Evaluating the Talent: DJ LeMahieu

Give DJ LeMahieu this: he will surely have the distinction of being the player with the most-often misspelled name on the Rockies roster this season. According to familyeducation.com, “LeMahieu” is French for “the Matthew.” Can we just call him DJ Matthew? For simplicity’s sake? I’ve written it three times already for this post and somehow they all look different to me. And wrong. At the very least, I’m going to insist that he go by DJLM.

Looking past the poor kid’s name, where does he fit on the team in 2012? Essentially, he joins the game of musical chairs at 2nd base. He has a grand total of 15 career games at 2nd, but that’s more than he has anywhere else. In the minors, he has 126 games there. Obviously, we are taking a lot on faith with DJLM. On the other hand, the Cubs drafted him in the second round in 2009, so they must think that faith is justified.

Offensively, DJLM could bat 2nd or 7th, those being the open spots. He brings a very small 62 plate appearance sample size to the table, in which he hit .250 with no home runs. It’s very difficult to predict just what he’ll produce. Surely he knows, as we all do, that he must produce in order to expect any playing time. Others competing for the job at 2nd include Jonathan Herrera, Chris Nelson, and Eric Young Jr. None of these guys are sure things right now. Martin Prado is no longer available, so I think this is what we’ve got to work with for 2012. Let’s hope for the best and prepare for the worst.