Image: David Zalubowski, Associated Press

Check out the other 2023 Gallardo Awards here.

The M-SABR Gallardo Awards, originally conceived by alumni Cam Cain and Sahil Shah, are given to some of the worst performing players in their respective categories each season.

This is the fourth article in this year’s series, honoring the worst hitters in the National League in 2023. Contrary to its much more coveted brother – the Silver Slugger -, the Aluminum Slugger Award is given to those who struggled the most at the plate. We also give out the Mario Mendoza Award which compliments MLB’s Hank Aaron Award. Now, let’s dive into some of the worst performing hitters in the NL this past season.

Note – each player should be someone playing a position regularly. It’d be easy to select platoon guys who just happen to have some games at the position of interest. We’re not looking for the worst player to play second base but for the worst hitting second baseman.

C – Nick Fortes, MIA

Representing the catchers in the National league is Nick Fortes of the Miami Marlins. Given the complexity and difficulty of being a catcher in Major League Baseball, the bar for offensive production is among the lowest of all the positions on the field, if not the lowest.

This makes sense because the catcher needs to understand and command pitch calls, work to get the most out of his pitchers, is required to block breaking balls with runners on base, frame close pitches, and have a high baseball-IQ in general. However, someone had to qualify for this position. Sorry, Nick. 

In 2023, Fortes was the primary backstop for a decent Marlins team that just squeezed into the playoffs. In his first full season ahead of Jacob Stallings on the depth chart, Fortes never got his footing, posting a terrible 53 wRC+, good for the fourth-worst among all 136 players in the National League with at least 300 PA.

Even though Fortes doesn’t walk a ton, he has a great approach, sporting an excellent chase rate (25.6%), whiff rate (16.5%), and strikeout rate (18.3%). The root of his problems stem from his lack of power. He was only able to produce 6 home runs and 12 doubles in 2023, which isn’t close to sufficient as a major league hitter if not walking at an elite rate. This all results in an extremely single-reliant profile. 

Luckily for the Marlins, Fortes is an excellent receiver behind the plate, likely the best in the sport last year, and he was able to salvage his 2023 season in the form of 0.2 fWAR solely because of his abilities in blocking and framing borderline pitches.  

1B – Dominic Smith, WAS

Sometimes in life, you take a gamble and hold out hope that it will end up in your favor. And, sometimes that gamble does not come up your way. In 2023, Dominic Smith was the embodiment of a gamble for the Washington Nationals. When Smith signed with the Nats last January, it wasn’t a move that was derived from recent performance. You had to look back a couple of years to a time when Smith’s playing time wasn’t in flux at first base with the Mets after Pete Alonso’s ascension. 

A former first round pick, Smith found his footing in years three and four and turned in multiple 130+ wRC+ seasons, as he looked poised to form a dynamic duo at first base and DH with Alonso. Unfortunately, this vision was quickly nixed as Alonso gained almost total control of first base duties.

Smith struggled to find consistency in the following years before being non-tendered by the Mets following the 2022 season. Looking for a full-time role, he found the Nationals were in need of a new first baseman after trading Josh Bell. Washington saw the potential upside in him, and he was granted a one-year deal to hopefully reestablish himself. 

The opportunity didn’t go so well for Smith. At a position in baseball where defense is largely forgotten about and offense is required, Smith displayed the opposite of the conventional skill set for a first baseman. He was an above average defender but never had much thump in his bat during the 2023 campaign.

Among all 13 qualified NL hitters at first, Smith was last in wRC+ (90), SLG (.366), and ISO (.112). Oddly enough, his ability to make contact was excellent and his approach was only subpar. It’s not like he was terrible at finding the best launch angle as well, as he possessed a sweet-spot% that cleared nearly 80% of the league. Similar to Fortes, you can also chalk up Smith’s Aluminum Slugger as the result of an inability to hit the ball hard. 

2B – Luis García, WAS

Look away Nats fans, we have another Washington Aluminum Slugger. Similar to Smith, Luis García also had a year to forget, but the circumstances regarding his season were not the same. García is hardly a reclamation project; the organization is trying to build around him through its rebuild. The former top prospect was advertised as having a solid hit tool with below-average power, and he has yet to hit those marks as a big leaguer.

In 2023, García turned in an 84 wRC+, not an immediate cause for concern, but this changes when you take a peek at how his batted ball data compares to his peers. A quick look at his Baseball Savant page shows all of his necessary power metrics such as average exit velocity, barrel%, xSLG, and hard hit% all hover around the first quartile across the league.

This profile is also propped up by a great ability to make contact with the ball and avoid strikeouts, but it is not sustainable if he wants to be the Nats’ second baseman of the future. For García, it is imperative to emphasize quality of contact if he wants to be a productive MLB hitter.

SS – Ezequiel Tovar, COL

Our first Aluminum Slugger outside of the NL East is none other than rookie shortstop Ezequiel Tovar. Hopes were high for Tovar heading into 2023 following his short nine-game cup of coffee in ’22. The top prospect was widely regarded as a great athlete with a knack for finding the barrel while holding down a solid shortstop in his early years.

Unfortunately for Tovar, he struggled to make any meaningful contact at the dish this past season. You can chalk it up to inexperience or nerves, but the bottom line is he couldn’t hit major league pitching. He chased more than 98% of players, whiffed at a very concerning rate (31%), and when he did make contact, it was poor.

Tovar is only 160 pounds, which provides room to add to his frame, but that alone will not solve his issues. Luckily for Tovar and the Rockies, he exhibited incredible defense in this audition and will be a fixture at short for a long time if he can improve his hit tool to an average level.

3B – Ryan McMahon, COL

To be frank, third base is a loaded position in the National League. Only two qualified third basemen contributed sub-100 wRC+ seasons in 2023, and selecting Elly De La Cruz as a Gallardo recipient after his electrifying rookie campaign seems misguided. So, McMahon it is.

Once a rising cornerstone in Colorado following a pair of seasons when he posted 2.4 and 3.0 fWAR, McMahon had a noticeably down year in 2023; he posted 1.2 fWAR, 88 wRC+, and a .240/.322/.431 slash line. This is hardly a poor season in general, but it’s not what we’re used to seeing from the former second-round pick. McMahon isn’t declining already, right? 

RF – Starling Marte, NYM

In a season when the New York Mets vastly underachieved expectations, Starling Marte’s 2023 parallels this narrative. After generating a star-level 8.2 fWAR in his previous two seasons combined, things fell apart for Marte in 2023. After battling a groin injury for the majority of the season, he was limited to just 86 games, and something was clearly not right when he was on the field.

Marte posted career lows with a 76 wRC+ and -0.3 fWAR. He still managed to make an impact on the bases, though, stealing 24 bags and contributing 4.1 BsR, but these efforts were in vain. It remains to be seen whether this starts the inevitable downward decline every professional athlete undergoes, but I would be surprised if Marte can’t rebound for a middling Mets team in 2024.

CF – Brenton Doyle, COL

Mendoza Award Winner

If you love rangy outfielders that catch everything with their glove but nothing with their bat, then you’re in the right place. Brenton Doyle played to the extremes on both sides of the ball in 2023, quite literally performing the best on defense according to Fielding Run value, while simultaneously posting the worst wRC+ (43) among all MLB players with at least 400 PA.

What came of this season when it was all said and done? Well, Doyle posted a surprisingly solid 0.9 fWAR. This level of specialization here is fascinating for me as it proves that even the worst hitter in baseball could find a job as a fourth outfielder or at the very least, a late-inning replacement. 

LF – Jurickson Profar, COL/SD

The FOURTH Rockies player to take home a 2023 NL Aluminum Slugger Award is left fielder Jurickson Profar. After going relatively untouched on the free agent market until March, Profar accepted a one-year contract worth nearly $8M from Colorado. The value of this deal came to the surprise of many considering he had just put up 2.5 fWAR the year before, but he quickly showed why most teams didn’t seriously consider him.

When all said and done, Profar produced a meager -2.0 fWAR to pair with a 76 wRC+. Similar to years past, he exhibited great contact ability with little consistency in the power department. The issue was magnified when he couldn’t clear 10 homers in over 110 games in Coors. Among his average exit velocity, barrel%, xSLG and hard hit% peripherals, much leaves to be desired as he placed in the 12th percentile or worst in each. If Profar, currently unsigned, wants to get to the rare milestone of 10 years of service time, he will have to figure his bat out in 2024.

DH – Joey Meneses, WAS

A third Washington hitter on this list makes the NL Aluminum Slugger composed of 78% Rockies and Nationals. I don’t know if I should be impressed or saddened at the lack of parity here. Regardless, Joey Meneses did not have that bad of a year, at least in retrospect to the rest of the contributors on this list.

He cleared a .700 OPS and 95 wRC+ in the 2023 campaign, but the problem is the position he played. As a DH, it’s imperative to be a great hitter if not providing any value in the field. Don’t get me wrong, almost nobody expected him to repeat his 2022 run when he set the world on fire following the Juan Soto trade, but I think most were hoping for more than this.

Categories: 2023 Gallardo Awards, Articles, Season Analysis

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