This article is part of our In Some Depth series.
Without any further ado...
Catcher
Rays - .194 wOBA
Angels - .200
Brewers - .214
The Rays seem to perpetually carry less-than-stellar offensive catchers. It looked like that trend might change with John Jaso in the fold, but he has been out since Opening Day with a wrist injury, and it is unclear how much of the catching load he might be able to bear once active. Both of their Triple-A catchers, as well as their primary Double-A catcher, are hitting below .200. The Brewers have also been struck by injury, and there appears to be nothing better than Martin Maldonado in the offing. Carlos Perez could start budging out uber-framer Chris Iannetta for starts behind the Angels' plate.
First Base
Red Sox – .244 wOBA
Angels - .267
Astros - .267
The Red Sox and Angels lead this list with two guys who probably aren't going anywhere anytime soon in Mike Napoli and Albert Pujols. However, if Napoli remains in a funk,
Without any further ado...
Catcher
Rays - .194 wOBA
Angels - .200
Brewers - .214
The Rays seem to perpetually carry less-than-stellar offensive catchers. It looked like that trend might change with John Jaso in the fold, but he has been out since Opening Day with a wrist injury, and it is unclear how much of the catching load he might be able to bear once active. Both of their Triple-A catchers, as well as their primary Double-A catcher, are hitting below .200. The Brewers have also been struck by injury, and there appears to be nothing better than Martin Maldonado in the offing. Carlos Perez could start budging out uber-framer Chris Iannetta for starts behind the Angels' plate.
First Base
Red Sox – .244 wOBA
Angels - .267
Astros - .267
The Red Sox and Angels lead this list with two guys who probably aren't going anywhere anytime soon in Mike Napoli and Albert Pujols. However, if Napoli remains in a funk, one has to wonder if the Sox might juggle their defense to move Pablo Sandoval over to first. Chris Carter has hit five home runs for the Astros and not much else. Meanwhile, Jon Singleton has an .881 OPS and seven home runs for Triple-A Fresno.
Second base
Phillies - .218
Rangers - .225
Cubs - .247
Things have gotten ugly for Chase Utley, whose .178 wOBA is the lowest of any qualified batter. There isn't anything better coming up through the minors (Chase d'Arnaud? Cord Phelps? KC Serna?), so the Phillies will just have to wait this one out. The Rangers decided to not wait out Rougned Odor's slow start Sunday, and they will roll with Adam Rosales for the time being. The Cubs tried to rectify their second base gig by recalling Addison Russell. However, he has struck out 29 times in his first 64 plate appearances and has an OPS under .700. They'll stick with him for a little while longer (June? July?), but they could throw more playing time to the Tommy La Stella's of the world once the latter comes off the DL. Javier Baez has been no bright spot at Triple-A Iowa.
Third Base
Padres - .258
Tigers - .269
Yankees - .271
It turns out Will Middlebrooks doesn't get better by moving to Petco. The Padres could turn to Cory Spangenberg and Yangervis Solarte more frequently moving forward, as they have for the past week or so. General manager A.J. Preller could make yet another trade if an internal candidate does not arise. Nick Castellanos has been a below-average hitter for over 700 plate appearances now, and I could envision the Tigers giving him some time in Triple-A for a few weeks in an attempt to right the ship. Austin Romine, or an org depth guy like Brendan Harris or Josh Prince could fill in.
Shortstop
Indians - .209
Diamondbacks - .225
Orioles - .225
As discussed last week, the Jose Ramirez experiment is slowly failing in Cleveland, opening the door for Mike Aviles to get more plate appearances. Ramirez's struggles could also open the door for uber-prospect Francisco Lindor to finally get the call. The Orioles' shortstop situation should improve one J.J. Hardy returns from the disabled list.
Batting Lineups
Phillies No. 2
The Odubel Herrera run is over. Or at least his run in the top-third of the Phillies' order is over. He will stick in the lineup due to his Rule 5 status and the lack of other credible major league outfielders on the Phillies' roster, but a .570 OPS over his last 15 games has plummeted him to the bottom third of the lineup. Meanwhile, Freddy Galvis has had the best month-plus of his career. The perk of hitting second – he can hit between Ben Revere and whoever the Phillies decide to bat third. There should also be a few additional plate appearances per week as he moves up from the bottom third of the order.
Cubs No. 2
It may have taken Kris Bryant nearly a month to hit his first major league home run, but he has held his own against MLB pitching, OBP'ing nearly .400 over his first 100-plus plate appearances. The solid on-base skills has him hitting second in the current incarnation of the Cubs' lineup. However, the awakening of his home run swing in recent days could conceivably push him back down to No. 4.
Rangers No. 1
His overall line may not be pretty, but Choo has begun May on an 11-game hit streak, and he is slashing .304/.353/.609 on the month. The semblance of a bat has allowed him to replace Leonys Martin atop the Rangers' order as the latter has struggled with a wrist injury and general on-base skills. The Rangers' lineup is a shell of what it once was, but there should still be perks of hitting ahead of guys like Prince Fielder and Adrian Beltre.
