Biggest MLB Duds of Week 12, Position by Position
Spoiler Alert: For the first time in weeks, Prince Fielder does not appear on our All-Dud Team. Texas' husky designated hitter played his way out of consideration. But don't think for a second we don't have any players making another appearance on a team nobody wants to play for.
With summer's official arrival and July 12's All-Star Game drawing ever closer, expectations from most fans are that players should be in midseason form by now. But the athletes who made the cut this week prove that's not true for everyone.
With traditional and advanced statistics in mind, here's a look at the big leaguers who were in a foul mood by the time Week 12's action ended.
Catcher: Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals
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After making only one appearance on the All-Dud team last year—he was a dishonorable mention in Week 22—Yadier Molina has played his way into our starting lineup for the second time in June.
Were it not for a 2-for-4 Saturday performance against Seattle, Molina would have finished the week without a base hit, just as he did in Week 9. While June has never been great for Molina, his .235/.278/.279 triple-slash line is well below his career numbers for the regular season's third full month.
The future Hall of Fame inductee insists he's not hurt or worn down, telling Judah Newby of 750 The Game in Portland, Oregon, that he feels good and has been getting enough time off to stay fresh. While that's a positive thing, it removes a possible explanation for his recent lack of production.
Dishonorable Mention
Jonathan Lucroy (MIL): 5 G, .063 BA (1-for-16), 2 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K
First Base: Adrian Gonzalez, Los Angeles Dodgers
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Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez made waves with a circus catch against Washington last week, but there was nothing entertaining about his performance at the plate. Gonzalez hit .136 (3-for-22) with a .348 OPS and put the ball on the ground nearly 40 percent of the time.
"[This] isn't the new normal" Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times. Roberts added he believes Gonzalez is trying too hard to beat the defensive shifts teams are employing against him.
“He’s always been streaky,” Roberts said. “I have no doubt that he’ll come out of it and slug the way he can.”
Dishonorable Mention
Eric Hosmer (KC): 5 G, .190 BA (4-for-21), 1 BB, 8 K
Second Base: Logan Forsythe, Tampa Bay Rays
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Other second basemen had worse numbers than Logan Forsythe last week. But none put the ball in play less often, making Tampa Bay's keeper of the keystone worthy of a starting nod.
Forsythe struck out 11 times in 30 plate appearances, good for a 36.7 percent whiff rate that not only led all qualified hitters at the position but was one of baseball's 10 highest last week.
That helps explain why he hit .233 (7-for-30) with a .533 OPS, a performance that did nothing to help the Rays snap what has become a 10-game slide.
Dishonorable Mention
Derek Dietrich (MIA): 6 G, .158 BA (3-for-19), 1 RBI, 2 BB, 5 K
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Third Base: Chase Headley, New York Yankees
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Third base was a tough call, as both of the week's worst performers did something significant Wednesday. Texas slugger Adrian Beltre passed Mickey Mantle on the career RBI list, while New York's Chase Headley smacked a grand slam off Colorado starter Jon Gray.
However, Beltre's feat was much more impressive.
And Headley's round-tripper was one of only two hits on the week, as he hit a woeful .111 (2-for-18) with two walks, four strikeouts and a .478 OPS. After hitting .321 with an .834 OPS over the month's first 16 games and carrying a seven-game hit streak into the week, Headley's bat has once again cooled.
Dishonorable Mention
Adrian Beltre (TEX): 6 G, .217 BA (5-for-23), 2 RBI, 1 BB, 4 K
Shortstop: Alexei Ramirez, San Diego Padres
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For Alexei Ramirez, finding success at the plate is all about momentum.
“I’m the type of player that starts slow and then builds,” Ramirez told the San Diego Union-Tribune's Jeff Sanders through an interpreter earlier this month. “It’s a day-by-day thing and the rest takes care of itself.”
That was true to an extent last week, as the 34-year-old turned a three-game hit streak into a five-gamer. But then things fell apart, with Ramirez going 2-for-17 to finish the week hitting .192 (5-for-26) with a .423 OPS.
Performances like that make it less likely other teams will express interest in Ramirez as August 1's non-waiver trade deadline approaches.
Dishonorable Mention
Andrelton Simmons (LAA): 7 G, .200 BA (5-for-25), 1 2B, 1 BB, 3 K
Left Field: Peter O'Brien, Arizona Diamondbacks
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Peter O'Brien has done nothing in his second taste of the big leagues to indicate he'll ever be anything more than an all-or-nothing slugger who swings at anything close to the plate.
So far, the 25-year-old has hit .143 (7-for-49) with four home runs, two walks (one intentional) and 20 strikeouts over 14 games for Arizona. More than half of those strikeouts—11—came last week, when O'Brien hit .160 (4-for-25) with a .502 OPS.
If he had enough plate appearances to qualify for the league leaders, his 39.2 percent strikeout rate on the year would lead all of baseball by a significant margin.
Dishonorable Mention
Robbie Grossman (MIN): 6 G, .174 BA (4-for-23), 1 2B, 3 BB, 6 K
Center Field: Lorenzo Cain, Kansas City Royals
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The good news for Kansas City's Lorenzo Cain is the .412 OPS he posted last week wasn't baseball's worst. The bad news, of course, is he posted a .412 OPS.
Cain struggled against a pair of contenders in the Houston Astros and New York Mets, hitting .176 (3-for-17) with one double, one RBI and a pair of strikeouts. He also grounded into two double plays, finishing the week with a wRC+ of 0, making him 100 percent less productive than an average bat.
Performances like that aren't going to help him climb back into the top three among outfielders in the American League All-Star vote.
Dishonorable Mention
Billy Hamilton (CIN): 6 G, .174 BA (4-for-23), 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 8 K
Right Field: Jason Heyward, Chicago Cubs
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Three months into his Chicago Cubs tenure, Jason Heyward hasn't come close to meeting the expectations that came with the eight-year, $184 million deal—the largest in team history—he signed before the season.
“We all know what I am capable of," Heyward told CBS Sports' Bruce Levine. "They know I want to do well and help the team. The way I have been handled just makes it that much easier to work it out. The one-day-at-a-time approach has always been me. They trust me to come out every day and do my best.”
He wasn't at his best last week, hitting .214 (6-for-28) with one RBI and a .563 OPS.
Dishonorable Mention
Curtis Granderson (NYM): 6 G, .143 BA (3-for-21), 1 2B, 5 BB, 3 K
Designated Hitter: Victor Martinez, Detroit Tigers
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As we noted on the intro slide, Prince Fielder avoided another appearance on our All-Dud squad. But there's still a Fielder connection, as one of his former teammates in Detroit, Victor Martinez, slides in to take his place.
V-Mart failed to record an extra-base hit last week, going 5-for-28 (.185 BA) with a walk and six strikeouts. He received a cortisone shot to help the pain in his right knee earlier this month, according to Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press. Some will point to that as a reason for his ineffectiveness.
But if he's going to be in the lineup, then he's got to contribute. He failed to do that last week.
Dishonorable Mention
Avisail Garcia (CHW): 6 G, .105 BA (2-for-19), 1 RBI, 5 BB, 6 K
Starting Pitcher: Edinson Volquez, Kansas City Royals
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Give Edinson Volquez credit: He stood in front of his locker at Kauffman Stadium and answered questions after Houston tagged him for 12 runs (11 earned) over an inning of work. More than a few pitchers would have hidden in the showers after that kind of performance.
"Everything was in the middle," Volquez told MLB.com's Jeffrey Flanagan and Brian McTaggart. "All my pitches were hanging or going back to the middle. I've been in that situation before. It's not to worry about. I just have to get ready for my next start. Everything was pretty straight. I knew it right away from the get-go. I told [pitching coach] Dave [Eiland], 'I've got nothing.'"
Was it the worst start of the modern era? Elias Sports (via ESPN Stats & Info) noted Volquez is the second pitcher to allow 12 runs in one inning (or less) since the pitcher's mound was moved in 1893.
Dishonorable Mention
Gio Gonzalez (WSH): 2 GS, 0-2, 11.88 ERA, 2.28 WHIP, 8.1 IP, 14 H, 5 BB, 8 K
Relief Pitcher: Jorge Rondon, Pittsburgh Pirates
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Claimed off waivers from Baltimore following last season, Jorge Rondon made his Pittsburgh debut last week. Two relief appearances later, the 28-year-old found himself designated for assignment.
Opponents hit a robust .474 with a 1.289 OPS against him last week, tagging Rondon for nine hits and seven earned runs over 3.2 innings of work. He walked one and struck out four in the process.
Dishonorable Mention
J.J. Hoover (CIN): 2 G, 0-0, 27.00 ERA, 3.00 WHIP, 2 IP, 4 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Unless otherwise noted, all statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com, FanGraphs and MLB.com and are current through games on June 25. All contract information courtesy of Cot's Contracts (via Baseball Prospectus).
Hit me up on Twitter to talk all things baseball: @RickWeinerBR.
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