Posted this in the trade thread but I think it merits it's own thread.
Allen Craig has fallen off a cliff this year. He was an All-Star last season but has hit .237/.291/.346 in 97 games this season.
78 OPS+.
The big question is what happened? Is this a case where the Red Sox trust their scouts/coaches to identify/fix whatever is wrong Craig? Or is this really who he is as a batter. The first impression seems to show that it's simply a down year.
However, I ran into this analysis from CBS Sports
So was he just lucky in 2012/2013 and 2014 shows his true talent level? Or is this season the fluke? It'll be interesting to see what Cherington says about Craig after the deadline passes.
Allen Craig has fallen off a cliff this year. He was an All-Star last season but has hit .237/.291/.346 in 97 games this season.
78 OPS+.
The big question is what happened? Is this a case where the Red Sox trust their scouts/coaches to identify/fix whatever is wrong Craig? Or is this really who he is as a batter. The first impression seems to show that it's simply a down year.
Year | Age | Tm | Lg | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | OPS+ | TB | GDP | HBP | SH | SF | IBB | Pos | Awards |
2010 | 25 | STL | NL | 44 | 124 | 114 | 12 | 28 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 26 | 0.246 | 0.298 | 0.412 | 0.711 | 92 | 47 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Sep-54 | |
2011 | 26 | STL | NL | 75 | 219 | 200 | 33 | 63 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 40 | 5 | 0 | 15 | 40 | 0.315 | 0.362 | 0.555 | 0.917 | 151 | 111 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 79/4835 | |
2012 | 27 | STL | NL | 119 | 514 | 469 | 76 | 144 | 35 | 0 | 22 | 92 | 2 | 1 | 37 | 89 | 0.307 | 0.354 | 0.522 | 0.876 | 137 | 245 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 39/7D | MVP-19 |
2013 ★ | 28 | STL | NL | 134 | 563 | 508 | 71 | 160 | 29 | 2 | 13 | 97 | 2 | 0 | 40 | 100 | 0.315 | 0.373 | 0.457 | 0.83 | 130 | 232 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 379/D | AS,MVP-18 |
2014 | 29 | STL | NL | 97 | 398 | 367 | 34 | 87 | 17 | 1 | 7 | 44 | 1 | 1 | 26 | 77 | 0.237 | 0.291 | 0.346 | 0.638 | 78 | 127 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | *937 | |
However, I ran into this analysis from CBS Sports
As my colleague, Scott White, mentioned in his most recent column, a playing time squeeze could conceivably be reason enough to dump Craig, but he's done very little over the past 12 months to earn regular playing time. Even before the Lisfranc injury that brought Craig's regular season to a premature end last year, he was struggling to hit for power, and he's been just as punchless this season. Craig ended April with a .147 Isolated Power, and it's dipped even lower in May and June.
Over the course of this season, Craig has posted a DJ LeMahieu-like 58 percent ground ball rate, and it's actually increased during the month of July...
Even his ability to hit for average has to be questioned. In each of the three previous seasons, Craig hit above .300, but each of those seasons in retrospect looks a little fluky. In 2011, he hit .372 on ground balls, and in 2012, he overachieved a bit on flyballs with a .148 BABIP. Then last season, Craig posted a 28 percent line drive rate that was out of line with his history and with major league norms. Even if you buy into Craig as a .300 hitter -- and that is looking more and more like a stretch -- you simply can't trust him to produce enough power to be used at either first base or in the outfield.
So was he just lucky in 2012/2013 and 2014 shows his true talent level? Or is this season the fluke? It'll be interesting to see what Cherington says about Craig after the deadline passes.