We asked our friends from the Pirates blog: Raise the Jolly Roger to give us a scouting report on the newly acquired Adam LaRoche. Here’s the report:
Adam LaRoche: Bats L / Throws L / Age 29 / 6-3 / 203 lbs/ stats
Bat:
Until this season, Adam would routinely start off the season in a miserable slump, then turn things on in the second half so much that his numbers would make him appear like a league-average first baseman. That never helped the Pirates, though, because for the Bucs pretty much every game after Memorial Day is irrelevant. This year, although he wasn’t as awful in April and May, LaRoche hasn’t gotten hot yet. He’s a streaky hitter with a big long, loopy swing that will drive you Red Sox fans nuts at times–and other times he makes it look remarkably easy to drive the ball out of the park. His pitch selection and approach often make no sense at all (the other day, with the Bucs down 1 in the 8th, he hit into an inning ending DP on a 3-0 pitch), but he usually still takes his fair share of walks.
Glove:
I’ve seen some talk today about Adam playing poor defense–ignore it. He’s a very good defensive first baseman. LaRoche is certainly not fleet of foot, but he makes picks with ease, is very reliable on routine plays, and can still dazzle you with the occasional diving stop.
Other:
LaRoche can be a strange character. He rarely shows any emotion, leading some to believe he may not be hustling or may not care about the game. All accounts from within the team (obviously) are that it’s false, but I figured I’d throw it out there. He does have a history with ADD for what it’s worth. Oh, and he’s ridiculously obsessed with hunting.
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