In 2013, the Spring Training battle to watch was Steve Pearce vs. Conor Jackson. Both right-handed hitters put on a show each game they played, especially when they found themselves hitting back-to-back in the lineup. At the end of the spring, Pearce, out of options, won the battle and made the Orioles 25-man roster as a reserve. Jackson was sent to AAA Norfolk, but retired soon after due to lingering complications from Valley Fever.
Here in 2014, Pearce finds himself battling another veteran right-handed hitter for his O’s livelihood. This time it’s Delmon Young. Like Jackson last year, Young has been signed to a minor league deal, and Pearce is still out of options, so the scenario is very similar.
Let’s take a look at the combatants:
“The Hitter” Steve Pearce is 30 years old, and has bounced around the majors in the past few seasons. He was a former top prospect with the Pirates, but was DFA’d in 2012 and played for the Orioles, Yankees, Astros and then returned to the Orioles in September 2012. He spent all of 2013 with the Orioles but battled a wrist injury so he was limited to 138 plate appearances. Pearce can play both corner outfield spots and first base though he’s not known for his defense in the OF (career -5.0 UZR/150) and has better defensive stats at first base (5.2 UZR/150). Still, Pearce had a 17.2 UZR/150 in limited time in the outfield last season.
His specialty has been hitting left-handed pitching as I’ve mentioned before in previous entries here and here and his career .351 OBP against lefties one of the best on the Orioles’ roster.
“The Slugger” Delmon Young is a tick younger at 28, and has also bounced around the majors. A former first-round pick of the Rays, his attitude problems were well documented while he was in the minors, where he threw a bat at an umpire in a game in 2006 and earned a 50-game suspension. He was traded to Minnesota for Matt Garza in November 2007 and traded again to the Tigers in August 2011, where he went on to hit nine home runs in the 2011 and 2012 playoffs for Detroit and was named the Series MVP for the 2012 ALCS. In 2013 he was signed by the Phillies, released in August and then picked up by the Rays for the stretch run in September. He was signed to a minor league deal with the Orioles this January.
Young’s specialty is also hitting left-handed pitching but the only positions he plays are the corner outfield spots. Like Pearce he also isn’t known for his defense as he has a -12.5 UZR/150 rating in the outfield and had a -22.2 UZR/150 in right field last season.
Here are both Pearce’s and Young’s standard career hitting stats and splits:
Looking at these stats, it would seem that Young is the better of the two hands down, but these stats aren’t quite good enough to determine plate approach – a key missing component from the Orioles’ offense.
For that let’s look at their career weighted on-base average (wOBA), base-on-ball percentage (BB%) and pitches per plate appearance (P/PA) (stats c/0 Fangraphs):
So from these two tables of stats, we can determine that Young is the better slugger, but in terms of a better plate approach and a better career hitter, Pearce is clearly the better of the two.
Let’s take a look at what they did in 2013:
In 2013, it was no contest. Pearce was the better overall hitter and slugger, especially against left-handed pitching. Young did show increased plate discipline against lefties compared to his career numbers, but his wOBA was far below his career average.
According to Buck Showalter, Young has the chance to compete for a right- handed DH spot, but Pearce should clearly be the guy, given his plate approach, greater positional flexibility, the fact he’s out of options and what he accomplished in an injury-marred 2013 season.
The competition is going to be fierce if the early game performances are any indication and just like Pearce vs. Jackson, Pearce vs. Young should be entertaining for Orioles fans this spring. However, just like the first battle was won by Pearce, the second should be won by him as well.
The Orioles need a right-handed “hitter” on their roster, not just a “slugger.”
images: Craig Landefeld
