Brian Dozier

[stringer bell]

After his nice game yesterday, I figured Dozier's stats wouldn't be too horrible to look at and I see a pretty decent major league second baseman. I have said for weeks that I think Dozier's "D" has been top-tier and his offensive numbers are not too bad. The OPS is at .695 and he has been pretty good since the end of May. His splits show he's good at home and good against lefties. He has performed the best of all Twins' leadoff hitters, hitting .245 with a .718 OPS. Since the end of May, he has shown more power and patience, making his offense since then a small positive.

 

Dozier's adequacy makes rushing Eddie Rosario a non-issue. Perhaps he becomes a trade chip when Eddie is ready, perhaps he tries again at shortstop or becomes a backup middle infielder. I think he has earned a starting spot for next year to start the season.

[big dog]

I agree, I wasn't too optimistic about Dozier before and early in the season but he's doing the job. His fielding has been really good, and the hitting has had pretty good moments. Upgrading Dozier is a lower priority than upgrading most of the other positions on the team, as far as I'm concerned.

[mudcat14]

Slice it however you want it. The guy's had back to back seasons as a .235 hitter. But hey, at least this year he's got his OB% above .300, at .306. He's a table-setter who's shown no consistent ability to carry the dishes. Unless Rosario's defense is absolute trash, he's next years starting 2B. No question.

[Rosterman]

He is total replacement value. Except for age, you can replace him with a Carroll or a Bernier. Except that he is just as cheap if not cheaper.

[Benchwarmerjim]

I noticed when Dozier was out, there were a lot more balls going up the middle for base hits (past a diving Carroll!)

 

Dozier has 9 HRs so far this year, if he hits one more he will be the first Twins regular 2Bman to hit double digit HRs since Luis Rivas hit 10 in 2004

[drjim]

He is total replacement value. Except for age, you can replace him with a Carroll or a Bernier. Except that he is just as cheap if not cheaper.

 

I think you are underestimating Dozier quite a bit or overstating greatly what a replacable level 2B looks like.

[Mr. Brooks]

He is total replacement value. Except for age, you can replace him with a Carroll or a Bernier. Except that he is just as cheap if not cheaper.

 

He's put up a 1.7 WAR so far this year, so he could finish pretty close to 3 WAR at the end of the year.

That's pretty good value for a young guy earning the minimum, and by definition makes him quite a bit better than "replacement value".