Johnny Giavotella won the Royal Rumble of uninspiring second base options last spring and became the Angels’ primary man at the keystone in 2015. The Magic Cajun Elf quickly ingratiated himself among Angel fans with his knack for picking up clutch base hits. Despite being one of the poorer defensive second basemen in baseball, Giavotella provided roughly league-average offense and was worth 1.1 fWAR in 129 games. For years we had been spoiled by Howie Kendrick’s consistently above average play at the position, but Johnny G was good enough to avoid being the scapegoat for the team’s failure to reach the postseason—that blame falls at the feet of the left field position.
Still, it’s hard to be excited at the prospect of Giavotella starting 155 games for a hopeful pennant contender. Second base wasn’t a position of need the way third base was and left field is, but in a perfect offseason Billy Eppler would have been able to find a small upgrade over Giavotella. Maybe that player doesn’t exist or maybe that player was too expensive, financially or draft pick compensation-wise. The Angels at least have contingency plans in place if Giavotella’s play craters in 2016, and Mike Scioscia stated there will be competition for the everyday job at second—though given Johnny G’s success in big moments and his scrappygrithustle that endeared him to fans and (likely) coaches, it would be a bit of a surprise if he wasn’t in the lineup against Jake Arrieta on April 4. Giavotella is still only 28 years old and never got much of a chance in Kansas City; improvement is not out of the question.
Position: 2B | Age (2016): 28
Bats: R | Throws: R
Height: 5’8″ | Weight: 185
2015 WAR: 1.0
2015 in a Tweet
Giavotella had a .351 batting average in 63 high-leverage plate appearances. That’s better than Trout, Calhoun, Pujols, and everyone other than C.J. Cron.
2016 Projections
[table id=167 /]The projection systems see a small dip in production for Giavotella, though all agree he’ll end up just shy of 1.0 on their WAR model. If Giavotella is the everyday starter, though, these projections should be taken with a grain of salt because they don’t see Johnny G playing the whole season. That’s with good reason, as 129 games last year was by far the most playing time he’s ever received. If Giavotella starts, say, 150 games this year and maintains the same rates the projections believe he will, then he’ll be back to roughly a one-win player, if not a little better. As long as the rest of the roster performs up to snuff that type of production won’t sink their chances of contending.
Some built-in regression should be expected for Giavotella this year, though. His excellence in high leverage last year can largely be attributed to a .432 BABIP. Giavotella can’t hit that well in the clutch again. And if he does he might really be a Magic Cajun Elf.
Spray Chart
Any home run is a bonus. To his credit Giavotella does a nice job slapping singles up the middle and to right field: taking what the pitcher gives him, as the cliche goes.
Giavotella would be better served to cut down on as many fly balls as possible. He has good speed and can rack up some infield singles, as the spray chart shows. When he hits the ball in the air, it’s almost always an out. Kill some worms, Johnny.
Zone Profile
That’s a lot of, if not red, then at least purple on the chart in the right. “Not great but not terrible” could go on Johnny Giavotella’s tombstone.
Giavotella only struck out in 11.8% of his plate appearances last season; if he puts the ball in play there’s at least a chance for a base hit. Relative to other teams the Angels don’t strike out much anyway, but if the Royals are the way of the future—that is, putting the ball in play as much as possible—then it doesn’t hurt to have a player like Giavotella, especially when he’s not particularly prone to grounding into double plays. He is a former Royal, after all.
Fun Fact
Giavotella hails from Metairie, Louisiana, the same hometown as comedian/TV host/talking fish Ellen DeGeneres. Ellen films her talk show in Burbank. How about an on-air Metairie reunion? They can talk about the Saints and stuff.
What to Watch For
If Giavotella struggles in April, how long of a leash will Scioscia give him? We know Scioscia has a tendency to give veterans a long time to work through struggles, sometimes maddeningly so. But will Scioscia give Giavtoella the same benefit of the doubt? Unlike last season, the Angels have options to fill in the hole at second base. Cliff Pennington could take the bulk of the playing time or they could move Yunel Escobar to second and let Kyle Kubitza or Kaleb Cowart have a shot at third base.
This could all be a moot point because…
A Bold Prediction
…Giavotella is going to prove himself to be a league-average player. Not sexy, but a bargain at his salary. He can’t possibly hit as well in the clutch this season, but he’ll make up for that lost production in other ways, via better offense in non-high leverage situations, more stolen bases, and defense that is not apocalyptic. And if the baseball thing doesn’t work out, he can always maintain a lucrative career living in a tree and making cookies. A win-win for him, really.
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Previous Previews: Yunel Escobar; Kole Calhoun; Mike Trout; Albert Pujols; C.J. Cron; Daniel Nava; Carlos Pérez
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