The All-Star Game, the annual celebration of the best players in baseball, is rapidly approaching. You know about those guys and the successes they’ve had in 2014. But what about the guys who are struggling? Let’s take a look at what we’ll call the Anti-All Star team, the worst everyday players in baseball so far this year.
Two important notes to remember as you read this … First, this isn’t Sporting News opinion. This is strictly a by-the-numbers position-by-position look at the worst everyday players in baseball, using Fangraphs.com’s WAR calculation. WAR isn’t a perfect metric, but it’s considered the best way to look at a player’s complete overall contribution (hitting/fielding/base running/etc.).
And, second: We are not saying these are the worst players in baseball. The worst players in the majors don’t see the field very often. We’re only looking at hitters who have enough at-bats to qualify for the batting average title AND have started at least 75 percent of the team’s games at the given position (except at catcher, where only a handful of players meet both standards because of the physical nature of the position), starting pitchers who have enough innings to qualify for the ERA crown and relievers with at least 30 innings. These guys are good enough — or paid enough money — to warrant consistent playing time.
All stats are through Wednesday’s games, and all WAR references are FanGraphs unless specifically noted as the Baseball-Reference calculation.
1B Eric Hosmer, Royals
WAR (and other stats): minus-0.3 WAR, .260/.310/.366, five homers, 39 RBIs, .106 ISO
Starts at 1B: 90 of Kansas City’s 90 games
2014 salary: $3.6 million (first year of arbitration)
Offensively, Hosmer has taken a giant step back in his fourth season in the majors. How big of a step back? Consider that his 2014 on-base percentage (.310) is way too similar to his 2013 batting average (.302), and after belting 17 homers in 2013, he has just five in 2014. Hosmer is still very much a part of Kansas City’s plans for the future, but the Royals need more production at a premium offensive position to be a true contender.
Worth a mention: Nick Swisher’s -0.9 WAR ranks 158th of 160 qualifying players, but he struggled so much that he lost his starting role at first base and doesn’t hit our “75 percent of starts at a position” mark for this list. Swisher, who’s in the second year of a four-year, $56 million contact (with a vesting option for 2017), is batting .202 with a .625 OPS.
2B Aaron Hill, Diamondbacks
WAR (and other stats): minus-0.5 WAR, .241/.276/.355, six homers, .278 wOBA
Starts at 2B: 80 of Arizona’s 93 games
2014 salary: $11 million (first year of a three-year, $35 million contract)
Few people would have predicted Hill’s struggles this year. He hit 26 homers with a .302 average for Arizona in 2012, then .291 with 11 homers in 87 games in a 2013 season shortened by a broken hand. But Hill’s struggles at the plate this year have mirrored the Diamondbacks’ overall struggles, and he finds himself very much on the trade block. Maybe a change of scenery — he’s been linked to Toronto, where he started his career — would be good for Hill.
Worth a mention: Jonathan Schoop has started 57 games at second and 14 at shortstop for Baltimore, and he’s done well with the glove. At the plate, though, he’s hitting .221 and has drawn only seven walks all season.
SS Everth Cabrera, Padres
WAR (and other stats): minus-1.0, .218/.256/.290, three homers, .245 wOBA
Starts at SS: 80 of San Diego’s 91 games
2014 salary: $2.45 million (second year of arbitration)
Cabrera led the NL with 44 stolen bases in 2012 and was an All-Star in 2013. This year started well (.284 average through the end of April), but he hit .216 in May and .133 in June before landing on the disabled list with a hamstring issue on July 2. His success on the base paths has pretty much disappeared, too. In 2012, he was 44-for-48 in stolen base attempts (91.7 percent), but this year he was just 13-for-20 (65 percent) before he was hurt.
Worth a mention: Jean Segura was one of 2013’s breakthrough stars; he had 12 homers, 10 triples and 44 stolen bases while hitting .294 for the Brewers. This year, he’s at .232 and is just 15-for-23 in stolen base attempts.
3B Matt Dominguez, Astros
WAR (and other stats): -0.1 WAR, .235/.284/.369, 11 homers, .288 wOBA
Starts at 3B: 88 of Houston’s 93 games
2014 salary: $501,100 (not eligible for arbitration until 2016)
The Astros might have issues when it comes to grinding back toward being a contender, but Dominguez isn’t one of them, despite his spot on this list. There are just plenty of good full-time third baseman out there this year. Dominguez has an excellent glove at the hot corner, and he’s hit 32 home runs over the past two seasons. In his age 24 season on a rebuilding squad, Houston isn’t too worried.
Worth a mention: By Baseball-Reference’s WAR calculation, Chris Johnson of the Braves easily takes this spot, with a minus-1.2 mark. He has just three homers and a walk percentage of just 2.8 percent.
OF Domonic Brown, Phillies
WAR (and other stats): minus-1.1, .224/.275/.326, six homers, .263 wOBA
Starts in OF: 77 of Philadelphia’s 91 games (all LF)
2014 salary: $550,000 (eligible for arbitration this offseason)
Like Everth Cabrera, Brown went from an All-Star in 2013 (27 homers, .818 OPS) to one of the least productive players in baseball in 2014. His walk and strikeout percentages are almost identical this season, but his power is way down, from an ISO of .222 last year (18th in MLB) to just .102 this year (that’s 134th). Brown’s WAR is the worst of any player with a qualifying number of at-bats (same for his Baseball-Reference WAR of -1.5).
Worth a mention: Last year, Gerardo Parra had a 4.5 WAR for the Diamondbacks; this year, he’s at -0.3.
OF Torii Hunter, Tigers
WAR (and other stats): minus-0.8, .271/.294/.444, 11 homers, 3.0 walk percentage
Starts in OF: 68 of Detroit’s 87 games (all in RF)
2014 salary: $14 million (final year of two-year, $26 million contract)
Once upon a time, Torii Hunter was considered the best defensive center fielder in baseball. He won nine consecutive Gold Gloves at the position for the Twins and Angels, but in his age 38 season, that time has passed. Defensive metrics aren’t perfect, of course, but his UZR/150 of -34.1 ranks 57th of 59 qualifying outfielders this year. And at the plate, that .293 on-base percentage is way below his career average of .335 heading into 2014.
Worth a mention: Much like Hunter, Matt Kemp has been OK at the plate, but his WAR is dragged way down by defensive woes; his UZR/150 is -36.8, one spot worse than Hunter.
OF Nate Schierholtz, Cubs
WAR (and other stats): minus-0.4, .208/.255/.321, five homers, .256 wOBA
Starts in OF: 68 of Chicago’s 90 games (all in RF)
2014 salary: $5 million (free agent after this season)
Schierholtz was a pleasant surprise for the Cubs last year, popping 21 home runs after signing a one-year deal as a free agent. This season, not so much. He hit .217 in April, .202 in May, .195 in June and is at .240 through eight games in July. His strikeout rate (22.1 percent of plate appearances) is easily a career worst, too.
Worth a mention: The Indians gave David Murphy a two-year, $12 million deal (with a club option for 2016) to be their regular right fielder. That hasn’t worked out so far; his -0.3 WAR is the worst of his career.
C Tyler Flowers, White Sox
WAR (and other stats): 0.0 WAR, .220/.278/.306. five homers, 37.5 strikeout percentage
Starts at C: 73 of Chicago’s 92 games
2014 salary: $950,000 (first year of arbitration)
Flowers was the White Sox’s starting catcher for the first half of 2013, but lost that role. Could another swap be coming soon? His .220 batting average is actually above his career average (.200 in 192 games over parts of five seasons), but his .306 slugging percentage is well below that already-bad career average of .372. He’s struck out 100 times in 76 games, and has only 11 extra-base hits (five homers, six doubles).
Worth a mention: A.J. Pierzynski was brought into Boston on a one-year free-agent deal to provide veteran production/presence at catcher; he was cut loose this week with a 0.1 WAR. And apparently his teammates weren’t sad to see him go.
DH Billy Butler, Royals
WAR (and other stats): minus-0.8, .272/.325/.346, two homers, .073 ISO, .298 wOBA
Starts at DH: 84 of Kansas City’s 85 games in AL parks
2014 salary: $8 million (final year of four-year, $30 million contract; club holds a $12.5 million option for 2015, with a $1 million buyout)
Butler has been a regular in K.C.’s lineup, at first base or DH, since 2009, and he averaged 20 homers to go with a .302 average and .841 OPS in his previous five seasons. This year, he has two home runs. In the majors this year, 282 players have hit at least three home runs. Cubs pitcher Travis Wood has two homers this season, in only 40 at-bats. Remember, Butler’s lone job is to hit; he has not played a single inning in the field this season. With career lows across the board, his days in K.C. are numbered.
Worth a mention: The Astros want Chris Carter to hit home runs, and he has 17 of them. That .198 average, though, isn’t pretty.
SP Marco Estrada, Brewers
WAR (and other stats): minus-0.9, 18 starts, 107 innings, 4.96 ERA, 5.71 FIP, 2.27 HR/9
2014 salary: $3.325 million (second year of arbitration)
Estrada’s primary problem is a tendency to give up home runs. Maybe “tendency” is too nice of a word. He’s allowed 27 this year, and no other pitcher in all of baseball has given up more than 19. Aside from the long ball, Estrada has been decent (7.7 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, 8.5 H/9), but those can’t be ignored.
Worth a mention: Clay Buchholz doesn’t have enough innings to qualify, but he does have the worst Baseball-Reference WAR of any starting pitcher (-1.4) with at least 70 innings. His ERA is 6.11, and his FIP is 5.10.
SP Eric Stults, Padres
WAR (and other stats): minus-0.9, 19 starts, 99 1/3 inn, 4.98 ERA, 5.20 FIP, 10.9 H/9
2014 salary: $2.75 million (first year of arbitration)
In this case, Stults’ record (3-11) matches his other numbers. He’s second to Estrada in home runs allowed at 19 (tied with David Price), and has recorded just six quality starts (at least six innings, three or fewer earned runs allowed) in his 19 starts. On the positive side, he’s been better lately (3.07 ERA in his past five starts).
Worth a mention: Matt Cain is a few innings short of qualifying status in what’s been a rough year for him. He’s posting career worsts for the Giants in FIP (4.56), ERA (4.18), K/9 (6.97) and HR/9 (1.30).
SP Shelby Miller, Cardinals
WAR (and other stats): minus-0.2, 18 starts, 104 innings, 4.15 ERA, 4.73 FIP, 4.33 BB/9
2014 salary: $521,000 (not eligible for arbitration until 2016)
Miller has done a decent job of stranding runners (76.4 left-on-base percentage is 29th among qualifying starters), but he’s allowing way to many of them to get on base (153 by hit/walk/HBP in 104 innings). At some point, something’s gotta give, and if his strikeout-to-walk ratio of 1.44 — which is 94th of 95 qualifying pitchers — is any indication, it might not be pretty.
Worth a mention: Roberto Hernandez avoided Miller’s spot with eight solid innings Wednesday night, but his K/BB ratio of 1.37 is the only one worse than Miller’s.
RP Sergio Romo, Giants
WAR (and other stats): minus-0.8, 34 2/3 innings, 5.19 ERA, 5.13 FIP, five blown saves
2014 salary: $6.3 million (including performance bonuses earned in 2013; last year of two-year, $9 million extension)
Romo’s 2014 struggles have been surprising. From 2010-13, as the setup man and then closer in San Francisco, Romo was arguably the most reliable reliever in baseball, with a 2.03 ERA and 6.37 K/BB ratio in those four years. After a good start to 2014, though, Romo lost his closer’s job with an awful 16-appearance stretch during which he had a 9.00 ERA and blew five of his 15 save opportunities.
Worth a mention: It’s been a rough season for Ernesto Frieri. He had a 6.39 ERA and lost his closer’s job with the Angels, then was traded to Pittsburgh, where he has a 14.73 ERA in five appearances. His overall WAR is -0.5.