Biggest MLB Duds of Week 14, Position by Position

Baseball's unofficial halfway point, the All-Star break, is nearly upon us. But for some players—including current and former participants in the Midsummer Classic—it's arriving a week too late. The week leading up to the festivities was one to forget for a handful of teams and players alike.

While those players undoubtedly welcome the chance to take a step back and recharge their batteries, the time off also affords them the opportunity to overthink things, ensuring that their current funk will continue when the regular season resumes.

Sometimes, the best cure for a slump is to step back into the batter's box and swing away.

Taking both traditional and advanced statistics into consideration, let's take a look at the players who might view some time off as blessing after a woeful Week 14.

Catcher: Russell Martin, Toronto Blue Jays

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Weekly Stats

7 G, 4-for-21 (.190), RBI, 2 BB, 6 K

Overview

It's entirely possible that the wear-and-tear of catching 75 percent of Toronto's games thus far has begun to catch up with Russell Martin, who struggled mightily at the plate last week, mustering only four singles in 23 plate appearances.

"It always affects catchers, I don't care who you are or what time of year it is, that's why it's so tough to be a good hitter as a catcher," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons, who spent parts of two major league seasons (and 11 in the minors) as a catcher, told the Toronto Sun's Mike Rutsey.

"Your body's beat up, your hands are sore, you're constantly thinking about the pitching in between innings. There's a lot of distractions for a catcher, it's always been that way, that's not unusual. He's like everybody else, he'll go through his ups and downs that's just the way the game is."

But truth be told, Martin has been struggling for far longer than a week. Since raising his batting average to .304 on May 19, Martin has barely kept his average above the Mendoza Line, hitting .204 with a .299 on-base percentage and .657 OPS over his last 41 games.

While his defense, game-calling and leadership abilities continue to shine, the Blue Jays were certainly hoping for more consistent production from their $82 million acquisition. 

First Base: Justin Bour, Miami Marlins

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

Weekly Stats

6 G, 4-for-23 (.174), 2 2B, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 8 K

Overview

Two weeks ago, Justin Bour went deep in four consecutive games, a feat that was overshadowed by Texas' Mitch Moreland, who hit a pair of home runs in back-to-back games (and six over a six-game stretch) to end the month of June.

And Moreland was going to be the choice here heading into Saturday's games, but he hit a pair of bombs yet again, overshadowing Bour's 2-for-4 performance in Miami's 14-3 victory over Cincinnati.

Those two hits—a single and a double—accounted for half of Bour's offense on the week, one in which he finished with a .501 OPS (the second-lowest among qualified first basemen) and a 25 wRC+ that ranks as the lowest at the position. 

Second Base: Chris Owings, Arizona Diamondbacks

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Weekly Stats

4 G, 0-for-15 (.000), BB, 6 K

Overview

Over the past seven days, 183 position players qualified for the weekly leaderboard. Only one of them—Arizona's Chris Owings—failed to record a single hit. In fact, were it not for a walk against Texas on July 7, the 23-year-old wouldn't have reached base at all this past week.

Owings hasn't hid the fact that his surgically repaired shoulder still isn't 100 percent and has limited him somewhat at the plate. "It's been an adjustment all season long. I feel like maybe in July or so I'll get better and stronger and it should be good to go," he told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic last month.

Well, July is here, and if last week is any indication, Owings isn't close to being "good to go" for the Diamondbacks. If going without a hit wasn't evidence enough, consider this: His minus-92 wRC+ was easily the lowest in baseball last week and 59 points worse than the next-lowest mark.

Third Base: Todd Frazier, Cincinnati Reds

Lynne Sladky/Associated Press

Weekly Stats

6 G, 4-for-23 (.174), 2B, 2 RBI, 4 K

Overview

Todd Frazier serves as proof that even the best players that baseball has to offer aren't immune to rough patches during the regular season.

Arguably the best third baseman in baseball, Frazier was a non-factor at the plate for Cincinnati last week, mustering only one extra-base hit and finishing in a three-way tie for the third-lowest on-base percentage (.160) with a pair of shortstops, Atlanta's Andrelton Simmons and Baltimore's J.J. Hardy.

As for a reason behind his struggles at the plate, perhaps he was distracted by the news that he'll not only be starting at the hot corner for the National League in Tuesday's All-Star Game, but, according to CBS Sports, that he's the odds-on favorite to win the Home Run Derby on Monday night.

Shortstop: Starlin Castro, Chicago Cubs

Frank Franklin II/Associated Press

Weekly Stats

7 G, 3-for-24 (.125), 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 6 K

Overview

What a difference a year makes. 

At this time last year, we were talking about how Starlin Castro had finally turned a corner and became the player that Chicago hoped he'd become. Now, we're looking at him as possibly part of the problem—and not part of the solution—for the upstart Cubs.

While his minus-7 wRC+ wasn't the week's lowest among qualified shortstops—that honor belonged to Atlanta's Andrelton Simmons (minus-31)—Castro's continued lack of production for a team that desperately needs contributions from its veterans lands him on our weekly All-Dud squad.

To his credit, Castro believes that it's only a matter of time before he breaks out of his season-long funk. 

“You can’t be at .300 in two days or whatever. Just keep grinding it out, and come back in the second half to do the thing that we always do," he told CSN Chicago's Patrick Mooney. “I don’t want to put pressure on myself and try to think about it too much. We have a (wide-open) second half. And I know, in the end, the numbers are going to be there."

Getting the ball off the ground would go a long way toward reaching that goal. Nearly 58 percent of the balls that Castro put in play last week were on the ground, which is right in line with his 56.9 percent groundball rate on the season, easily the highest rate of his career.

Left Field: Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Weekly Stats

4 G, 2-for-16 (.125), 2B, RBI, BB, 2 K

Overview

Josh Hamilton was just starting to get going in late May when a hamstring injury knocked him out of action for nearly the entire month of June. While he's been healthy enough to return to action, the injury is still lingering, as he told reporters recently. 

"I don't think I'm too far off," Hamilton said. "The hamstring feels really good, but it's still there. Each day I'm getting to a level where I can go further and further and further before I feel it. That's the goal right now."

While he only struck out twice last week, Hamilton mustered just two hits en route to posting a minus-9 wRC+, the lone qualified left fielder to finish the week in the negatives. He may no longer be the perennial MVP candidate he once was, but the Rangers need more from him if they're going to end a two-year absence from the postseason.

Center Field: Billy Burns, Oakland Athletics

LM Otero/Associated Press

Weekly Stats

6 G, 5-for-27 (.185), 4 K

Overview

One of the few bright spots in Oakland this season has been the play of Billy Burns. The 25-year-old has established himself as a legitimate threat from the leadoff spot despite, as Baseball Prospectus' Matthew Trueblood recently noted, an overly aggressive approach at the plate.

While that approach has delivered a more-than-respectable .306/.342/.403 slash line on the year, it did nothing to help the 25-year-old last week, as he mustered only five singles in six games and didn't even attempt to take advantage of his plus speed when he did reach base safely.

The only qualified center fielder to record a negative wRC+ last week (minus-3), Burns' .370 OPS was the ninth-lowest in the game, regardless of position.

Right Field: Brandon Moss, Cleveland Indians

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Weekly Stats

7 G, 3-for-22 (.136), 3B, 2 RBI, BB, 11 K

Overview

It's been a mixed bag of results for Brandon Moss in his first season with the Cleveland Indians. While the 31-year-old leads the team in home runs (14) and is tied with Michael Brantley for the lead in RBI (46), he's managed to hit only .221 and is on track to set a new career high in strikeouts.

He did nothing to veer off course from that undesirable career mark last week, striking out a MLB-high 45.8 percent of the time that he stepped to the plate. If that wasn't rough enough, all of Moss' offensive contributions came in the team's first two games of the week. Over their last five, Moss went 0-for-14 with a walk.

Starting Pitcher: Alfredo Simon, Detroit Tigers

Jim Mone/Associated Press

Weekly Stats

2 GS, 1-1, 11.25 ERA, 2.63 WHIP, 8 IP, 18 H, 10 ER, 3 BB, 5 K

Overview

If you're wondering just how far Alfredo Simon has fallen, consider this: After tossing five scoreless innings against Cleveland on June 14, his ERA sat at 2.58. After his most recent start, Saturday against Minnesota, his ERA sits at 4.53, nearly two full runs higher.

He's allowed at least five earned runs in each of his last five starts, a stretch that has seen the opposition hit a robust .416 with a 1.154 OPS against him. That's only slightly better than the numbers opponents have posted over his last two outings, when they hit .439 with a 1.185 OPS.

Detroit manager Brad Ausmus told the Detroit Free Press' Anthony Fenech that removing Simon from the rotation wasn't something he was considering. However, it's hard to imagine the alternative if Simon continues to deliver awful outings like he has over the past month.

Relief Pitcher: Joe Thatcher, Houston Astros

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

Weekly Stats

3 G, 0-1, 27.00 ERA, 7.00 WHIP, 1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 2 K

Overview

While he'd logged only 17.2 innings of work up until last week, Joe Thatcher had been one of Houston's more reliable relievers, pitching to a 2.04 ERA and 1.25 WHIP while holding the opposition to a .575 OPS.

That was up until last week, that is, when things fell apart for the veteran reliever. Seven of the 10 batters that he faced reached base safely, posting a .500/.700/833 slash line, and he needed a total of 46 pitches to record three outs over three games.

Unless otherwise linked/noted, all statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs and are current through July 11.

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