The Real Brian Dozier?

First, let's get this out there: It was never terribly realistic to believe that Dozier was going to keep hitting the ball out of the park at the frantic rate he established during the first three-plus months. In 2013, he launched 18 homers, surpassing his career total in the minors, and this year he matched that number in just over half a season.

Clearly he has made some strides and developed considerably as a power hitter, but based on his history and his swing, the odds that he was going to be an annual source for 30-40 home runs were slim to nil. Some regression in the HR category was inevitable.

Granted, the regression has been more drastic than we would have expected or hoped. But for the most part, the rest of Dozier's strong offensive game has remained intact. Here's a more broad view of his splits:

Before All-Star break: 424 PA, .242/.340/.436, 16 2B, 0 3B, 18 HR, 79/52 K/BB

Since All-Star break: 234 PA, .227/.348/.340, 16 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 39/33 K/BB

Although Dozier has clearly been scuffling from a pure power standpoint, he is still getting on base, still showing excellent plate discipline and still hitting a bunch of doubles. Let's face it, as nice as the long balls were, these are the most important aspects of his game when you consider his role as a top-of-the-lineup table setter.

If a "slumping" Dozier can continue to exhibit those positive traits, it bodes awfully well for what we can expect going forward, especially once the home run proclivity returns in some form. He might not get back to ripping four homers per month on a consistent basis, but he did place 34 balls in the seats from April of 2013 through July of 2014. It's pretty tough to view that as a total fluke.

Dozier, at the worst we've seen him in a long time, still ain't bad by any means, especially when you account for his exceptional defensive skills. Consider that his relatively unimpressive .688 OPS since the All-Star break is just five points lower than what the average AL second baseman has produced this year.

Is the guy we've seen since mid-July the "real Brian Dozier"? Probably not. More likely he has just cooled off a bit, and been adjusted to, after a really long and really impressive power-hitting hot streak. The true version probably lies somewhere in the middle, and still figures to be a hell of a player and building block.