It seems this week was struggling players week. From the outfield to the middle infield last week, and it would be criminal to not complete the theme that I’m stealing, right? You should give them a click, then keep on reading about four struggling corner infielders.
Freddie Freeman
Freeman is 36, so it’s fair to be predisposed to assume any struggle and regression is age related. He does only have four home runs, all of them off of fastballs. The metrics last year suggested a .268 batting average, but he hit .292. Is he simply regressing to what’s expected?
Probably. Freeman from this vantage point is likely a .270 hitter with mid-teens power. When an older player starts hitting fastballs much better than breaking balls, there is a good possibility he’s guessing. Freeman is doing that right now. I think the reactions have slowed juuuuuuuust a bit here. I would stick with Freeman if you have him, but the end of his Hall of Fame career will look more like this than his previous seasons.
Manny Machado
Another elderly fellow at 33, Machado’s only hitting .180, albeit with a plus-30 home run rate. It’s tempting also to write off Machado as another age-related decline, but not so fast.
The Padre has never been a fast runner or even really tried hard while running. So when he spikes his ground ball rate and loses ground on his fly ball rate, that’s not going to be good for the old batting average. He likely is being pitched to his pull tendency and not adjusting, resulting in lots of wormburners. His swing speed is still solid, and he’s not whiffing more than normal. It seems like he’s in a mechanical rut or making poor swing decisions.
I’d buy Machado if you like every other fantasy manager who is struggling at third base. When the physical profile is still solid, buy on the established player rebounding. Looks like he’s a mechanical adjustment away from a hot streak.
Oh dear. This one isn’t looking so good. There’s nothing going well here at all. In fact, he’s overperforming his metrics! The Giant is driving everything into the ground (37% GB rate after 24% last year), and he never was a speedster. He’ll keep being run out there. The defense is solid, but Chapman is a solid cut candidate here.
On a related note, the Giants are all just a hot mess. The entire team, the vibes are off. Casey Schmitt and Luis Arraez are exceptions, but man, this team is hard to watch right now. Good thing they’re on the opposite coast as me, so I can never stay awake!
I think it’s fair to hope that Soderstrom isn’t a .190 hitter, but here we are on May 19, and that’s the case. It’s not getting better either; the young Athletic is only 2 for his last 23. The problem with Tyler is that he’s spamming fly balls. The launch angle has doubled since last year, and not in a good way. Soderstrom is popping things up instead of solid drives. Likely, this is a tweak away from what we want, but how long to wait?
Soderstrom has been a second half player so far in his career, although his first half this year is his worst in his three-year career. There’s no need to panic on him, but it’s context dependent. If my team were at the bottom of the standings, which, of course, as a lauded fantasy expert, never happens, I’d theoretically be looking to buy low, but of course, I’m never at the bottom of the standings.
That’s the week, everyone! Who else is struggling that you would want to know? Put it in the comments. Also, how about a follow on Twitter or X, @theeducator23?
Contemplating Burger > Vladdy. Vladdy has become a RH version of Arraez, minus about 20-30 points of batting average
Austin Riley?