It’s time that Nate McLouth is in the Orioles starting line-up on a day-in and day-out basis. Nate has resurrected his career here in Baltimore, and has given O’s fans every reason to fall in love with his scrappy play.
Signing McLouth has brought an element of speed to a ball club who finished dead last in stolen bases. The effect of his presence has already been seen this year by the fact that the Orioles are tied for second in SB and in runs.
Last night, Nate went 3-4, including 2 doubles and a run scored (a huge insurance run in the bottom of the 8th). In the bottom of the first inning, McLouth led off with a two-bagger, and was moved over on sacrifice by Machado. Markakis and Jones failed to bring in Nate, but it seems that Nate always has a knack of putting himself in scoring position.
In the last 10 games, McLouth has gone 16 for 39 (.410) with 6 stolen bases. McLouth is third in stolen bases in the MLB, and considering he doesn’t play everyday due to Buck protecting him from left handed pitchers, that is quite impressive. If he were to play on a consistent basis, he would certainly give Jacoby Ellsbury a “run” for his money.
Currently, Nate has the second highest batting average at the lead-off position at .319 (at least 100 at bats), only 4 points away from the league leader Matt Carpenter. Nate is also in the top ten of lead-off hitters in on-base percentage and walks (.393 & 20). His ability to get on base and manufacture runs is reflected by the fact that he has scored 36 runs, tied for second among lead-off hitters.
Again, all these stats are without Nate playing on a day-to-day basis. In fact, McLouth has played 15 less games than Jacoby
Ellsbury, but has scored 6 more times and is only 4 steals back from being tied at 21 SB.
I understand that Nate has a dismal batting average against left handed pitching (.190 this year), but that is only a small sample size of 21 at bats. In those 21 at bats, Nate has homered twice, so it is not as if he cannot hit lefties. I see his struggles as a consequence of lack of at bats against lefties.
Nate has only started one game against a left-handed pitcher this year, and thirteen games last year. Surprisingly though, last year he batted .268 against left handed starters compared to .233 against right handed starters.
I believe that if McLouth is allowed some consistency against left handed pitchers, he will be able to make the necessary adjustments to be successful.
Back when Nate was an All-Star with the Pirates, he hit .291 against left handed starters and .261 against lefties in general. This is evidence that he is not incapable of hitting lefties in the past, and though it may not be fair to compare him to his once All-Star self, I believe that this new Nate is perfectly capable.
Mind you, this is all without the argument of McLouth’s glove. He does have a Rawlings Gold Glove sitting in his trophy case, and has shown plenty of flashes of brilliance with his leather this year. I do love his signature sliding catches, not to mention his bleacher diving catch.
Yet, it is hard to argue with Buck, especially considering how well Markakis fills the lead-off role while McLouth is on the bench (batting .317 when leading off). Plus, with baseball being so focused on match ups, it is quite clear why Show would choose to roll out a mostly right handed line-up.
I personally believe that having McLouth out in left field every day would only be a plus for the Orioles, and maybe with the lack of production from Pearce and the inability to stay healthy with Reimold, Nate just might get his chance.
