Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Ever since his solid 2011, Rickie Weeks has struggled to be the player he once was. Strikeouts have been rampant for the 31-year-old and ultimately have become his downfall.
Still though, Weeks does have his streaks where when he’s on, he’s on.
That said, it’s never reassuring when you lose your job to someone else when there’s still time and money being invested in you. Scooter Gennett has done a great job as the Brewers’ everyday second baseman and will probably continue to do so for a long time. Unfortunately, this spells disaster for Weeks who has now become perhaps the most expensive pinch hitter and occasional second baseman in all of baseball, making $11 million this year.
Weeks has flashed moments of pretty impressive power though. He does hold a career ISO (isolated power) of .174 with a BABIP (batting average of balls in play) of .301. However, that power has gone down in the past few years where his ISO was .149 last season, the lowest in his career since 2006.
In the past three years, the highest his batting average reached was .230, with an increase in strikeouts, to where it hit a career high of 26.3 percent last season. This season though, Weeks is hitting just .212/.278/.242 and has really been limited in his chances at the plate. Some people thought that a platoon would be in order at second base, but Gennett has really stolen the show.
After this season, the Brewers will have a decision to make, assuming they don’t move Weeks before July is over. He does have a team option for 2015, should the Brewers choose to bring him back. If not, they’ll let him walk and probably test the free agency waters.
So, I ask you, what is to come of Weeks’ future in Milwaukee?