Brian Dozier (pictured above) has been a bright spot in a lost season, but there are some doubters that compare is outburst to Trevor Plouffe's of last season. I'm here to tell you why Dozier won't regress like Plouffe has and is the real deal at second base.
Trevor Plouffe looked like he had finally figured it out and could possibly reach his potential after his outburst in June of last season. He now has regressed back to who he was before that month and now some people think Dozier will do the same.
The first thing Dozier has done to separate himself from Plouffe is that he has become one of the best defensively at his position. Unlike Plouffe who continues to be one of the worst fielding third basemen in the majors. Plouffe has had almost two full seasons now at third base, and still can't figure it out. Dozier has yet to even play a full season at second base and is one the best in the majors.
Now when you look at them offensively and compare Plouffe's season last year to Dozier's this year, there are HUGE differences. First let's look at Plouffe's season last year, but in a comparable chunk to Dozier's this year. So I took out Plouffe's huge June last year and Dozier's April and May this season to get comparable at bats to really compare their stats. It will also show how Dozier who struggled early has made the adjustments and how Plouffe seemed to figure it out and how he couldn't make the adjustments after pitchers made the adjustment to him.
Plouffe in 324 at bats hit a horrible .206 with 13 home runs and drove in 34 RBI. He also had a downright disgusting slashline of .274OBP/.370SLG/.644OPS.
Dozier in 315 at bats is hitting .257 with 15 home runs and driven in 47 RBI. He has a fantastic slashline of .337OBP/.638SLG/.975OPS.
These stats show you how Dozier has made the adjustment that Plouffe has yet to be able to make. He also has made the adjustment in the field that Plouffe has and Plouffe has had way more time to do so. Plouffe's mediocre play at best, has my mind boggled as to why we aren't seeing Miguel Sano as a September call up right now. Plouffe's days are numbered at third and if he doesn't adjust at the plate they could be numbered entirely.
Dozier is the real deal and it should be interesting to see what the Twins do this offseason at second base. Super Prospect Eddie Rosario should be ready at some point in 2014 and the Twins other second base prospect in Jorge Polanco should be ready in 2015. So second base has become a very crowded and suddenly deep position for the Twins. I could see any of these three being moved for pitching this offseason. The question that remains is who?
Written by Nick Calo, follow me on Twitter for more updates and sports thoughts @PRH1987
Trevor Plouffe looked like he had finally figured it out and could possibly reach his potential after his outburst in June of last season. He now has regressed back to who he was before that month and now some people think Dozier will do the same.
The first thing Dozier has done to separate himself from Plouffe is that he has become one of the best defensively at his position. Unlike Plouffe who continues to be one of the worst fielding third basemen in the majors. Plouffe has had almost two full seasons now at third base, and still can't figure it out. Dozier has yet to even play a full season at second base and is one the best in the majors.
Now when you look at them offensively and compare Plouffe's season last year to Dozier's this year, there are HUGE differences. First let's look at Plouffe's season last year, but in a comparable chunk to Dozier's this year. So I took out Plouffe's huge June last year and Dozier's April and May this season to get comparable at bats to really compare their stats. It will also show how Dozier who struggled early has made the adjustments and how Plouffe seemed to figure it out and how he couldn't make the adjustments after pitchers made the adjustment to him.
Plouffe in 324 at bats hit a horrible .206 with 13 home runs and drove in 34 RBI. He also had a downright disgusting slashline of .274OBP/.370SLG/.644OPS.
Dozier in 315 at bats is hitting .257 with 15 home runs and driven in 47 RBI. He has a fantastic slashline of .337OBP/.638SLG/.975OPS.
These stats show you how Dozier has made the adjustment that Plouffe has yet to be able to make. He also has made the adjustment in the field that Plouffe has and Plouffe has had way more time to do so. Plouffe's mediocre play at best, has my mind boggled as to why we aren't seeing Miguel Sano as a September call up right now. Plouffe's days are numbered at third and if he doesn't adjust at the plate they could be numbered entirely.
Dozier is the real deal and it should be interesting to see what the Twins do this offseason at second base. Super Prospect Eddie Rosario should be ready at some point in 2014 and the Twins other second base prospect in Jorge Polanco should be ready in 2015. So second base has become a very crowded and suddenly deep position for the Twins. I could see any of these three being moved for pitching this offseason. The question that remains is who?
Written by Nick Calo, follow me on Twitter for more updates and sports thoughts @PRH1987