How's his OBP compared to Desmond? How's his SLG compared to Desmond? How's his OPS compared to Desmond?
Not really. He's never been a high average hitter. Couple that with him playing a lot more than most rookies and this slump was rather predictable. Essentially, he's starting his sophomore slump early.
Espinosas defense pretty much solidifies his spot in the lineup. Until Desmond can play even average defens or starts hitting like Hamley Ramirez from two years ago, he will always be more of a liability than Espinosa.
I'm really shaking my head at PC's logic here. This isn't even saber vs. traditional, this is just common sense.
I'm not saying that Desmond is a great hitter and I do believe Espinosa is a far superior defender than Desmond but I do not believe Danny's "earned" anything because his liabilities at the plate are so great. Even when he was hitting better earlier, his BA (which I still value) was low and he struck out too much.
Look, I like Danny (Ian too) but his offense has to improve a lot before I'll pencil him in for anything, permanently...however you'd pencil anything in permanently.
