Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
For the St. Louis Cardinals third baseman, 2013 is a case of good news, bad news. The good news for Davis Freese is that he is back and healthy. He is playing every day and couldn’t feel beter. The bad news is that he hasn’t really found his stroke yet and he is only hitting .211. The Cardinals just so happen to have the best starting pitching staff, by ERA, in all of Major League Baseball.
The good news this past week was that Freese had a small hitting streak. Unfortunately it was one of those times when a player has a hitting streak but his batting average actually goes down. Freese is has a career average just under .300 and chances are that he will be just fine as the year goes on. He is struggling now but as is the case many times on good teams, now is the best time to struggle.
They don’t need his bat to win. As long as he shows up and plays third base to the best of his ability behind that starting staff, he’s good. Later as the weather warms up and the pitching staff begins to fatigue a little bit, Freese will need to have his stroke figured out. By that time they won’t simply want him for his glove but will need his bat to get hot.
I think he will be fine by the end of May. He might not have as good of a season as he has in the past but he will play solidly and probably begin to get clutch hits soon. Playing behind the Cards starting five, he will be more than enough third baseman this season even if he doesn’t figure things out.
David Miller is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @davidmillerrant, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google+.
