For most, if not all, of the season’s first half Chris Davis, Adam Jones, Manny Machado, and J.J. Hardy led the way for an Orioles offense that was ranked near the top of the American League.
The designated hitter spot was near “automatic out” status, as was the second base duo of Ryan Flaherty and Alexi Casilla. While not quite to the extent of either of those positions on Buck Showalter’s lineup card, Matt Wieters was also seen as someone not carrying his weight.
The Orioles catcher posted a first half slash line of .232/.291/.408, not exactly what many were hoping for from the two-time All-Star. History tells us that while expectations will always be high for Wieters, due to the fanfare that surrounded his arrival to the big leagues, we should be accustomed to somewhat slow starts from him. That doesn’t mean as fans we can’t want more, but now in his fifth season perhaps we’re starting to see who he is and what to look for going forward.
In 352 career games prior to MLB’s Midsummer Classic Wieters is a .248/.313/.402 hitter. Afterward, those numbers rise to .273/.341/.452 through 251 appearances.
While most have conceded Wieters’ .343 career average in the minors won’t be approached in an Orioles uniform the power potential he provides is still evident and, combined with Gold Glove caliber defense, helps ease the moans and groans from Birdland. In 101 fewer games and 332 fewer at-bats Wieters has just three fewer home runs post All-Star break than he does before it with August and September two of his typically stronger months.
In six games since the break Wieters has 12 hits in 25 at-bats, including two doubles and two home runs, and a .480/.519/.800 line. For the month of July he’s currently at .323/.380/.569 with four home runs, four doubles, and nine RBI in 18 games.
You can probably find those who preached patience from April through June with respect to Wieters saying “I told you so” at this point and based on his first four years in an Orioles uniform they’re well within their right to.
When Henry Urrutia was called up the hope was his bat would solidify the DH role, closing a hole that largely existed for the 2013 season’s first three and half months. Offensively, the catcher spot wasn’t a vacancy that needed to be filled. Wieters didn’t need to be replaced, although I did hear the idea mentioned a few times.
Wieters’ walk and strikeout rates in the first half weren’t dramatically different than his career numbers, nor was his line drive percentage. According to Fan Graphs’ PITCH f/x data, Wieters’ overall contact rate of 81% was in line with the 80.7% he’s achieved since 2009.
A batting average on balls in play (which excludes home runs from the equation) of .246 compared to a career number of .289, closer to the typical 30% norm, certainly didn’t help matters.
For Wieters, a second half similar to years past, resulting in a final tally of 20-25 home runs to go along with 70+ RBI, seems well within the realm of possibility. In that case, his weak April through June will be a distant memory, blended together with the rest of the season as they are every year. If his hot bat helps carry the O’s to their second consecutive playoff berth, even better.
photo c/o Beth Tenser
