 with an .889 OPS through his first 12 games, but the same can't be said for Choo.
Signed to a seven-year, $130 million deal prior to last season, Choo was a 0.1 WAR player in his first season with the Rangers. Ankle and elbow injuries plagued him for much of the year, and he wound up having surgery on both.
The 32-year-old hit .285/.423/.462 with 21 home runs and 20 stolen bases in his contract year with the Cincinnati Reds in 2013, but he's not been the same dynamic player since arriving in Arlington.
Starting Pitcher: Wade Miley, Boston Red Sox
9 of 10
Last Week's Stats
1 GS, 0-1, 27.00 ERA, 2.1 IP, 5 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
Player Overview
Following a decent debut against the rival New York Yankees (ND, 5.1 IP, 2 ER), Wade Miley was roughed up in his second start in a Boston Red Sox uniform.
After allowing two runs in the first inning, the left-hander was unable to make it out of the third.
Ian Desmond's one-out solo home run gave the Washington Nationals a 3-2 lead. Miley then loaded the bases with a single and a pair of walks, and Wilson Ramos unloaded them with a three-run double.
That sent Miley to an early shower and also forced relievers Anthony Varvaro, Robbie Ross and Craig Breslow to each pitch multiple innings on the way to a 10-5 loss.
Closer: Fernando Rodney, Seattle Mariners
10 of 10
Last Week's Stats
3 G, 1-1, 1 S, 1 BS, 23.14 ERA, 2.1 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
Player Overview
He didn't exactly have dominant peripheral numbers last season with a 2.83 ERA and 1.342 WHIP, but Fernando Rodney got the job done in the ninth inning, converting an impressive 48 of 51 save chances.
Things have not gone as smoothly to kick off the 2015 season.
Rodney coughed up a 7-3 lead last Sunday, but his teammates managed to bail him out by scoring a run in the top of the 10th, leaving the closer with a win instead of a blown save.
That first blown save would come a mere two days later, as Rodney loaded the bases with just one out and then surrendered a two-run, walk-off single to Howie Kendrick.
"Nothing sucks the soul out of a baseball team—or I should say, a fanbase—quicker than a ninth-inning closer meltdown," wrote Larry Stone of The Seattle Times (via the Detroit Free Press).
"The best solution for the Mariners would be for Rodney to work himself out of his troubles and do so by the time his next save opportunity arrives. If not, (manager Lloyd) McClendon's sense of loyalty, and fans' sanity, will be severely tested."
All stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and cover games from Sunday, April 12 through Saturday, April 18.
