Durango vs. Mastroianni

by StickRat on Oct 5, 2009 5:32 AM EDT

For the many organizations turning to the speed-and-defense philosophy, the ability for leadoff hitters to work strike zones and earn walks is still somewhat of a lost art. Maybe it's because I grew up watching two of the best leadoff hitters in the history of the game, Rickey Henderson and Tim Raines, that I am a tough critic. One of the things that distinguished their style of batting leadoff was their ability to draw more walks than strikeouts. There have been a lot of great base stealers to break into the big leagues over the past few years. But in my opinion, most of them -- Dexter Fowler, Jacoby Ellsbury, Nyjer Morgan, Michael Bourn, and Julio Borbon -- tend to draw too few walks and strike out too often.

This year, Chone Figgins became one of the premier leadoff hitters in the game. Yet, he didn't do anything as a hitter he hasn't done before. He has hit around the .300 mark his entire career, as he did this season, finishing at a .298 clip. What made this season special for him though was the increase in his walk total. He drew 101 walks this year (though he did still strike out 114 times) which caused his OBP to spike. The most he had previously walked in a season was 65 times.

Two of the old-school leadoff prototypes that have really caught my eye this season are Padres outfielder Luis Durango and Blue Jays prospect Darin Mastroianni. Both are making names for themselves because of speed-and-defense tools. Durango had never been much of a base-stealing force in years past, swiping no more than 17 bases in a season heading into this season. He stole 44 bases at Double-A San Antonio this year though. And in addition to hitting .281, the switch-hitting Durango produced a .390 OBP by walking 81 times against 70 strikeouts. Mastroianni is one of the biggest stolen-base threats in baseball, swiping 70 bases between High-A and Double-A this year. He produced a .400 OBP, though more because of his hitting prowess in the Florida State League where he posted a .325 average. A right-handed hitter, he totaled 74 walks and 83 strikeouts. Both are predominantly singles hitters. Defensively, they both appear to be above average fielders with plus arms -- although the latter is a summation based on assist totals.

So, my question is: If you had to choose one to build around as a leadoff hitter, which one would you pick?

Poll

Which player would you choose as a leadoff hitter?

Luis Durango

25 votes

Darin Mastroianni

19 votes

44 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

You didn't mention one thing

Both Durango and Mastroianni have a career minor league slugging percentage below .400. This year, Durango slugged .309 as a 23-year old in AA, and Mastroianni slugged .340 as a 23-year old in AA. You just can’t survive in the major leagues if you can’t hit anything hard — there’s no reason for a pitcher to throw you anything but a strike.

I don’t think that there’s anything that Mastroianni or Durango have that the Braves’ Gregor Blanco doesn’t have, say. Blanco came up to the majors in 2008 and got on base at a .366 clip, but his slugging was so low that his OPS+ was still just 81. He struck out a lot because pitchers came after him, and his batting average was just .251. He walked a lot, but that was literally the only thing that he could do offensively: basically, he was Pat Burrell without the homers.

Durango and Mastroianni cannot make it without developing more power.

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by alexwithclass on Oct 5, 2009 9:20 AM EDT reply actions

There is room for guys who don’t hit for power. Granted, .340 and .309 are certainly on the low end of slugging percentages, but if a hitter has the ability to hit .330 or so (a la Ichiro) there is room for them in the major leagues. The problem is that there are very very few people who hit .330 as a skill.

Now neither of these guys are going to be .330 hitters (at this point) so it’s probably moot to even mention all this. If you slashed .330/.380/.330 there is room for you on a major league roster. Especially if you possess even average defense and can steal a base from time to time.

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by gorilla_baller on Oct 5, 2009 9:30 AM EDT up reply actions

"Both are predominatly singles hitters."

I did mention that. Obvisouly, the lack of slugging is why neither of these players are considered top prospects. I think organizations are willing to build this type of player from the ground up, simply because throughout baseball there is a fundemental lapse in controlling the strikezone from the leadoff spot. Twenty-five years ago it was the way the game was played.

I don’t know that Gregor Blanco fits the bill here. He’s not a balanced hitter, is only effectual against right-handers, and has a history of striking out. He’s seen improvement in recent years, but the swing-type is still prone to swing-through strikes. Mastroianni had a bad year in ’08, but that was the exception to an ’07 and an ’09 season where his so:bb rate was pretty much 1:1.

by StickRat on Oct 5, 2009 6:32 PM EDT up reply actions

Durango

I saw him play two or three years ago in the NW league. He had blazing speed, but didn’t get good reads on pitchers, and consequently got poor jumps for basestealing. He could also lay down a bunt. I thought at the time, if he figures out how to get good reads, he might become a useful player. Looks like maybe he is figuring that out.

by nwbb on Oct 5, 2009 5:14 PM EDT reply actions