Biggest MLB Duds of Week 6, Position by Position
Close your eyes, baseball fans—it's about to get ugly.
Over the next few slides, we'll take a look at some of the worst performances of the past week. There won't be any shortage of star power with names like Troy Tulowitzki, Evan Longoria, Matt Kemp and Albert Pujols all on the list.
We'll go position by position and find three worthy candidates for the esteemed title as our dud of the week.
Let's start behind the dish.
Catcher
1 of 10
Nick Hundley, Colorado Rockies
The Rockies currently "boast" the worst record in MLB, and offensive struggles from a handful of players are a large reason.
That includes Nick Hundley, who went 3-for-19 over the past week. The 31-year-old also whiffed nine times in those at-bats.
Russell Martin, Toronto Blue Jays
In Toronto, Russell Martin has struggled over the course of the past week.
The Blue Jays backstop is just 4-for-20 over the last seven days, striking out six times in those at-bats. Luckily for Martin, he's still sporting a wRC+ of 152 in his first season with his new club.
Martin Maldonado, Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers remain at the bottom of the National League Central, and catcher Martin Maldonado has done little to help his team climb out of an early-season hole.
Maldonado is 3-for-22 over the past week with seven strikeouts and one walk. The 28-year-old has had a rough go of it this year, as he's hitting just .157 and striking out about 30 percent of the time.
First Base
2 of 10
Matt Adams, St. Louis Cardinals
Few hitters suffered through a worse week than Matt Adams did.
The St. Louis slugger had just one hit in 20 at-bats this week. His seven strikeouts have increased his strikeout percentage to 22.4 percent.
Albert Pujols, Los Angeles Angels
We go from the current Cardinals first baseman to a former one, as Albert Pujols finds himself on this list after an anemic seven days.
Pujols didn't strike out too much, but he failed to make an impact at the dish. The 35-year-old had just three hits in 21 at-bats and saw his wRC+ dip below 100.
Carlos Santana, Cleveland Indians
Carlos Santana has always been prone to the strikeout, but the Indians first baseman whiffed seven times in 24 at-bats during the week.
Santana's power was also nonexistent. He only managed four hits, none of which went for extra bases.
Second Base
3 of 10
DJ LeMahieu, Colorado Rockies
No major league second baseman had a worse average this week than Colorado's DJ LeMahieu.
The 26-year-old has put together quite the competent season but only mustered three hits in six games. LeMahieu also led all second basemen with nine strikeouts.
Stephen Drew, New York Yankees
The Yankees remain firmly in first place in the American League East, but they still lack production from their middle infield.
Stephen Drew finds himself under the Mendoza Line again this season. A 4-for-21 week with five strikeouts won't help him increase that average.
Devon Travis, Toronto Blue Jays
One of the season's early surprises has been Toronto's Devon Travis. The rookie has been one of the best second basemen in the league to start 2015.
But if Travis does win Rookie of the Year, it won't be due to this last week's performance. The former 13th-round pick had seven strikeouts and a .200 average over the last seven days.
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Shortstop
4 of 10
Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies
It's gone about as bad as it can go for the Rockies this season, but Troy Tulowitzki's slow start has to be the most concerning development of 2015.
Tulo has yet to resemble the player who haunted opposing pitchers in the first half of 2014. His struggles extended into this week, where the 30-year-old went 3-for-20 with nine strikeouts.
Andrelton Simmons, Atlanta Braves
Known for his defensive wizardry, Andrelton Simmons has used 2015 to show the baseball world what he can do at the dish. Simmons' current wRC+ would be good enough for a career high.
His fast start hit a speed bump this week, though. Simmons went 5-for-27 with five strikeouts in six games. He also made a crucial error that led to a Cincinnati Reds victory earlier in the week.
Starlin Castro, Chicago Cubs
The Cubs have lived up to the hype thus far in 2015 but had to watch their shortstop suffer through a wretched week at the plate.
Starlin Castro hit just .179 this week with five strikeouts. His lack of plate discipline has been a key factor in his below-average campaign, as the 25-year-old has a walk-to-strikeout percentage around 20 percent.
Third Base
5 of 10
Martin Prado, Miami Marlins
The Marlins are still playing sub-.500 ball well into May. To make matters worse, Martin Prado is beginning to show signs of regression.
The 31-year-old is sporting a wRC+ of 86 and a career-worst .083 in isolated power. Those numbers took a hit this week, as Prado mustered just four hits in six games.
Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
As bad as Prado has been, Evan Longoria holds the prestigious title of worst third baseman in baseball for this week.
Longoria went 4-for-27 with one extra-base hit and two RBI. He also tied for the most strikeouts with eight.
Pablo Sandoval, Boston Red Sox
Pablo Sandoval has picked it up since a slow start, raising his average and on-base percentages back to their customary levels.
But the 28-year-old will need to put a rough week at the plate behind him in order to keep those statistics there. Sandoval's .174 average was the fourth-worst mark among major league third basemen.
Left Field
6 of 10
Coco Crisp, Oakland A's
All players go through ups and downs throughout the season, but Coco Crisp's last seven days are as brutal a stretch as you'll ever see.
Crisp has just two hits in his last 23 at-bats. Those numbers are par for the course in terms of Crisp's 2015 campaign. In 10 games, the outfielder is slashing .054/.146/.081.
Colby Rasmus, Houston Astros
If you want to know why the Houston Astros sit comfortably atop the American League West, look no further than Colby Rasmus. The 28-year-old has six homers and 13 RBI in 32 games.
But Rasmus didn't do much to help his team this week. He accounted for only three hits and whiffed seven times.
Charlie Blackmon, Colorado Rockies
You were warned about the unfortunate number of Colorado hitters on this list. Charlie Blackmon's eight strikeouts were good for a tie for the most by a left fielder in all of baseball this week.
It's hard to place too much blame on Blackmon, as the outfielder has been a bright spot for the Rockies in 2015. He's slashing .289/.343/.484 in 32 games.
Center Field
7 of 10
Jake Marisnick, Houston Astros
There's a simple reason why Jake Marisnick has done a complete 180 in production from 2014 to 2015. The outfielder has reduced his strikeout percentage from 28.3 to 20.5 percent.
But that tendency to whiff made its way back into Marisnick's game this week. He led all major league center fielders with nine K's, striking out in nearly half of his at-bats.
Joc Pederson, Los Angeles Dodgers
Marisnick wasn't the only center fielder to jump on the strikeout train, as Joc Pederson suffered through seven of his own this week.
Pederson may have managed just four hits in 25 at-bats, but he still remains the front-runner for the National League Rookie of the Year award.
Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox were expecting big things from Mookie Betts in 2015, and he's definitely shown flashes of his unbelievable potential.
But Betts has also been wildly inconsistent. This past week is a microcosm of that, as he only reached base six times in 28 plate appearances.
Right Field
8 of 10
Jay Bruce, Cincinnati Reds
Jay Bruce seems light-years away from the player who commanded a high-dollar contract from the Reds.
The 28-year-old is once again slugging well under .400. As far as this past week goes, Bruce managed only four base hits and struck out six times.
Gregory Polanco, Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates continue to try to climb back into the playoff picture, but they got little help from their right fielder this past week.
Polanco's three hits were the fewest by any major league right fielder. He also tripped while trying to make a routine catch, which cost his team a game against the Chicago Cubs.
Matt Kemp, San Diego Padres
Matt Kemp was the centerpiece of San Diego's winter renaissance, but he's struggled to make much of an impact with his new club. He has homered just once, and his on-base percentage is hovering right around .300.
This week, Kemp managed just four hits in 20 at-bats. He also only walked once.
Starting Pitcher
9 of 10
R.A. Dickey, Toronto Blue Jays
Nobody allowed more runs this week than R.A. Dickey. The knuckleballer gave up 13 runs in 11 innings of work.
Dickey also allowed 17 hits, four of which left the yard.
Matt Garza, Milwaukee Brewers
Not to be outdone by Dickey, Matt Garza allowed 11 men to cross the plate in just over 10 innings.
Garza has seen his ERA balloon to a 5.72 mark mostly due to a significant increase in walks. Allowing free passes hurt the right-hander this week, as he walked six of the batters he faced.
Danny Duffy, Kansas City Royals
Danny Duffy has been the weak link in the Kansas City rotation all year. The lefty has been roughed up to the tune of a 5.87 ERA.
Duffy did nothing to change his fortunes this week. In two starts, he allowed 10 earned runs, logged only 8.2 innings and walked 10 hitters.
Relief Pitcher
10 of 10
Sergio Santos, Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers acquired Sergio Santos with high hopes for 2015, but the experiment has gone horribly wrong. Santos' era currently sits above 6.00.
He allowed five runs in 4.1 innings of work this week.
Frank Garces, San Diego Padres
San Diego recently called up Garces from Triple-A, but his time in the majors could come to an abrupt end after struggling this week.
The lefty allowed five earned runs in three games this week, including three long balls.
Steve Cishek, Miami Marlins
Steve Cishek has made a living by being one of the most consistent relievers in the game. But with four blown saves and an 8.78 ERA, he could be in danger of losing his job.
Cishek blew two more save opportunities this week. The right-hander allowed 10 of the 18 men he faced to reach base and allowed five earned runs in three innings.
Advanced stats courtesy of FanGraphs.
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