Mark Mulder: Hitter First, Pitcher Second?

by user Timothy Moreland(Bball3345)

In 17 games started this year, Mark Mulder has struggled, posting a 7.14 ERA. While likely due to injuries, this performance has left a lot to be desired. On August 30th, following a five run, one-and-two-thirds inning performance, St. Louis placed Mulder back on the DL with a left shoulder impingement.

While Cardinals fans may not mind the absence of a Mulder disaster every five days, there exists another facet of the pitcher's game they may miss: Mulder's at-bats. On the season, Number 30 has a line of .280/.400/.480. That's good enough for an .880 OPS. This ranks him behind only Albert Pujols, Chris Duncan, and Scott Rolen among everyday players. In twenty-five at-bats, the lefty has gone deep once, drove in five, and scored five times. Projected to 600 at-bats, this gives Mulder 24 home runs, 120 RBIs, and 120 runs. Not bad.

Now, obviously Mulder would not keep on this pace throughout a full season, but it is fun to throw reality out the window sometimes and imagine.

Getting back to the pitching side, this year's dissapointment may be partially attributed to injuries, but a few bothersome trends have persisted since 2002. In 2002, Mulder recorded a K/9 of 6.90, slightly above average. His control, as shown by his BB/9, far outperformed average, at 2.39 BB/9. Combined, these numbers made for a strong 2.89 K/BB.

Since 2002, Mulder's K rate has dropped each consecutive season from 6.17 to 5.58 to 4.87, and finally 4.82 in 2006. Now, in 2003, this drop in K's was offset by improved control, 1.93 BB/9. Due to a 3.20 K/BB, 2003 was Mulder's best season in terms of ERA with a 3.13 ERA.

For some reason, Mulder's control left him after 2003, jumping to 3.31 BB/9 and staying above three in 2005 and 2006. The yearly drop in strikeouts and more recent decline in control equaled unimpressive K/BB's of 1.69 in 2004, 1.59 in 2005, and 1.43 in 2006.

This season Mulder has been extremely hittable(.320 AVG against), especially with the longball(1.83 HR/9). Injuries can explain away some of the struggles this year but not everything. Mulder has not pitched like an ace since 2003. At only twenty-eight years old it is still early enough for Mulder to recapture the control that enabled him to pitch like the ace St. Louis probably thought they were getting.

Date

Mon 09/04/06, 6:53 am EST

Alex HolowczakHall of Famer

1183 days ago

Score 1

Babe Ruth of the future? (Well, at least in terms of turning from a pitcher to a hitter).

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Bball3345Draft Pick

1183 days ago

Score 1

That would be sweet... although his 2005 batting stats were quite dreadful.

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Alex HolowczakHall of Famer

1183 days ago

Score 1

Maybe it took him a year to get the hang of it?

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