With a little more than a month into the season, we're at a point where "it's still early" is becoming less and less of a valid argument. Victor Martinez has gotten off to a very slow start and is only hitting .220/.277/.297 with 1 HR and a 55 OPS+. Meanwhile Jhonny Peralta is having a nice bounce-back season hitting .298/.339/.404 with 2 HR and a 99 OPS+. It appears that V-Mart has picked it up lately hitting .279/.273/.442 over his last 10 games, but Jhonny has kept pace hitting .275/.311/.400 over his last 10 games. The level of competition should also be factored in too as the Tigers just finished a 4-game sweep of the lowly Houston Astros.
Against other 5th place hitters, the Tigers are 23rd in MLB:
Rk | G | GS | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | sOPS+ | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | BAL | 35 | 33 | 138 | 114 | 22 | 35 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 37 | .307 | .399 | .675 | 1.074 | 187 |
2 | CLE | 32 | 30 | 127 | 108 | 21 | 33 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 29 | .306 | .402 | .537 | .939 | 155 |
3 | COL | 32 | 32 | 140 | 128 | 20 | 41 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 23 | .320 | .371 | .539 | .910 | 146 |
4 | OAK | 39 | 34 | 152 | 129 | 26 | 37 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 19 | 33 | .287 | .384 | .481 | .865 | 136 |
5 | KCR | 29 | 29 | 121 | 109 | 14 | 36 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 13 | .330 | .380 | .468 | .848 | 131 |
6 | ARI | 35 | 33 | 147 | 134 | 18 | 42 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 27 | .313 | .367 | .463 | .830 | 126 |
7 | SFG | 35 | 33 | 140 | 130 | 16 | 36 | 10 | 1 | 6 | 19 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 27 | .277 | .321 | .508 | .829 | 123 |
8 | LAA | 33 | 32 | 143 | 135 | 15 | 43 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 33 | .319 | .357 | .467 | .823 | 124 |
9 | BOS | 34 | 33 | 139 | 118 | 17 | 27 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 23 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 45 | .229 | .338 | .483 | .821 | 122 |
10 | TEX | 34 | 33 | 137 | 125 | 15 | 32 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 21 | .256 | .321 | .496 | .817 | 120 |
11 | NYY | 39 | 31 | 129 | 110 | 18 | 24 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 19 | .218 | .333 | .473 | .806 | 118 |
12 | TBR | 42 | 32 | 133 | 124 | 15 | 37 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 23 | .298 | .346 | .452 | .797 | 117 |
13 | LAD | 45 | 32 | 135 | 116 | 7 | 32 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 16 | .276 | .378 | .405 | .783 | 116 |
14 | HOU | 36 | 33 | 139 | 121 | 22 | 27 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 37 | .223 | .317 | .455 | .771 | 109 |
15 | PHI | 42 | 34 | 136 | 121 | 12 | 32 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 26 | .264 | .338 | .413 | .751 | 105 |
16 | STL | 40 | 32 | 132 | 126 | 11 | 40 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 18 | .317 | .348 | .389 | .737 | 102 |
17 | CHC | 42 | 33 | 136 | 125 | 17 | 30 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 17 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 24 | .240 | .289 | .440 | .729 | 96 |
18 | PIT | 40 | 32 | 132 | 112 | 8 | 26 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 20 | .232 | .348 | .357 | .706 | 95 |
19 | MIL | 45 | 31 | 127 | 112 | 17 | 24 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 27 | .214 | .299 | .384 | .683 | 86 |
20 | WSN | 34 | 32 | 128 | 117 | 12 | 26 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 32 | .222 | .281 | .376 | .657 | 78 |
21 | MIA | 34 | 34 | 144 | 136 | 15 | 31 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 34 | .228 | .266 | .382 | .648 | 75 |
22 | SDP | 39 | 33 | 139 | 120 | 9 | 29 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 36 | .242 | .331 | .317 | .648 | 80 |
23 | DET | 35 | 30 | 139 | 125 | 10 | 30 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 14 | .240 | .302 | .328 | .630 | 73 |
24 | CIN | 35 | 34 | 153 | 143 | 18 | 34 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 52 | .238 | .288 | .336 | .623 | 71 |
25 | ATL | 39 | 32 | 135 | 126 | 16 | 26 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 42 | .206 | .252 | .365 | .617 | 67 |
26 | MIN | 29 | 29 | 122 | 108 | 13 | 21 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 30 | .194 | .279 | .296 | .575 | 58 |
27 | NYM | 45 | 29 | 124 | 112 | 15 | 20 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 35 | .179 | .242 | .330 | .572 | 55 |
28 | CHW | 39 | 31 | 127 | 119 | 9 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 30 | .193 | .244 | .303 | .547 | 49 |
29 | SEA | 36 | 34 | 143 | 130 | 10 | 24 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 40 | .185 | .252 | .292 | .544 | 49 |
30 | TOR | 36 | 34 | 138 | 124 | 11 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 42 | .161 | .246 | .226 | .472 | 31 |
TOT | 1110 | 964 | 4075 | 3657 | 449 | 918 | 195 | 19 | 121 | 482 | 45 | 16 | 356 | 885 | .251 | .321 | .414 | .735 | 100 |
What about run production? Peralta doesn't have the reputation of driving in runs as Victor Martinez does and the 5th spot in the order kinda demands
run production. So far this year with runners in scoring position:
After
Miguel Cabrera
, Peralta has the 3rd highest OPS among regular starters (and
Austin Jackson
isn't going to be moved out of the lead-off spot any time soon). Now I don't believe he can keep it up, but Peralta is currently 350 points higher in OPS
than Victor Martinez in run producing situations. It only makes sense to put him in a better position in the batting order to take advantage of this, even
if only temporary.
Temporary is the key word here. We're only talking 33 and 45 PA respectively. That's a small sample and time will stabilize it. Peralta is a career
.273/.350/.432 hitter with runners in scoring position while V-Mart is a career .316/.403/.462 hitter with runners in scoring position. However it should
be noted that Martinez missed all of the 2012 season due to injury and may never be the hitter he once was.
Speaking of career numbers, Peralta hasn't historically been a good #5 hitter:
Tonight the Tigers play in a National League park for the first time this year, and so will be without a DH and Victor Martinez. Someone else will be hitting 5th, most likely either Andy Dirks or Jhonny Peralta. Maybe they should think about making it more permanent, at least until Victor Martinez shows that he's the Victor Martinez of old again.
Rk | G | PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | sOPS+ | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Miguel Cabrera | 25 | 54 | 43 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 | .535 | .611 | .837 | 1.448 | 293 |
2 | Matt Tuiasosopo | 6 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .400 | .400 | .900 | 1.300 | 247 |
3 | Austin Jackson | 19 | 26 | 21 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | .286 | .423 | .619 | 1.042 | 182 |
4 | Jhonny Peralta | 21 | 33 | 25 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | .360 | .438 | .520 | .958 | 162 |
5 | Prince Fielder | 23 | 47 | 38 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 8 | .237 | .340 | .526 | .867 | 134 |
6 | Torii Hunter | 21 | 34 | 31 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | .290 | .353 | .290 | .643 | 78 |
7 | Victor Martinez | 25 | 45 | 37 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | .216 | .311 | .297 | .608 | 67 |
8 | Omar Infante | 19 | 27 | 24 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | .250 | .296 | .292 | .588 | 62 |
9 | Andy Dirks | 13 | 24 | 20 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | .250 | .304 | .250 | .554 | 53 |
10 | Don Kelly | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .250 | .250 | .250 | .500 | 37 |
11 | Brayan Pena | 6 | 12 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .083 | .083 | .083 | .167 | -54 |
12 | Alex Avila | 17 | 27 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | .040 | .111 | .040 | .151 | -57 |
13 | Ramon Santiago | 3 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | -100 |
Team Total | 30 | 348 | 295 | 82 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 123 | 3 | 1 | 41 | 57 | .278 | .358 | .427 | .786 | 114 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/8/2013.
Speaking of career numbers, Peralta hasn't historically been a good #5 hitter:
I | Split | G | GS | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | tOPS+ | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Batting 2nd | 11 | 8 | 36 | 33 | 7 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 8 | .333 | .389 | .727 | 1.116 | 191 | |
Batting 6th | 299 | 296 | 1237 | 1121 | 135 | 317 | 61 | 3 | 39 | 151 | 3 | 1 | 96 | 247 | .283 | .338 | .447 | .785 | 109 | |
Batting 4th | 138 | 137 | 610 | 551 | 85 | 149 | 42 | 3 | 15 | 87 | 1 | 1 | 48 | 120 | .270 | .331 | .439 | .770 | 105 | |
Batting 3rd | 150 | 148 | 669 | 589 | 104 | 150 | 33 | 2 | 22 | 82 | 0 | 1 | 74 | 153 | .255 | .341 | .430 | .770 | 106 | |
Batting 7th | 259 | 253 | 1050 | 954 | 113 | 260 | 53 | 7 | 26 | 140 | 1 | 5 | 77 | 201 | .273 | .326 | .425 | .750 | 100 | |
Batting 9th | 87 | 76 | 293 | 268 | 32 | 68 | 17 | 3 | 8 | 32 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 63 | .254 | .298 | .429 | .727 | 92 | |
Batting 8th | 110 | 102 | 402 | 359 | 45 | 94 | 12 | 2 | 9 | 36 | 2 | 3 | 37 | 88 | .262 | .335 | .382 | .717 | 93 | |
Batting 5th | 248 | 247 | 1057 | 947 | 113 | 230 | 49 | 2 | 25 | 126 | 3 | 5 | 91 | 207 | .243 | .308 | .378 | .686 | 84 | |
Batting 1st | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1.000 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/8/2013.
It can also be argued that Victor Martinez has been suffering some unfortunate luck. More observation than statistical, but it seems like Martinez has been
hitting the ball well, only to have a great defensive catch being made. It might make sense to wait it out while his luck turns around. V-Mart's 19.6% LD
rate should be producing a higher BABIP than .236 (and therefor higher batting lines). Career-wise, V-Mart has a 20.5% LD rate and a .314 BABIP.Tonight the Tigers play in a National League park for the first time this year, and so will be without a DH and Victor Martinez. Someone else will be hitting 5th, most likely either Andy Dirks or Jhonny Peralta. Maybe they should think about making it more permanent, at least until Victor Martinez shows that he's the Victor Martinez of old again.
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