To begin the season, third base was already looking particularly thin, especially when you looked past the elite tier: Evan Longoria, David Wright, Ryan Zimmerman and even Alex Rodriguez. Interestingly enough, the one thing each member of that quartet has in common is that every one of them has sustained a major injury this year—as defined by time lost to the DL. Longoria was absent from April 3 until May 33, and didn’t hit his first home run until May 7. David Wright hasn’t played now since May 15, after sustaining a [gulp] broken back (speaking of serious injuries). Zimmerman, slowly but surely having his career partially defined by his penchant for injuries was out from the second week of April until June 14, and he’s still hitting just .240 with 5 HR (maybe he’s still not completely healthy). And everyone’s favorite cornerstone, A-Rod, just went on the 15-day DL on July 8 following knee surgery and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks. All that DL time just added injury to insult, making it nearly impossible for fantasy owners to find a productive bat at the hot corner.
One intriguing option entering the year was Pedro Alvarez of the Pittsburg Pirates. The Pirates seemed on the verge of finally improving (and improve they certainly have), but it was believed that Alvarez was going to have to have a big offensive season for that to happen. After hitting 29 home runs between the big leagues and minors in 2010 (16 with Pittsburgh), it seemed like he was ready for a breakout season in 2011. Not counting Jose Bautista (who was ranked as an outfielder), Alvarez seemed as capable of anyone (Mark Reynolds included) to hit 40 bombs while playing third. He hasn’t lived up to his potential. In 36 disappointing big league games this season, Alvarez hit just .208 with two (TWO?!?!?!) home runs. His OBP still sits at a miserable .283, and it took a May 18 home run to finally push his SLG over .300. That translates to a .587 OPS—a clear indication that something (some things, plural) was amiss. In fact, Alvarez has been so bad this year that the Pirates had no recourse but to send him back to AAA following an injury off his own (really, every 3B in baseball has been hurt). That’s where he currently resides, hoping to earn another shot with the perplexingly pugnacious Pirates.
The silver lining, if there is one, is that Alvarez is finally hitting in Indianapolis. In 13 AAA games, Alvarez is hitting .370 with a .444 OBP and .543 SLG—numbers that suggest he’s finally healthy. Granted, it’s just 138 plate appearances, but his 2 home runs, 12 runs, and 10 RBIs are all positive signs. A little more seasoning and he’s almost certain to return to the big club. It’s not like Brandon Wood (talk about failed prospects) and his .209 batting average or .619 OPS present insurmountable obstacles for Alvarez to return. Interestingly enough, a power bat seems to be the one missing ingredient for Pittsburgh to continue their surprising playoff push. They’ve been linked in trade rumors to a few names, including Josh Willingham and Carlos Pena. However, Alvarez might be able to offer a boost with zero cost to the team. The potential cost to fantasy owners would be almost as minimal. It’s not like he not widely available on the waiver wire, and considering the dearth of healthy, productive third basemen, he might not be a terrible speculative add.
No comments:
Post a Comment