MSTI - A Visual Study of Carl Crawford’s Problematic Batting Stance

[Villain]

After a shaky return from the DL, Carl seems to be improving. Hitting leadoff during this road trip, Crawford has a stat line of: 28 Plate Appearances, 11 hits, 3 doubles, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts, and one stolen base. That's a slash line of .423/.464/.538 for the month of August.

 

[Villain]

http://www.truebluela.com/2013/12/5/5178516/carl-crawford-dodgers-2013-review

After two seasons ravaged by injury in Boston, Carl Crawford enjoyed a relatively healthy and productive season in his first year in Los Angeles. Here is a look at his 2013 campaign with the Dodgers.

What went right

Crawford was on fire in April, hitting .308/.388/.516 with 20 runs scored and through May 6 led the Dodgers with five home runs.

He also hit 1.000/1.000/2.000 in June, but unfortunately that was limited to two doubles in two at-bats.

Crawford also provided solid range in left field, a welcome relief after watching the likes of Juan Rivera, Bobby Abreu and occasionally Jay Gibbons occupy the position in recent years. Crawford was fourth among MLB left fielders in both Ultimate Zone Rating (8.6 runs above average) and Total Zone Rating (eight runs above average).


In the playoffs Crawford hit .310/.356/.619 and led the Dodgers with four home runs, including two home runs in Game 4 of the NLDS to help close out the Braves.



What went wrong

Not that power is necessarily a part of his game, but Crawford after his early power surge he went 85 full games and 347 plate appearances without a home run from May 7 to Sept. 26.

Crawford missed 30 games with a strained left hamstring in June, and struggled after his return, hitting just .225/.257/.268 in July.

2014 status

Crawford has four years and $82.5 million remaining on his contract, and will be paid $20.25 million next year. He'll likely man left field for the Dodgers again in 2014, but with four starting outfielders currently on the roster the question could be how often.

Crawford finished 2013 with 2.9 WAR in 116 games (8th among RF, 450 AB minimum). His wOBA of .322 pegged in him the middle of pack, but clearly not an offensive liability.

Looking back, after the trade it was a reasonable Dodger fans hope to merely avoid a disaster (as in, not expect much). Going forward, clearly o one expects him to live up to his contract in terms of value, but if he can keep it up as far as playing above-average defense with half-decent hitting and his baserunning skills, then at least he's not an albatross on the 25-man roster.

Last season, he was expected to be the leadoff guy. I'm hoping to see him moved down in the order and someone with a higher OBP like Puig leading off. Everyone is well-aware of the Dodgers' 4-man outfield, so we'll see how it all works out with that. Perhaps it'll mean less playing time that leads to better health throughout the season. Then we'll get to see what a healthy Carl Crawford is capable of in a Dodgers uniform.

Crawford is projected by basically everyone to produce a repeat of his 2013 in 2014.