Bernie: Paul DeJong Isn’t Doing As Poorly As You Think, So Get Off His Back And Give It A Rest.

Just a question: Can we get off Paul DeJong’s back for a minute or so?

I hate to break it to you again …but The Scientist won’t be benched, traded for a case of Fiji water, banished to the minors, or otherwise sent to a place where his increasingly rabid haters will never have to look at him again. So it’s best for you to adjust.

Pauly absolutely ruined Tuesday night for his fangboys, pulling a two-out double down the left-field line in Tuesday’s second inning – scoring Albert Pujols for a 1-0 lead that the Cardinals never relinquished. This, one game after delivering a go-ahead hit Saturday in Milwaukee for a lead that St. Louis preserved for a 2-1 win. This is positive, yes?

I’m not here to suggest that DeJong is putting up awesome numbers so far.

Batting .185 with a ,.683 OPS, he isn’t close to that. But we’re talking only nine games and 32 plate appearances here … and for anyone to be shrieking about benching him this soon into the schedule is a probable sign of mental instability.

Relative to what’s going on with MLB hitters in the early days of the 2022 season, DeJong isn’t doing as poorly as you assume.

Again: RELATIVE to the overall MLB offensive trends, DeJong ain’t as crummy as you think. Not at all.

Here’s an educational pamphlet:

– DeJong’s 97 OPS+ is only three percent below league average offensively.

– DeJong’s park-and-league adjusted runs created rate (wRC+) is 105, or five percent above league average. That’s 12th best among qualifying MLB shortstops so far.

– DeJong’s low batting average has been influenced by a low batting average on balls in play (.235) a clear indication of poor luck which is the third-lowest BIP mark among MLB shortstops.

– Based on his impressive 50% hard-hit rate, DeJong should be hitting .230 with a .453 slugging percentage.

– DeJong is hitting .286 with a .643 slug against fastballs this season.

– DeJong’s barrel rate (16.7%) would be his highest during the Statcast era, which began in his rookie season (2017.)

– DeJong’s strikeout rate (28 percent) certainly needs to come down. But his 15.6% walk rate ranks second to the Mets’ Francisco Lindor (17.3%) among qualifying shortstops.

– DeJong’s .683 OPS is 12th among qualifying shortstops and higher than the OPS marks posted by Brandon Crawford, Carlos Correa, Willy Adames, Bo Bichette, Dansby Swanson and Adalberto Mondesi (among others.)

– DeJong is tied for second among MLB shortstops with two defensive runs saved. Since the start of the 2019 season DeJong ranks fourth among MLB shortstops with 32 defensive runs saved. The only three guys ahead of him are Javier Baez (40), Trevor Story (36) and Carlos Correa (36.)

– DeJong has a plus rating in the baserunning metrics so far this season. Which is normal for him; over the last five seasons he has a net baserunning gain of +15.

– DeJong has 0.2 WAR so far this season; that ties him with Corey Seager at 11th among shortstops.

– The Cardinals’ shortstop position is tied for 6th in the majors with 0.4 Wins Above Average.

– Through Tuesday, MLB shortstops as a group had a .304 onbase percentage, .356 slug, and a .660 OPS. DeJong is performing above that average in onbase percentage (.313), slugging (.370) and OPS (.683.)

And yet … all I hear from are people who want to weaken the Cardinals at two positions defensively by promoting Nolan Gorman and putting him at second base and moving Tommy Edman to shortstop. Good grief.

DeJong has to bring up some of his numbers. But if someone is willing to do the research and look more closely into the statistics, then it’s easy to understand that DeJong has some factors working in his favor. He’s making progress at the plate, coming through with multiple go-ahead RBI. He continues to be a plus defensively and as a baserunner, and should benefit from his hard-hit rate and willingness to take walks and set up run-scoring opportunities. And if you insist that he’s off to a slow start … OK, fine. But so are a lot of MLB shortstops who have bigger names and much larger paychecks.

Thanks for reading …

–Bernie

Bernie invites you to listen to his opinionated and analytical sports-talk show on 590-AM The Fan, KFNS. It airs Monday through Thursday from 3-6 p.m. and Friday from 4-6 p.m. You can listen by streaming online or by downloading the “Bernie Show” podcast at 590thefan.com — the 590 app works great and is available in your preferred app store.

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Please email your “Ask Bernie” questions to BernScoops@gmail.com

All stats used here were sourced from FanGraphs, Baseball Reference, Stathead, Bill James Online, Fielding Bible, Baseball Savant and Brooks Baseball Net unless otherwise noted.