Ten MLB players not living up to the hype

Manny Machado, third baseman, Baltimore Orioles

It’s not that Machado has done nothing right at the plate. In fact, in some respects, he’s on the same pace that we saw in 2015 and 2016 when he was a viable MVP candidate. But in other ways, he’s been nothing close to that hitter.

So, what’s gone wrong?

The easy thing to do is look at the strikeout total. No doubt, Machado would have a better average and/or OBP if a few of those strikeouts were turned into walks. But while a 140 strikeout pace is high, it’s not alarmingly so for a guy on pace to hit nearly 40 home runs. Not in this era, anyway.

No, the problem is everything else. When Machado hits a ball that does not go over the fence, it’s coming off of his bat soft. Per Fangraphs, the Baltimore third baseman has an 11.4-percent line drive rate. That’s well down from 17.8 percent in 2015 and 20 percent in 2016. When Machado makes contact with the ball, fielders are either watching it go over their heads or making a relatively routine play.

That’s something that has to turn around. Make no mistake, there’s always a place in baseball for guys who hit a lot of home runs but do little else at the plate. But Machado is a superstar. He’s one of the game’s most complete hitters. That needs to start showing up in his numbers.

Hunter Renfroe, right fielder, San Diego Padres

To say that anyone had high hopes for the Padres in 2017 would be a gross overstatement. But thanks to a young nucleus, there was reason to be excited — to at least think that the team was headed in the right direction.

Renfroe was supposed to be a part of that group. He slashed at .306/.336/.557 with 30 home runs for Triple-A El Paso in 2016. Renfroe kept it going when called up to the majors in September, slashing .371/.389/.800 with four home runs in only 35 at-bats.

Thus far, he’s been nothing close to that in 2017. Renfroe does have eight homers, which is a respectable total for a rookie. But beyond that, his .225 average and .280 OBP suggest that Renfroe is having a very hard time getting on base.

The problem here really boils down to the strikeout rate. Unlike Machado, Renfroe is making loud contact, hitting a line drive 19.2 percent of the time (he was 19.3 in Triple-A in 2016). But Renfroe is also striking out 26.9 percent of the time, up from 20.4 percent in Triple-A a season ago and 13.9 percent in 2016’s brief MLB run.

Renfroe is on pace to strike out 165 times. Even in today’s game, that’s high, especially given that he’s also projected to fall short of 30 homers. Renfroe is doing good things when he makes contact with the ball, but it’s happening too infrequently.

To be a true leader of a potential revival of San Diego baseball, Renfroe will need to bring that K rate down.