Boston Red Sox second baseman and 2008 American League MVP Dustin Pedroia is statistically having his worst season thus far in his eight-year career. He was regarded as the second-best offensive second baseman in baseball behind only Seattle Mariner Robinson Cano before the year started, but he has looked nothing of the sort so far.
Pedroia is currently hitting .275 with just two home runs, seventeen RBI and two stolen bases. This means that, through 52 games, he is on pace for six home runs, 53 RBI and six stolen bases.
For comparison, he is a career .301 hitter who averages fifteen homers, 77 RBI and eighteen steals over 162 games.
If Pedroia finishes with those numbers and maintains the .275 average, he will have hit career lows in all four of those categories.
This would be a travesty, as he is only 30 years old and should not show signs of this type of decline this early in his career. Luckily, do not expect the trend to continue much longer.
The Red Sox are suffering from a massive World Series hangover - either that or a return back to reality from a magical season that is looking more and more like a fluke as each day goes by. Leadoff hitter Jacoby Ellsbury bolted for the arch rival Yankees in free agency, and Boston is still trying to figure out its lineup.
Pedroia has had horrible career numbers as a leadoff hitter and has not done much to help his case hitting first in the order this season. He has hit a .268 clip in that slot this year, but is up to .293 in the second slot.
Unfortunately, Pedroia has been hitting in the third spot more often lately, where he is hitting .258. Another negative is that with a weakened lineup, there is a ahigh possibility that Pedroia will have trouble driving in runs no matter where he hits in the order.
However, the fact that he is hitting third may actually help in this regard. Boston has been leading off with third baseman Brock Holt and throwing Xander Bogaerts in the two-hole: a combination that seems to have worked as both rookies have been hitting the cover off of the ball lately.
Pedroia is a very good hitter: he has proven that many times in his career. Trust that he will come around and will drive in more runs more consistently whenever he starts putting the ball in play more often.
It is very likely that Pedroia will return to his elite level of play some time this season. Get him while your opponent is still trying to trade him before things pick up.