Kotsay’s Komeback

by
August 15, 2008

It’s been a disappointing season in Atlanta with more downs than ups and, for the first time since the days of Columbus, that the Braves weren’t contenders down the stretch. However, there’s been a bright spot down south, and that bright spot hit for the cycle last night. We are, of course, talking about the resurgence of Mark Kotsay.

Over the winter, the A’s traded Kotsay to the Braves for Joey Devine, while also agreeing to pick up all but $2 million of the salary owed to Kotsay this year. While Devine has blossomed in Oakland and the Braves would certainly like to have him back, they have to be happy with what they’ve gotten from Kotsay, even with injury issues that kept him out for the month of June.

His 5 for 5 night last night brought his season line to .300/.346/.443. His gap power is back and his contact rate is still strong, and with better health has come more hard hit balls – his line drive rate is up to 21.9% from the 14.5% of last year. More line drives mean more hits, and that difference is the reason that his batting average has climbed back from his .214 mark last year.

As we can see from his WPA/LI (0.04), as well as the great new RV/PA (0.01) from the guys at Stat Corner, Kotsay’s been a dead on league average hitter this year. The injuries have taken a toll on his defensive abilities, and he’s probably more of a corner outfielder than a CF at this point in his career, but that just brings him down to an average player overall.

It isn’t every day when you can pick up an average player for who you owe just $2 million for the season. The loss of Devine hurts, but Kotsay has been a success for the Braves in a season where they haven’t had as many of those as they needed.

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Dave is the Managing Editor of FanGraphs.

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