Whether you are a baseball purist or just a fantasy nerd, fans recognize the importance of getting on base. Some of the best paid players, top all-star candidates and biggest names in Major League Baseball did in incredibly poor job of Hitting last week. Here is a list of the bottom eight hitters according to MLB.com.
Colorado right fielder Carlos Gonzalez is a career .287 hitter and he has blasted more than 200 dingers. He was an all-star in 2016—for the third time. Gonzalez was hitless in 24 tries between June 7 and June 13.
One hit wonders
Cleveland’s Carlos Santana is next on the list.
The first baseman hit a career-high 34 homers last year pushing the Indians to the American League flag. He has blasted 85 or more RBI in each of the past three seasons. Santana batted a solid one-for-19 last week.
Toronto catcher Russel Martin has had some neck problems and his hitting is suffering. His stroke has not recovered from a trip to the dl. Martin was one-for-13. The Red’s Billy Hamilton leads the National League in stolen bases with 28. He did not add to the total last week as Hamilton went two-for-26. He and Martin hit .077 for the period.
Twice as good
Cincinnati’s Zack Cozart is in the midst of a career-year. He is batting .324 with an OPS of .982 as of this writing. He leads National League shortstops in all-star game balloting.
Cozart—a career .250 hitter—may have since his batting return to normal last week when he was two-of-23. Another SS, Seattle’s Taylor Motter, was a hair more proficient collecting a pair of hits in only 22 chances.
The Mets waited for Lucas Duda to return from dl to get back to the lineup. The first baseman had a horrid 2016, but showed plenty of power potential before then.
Duda was hitting well—nine doubles and 10 homers—before his most injury stint. He’s back. Duda went two-for-21 last week. One of his hits was out of the park and the other was a two-bagger.
The list closes with veteran Carlos Beltran of the Astros. Listed as a dh for the club, more than 600,000 all-star voters have given the 40-year-old a nod for the outfield.
Beltran’s numbers are down this year, but nothing like his recent drought. The future Hall-of-Famer hit just two-for-21 last week.
The preceding listed is just players who hit less than .100 for a week in June. Former All-Star Troy Tulowitzki had a pair of hits in 20 tries. Brewers’ first baseman Eric Thames, like Duda, hit a double and homer in 19 at bats. Chisox rookie Ian Happ has some power, but no patience. He also batted two-for-10, but Happ stuck out 10 times, like Duda. Finally, Baltimore’s Chris “Crush” Davis hit .105 with a bases empty bomb during the span.
