Hitters Ranked 12th Through 1st
Wrong Time For a Down Year
Brian Dozier‘s trip into free agency this winter was always going to be tricky, regardless of his 2018 performance. Unfortunately for him, though, his overall numbers won’t help the 31-year-old get the kind of contract he was probably envisioning over the last couple years.
He did put together his fifth straight season of 20-plus homers, but paired it with his lowest wRC+ (90) and fWAR (0.8) since becoming a starter for the Minnesota Twins in 2013. We’ve also gotten used to watching the second baseman go absolutely bonkers in the second half, but that didn’t happen this past year. Dozier was already struggling through a mediocre season by the All-Star break, but posted just a 72 wRC+ with a .139 ISO and five homers during the final two-and-a-half months.
It is worth noting that his .240 BABIP was uncharacteristically low. While that number has never been super high, Dozier posted marks of .261, .280, and .300 in the three years leading up to 2018. His line-drive rate did take a dip, but his 37.3% hard-hit rate was actually a career high.
Yadi Still Holding Strong
No matter how old some dudes get, they always seem to find a way to be productive. Yadier Molina appears to have a knack for that, as he posted just his second season of 20-plus homers (first since 2012). He also hit 18 dingers in 2017, making that the second occurrence in which he’s had double-digit homers in consecutive seasons (2011-13 was the other).
Similar to Dozier, Molina’s quality of contact has hit another level. The only month of 2018 where his hard-hit rate was below 42.0% was September, and it was still 37.4%. He also paired that with a 38.9% ground-ball rate, a career-best mark.
Signs Of The Old Ozuna
After a career year with the Miami Marlins, it made sense for the organization to sell high on Marcell Ozuna, which is exactly what they did last winter. Unfortunately for the St. Louis Cardinals, their slugger’s new beginning didn’t start all that great.
Through May 31st (212 plate appearances), Ozuna slashed just .208/.306/.337 with three homers and 20 RBI, leading to a 78 wRC+. But it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish, and the 28-year-old’s final four months (416 plate appearances) looked more like the slugger St. Louis thought it acquired. He hit .290/.334/.482 with 20 homers and 65 RBI during this span, which was good for a 120 wRC+.
Ozuna’s performance against a number of pitches changed from one year to the next, but his power potential against two-seam fastballs really stands out. After posting a 238 wRC+ and .358 ISO against the offering in 2017, those numbers dropped to 133 and .044 in 2018.
About Matt Musico
Matt Musico currently manages Chin Music Baseball and contributes to The Sports Daily. His past work has been featured at numberFire, Yahoo! Sports and Bleacher Report. He’s also written a book about how to become a sports blogger. You can sign up for his email newsletter here.
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