Ranking The Top Five Most Disappointing MLB Sophomores After One Month
Which MLB players have the “sophomore jinx” after one month of baseball?
An MLB sophomore is anyone who lost their rookie eligibility last season by going beyond 130 career at-bats or 50 career innings pitched.
Usually in the MLB, after a good rookie season, a player often experiences a sophomore jinx. After a great rookie season, a player has expectations to produce again the following year.
We’re only one month in the long MLB season, but by now you can discover which players are having a bad or good start to the season.
Last year we saw various great rookies, but how have they started their sophomore campaigns?
1. Trevor Story
2016 recap: Trevor Story started his rookie season off with a BANG. In Story’s debut he hit two home runs against the Arizona Diamondbacks to become the first prospect to hit two homers in a debut on opening day.
2016 stats: Story hit .272/.341/.561 in 372 at-bats. To go along with the slash line he had 72 RBI with 27 bombs.
On August 2, the Rockies shortstop announced he would undergo surgery on a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb which cost him the rest of his rookie season.
Early 2017 Sophomore Jinx:
Despite getting off to a fast start last year, Story has been moving himself down in the order every game he plays in. Story is hitting seventh in the batting order because of his offensive play so far. His ugly slash line is .180/.289/.396 in 111 at-bats.
Story has six home runs but his walk/strikeout ratio is not very pleasant to watch. Story has 17 walks but 48 strikeouts, the strikeout rate is currently sitting just under 40 percent.
2. Seung Hwan-Oh
2016 recap: Oh put fear in the NL Central’s teams’ heart and eyes when the St. Louis Cardinals called him up from minors.
In his first career save, he let his name be heard in Milwaukee. Oh threw 13 pitches and struck out two batters and a ground ball to get his first career save.
2016 stats: He pitched in 79 2/3 innings with a 1.93 ERA, a 0.92 WHIP and a HR/9 was 0.92.
Early 2017 Sophomore Jinx:
In his first save opportunity this season, Oh blew the save.
Oh’s numbers are 17.2 innings with a ERA of up to 3.06 and his WHIP at 1.42. Not only is his WHIP up, but his HR/9 has more than doubled to 1.98.
Oh was suppose to be the Cardinals closer for the rest of the year but manager Matt Matheny gave ex-closer Trevor Rosenthal, the man Oh replaced, a second chance. Right now, the Cardinals don’t have a designated closer.
His four-seam fastball generated a lot of swing and miss in his rookie season, however, this season it isn’t getting the same results.
3. Alex Bregman
2016 recap: Bregman had a lot of offseason hype because of the .791 OPS and 34 RBI in his 201 at-bats. Bregman joined the young core of Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa to give them a big three in H-town.
2016 recap: Bregman hit .306 with 44 extra-base-hits in 80 games last season, but his numbers dipped down the last weeks of his rookie season.
Early 2017 Sophomore Jinx:
After the hype, Bregman has moved down in the batting order. Recently, Houston Manager A.J. Hinch has moved him all the way down to the ninth spot.
Batting .265 with zero home runs and eight RBI is keeping him down in the order. His .719 OPS in his rookie season has dropped to .657.
4. Nomar Mazara
2016 recap: Mazara exploded in his first career game in a Texas Rangers uniform on a day where Jared Weaver shut down the Rangers offense. Mazara collected three hits in his first three at-bats, including a home run.
2016 Stats: His first game wasn’t the only highlight moment of 2016. Mazara crushed 20 home runs and brought in 64 runners with a slash line of .266/.320/.419.
Early 2017 Sophomore Jinx:
Maraza hit his first career grand slam, but after that, he has been quiet. Mazara is batting in the eighth spot because of his bad play as of late.
Mazara’s slash line is .234/.304/.395 in 124 at-bats. He has 23 RBI with only five homers. His BABIP was at .299 last year, but it has dropped to .253 this season.
His mediocre strikeout and walk rate will keep Mazara out of the batting order on most nights if he cannot stay patient at the plate.
Mazara is showing that he is inconsistent after one month in 2017.
5. Jose Peraza
2016 Outlook: In 2016, Peraza provided a lot of offense for the Cincinnati Reds at the beginning of that season.
Peraza wasn’t a home run hitter, but spread the ball all over the field. If you look at his spray chart, you can see his full range.
2016 stats: In his 241 at-bats, his slash line was astonishing to see for a hitter that doesn’t have a lot of power: .342/.352/.762 with 25 RBI and three homers.
Early 2017 Sophomore Jinx:
The Reds Manager Bryan Price still has him in the two or three hole on most nights. However, that will change soon if he continues with a batting average as low as .235. After having one of the best slash lines for a rookie this season, his slash line looks unworthy.
His on-base percentage went down drastically this year. He’s now at a .257 OBP after having .352 last year. His BABIP is at a .259 after having a fantastic .361 in his rookie season.
Stay tuned for an update on this list.
