Biggest MLB Duds of May, Position by Position
The good news when it comes to May's "All-Dud" team is that there are no repeat offenders—none of the players named to April's squad appear on the pages that follow.
The bad news, of course, is that a whole new set of players—a group that includes some pretty high-profile names—has fallen on hard times, unable to produce at even a fraction of the levels that we've become accustomed to and that their respective teams are counting on.
The requisite criteria to qualify for our All-Dud squad remain the same as they were in April. An everyday player must have enough plate appearances to qualify for the league leaders at his respective position, while a pitcher must have been ineffective nearly every time he toed the rubber, not just in one outing.
Another thing that hasn't changed is that players currently on the disabled list or sidelined with injury are not eligible for inclusion—you can't blame a player for an injury.
That said, let's take a look at who made the cut.
Catcher: Martin Maldonado, Milwaukee Brewers
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May Stats
88 PA, .148/.205/.185, HR, 5 RBI, 2 wRC+
Overview
When one of the biggest highlights of a player's month is having the best-looking holiday-themed gear in baseball, you know it's been a long one.
That's how May went for Martin Maldonado, whose mustard-colored Memorial Day catching gear made us forget, just for a moment, how much the 28-year-old has struggled in place of injured All-Star Jonathan Lucroy in Milwaukee.
A career backup, it'd be fair to assume that the increase in playing time has been a major contributor to his issues, but not everyone subscribes to that theory.
“He’s caught a lot more than he’s used to but I don’t think he’s wearing down,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Tom Haudricourt. “He’s had some bad luck, almost on a nightly basis but he hasn’t swung the bat the way he’s capable of."
There's some truth to that, given the nearly 100-point disparity between his career BABIP (.263) and his monthly mark (.175), the lowest among qualified catchers in May.
First Base: Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
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May Stats
104 PA, .237/.279/.340, 7 XBH (5 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR) 15 RBI, 68 wRC+
Overview
There weren't many duds at first base in May, and I hesitated to include Joe Mauer, considering the success that Minnesota has been enjoying of late, but he's really had the least impressive month of the 27 players who qualified for the leaderboards at the position.
We've come to expect far more than a .237 batting average (22nd among 1B) and .619 OPS (26th) from the future Hall of Fame inductee, who sits with the lowest on-base percentage (.279) and wRC+ (68) at the position in the season's second month.
Second Base: Stephen Drew, New York Yankees
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May Stats
96 PA, .143/.188/.220, 5 XBH (4 2B, 1 HR) 5 RBI, 8 wRC+
Overview
If you've been holding out hope that Stephen Drew's bat is going to come around, it's time to stop. As ESPN New York's Wallace Matthews wrote prior to New York's game against Oakland on Saturday night, there's no reason to continue believing in the 32-year-old:
"Drew is quantifiably one of the worst hitters in baseball. Over his past 423 at-bats, stretching back to the beginning of 2014, Drew is batting a cumulative .151 with 12 home runs, 41 RBIs and an OPS barely above .500. It is becoming silly to continue to maintain that he will come around. What he is now is what he is likely to be.
"
What Drew is, apparently, is a 10-year veteran who is going to have a really difficult time finding a team that's willing to give him a chance for an 11th major league season.
Not only does he own baseball's lowest May batting average and second-lowest OPS (.407), but also the lowest batting average (.157) and second-lowest OPS (.526) on the season. Add in subpar defense (zero DRS, minus-3.3 UZR/150) and you've got a player who probably shouldn't be playing at all.
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Third Base: Pablo Sandoval, Boston Red Sox
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May Stats
91 PA, .198/.242/.314, 4 XBH (1 2B, 3 HR) 6 RBI, 51 wRC+
Overview
Things have gotten so bad for Pablo Sandoval in Boston that the team's $95 million man might stop switch-hitting altogether, given his pronounced struggles against left-handed pitching when batting from the right side (5-for-45, .111 BA).
But those issues are only partially to blame for Sandoval's lack of production in May, which finds him chasing more pitches outside of the strike zone than he typically does while putting the ball on the ground more than half the time he steps to the plate; never a good strategy for someone who lacks speed.
Shortstop: Starlin Castro, Chicago Cubs
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May Stats
116 PA, .227/.259/.282, 4 XBH (3 2B, 1 HR) 12 RBI, 46 wRC+
Overview
With Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo getting most of the attention in Chicago these days, it's easy to overlook that Starlin Castro remains one of the more maddeningly inconsistent players in baseball, both at the plate and in the field.
He's hitting fewer line drives and more ground balls than he has in the past, which helps to explain how no qualified shortstop has posted a lower May OPS than Castro's .540 mark, making him one of only 13 players to post an OPS below .560 for the month, regardless of position.
"We talk, talk, talk. His batting practice is outstanding," manager Joe Maddon told the Chicago Tribune's Mark Gonzales about Castro. "In the game, it's just not there yet. It happens. You've just got to keep talking about it until one day he's going to get that pitch, and he's going to hit it to right-center hard and he's going to stick."
He's been just as erratic in the field, mixing in highlight-reel plays with those that make you shake your head, wondering how he possibly could have made such an egregious mistake.
“I would say the problem mostly with him has been the routine play more than anything else. And I really believe that you can get a major-league-caliber infielder to make the routine play," Maddon told CSN Chicago's Patrick Mooney. "And he’s been doing that for awhile. He’s had a couple of mistakes—I don’t disagree. But for the most part, I’ve been fine with him at shortstop.”
Maddon might be the only one who feels like that, for Castro ranks 24th in DRS (minus-5) and 17th in UZR/150 (minus-5.5) out of 26 qualified shortstops on the season.
Left Field: Hanley Ramirez, Boston Red Sox
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May Stats
100 PA, .226/.280/.333, 6 XBH (4 2B, 2 HR) 4 RBI, 66 wRC+
Overview
Hanley Ramirez doesn't believe his May struggles have anything to do with his surgically repaired left shoulder, the one that he banged into the wall against Tampa Bay earlier in the month. The issue, he told the Boston Herald's Scott Lauber, is how pitchers are attacking him:
"On the black — everything. They watched me the first month. They don’t want me to hurt them. I’ve got a strike zone. Most of the pitches they’ve thrown me inside are balls. I’m not supposed to pull that. I hit it back up the middle, that’s my approach; back up the middle.
If you start opening your front shoulder and keep chasing, I’m not changing my approach. So it is what it is. I’m not getting any mistakes right now. They’re just pounding the black of the plate.
"
While there's something to be said for a player sticking to the approach that has gotten him this far, Ramirez may have no choice but to start changing things up at the plate. Boston can't afford another month where one of its best hitters produces a .613 OPS or a wRC+ that's exactly half his career average.
Among qualified left fielders, only Chicago's Melky Cabrera (40, .514) and Toronto's Kevin Pillar (37, .503) posted a lower wRC+ and OPS than Han-Ram did in May. But neither one carries the superstar tag or expectations that come along with it like Ramirez does, and that's why Han-Ram gets the nod.
Center Field: Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles
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May Stats
114 PA, .239/.272/.284, 3 XBH (2 2B, 1 HR) 7 RBI, 51 wRC+
Overview
Other center fielders might have worse numbers on the month than Adam Jones, but none of them are as essential to their team's success as Jones is to Baltimore's, which makes him the easy selection for this month's All-Dud squad.
He's chasing more pitches than anyone else—the only player swinging at more than 50 percent of the offerings he sees outside the strike zone—and is starting his at-bats in a pitcher's count more often than any other player for the month.
Things only get uglier when you consider the kind of start that Jones got off to in April, when he looked like a legitimate MVP candidate.
| April | 84 | .400 | .440 | .707 | 1.147 | 12 (5) | 19 | 214 |
| May | 114 | .239 | .272 | .284 | .556 | 3 (1) | 7 | 51 |
That's a pretty drastic drop in production across the board, and it helps to explain how the Orioles, owners of one of baseball's most high-octane offenses, have been outscored by five runs and sit two games below .500 in May.
Right Field: Matt Kemp, San Diego Padres
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May Stats
115 PA, .174/.209/.202, 3 XBH (3 2B), 10 RBI, 17 wRC+
Overview
As far as San Diego manager Bud Black is concerned, Matt Kemp's struggles have nothing to do with any physical ailment—it's all mental. "All the guys are sort of pressing, and Matt probably more so than most," Black told the San Diego Union-Tribune's Matt Calkins. "His care factor is high. He has to be the guy. He wants that responsibility."
It's a theory that Kemp partially buys into, telling Calkins "I know how to hit. That's one thing I do know how to do. That's not just something you forget."
What Kemp and the Padres would like to forget is the month of May, which finds Kemp boasting baseball's third-lowest OPS (.411) and with as many home runs as the likes of Dee Gordon, Ben Revere and Eric Sogard—none.
"I've got a lot of time to make up for what I haven't done. I've never really worried about how many home runs I get," Kemp remarked to Calkins. "The main concern for me is winning games."
Designated Hitter: David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox
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May Stats
103 PA, .213/.282/.340, 8 XBH (6 2B, 2 HR), 7 RBI, 63 wRC+
Overview
That Boston has been shut out three times in May should come as no surprise to anyone, considering that three of the team's biggest bats occupy roster spots on our All-Dud team for the month. Of that trio, perhaps nobody is more important to the team's success than David Ortiz.
"I've just been thinking too much and overdoing things," Ortiz told the Providence Journal. "I know this ballclub needs me, and we have a long season ahead. I'm just going to try to pull the best out of this."
One of the team's unquestioned leaders, Ortiz sits at or near the bottom of the monthly designated hitter leaderboards in nearly every offensive category, with only Oakland's Billy Butler producing a lower wRC+ (62) than Big Papi.
You have to go back to September/October 2011 to find a month in which Ortiz accumulated at least 100 plate appearances and failed to drive in at least 10 runs, finishing that month-plus of action with only eight runs driven in.
Starting Pitcher: Mike Leake, Cincinnati Reds
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May Stats
5 GS, 1-3, 6.75 ERA (6.79 FIP), 1.82 WHIP, 28 IP, 41 H, 10 BB, 9 K
Overview
Whatever trade value Mike Leake had built up with a strong start to the season (seven starts, 2.36 ERA, 0.97 WHIP) has all but disappeared thanks to an absolutely brutal three-game slide by the 27-year-old right-hander.
Over his last three starts, Leake has pitched to a 12.86 ERA and 2.50 WHIP. To put those numbers in their proper perspective, Leake has lasted only 14 innings over those three starts, allowing 20 earned runs and 27 hits while the opposition crushed him to the tune of a .415/.479/.738 triple-slash line.
"No. 1, I'm missing over the middle. No. 2, I'm not going with instincts enough," Leake told MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. "I'm going with the standard plan, I guess. I don't know how to word it. It will come. It's three games, but unfortunately it's been three games that I haven't caught on to quick enough. We still have a lot of starts left."
Six of the seven May home runs that he's allowed have come over his last three games, and he's walked more batters than he's struck out, one of only three qualified starters (along with Colorado's Eddie Butler and Cincinnati's Michael Lorenzen) to accomplish the feat this month.
Relief Pitcher: Fernando Rodney, Seattle Mariners
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May Stats
10 G, 1-1, 9.00 ERA, 1.80 WHIP, 10 IP, 14 H, 4 BB, 8 K, 7-of-8 SV
Overview
Despite calls from fans and pundits alike, including the Seattle Times' Larry Stone, for Seattle to replace Fernando Rodney in the ninth inning with Carson Smith, Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon is standing behind his veteran closer.
But should Rodney's June look anything like his May, McClendon will have little choice but to try someone else in the role, for the Mariners can't afford to live as dangerously in the ninth inning as they have with Rodney on the hill.
While he's converted all but one of his eight save opportunities, Rodney has surrendered at least one earned run in seven of his 10 outings on the month, during which opponents have hit .333 with a 1.075 OPS. Only once this month, against Toronto on May 23, has Rodney worked a perfect inning.
A contender needs far more stability in the ninth inning than what Rodney has been able to provide thus far.
Unless otherwise linked/noted, all statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs and are current through games on May 30. All contract information courtesy of Cot's Contracts.
Hit me up on Twitter to talk all things baseball: @RickWeinerBR
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