Duncan filling two holes for Cards
07/20/2006
ST. LOUIS -- Two of the major questions surrounding the Cardinals in Spring Training dealt with left field and the No. 2 spot in the batting order.
In July, the Redbirds may have found a solution for both problems in Chris Duncan. The 25-year-old son of longtime pitching coach Dave Duncan is hitting for average and power and giving the Cardinals a sense of normalcy at those two positions.
"It's been impressive," manager Tony La Russa said. "There are a lot of people who are high on him in the organization, and I am one of them."
After 93 games, La Russa has started 11 different players in the No. 2 hole, and 10 players have manned left field. Recently, though, Duncan has filled both, giving the Cardinals more pop. His play could change the team's approach as the non-waiver trade deadline approaches.
A power-hitting left-handed bat, Duncan had a cup of coffee with the big-league club at the end of last season. He began this season at Triple-A Memphis before seeing limited action in the Majors during late May and early June.
But since July 3, Duncan has been a vital cog for the first-place Redbirds. And it looks like he won't be going back to the Minors anytime soon.
"What Chris is doing is trying to take advantage of every opportunity he gets," Dave Duncan said. "He knows how the game his played up here. If he does well, he gets more opportunities. He is trying to do all of the things that he can do to get ready for when the opportunity is there for him. He knows he just has to take good, solid at-bats."
Duncan, playing mostly against right-handers, has capitalized on the opportunity, batting .312 with a .349 on-base percentage. He has four homers and 12 RBI in 77 at-bats.
Duncan's average and on-base percentage are welcome additions to the club, but it's his power that makes an impact. La Russa often likes to start a power guy in the No. 2 spot over a bat control player.
"You are seeing more and more clubs adopt that approach and bat guys [No.2] who can drive the ball a little bit and do some things versus a bat control guy," Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty said. "I think you may see more of that in the future, too."
Duncan also provided a much-needed jolt to a left-field position and No. 2 spot that ranked near the bottom of the NL in nearly every offensive category. With David Eckstein getting on base in front of him and Albert Pujols waiting on deck, Duncan has seen a steady diet of fastballs. And he has taken advantage.
"I am just seeing the ball well and getting some good pitches to hit," Duncan said. "The pitches are the same, but they are closer to the strike zone because they can't afford to walk me with Albert on deck. I have the luxury of being a little more aggressive."
Mainly a first pitch swinger -- he is 10-for-16 when the count is 0-0 or 0-1 -- Duncan has scorched opposing pitching when hitting second, batting .370 in 27 at-bats.
His overall production is forcing team management to rethink a trade for an established outfielder. Duncan's .894 OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) comes cheap and provides similar numbers to other possible trade options, including the Phillies' David Dellucci (.933 OPS) and Bobby Abreu (893 OPS) and the Nationals' Alfonso Soriano (.926 OPS).
"If we make a deal where we can get an established guy, we will," Jocketty said. "If we don't, we are very comfortable with where we are at. That is part of the reason we brought him back up, we wanted to see what he could do."
Source: http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/
ST. LOUIS -- Two of the major questions surrounding the Cardinals in Spring Training dealt with left field and the No. 2 spot in the batting order.
In July, the Redbirds may have found a solution for both problems in Chris Duncan. The 25-year-old son of longtime pitching coach Dave Duncan is hitting for average and power and giving the Cardinals a sense of normalcy at those two positions.
"It's been impressive," manager Tony La Russa said. "There are a lot of people who are high on him in the organization, and I am one of them."
After 93 games, La Russa has started 11 different players in the No. 2 hole, and 10 players have manned left field. Recently, though, Duncan has filled both, giving the Cardinals more pop. His play could change the team's approach as the non-waiver trade deadline approaches.
A power-hitting left-handed bat, Duncan had a cup of coffee with the big-league club at the end of last season. He began this season at Triple-A Memphis before seeing limited action in the Majors during late May and early June.
But since July 3, Duncan has been a vital cog for the first-place Redbirds. And it looks like he won't be going back to the Minors anytime soon.
"What Chris is doing is trying to take advantage of every opportunity he gets," Dave Duncan said. "He knows how the game his played up here. If he does well, he gets more opportunities. He is trying to do all of the things that he can do to get ready for when the opportunity is there for him. He knows he just has to take good, solid at-bats."
Duncan, playing mostly against right-handers, has capitalized on the opportunity, batting .312 with a .349 on-base percentage. He has four homers and 12 RBI in 77 at-bats.
Duncan's average and on-base percentage are welcome additions to the club, but it's his power that makes an impact. La Russa often likes to start a power guy in the No. 2 spot over a bat control player.
"You are seeing more and more clubs adopt that approach and bat guys [No.2] who can drive the ball a little bit and do some things versus a bat control guy," Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty said. "I think you may see more of that in the future, too."
Duncan also provided a much-needed jolt to a left-field position and No. 2 spot that ranked near the bottom of the NL in nearly every offensive category. With David Eckstein getting on base in front of him and Albert Pujols waiting on deck, Duncan has seen a steady diet of fastballs. And he has taken advantage.
"I am just seeing the ball well and getting some good pitches to hit," Duncan said. "The pitches are the same, but they are closer to the strike zone because they can't afford to walk me with Albert on deck. I have the luxury of being a little more aggressive."
Mainly a first pitch swinger -- he is 10-for-16 when the count is 0-0 or 0-1 -- Duncan has scorched opposing pitching when hitting second, batting .370 in 27 at-bats.
His overall production is forcing team management to rethink a trade for an established outfielder. Duncan's .894 OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) comes cheap and provides similar numbers to other possible trade options, including the Phillies' David Dellucci (.933 OPS) and Bobby Abreu (893 OPS) and the Nationals' Alfonso Soriano (.926 OPS).
"If we make a deal where we can get an established guy, we will," Jocketty said. "If we don't, we are very comfortable with where we are at. That is part of the reason we brought him back up, we wanted to see what he could do."
Source: http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/
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