Desmond Jennings entered the 2015 season with high expectations placed upon his shoulders; a sizzling .435 BA/1.036 OPS spring upped the ante for the 28 year-old outfielder. No longer at the top of the order, now hitting fifth, Jennings now himself tasked with another challenge: offering protection for the cleanup hitter, Evan Longoria. Yet Jennings started the season tepidly, slashing .212 BA/.311 OBP/.212 SLG/.523 OPS leading many to wonder if the five hole is the best place for him. With the imminent return of James Loney in the near future, my premise is simple — Loney is better suited than Desmond to hit fifth.
Jennings has amassed 49 at-bats in the fifth spot thus far, slashing an ice cold .204 BA/.298 OBP/.204 SLG/.504 OPS/.241 wOBA line, with a sub optimal .000 ISO. And while he had a good night at the plate Wednesday, going 2-for-4 with a run, one can’t help but feel nervous by his overall run production — Jennings only has two RBI to speak of, although the season is young. Desmond features decent power peripherals, something that lead to the decision by Kevin Cash and Matt Silverman to bat him behind Longoria. Even so, his overall production speaks to he being a top or bottom of the order guy — .247 BA/.324 OBP/.400 SLG/.724 OPS/.153 ISO/.320 wOBA leading off; .279 BA/.356 OBP/.385 SLG/.741 OPS/.106 ISO/.331 wOBA hitting seventh. Moreover, Jennings’paltry .100 BA and .100 SLG with runners in scoring position doesn’t really bolster anyone’s confidence in his ability to protect Longoria.
Because of it, opposing pitchers have concluded they can pitch around Longoria to get to Jennings. Take for example a high leverage situation from Monday night’s contest against the Red Sox. As Longo made his way into the batter’s box (in the sixth inning) Red Sox pitching coach Juan Nieves quickly made his way to the mound to talk strategy with Boston starter Wade Miley. The content of the conversation was obvious to anyone watching the game. It’s not a stretch to assume Miley was instructed to walk Longoria in order to get to Jennings. That particular game of chess worked. Miley walked Longoria, in one of the most intentional-unintentional walks I’ve ever seen, consequently loading the bases for Jennings. Miley was able to coax a weak grounder out of Jennings to end the inning.
Juxtapose Jennings with Loney who is a quiet, productive, and consistent presence in the fifth spot. Loney slashed a healthy .284 BA/.337 OBP/.389 SLG/.726 OPS when he hit fifth in 2014 (in 370 at-bats), boasting a .105 ISO and 46 RBI. Loney’s career numbers mirror his one season production. When you consider that almost half of his career runs batted in (245 of 603) and hits — including doubles and homers — came hitting fifth in the order, the need for Loney to hit behind Longoria becomes apparent. On the bright side, Loney hit fifth on Opening Day and I’d take that as a sign of Cash’s willingness to put him back there when he returns from the DL this weekend.
Noteworthiness
— Since this obviously isn’t a recap of Wednesday night’s game, you can read a few brief notes on the Rays 7-5 contest against the Red Sox at our Tumblr page.
— James Loney’s rehab assignment with the Charlotte Stone Crabs begins Thursday:
#Rays tweet 1B James Loney (oblique) will start rehab assignment tonight with @StoneCrabs in Port Charlotte; expected back during weekend
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) April 23, 2015
— Drew Smyly is pleased the Rays agreed to allow him to return after three rehab starts instead of four. It’s believed he will be good for 85-90 pitches:
I feel ready, my arm’s ready. Obviously it might take another start or two to build my pitch count up to where these guys are at right now.
— On Saturday’s starter… Marc Topkin noted that the Rays could start Matt Andriese, Erasmo Ramirez, or Alex Colome Saturday:
The Rays list Saturday’s starter as TBA. RHP Matt Andriese would be available, though the Rays may be waiting to see whether they need him Friday in relief of Smyly. The Rays also could use RHP Erasmo Ramirez.
Another option could be RHP Alex Colome, who would be on short rest after throwing in a rehab game Tuesday. Colome, who had been on the DL while recovering from pneumonia, will throw a bullpen session today.
— Alex Cobb is set to throw off the mound for the first time Friday. Cobb played catch Wednesday with no pain, a good sign indeed.
— A pretty interesting take on the Rays 0-9 replay challenge mark. In short, manager Kevin Cash is both good and bad at challenges, often relying upon his initial reaction in his decision to contest a call, rather than waiting for the go ahead from the Rays’ video coordinator “Chico” Fernandez.