Almora Troubles Track Back to Houston
Everyone at one point or another has rode the play Albert Almora fan bus. His dazzling defense and progression on the offensive-side seemed to force the issue more and more. Without a true platoon partner in 2019, he was getting that opportunity and it was beginning to pay off as well.
In the 30 games between April 25th through May 28th, Almora was slashing .301/.333/.583 with 7 HR, 8 doubles, and nine multi-hit games. Those 7 homers in a month’s span is two more than all of 2018, and one less than the 8 he hit in 2017.
Almora was a reason the Cubs offense was clicking. With the top of the order hitting, Almora lengthened the lineup creating one of the hardest NL lineups to navigate. But then there was a night in Houston.
We all saw the terrifying foul ball that struck a small child off the bat of Almora. We saw his immediate reaction to that very unfortunate event. We saw his reaction later on when an usher told him how the child was doing. We also saw a horrible swing at a pitch that failed to cross the plate immediately after.
This was expected, that was a horrifying event just watching, let alone having being the one to hit that ball. Almora, a father of young ones himself, of course had a completely human reaction to that situation. But it appears that Almora may not have gotten over that night.
In the 15 games since, Almora is hitting .220/.256/.268. His OPS is nearly 400 points lower than the previous 30 games, and his at bats haven’t been great. His approach regressed, and his offensive numbers dipped again. This cause more sporadic playing time again.
I have been waiting for Almora to have a good offensive night before putting this piece out, and in LA on Sunday, Almora put together a three hit night and then Wednesday night against the White Sox he collected two more. I want to see if the approach changed, or if his bat just ran into a couple balls that found green. It could be an approach thing as his two hits Wednesday were to right field. This shows he’s staying on the ball, and he hit them relatively hard, suggesting he’s working through the ball well.
Now, his baserunning late is another issue, but could support the idea that his head might not be fully into it right now.
Baseball is a game that you need 100% of your focus on it, every pitch. There is so much going on, at all times, and if your head slips for a minute – you’re not likely going to do well. Now, I don’t know anything about the state of Almora’s mental place right now, but if we follow things back to that night in Houston it seems that’s where his troubles began. No one can blame him, but this should provide some clarity on why he hasn’t played as often as some believe he should be.
I ride the fence on playing Almora everyday. While his defense is second-to-none, his bat, at this point, is below league average is below average (93 wRC+). His defense only brings his value up to a 1 WAR player (average season). You can take chances playing a slumping Anthony Rizzo or Kris Bryant or Javier Baez daily, but a relatively mediocre bat in someone like Almora doesn’t get that benefit of the doubt. When Baez slumps, he can still hit a mistake out of the ballpark. When Almora slumps he might hit a mistake to right field.
