Pedro Alvarez Is Struggling; Guess What? He’s Not the Only One.

For those of you that missed it last week, I wrote an article based around the struggles of Pedro Alvarez. I touched up on his streakiness, along with the poor patience brought to the table by fans.

Players struggle all the time. It’s something that happens in baseball. Don’t get me wrong; Alvarez is off to a bad start in 2013. He’s not the only one in the MLB that is off to a slow start through the first two weeks of play, and I’m going to touch up on some other players who have been struggling around the league.

April 7, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves right fielder Jason Heyward (22) reacts to being tagged out by Chicago Cubs infielder Alberto Gonzalez (not pictured) in the seventh inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

We’ll go to the Atlanta Braves, the best team in baseball so far. They have only lost one game in 2013 despite the struggles of two of their biggest players. Not only is Freddie Freeman and Brian McCann on the disabled list, but B.J. Upton and Jason Heyward have been terrible so far. The two sluggers have combined for six RBIs and two home runs. They both hold averages in the .100 range, and have without a doubt been disappointments for their team.

Adam LaRoche is another player in the National League East who hasn’t been hitting the ball too well this season. With the exception of one game, LaRoche has one hit and three RBI. I know that sounds so familiar to Pirate fans, but for those who don’t know, LaRoche was one of the more solid hitters in the league last season.

Mike Trout was picked by some to be the American League MVP, but so far this season, hasn’t lived up to that prediction. His two runs batted in and one stolen base with a mediocre average around .250 isn’t MVP material.

Buster Posey was the National League MVP in 2012. He’s been in a slump to start the 2013 campaign, and is only batting .231 with nine hits/zero home runs overall.

Ichiro Suzuki is batting .176. Wait what? Yes, I said it. Ichiro has only six hits through 34 at-bats and doesn’t look like the player we have seen in recent years.

Apr 13, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton (27) sits in the dugout during the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

We’ll finish it off with maybe the biggest example so far this season: Giancarlo Stanton. The Miami Marlins slugger is yet to drive in a single run, and his average is barely above .150. That’s pretty crazy for a guy who was projected to be a potential 50-homer guy.

Alvarez always starts the season out slow.

I am a huge Alvarez defender, and you can clearly see that. Some fans are crazy when they say that he should be optioned to Indianapolis/traded/designated for assignment.

This same thing happened last season. Once he gets on a roll and is locked in, I’m confident when I say that he is the scariest hitter in the league to face.

I’m positive when I say the players I just talked about aren’t criticized nearly as much as Alvarez by their fans.

Patience is key.