Nick Ahmed is not a Major League hitter

[BC867]

I love his fielding, but Nick Ahmed is offering nothing to the D-backs roster.

And Chris Owings was not a slouch at SS before he was moved. Being shuttled back and forth between 2B and SS is not helping Owings' overall performance at-bat.

Ahmed has the 15th lowest batting average on the team -- .135. OK, the 13th lowest if you don't count the two Pitchers ahead of him. He has no extra base hits.

The only position player behind him is Laird, who is a backup Catcher and out injured after only 2 at-bats.

I have confidence that Chip will realize that Ahmed does not belong in the Majors and that the two batting coaches -- Turner Ward and Mark Grace -- do not have the expertise to change it, if it can be changed.

Ward did not distinguish himself as the batting coach last season and Grace is a rookie. The blind leading the blind.

But the main point is that Nick Ahmed is not a Major League hitter.

 

[GatorAZ]

Enter Brendan Rodgers.

 

[Matt L]

If we draft BR he would be at best 3 years away from the show and more likely would not be ready for 4-5 years

 

[GatorAZ]

If we draft BR he would be at best 3 years away from the show and more likely would not be ready for 4-5 years

So what?

 

[az jam]

Enter Brendan Rodgers.

I sure do hope that the DBacks make him their pick instead of those pitches that already have had injured arms.

 

[PDXChris]

Technically he is, he is just a very bad one.

 

[Weenus O'Baggins]

He's sporting a .208 BABip.

League average will be around .300. Anything below .250 or above .350 is a player just being very unlucky / lucky.

He doesn't have real doubles power or the ability to pull at this point so he likely won't be a .300 BABip but he absolutely should be around .270.

Once he normalizes out he will be hitting around .240 or so and that is fine for a + glove SS

 

[Matt L]

He's sporting a .208 BABip.

League average will be around .300. Anything below .250 or above .350 is a player just being very unlucky / lucky.

He doesn't have real doubles power or the ability to pull at this point so he likely won't be a .300 BABip but he absolutely should be around .270.

Once he normalizes out he will be hitting around .240 or so and that is fine for a + glove SS

I can get on board with this.

 

[unseenaz]

And Chris Owings was not a slouch at SS before he was moved. Being shuttled back and forth between 2B and SS is not helping Owings' overall performance at-bat.

i don't accept this excuse for CO. they are both pathetic at the plate so far this season

 

[BC867]

i don't accept this excuse for CO. they are both pathetic at the plate so far this season

Do you not see the difference in potential between Owings and Ahmed at bat? Owings picks up where Ahmed leaves off.

Even a "singles" hitter is expected to hit some doubles and triples. Ahmed has neither so far.

Look at their 2014 "percentage" comparisons in order to equalize different plate appearance totals.

PLAYER......BAVG.......OBP.....SLG......OPS

Owings...... .261...... .300.... .406.... .706

Ahmed...... .200....... .233.... .271.... .504

Play Owings at SS and swinging Ahmed between 2B and SS and the differences between last year's averages when they each played SS would be even greater.

I hope that my boy Chip stops moving the young Owings between two positions soon. The only one who seems to be handling it so far is Inciarte and I would say a CF playing LF-CF-RF is less severe than infielders moving around.

Look at the veteran Aaron Hill shifting between two positions this season vs. last.

2014 - .244 - .287 - .367 - .654
2015 - .171 - .216 - .229 - .445

 

[unseenaz]

Do you not see the difference in potential between Owings and Ahmed at bat? Owings picks up where Ahmed leaves off.

Even a "singles" hitter is expected to hit some doubles and triples. Ahmed has neither so far.

Look at their 2014 "percentage" comparisons in order to equalize different plate appearance totals.

PLAYER......BAVG.......OBP.....SLG......OPS

Owings...... .261...... .300.... .406.... .706

Ahmed...... .200....... .233.... .271.... .504

Play Owings at SS and swinging Ahmed between 2B and SS and the differences between last year's averages when they each played SS would be even greater.

I hope that my boy Chip stops moving the young Owings between two positions soon. The only one who seems to be handling it so far is Inciarte and I would say a CF playing LF-CF-RF is less severe than infielders moving around.

Look at the veteran Aaron Hill shifting between two positions this season vs. last.

2014 - .244 - .287 - .367 - .654
2015 - .171 - .216 - .229 - .445

well I wasn't defending Ahmed before but thanks for penciling me into this argument now I feel obligated to at least point out the flaws in your stats. there is a difference between Ahmed and Owings stats from last year, I guess i'll be the one to point out to everyone that Ahmed only had 70 at bats last year. look at ender inciarte's numbers through 70 at bats last season. he was pathetic.

as far as extra base hits go, Owings only had 15 doubles last year in 300 at bats, and THIS season, he has a grand total of 0 hits against left handed pitchers.

finally, for playing 2nd base for owings, he is statistically better at 2nd base than he is a SS, by a lot. we're talking a .993 fld% at 2nd base (31 games, 1 error) vs a .961 fld% at ss. (75 games, 12 errors)

all that said, I stand by my point that I don't buy into the excuse of defensive play for Owings to be performing to pathetically this year at the plate.

they're both bad and they both need work.

 

[WildBB]

I sure do hope that the DBacks make him their pick instead of those pitches that already have had injured arms.

This.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Hit a nice double last night.

 

[TJ]

It's nice that Chip is putting much emphasis on defense, but it's coming at the expense of our offense. You can't have both Tuffy and Nick batting in the same lineup as the pitcher, that's the worst 7-9 lineup in the MLB.

 

[devilalum]

It's nice that Chip is putting much emphasis on defense, but it's coming at the expense of our offense. You can't have both Tuffy and Nick batting in the same lineup as the pitcher, that's the worst 7-9 lineup in the MLB.

It's ironic that his name is Tuffy because he's the easiest catcher out in the MLB.

 

[devilalum]

Did anybody hear Brenley and Bearfumes BRAGGING about how the Dbacks get the highest percentage of their runs from the 1-3 hitters of any team in baseball?

Really?

 

[BC867]

Did anybody hear Brenley and Bearfumes BRAGGING about how the Dbacks get the highest percentage of their runs from the 1-3 hitters of any team in baseball?

Really?

Emphasizing the positive is their job. It does no good to blame it on them.

Imagine if one of them said, "What a pathetic lineup. Once you get past the first four, it's garbage. This sucks." That would deserve a "Really?"

 

[devilalum]

Emphasizing the positive is their job. It does no good to blame it on them.

Imagine if one of them said, "What a pathetic lineup. Once you get past the first four, it's garbage. This sucks." That would deserve a "Really?"

I get that, just don't insult my intelligence. Talk about prospects or what a great job a player does in the community...

Trying to spin their most obvious weakness into a + is insulting.

 

[BC867]

I get that, just don't insult my intelligence. Talk about prospects or what a great job a player does in the community...

Trying to spin their most obvious weakness into a + is insulting.

But they didn't alibi or spin the weakness -- 4 or 5 through 9. They pointed out how proficient 1-3 have been and left it at that. Which is a valid point.

Actually, 1-4 -- I think Trumbo at bat deserves mention with the first 3 rather than the last 5 -- for producing with such a weak 5-9 behind them.

A glass 44.4% full rather than 55.6% empty. As a D-backs fan, why would anyone be offended by that? It is the strong point of the team and something to build on. And keep the fans rooting for.

I really don't think referring to the proficiency of the top of the lineup in the booth insulted anyone's intelligence. And Steve and BB have made their share of comments about the team's weaknesses in an honest fashion.

 

[Phrazbit]

Trumbo hasn't been a disaster but he hasn't been good either. A .732 OPS from a guy who is only on the roster for his offense, that is poor production. His OBP is terrible, the next walk he draws will be his first of the season.

He is more a part of the "suck at the back of the order" than the great play at the top of it.

 

[unseenaz]

Trumbo hasn't been a disaster but he hasn't been good either. A .732 OPS from a guy who is only on the roster for his offense, that is poor production. His OBP is terrible, the next walk he draws will be his first of the season.

He is more a part of the "suck at the back of the order" than the great play at the top of it.

Did you see his "cup of coffee" interview last season? He basically said he only cared about RBIs and when asked about strikeouts he kinda just shrugged it off and said he tries to keep them down... He isn't a smart hitter, and his poor at bats show this. He has 1 strength which is SUPPOSED to be his bat.. He's a bigger Reynolds who can't field

 

[Weenus O'Baggins]

Trumbo hasn't been a disaster but he hasn't been good either. A .732 OPS from a guy who is only on the roster for his offense, that is poor production. His OBP is terrible, the next walk he draws will be his first of the season.

He is more a part of the "suck at the back of the order" than the great play at the top of it.

What about 2 walks and a .902 since you brought this up?

 

[BC867]

Trumbo has played an important and necessary role in shielding Goldy from the black hole that follows in the batting order. Until someone better comes along, we need him in the lineup.

I wish we didn't have two very good center fielders. If Peralta had the opportunity to play every day in a corner outfield position as he did last season, he, too, could add to the protection for Goldy. And as a potential left-handed power hitter.

Gee, I wonder if Pollock could be converted to a 2B, allowing Owings to return to SS.

Inciarte ... CF
Pollock .... ?
Goldy ......1B
Peralta .... LF
Trumbo ... RF
Lamb ...... 3B
Owings .... SS
Gosewich . C

That would be a kajillion times better offense than the ones we play now.

 

[Weenus O'Baggins]

He's sporting a .208 BABip.

League average will be around .300. Anything below .250 or above .350 is a player just being very unlucky / lucky.

He doesn't have real doubles power or the ability to pull at this point so he likely won't be a .300 BABip but he absolutely should be around .270.

Once he normalizes out he will be hitting around .240 or so and that is fine for a + glove SS

When I said + glove, I was selling Ahmed short.

He is now the #1 short stop in baseball in total zone runs. He is #1 in Range Factor, which is put out + assists. He is #5 in fielding percentage at shortstop.

In short, he has been one of the best defenders in baseball.

Meanwhile, his batting average is up to .213 as his BaBip continues to climb. He is probably a .225 hitter, not a .240 but with that defense it simply doesn't matter.

 

[RON_IN_OC]

When I said + glove, I was selling Ahmed short.

He is now the #1 short stop in baseball in total zone runs. He is #1 in Range Factor, which is put out + assists. He is #5 in fielding percentage at shortstop.

In short, he has been one of the best defenders in baseball.

Meanwhile, his batting average is up to .213 as his BaBip continues to climb. He is probably a .225 hitter, not a .240 but with that defense it simply doesn't matter.

This.