With the MLB regular season kicking off nearly two months ago, not every player has performed to the standards expected of them. Many have been in a funk for much of the season and can be considered disappointments so far in 2018.
Here is the most disappointing player on each National League team so far this season. The list strictly deals with performances on the field, so players who have been disappointments mainly because of injuries are not included.
To see the most disappointing player on each American League team, click here.
Arizona Diamondbacks
- Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
Goldschmidt has been the runner-up for National League MVP twice and finished third once. So to see a .201 batting average and .380 slugging percentage at this point of the season is mind-boggling. From 2013-17, those numbers were .304 and .543 respectively. He also leads the National League with 68 strikeouts.
Atlanta Braves
- Julio Teheran, SP
The eight-over .500 Braves have arguably been baseball’s biggest surprise. There really hasn’t been any disappointments, but someone needs to be chosen, so it’s Teheran. For the second straight year, the two-time All-Star hasn’t resembled the pitcher who had a 3.33 ERA and 1.15 WHIP from 2013-16. He has a 4.20 ERA in 11 starts in 2018 and has given up 13 earned runs in 17 innings during his three most recent starts.
Chicago Cubs
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
Rizzo has driven in 32 runs, but he has been far from the player who has been a National League MVP contender since 2014. From 2014-17, he had a .910 OPS. In his first 181 plate appearances of 2018, it is just .676. His string of four straight years of at least 30 homers is in jeopardy of ending as he has six at the moment.
Cincinnati Reds
- Billy Hamilton, CF
One would think Hamilton would leg out some infield hits to improve his average due to his speed. That hasn’t been the case though as he is batting just .201 in 2018. He’s struck out in nearly one-third of his plate appearances. The 27-year-old hasn’t been running as much either. He has nine steals so far which is nowhere near the 57.5 he averaged from 2014-17.
Colorado Rockies
- Ian Desmond, 1B
Now in the second year of a five-year/$70 million deal, Desmond has proven to be one of the worst signings in recent memory so far. Last year, injuries limited him to 95 games. He hit .274 with just seven homers and also wasn’t very adept in the outfield. He’s moved mostly to first base this year, but the offense has gotten substantially worse. He does have eight home runs but is hitting .173 with a .224 on-base percentage. The 32-year-old is a three-time Silver Slugger with the Nationals.
Los Angeles Dodgers
- Yasiel Puig, RF
While Puig hasn’t approached the .305 average from his first two years in 2013-14, he still hit .263 with a career-high 28 home runs last year.
It has been a slow start for the 27-year-old in 2018 as he is hitting just .217 with five home runs. He currently has career-lows across the board in batting average, on-base percentage (.287), and slugging percentage (.380).
Miami Marlins
- Lewis Brinson, CF
Out of all the young players that the Marlins acquired in the offseason while trading away many of their more established players, Brinson brought the most hype. He was the 18th-ranked prospect according to Baseball America entering 2018 and has hit .349 in 470 plate appearances at Triple-A. He has struggled mightily with Miami so far though batting .156 with just eight walks and 60 strikeouts.
Milwaukee Brewers
- Orlando Arcia, SS
Arcia had a nice season in 2017 with the Brewers, his first as their everyday shortstop.
He batted .277, hit 15 homers, stole 14 bases, and provided stellar defense. The defense has still been there, but his offensive stupor got him sent down to the minors on Friday. In 146 plate appearances, his batting average is below the Mendoza Line at .194 with a very low slugging percentage of .273.
New York Mets
- Jason Vargas, SP
Since coming back from injury, Vargas has made only five starts, but they were abysmal. His ERA is 10.62, even though he had a five-inning scoreless start against the Marlins. In his other four starts, he has pitched 15.1 innings and given up 24 earned runs, 32 hits, and nine walks. Not the start that the Mets envisioned when they handed him a two-year/$16 million deal in the offseason.
Philadelphia Phillies
- Rhys Hoskins, LF
Hoskins took the baseball world by storm in his first taste of big league action in 2017. He hit 18 homers in just 170 at bats and had an OPS of 1.014. He does own a .374 on-base percentage this year, but his batting average sits at just .240. He has one-third the number of home runs he hit last season with six in just three less at bats. There are times when he looks like a liability in the outfield as well.
Pittsburgh Pirates
- Ivan Nova, SP
Nova started Opening Day for the Pirates but hasn’t exactly pitched like an ace thus far. In 11 starts, he is 2-5 with a 4.96 ERA. It has been a dismal May for the 31-year-old. In five starts this month, he is 0-4 with a 7.61 ERA while allowing opposing hitters to bat .355 off him.
San Diego Padres
- Manuel Margot, CF
Margot was impressive last season for the Padres as he finished sixth in National League Rookie of the Year voting. He hit .263, clubbed 13 homers, stole 17 bases, and provided excellent range out in center field. He is off to a miserable start though in 2018. The 23-year-old is hitting just .204, only walked seven times (struck out 32), and has just one homer which came all the way back on April 5.
San Francisco Giants
- Jeff Samardzija, SP
It was just last season that Samardzija allowed the least walks per nine innings in the entire National League (1.4). Somehow, that number has skyrocketed to six in his first seven starts of 2018. He has given up 24 earned runs in 34.2 innings for an ugly 6.23 ERA.
St. Louis Cardinals
- Dexter Fowler, RF
Kolten Wong or Marcell Ozuna could go here as well, but they aren’t paid quite as much as Fowler. In the second year of a five-year/$82.5 million contract, the 32-year-old is hitting .157. That is not a typo. After posting two of the three best OPS marks of his career at .840 in 2016 and .851 in 2017, it has dropped precipitously to .564 in 2018.
Washington Nationals
- Ryan Zimmerman, 1B
After a couple down years, Zimmerman rebounded nicely with an All-Star season in 2017 that resulted in his 20th-place finish in National League MVP voting. He’s back to having a disappointing year in 2018 hitting .217 with five homers. He is currently on the disabled list with a back ailment and has no timetable as to when he will return.
