Skipping on Schumaker

The Cardinals' "Schumaker at second" project continues with the pint-sized outfielder adjusting to his assignment in the pivot.

Schumaker misplayed a couple of routine choppers Sunday, suffering the first setback in his transition from outfield back to infield.

“Those ground balls the other day are outs,” Schumaker said. “Pitchers expect those balls to be out and so do I. So I have to get that down.”

On the first play, he stayed back on the ball, then rushed his catch-and-flip to get the force-out at second base. He cuffed the ball as a result.

On the second play, Schumaker backed up on a chopper -– and the last bounce ate him alive.

“Once I backed up, I was praying the ball would go into my glove,” he said after the game. “It didn’t.”

Good luck, Schu. Here's hoping for your sake things work out, but I'm not entirely certain you're the right fit for the Redbirds at second long-term. And it's not your glove I'm worried about. It's your bat.

My point about Schumaker's bat is this: last season the average Major Leaguer hit .260 with a slugging percentage of .413. That means a player's isolated slugging percentage was 153 points higher than his batting average. Schumaker's ISOSLG was just 104 points above his batting average (.406-.302=.104). He gets slap hits, but a .300 hitter without pop has a lot less impact on a game than a guy who hits .280 with average power.

Neither Adam Kennedy (.092 SLG) nor Aaron Miles (.081 ISOSLG) were better options than Schumaker bat-wise at second for St. Louis. That said, Schumaker offers very little pop, and his lack of base stealing and less-than-ideal OBA for hitting leadoff (.359) make him expendable down the road.

In fact, all of these second baseman put up better "pop" numbers than Schumaker last season (ISOSLG):

Mike Fontenot, CHC (.167)
Ricky Weeks, MIL (.161)
Kaz Matsui, HOU (.134)

That's just the NL Central. Freddie Sanchez, PIT (.100) was the only 2B in the Central with less pop than Schu last year, but his career ISOSLG is .117. Schumaker's minor league ISOSLG is only .095.

That said, the Cardinals must be considering Schumaker their best option right now at second base but not necessarily for the future, and certainly not considering he is already 29. You can find players much younger than Schu who have more upside. I like Skip, but not enough to bank on him long-term.

'Shoe' fitting at second

The Skip Schumaker experiment at second base continued for the Cardinals today, making this Schumaker's third start at the position in four spring games. MLB.com wrote about Schumaker's development at the position on Friday.

"The first three or four plays have been the best for me," said Schumaker, who fielded a popup and a soft liner in his second-base debut on Wednesday. "Getting acclimated, I couldn't ask for an easier way to get kind of settled in. To get into the game and get involved and stop thinking about what's going to happen for that first play is big. So I'm glad it finally happened."

It's still far too early to weigh in with any kind of judgment on the level of success of Schumaker's move. But at least he hasn't done anything to play himself out of the position yet.

"He needs game situations where he's got to run and he can make plays," said manager Tony La Russa. "But he's handling it in a way that makes you want to keep trying."

Schumaker's first full season as a starter was impressive to a degree. At the age of 28 he it .302 with a .359 OBP but with limited power. His eight home runs leave a lot to be desired from an outfielder, whether he's in center or a corner spot. That, and the Cardinals lack at second base, is the reason for his transition to infield.

Fantasy Analysis: It's intriguing to look at the possibilities of Schumaker moving to the infield. His average certainly competes favorably at the position, and he's in a productive lineup, meaning he can be a fairly safe bet to score 80-100 runs if he plays every day. That said, Schumaker is quite a bit below average (even at the second base position) in terms of pop. He turned in a measly .754 OPS in 2008 and hasn't stolen enough bases in recent years at any level to be considered a value in that category. He does, however, merit a look in larger or deeper leagues as a player than can be productive enough not to hurt you at his position. He's potentially worth a roster spot as a reserve or middle infielder if he wins the job.