Diamondbacks Jake Lamb: What Happened During the 2nd Half?

Jake Lamb was on pace to have a MVP caliber season after a tremendous 1st half for the D’Backs. But, what happened in the 2nd half for him to struggle so mightily?

Jake Lamb’s performance for the Arizona Diamondbacks over the first half of the season had those fantasy owners that picked him up off the waiver wire, thinking they had the steal of the season. For the most part, they were right, but things would change drastically.

Unfortunately, there are two halves to the MLB season, and Lamb forgot to show up after the All-Star break.

The D’Backs had a horrid 2016 season, becoming one of the one of the most disappointing teams in baseball. Even though they got great performances from Yasmany Tomas, Jean Segura, Jake Lamb and the usual steadiness from Paul Goldschmidt, they still could not salvage the season.

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In seasons like these, silver linings become a major theme, and the breakout from Lamb is surely one for the D’backs. Lamb finished the season with a, .249/29 HR/91 RBI/6 SB/81 R/.840 OPS line. On the surface, that line is solid outside of the AVG, but there is still a lot here to like. Yet, not without some red flags.

Heading into July, Lamb continued to mash the ball, and should have made the NL All-Star team. After the All-Star break though, things went south quickly. Over the rest of the season, Lamb would not hit higher than .198 in any month, and could only muster 8 HR/25 RBI over the last two months of the season.

This drop in production killed fantasy owners who banked on Lamb for the stretch run, and dampened what could have been a top-5 3B fantasy campaign.

Depending on who you ask, there are multiple reasons why Lamb took a nosedive. Some will point to his struggles against LHP, .164 AVG/4 HR, but even when things were going well, those struggles were prevalent.

Others will point to a possible hand injury that he suffered in the middle of July, after getting jammed at the plate. But, the fact remains, that he just did not look like the guy after the break that we saw during the first half.

His batted ball data over the second half paints an even uglier picture. His LD% dropped 6%, his Hard Contact rate dipped out of the 40% range, and his HR/FB rate was cut in half. He simply stop hitting the ball with any consistent force, and it manifested itself into more weak fly balls.

Adjustment by major league pitchers surely had an impact as well, he started to get exposed up in the zone as the season went on. But, one factor that tends to get overlooked, is fatigue.

Lamb played in 151 games and had 594 AB this season, both numbers that were easily career highs. He had never played in more than 108 games in the minors, nor eclipsed the 460 AB mark either. Combine this inevitable fatigue, a nagging hand injury, and major league adjustments, and it easy to see where things could go wrong.

I do no think that Lamb will ever be a high AVG hitter, until he somehow figures out lefties. The power is legit, and Arizona is a prime fantasy spot for him, keep in mind they get A.J. Pollock back next season as well. There will be fantasy owners that will write him off as a one year fluke, and point to his slump as just the fist indicator.

Do not fall for that.

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This is a guy that is just entering into his prime, showed a jump in power thanks to a mechanical change with his swing, will bat in the middle of one the best lineups in baseball, and happens to call a hitter’s paradise home

Yes he struggled big time, but there is nothing wrong with a 3B who can post a, .260/25+ HR/90+ RBI/80+ R type of line. Believe in the Lamb.

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