It might be a bit of an overreaction, or perhaps he’s simply starting to decline. But Miguel Cabrera hasn’t looked like the same dangerous slugger he’s been during the past decade in recent days. His struggles have been even more noticeable during July. The Venezuelan is hitting .231 with two RBI and 11 strikeouts in 52 at-bats over that span.
Manager Brad Ausmus doesn’t pay a lot of attention to Cabrera’s struggles, and to be honest, he shouldn’t. After all, the veteran infielder is 33, and he was going to decline eventually. What’s crazy is that his decline could be a very good season for another player. Cabrera is hitting .289 with a .366 OBP, 18 HR and 53 RBI on the year. It’s the first time since his rookie year he’s batting below the .290 mark.
Ausmus talked about the slugger’s issues, and said this whole situation “is a little bit of bad luck, but I’m not worried”. He later added that “usually when guys are struggling, they’re not hitting the ball with consistency, but when they do hit the ball, they’re not getting the hit. But he’s human. He will come out of it, and when he does, he’ll hit the ball like he normally does.”
There are several reasons to explain Cabrera’s slump, but there are two theories that fit quite nicely. First of all, he’s been quite bad against lefties hitting only .195 in 104 plate appearances. That’s a steep drop in comparison to the .313 mark in 80 at-bats last year. The .195 mark, however, seems to be an anomaly since Cabrera has never that bad in his career. Perhaps it’s just bad luck as his manager explained above.
Another point that could be affecting Cabrera is his inability to produce with the bases loaded, going 0-for-10 in these situations. What’s even more concerning is the fact that El Tigre de Aragua has stranded 150 runners in 2016. He stranded 151 in the entire season last year. Again, this could simply be a case of bad luck, and neither Ausmus nor Cabrera should concern too much about these struggles.
After all, Cabrera remains one of the best hitters in all of baseball. It’s only a matter of time before he comes back to his usual form. And when he does, opposing pitchers will want to avoid him, that’s for sure.