Purple Monday: The Progression of Second Baseman DJ LeMahieu

Happy Purple Monday! The Colorado Rockies have fallen into a bit of slump and are closer all the time to being out of contention for either of the Wild Card spots. They are 6.0 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals and have a homestand featuring series against division leaders the Nationals and the Cubs this week. This week’s edition of Purple Monday is going to focus on the emergence of DJ LeMahieu and how he ascended to one of the best second basemen in the entire league. Lets get into it:

DJ LeMahieu came into the league after playing his college baseball for LSU and was taken by the Cubs in the second-round of the 2009 draft. He made his major league debut for Chicago in 2011 and was traded to the Rockies that offseason. The trade will go down as one of the best the Rockies have made recently acquiring LeMahieu and Tyler Colvin for Ian Stewart and Casey Weathers. I want to look into DJ’s progression each year for the Rockies following his debut in 2012.

In 2012 he played in 81 games and it was one of his better seasons in terms of hitting.

Obviously, this is a smaller sample size since he did not accrue as many games played, but he still was able to slash .297/.332/.410, while hitting only two home runs. He struck out 42 times and only had 13 walks, or 3.23 times as often. This is a number he has really improved on in his time in the big leagues.

2013 was one of DJ’s worst in terms of offensive numbers and is the real starting point for the progression that he has undergone. He slash line was .280/.311/.361. He continued at about the same pace in terms of Ks versus BBs with just over three-and-a-half as many strikeouts as walks with 67 and 19, respectively.

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I think that 2014 was a big year for DJ. His average dropped from .280 to .267 but he was able to play just about the whole year ending with 149 games played. This was also the year he won his first Gold Glove which is something he definitely deserved. I think that he really started to become a more patient hitter stringing together quality at bats.  Even with the drop in average his OBP increased from .311 to .315 and he walked 33 times which was almost double his total from 2013. He struck out 97 times, bringing his strikeout to walk rate down to 2.93.

All of these numbers DJ was able to improve on in 2015, where he made his first All-Star appearance for the Rockies. His slash line improved drastically as he hit .301/.358/.388. This is a 34-point increase in batting average and an even greater increase in on-base percentage. He also found a little power hitting six home runs, a career high, to go along with 61 RBI’s. Another huge improvement was his ability to draw 50 walks while striking out 107 times, bringing his strikeout to walk rate all the way down to 2.14.

This year has truly been a breakout campaign for DJ, his numbers were very solid last year but he has drastically improved in every category this year. So far in 110 games LeMahieu is slashing .331/.405/.477 which is a huge increase, especially in slugging percentage. He already has a career high in home runs at eight, but he has also exceeded his double and triple totals as compared to any other year, with 52 games left. Perhaps the most impressive improvement is his ability to earn walks while limiting strikeouts.  He already has 52 walks (another career high) compared to

62 strikeouts. His strikeout to walk rate is now 1.19, which is a far cry from 3.5 in 2013. Not coincidentally, this has been the first year DJ has consistently hit second in the lineup, and he is producing wonderfully. Combined with Charlie Blackmon, the Rockies consistently get quality at bats from the top of the order and set the table for the run producers below them.

Now, lets look how DJ’s breakout campaign compares to other players around the league. He has the third-best average among second basemen trailing only Jose Altuve and Daniel Murphy, both of who are having phenomenal years and are garnering a lot of headlines. These two players are the only second basemen that DJ trails in OPS as well, with DJ’s sitting at .882. His on-base percentage trails only Altuve’s.

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Compared to the whole league, DJ trails the two aforementioned guys and Wilson Ramos in average giving him the fourth best in baseball. In OBP, DJ is again in the top-5. These are pretty good numbers from a guy not getting very much national attention at all, but as Rockies fans we know just how good he has been.

National media and fans will say his stats are inflated by playing at Coors, and they may have a point. DJ is hitting .378 at 20th and Blake as compared to .288 on the road. He definitely benefits from the expansive outfield at home, but even that cannot take away from his improvement over the years.

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These offensive numbers, coupled with his plus-defensive ability and very club friendly contract (2 years for $7.8 million) make him one of the most valuable players on the Rockies team.