The Rays planned on having Dan Johnson be their starting first baseman in 2011. But that didn’t work out and instead someone stepped up: Casey Kotchman, who the Rays had signed to a minor league contract. Kotchman has had easily his best season in the major leagues, hitting .314 with 23 doubles, 8 homers, 43 RBI, and a .379 OBP. But can Kotchman put up those kind of numbers in coming seasons, or has he just been lucky this year?
Casey, we know you run hard, but you're not fast. (Getty Images)
Kotchman is already an atypical first baseman, not possessing the kind of power that nearly all first baseman possess. Because of that, he has to hit for a high average in order to be a good offensive player. Especially for players with little power, batting average has a lot to do with BAbip (batting average on balls in play). This season, Kotchman has posted a high .343 BAbip compared to the league average of .295 despite posting an 18% LD% (line drive percentage among batted ball...
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