3 players having a rough start to 2017
It's true, small sample sizes aren't worth drawing any serious conclusions. Although, when is it that they become reliable enough to start caring?
The answer is most certainly not April 11th, but there are certainly some fun numbers to look at; though perhaps not for the players to whom they are attributed.
Slumps like these that happen mid-season are relatively innocuous, and it does seem a lot like tough luck that a bad slump would fall on a player's shoulders during the most hopeful time of year - during every team's opener. However, some notable stars have started their 2017 season pretty ominously.
Russell Martin, C - Blue Jays
Russell Martin is the only qualified hitter in the major leagues yet to register a hit, and has looked pretty lost at the dish.
Racking up seven strikeouts in his 23 plate appearances, Martin has yet to do anything of any substantial outcome with his bat. Somewhat troubling, though, is the fact that Martin's strikeout rate has been sharply on the rise since signing with the Jays, growing by nearly 63 percent from 2014-16.
Some outlying numbers seem to point towards the fact that Martin has a good process going at the plate. Going into Tuesday night's home opener, Martin was swinging at fewer pitches outside the zone than he ever has in a full season, and swinging at more inside the zone than he ever has as well. Though his contact rate is a tick down from his career average, it's right in line with the recent norm. So, while Martin has surely begun his decline, it most definitely won't be as sharp as his early 2017 numbers indicate.
Miguel Cabrera, 1B - Tigers
The one on this list that seems the least sustainable is most assuredly the perennial All-Star from the Detroit Tigers: Miguel Cabrera.
Cabrera didn't log his first hit until Sunday's contest against the Boston Red Sox - his fifth game of the year. The 33-year-old Cabrera continued to bring his numbers up, though he is still languishing by Miggy-standards with a .125/.276/.125 slash line, notching nothing but singles for his three hits this season.
Of course, Cabrera's keen batting eye has shown up early this season, logging a 17.2 percent walk rate in his 29 plate appearances. Although his 17.5 percent swinging strike rate is way higher than his career numbers of 10 percent, something seems to be affecting his legendary bat-to-ball skills.
Byron Buxton, OF - Twins
Although by no means a bona fide star, Buxton was once the top prospect in all of baseball, and this seems to be a trend for the young center fielder.
Boasting a 57 percent strikeout rate through 30 plate appearances to begin the season, Buxton has been a frustrating mix of highlight-reel defensive plays and absolutely hapless offence. Most assuredly he won't stay this bad for the whole season, but it's worth noting that he was useless at the plate in April of last year as well, slashing .156/.208/.289.
During the second half of 2016, Buxton rallied to the tune of 14 percent better than league average by wRC+, tying with Jarrod Dyson for the 14th-best mark by a center fielder.