We have all thought it – is this the year that Matt Wieters finally becomes the hitter everyone projected him to be?
His spring training suggested that he was finally turning the corner. Matt batted .378 with five homeruns in 45 at bats down in Florida.
However, that has not been the case through the first two weeks of the season. In almost the same number of at bats as he had in the spring (40), Wieters is batting right at The Mendoza Line with only one home run and three runs batted in.
If you consider that the home run came on Opening Day and all three of his RBIs came in the first two games, then you know how much Wieters has struggled this season. Wieters has also batted cleanup and sixth, both prime RBI locations in the lineup, but he has been unable to capitalize on the hot starts by Nick Markakis, Adam Jones, and Chris Davis.
Davis drawing so many walks this early in the season is not only due to him being locked in, but it also has a lot to do with Wieters hitting behind him. Pitchers would rather face Wieters then even bother pitching to Davis. This is something to keep an eye on as the season progresses and in the immediate future as Wieters struggles.
We all know that Wieters is arguably the best defensive catcher in baseball. His gold gloves and his percentage of caught stealing backs that claim up.
However, if he wants the huge contract that he thinks he deserves, his offense has to pick up. The 2012 NL MVP winner Buster Posey signed an eight-year extension worth $159 million during spring training. No one will ever say Posey is in the same class defensively as Wieters, but the argument can be the same when it comes to offense.
Wieters’ agent Scott Boras reportedly turned down a contract extension made by the Orioles this offseason. I am not exactly sure what Wieters is looking for, but it will be hard for Wieters’ camp to argue that they should be making close to what Posey will make in the next eight years following the 2013 season.
Wieters has struggled as a left-handed hitter throughout his career – .249 career hitter – but this season his average is .133 with NO extra base hits in 30 at bats. I am not suggesting he gives up switch hitting, but the “switch hitting Jesus” as he is often proclaimed to be, is a mediocre hitter at best against right-handed pitching. His .283 career average as a right-handed hitter is more on par with what to expect from a catcher that plays everyday with his ability.
He has roughly half the home runs, doubles, and hits in his career right-handed as he does left-handed in far fewer at bats (1340 LH, 520 RH).
The odd part of Wieters’ struggles this season is his walk percentage is up and his strikeout percentage is down from his career averages. It appears that he is seeing the ball fine. There are other sabermetric stats that I won’t bore you with that suggest that he is just hitting in bad luck right now and will turn it around soon.
With Brian Roberts’ return nowhere in sight, and Nolan Reimold trying to find himself after missing most of 2012, Wieters and shortstop JJ Hardy have to carry the bottom half of the lineup and neither are doing so as of now.
There is some good news for Wieters though. This upcoming series against Tampa Bay, the Rays have two lefties scheduled to start. The bad news is their names are David Price and Matt Moore.
