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It was June, 2012.
Detroit Tigers star third baseman, Miguel Cabrera was cold at the plate, something that is very rare to see. Through June 7th to the 24th, Miggy was batting .219 with a 22.6 miss percentage and an insane 59.3 percent ground ball rate. That, via the greatest stat man in the world, Tristan Cockroft of ESPN. The 16-game stretch was very ugly for Cabrera, as well as fantasy owners. However, Miggy would go on to finish the year batting an insane .330 with 44 home runs and 139 RBI, en route to a second consecutive Triple Crown title.
The moral of the story? Miguel Cabrera is very, very good at baseball, and will post incredible numbers at season’s end.
2014 hasn’t been too kind to Cabrera so far, as his .235 batting average is rather odd, while two home runs and 10 RBI aren’t anything to write home about, either. However, he is coming off a monster game on Tuesday night where he went 3-for-5 with a homer and three RBI. That’s terrific news, as fantasy owners can use this big night to sell Cabrera, seeing as he’s not very good.
Sarcasm is fun.
There isn’t a more pure or better all-around hitter in the game today than Cabrera, who, like all players, is human. He is going through a bit of a hitting slump, and there is going to be that month where he just goes nuts, hitting like 12 home runs. But why isn’t he on his usual tear now? Well, his current ground ball rate of 44.2 suggests he isn’t getting under the ball, and that is definitely going to change, especially when you consider that this guy has a career HR/FB rate of 19.4 percent. But perhaps he also seems a little sluggish at the plate. After all, he is sporting a bat speed of 0.1, which is a major outlier when you notice that his career bat speed is sitting at three.
The concerns are incredibly overrated, but understandable, I guess, seeing as fantasy owners spent the number two overall pick on him. But being patient is one of the most important (and difficult) parts of being a fantasy owner. I mean, I kind of feel sick to my stomach having to write a piece telling people to stop worrying about the best hitter on the planet, but it’s out there. People talking about trading the guy is ludicrous, which reminds me, if anyone in your league is fielding offers for Miggy, send the kitchen sink.
Breathe, folks. Breathe.
Adam Pfeifer is a featured fantasy sports columnist for Rant Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @aPfeiferRS.
