Matt Adams: Injury masks production
Cardinals first baseman Matt Adams (32) breaks his bat during the sixth inning. That pretty much sums up the night. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Did we forget Adams’ 3-run shot against MVP and Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw to go up 3-2 and win 2014 NLCS game 4? Talk about CLUTCH. What about the walk off home run against the Pirates’ Justin Wilson in 2014? We went into that at-bat trailing them by 1/2 game in the standings. Does anyone remember the 14th and 16th inning home runs Adams hit in Cincinnati in late 2013? Matt’s the only Cardinal who’s ever done it.
A healthy Matt Adams put up decent numbers in 2014. Fangraphs research shows Adams posted a 2.1 WAR while Chris Davis and Eric Hosmer posted 0.8 and 0.1 respectfully in 2014. In 2015 Davis jumped to 5.6 and Hosmer to 3.5, which shows what a new season might bring for Adams. Editor Steven McNeil believes similarities lie between Adams and Royals surprise performer Mike Moustakas. So, let’s give the guy the benefit of doubt and see what 2016 brings after fully healing.
Next: Jhonny Peralta: Good overall stats despite second half