Jose Iglesias moves to Detroit in the trade and everyone knows Iglesias isn't anything near the .330 hitter he's been for the Red Sox. After a luck fueled hot start Jonah points out he hit .176 over his final 21 games with the Red Sox.
Iglesias wasn't acquired for his bat of course but his glove. The guy I compare him to is Omar Vizquel as both have those wonderful hands and aesthetic beauty in the field. My question Could Iglesias ever develop at the bat like Vizquel did When Vizquel came up with the Mariners he was like Iglesias a magician on defense with no physical strength at the plate. In his first three seasons with Seattle Little O hit .230/.290/.283 with just four home runs in nearly 1 200 plate appearances. That's about what you would expect from Iglesias moving forward considering his .257/.307/.314 line in the minors.
Vizquel slowly improved however. From ages 25 to 27 which covers his final two years in Seattle and his first in Cleveland he hit .273 albeit still with little power. At 28 he hit six home runs and 28 doubles and then from 1996 through 2002 he hit .287/.358/.388 averaging 41 extra base hits per season. His OPS of 93 was still below the league average hitter but certainly acceptable for a good defensive shortstop.
Ozzie Smith was a similar case as well. Through age 26 he hit .231/.295/.278. Traded to St. Louis and helped by the turf at Busch Stadium his batting averages improved and he eventually topped out at 40 doubles one season.
One big difference between Vizquel and Smith and Iglesias however Both of them showcased a better walk rate. Smith was at 7.7 percent through age 26 and averaged over 10 percent every season except one from ages 27 trough 37. Vizquel was at 7.4 percent through age 26 and averaged 9.4 percent over the next decade. Iglesias owns a 4.7 percent walk rate so far in his major league career (6 percent in the minors). That plate discipline and bat control eventually helped them to become better hitters as well post respectable on base percentages.
I did a quick search on Baseball Reference.com of players since 1969 who had at least 1 500 plate appearances through age 25 and an OPS of 75 or lower (where 100 is a league average hitter). How many of them developed into decent hitters Here's the list of 23 players with their OPS through age 25 (Iglesias is 23) and then their career OPS in parenthesis.
Dick Schofield 75 (73) ... became utility guy in his late 20sAlex Gonzalez I 74 (79) ... power but low OBPsRey Quinones 74 (74) ... out of majors at 25Terry Pendleton 74 (92) ... NL MVP in 1991 runner up in '92Rod Gilbreath 74 (74) ... out of majors at 25Eddie Leon 74 (69) ... last full season at 26Carlos Gomez 73 (89) ... breakthrough season at 26Alex Gonzalez II 71 (79) ... 157 career HRs low OBPsOmar Vizquel 71 (82) ... 2877 career hitsSpike Owen 71 (83) ... not much power but took some walksJulio Cruz 71 (71) ... second baseman with speed no popCesar Izturis 69 (63) ... still hanging aroundOzzie Guillen 68 (69) ... never improved swung at everythingAlfredo Griffin 68 (67) ... once drew four walks in 140 gamesGlenn Hoffman 67 (68) ... utility guy by age 25Ozzie Smith 67 (87) ... better than average OPS in four seasonsRoger Metzger 67 (69) ... five career HRs in 4201 at bats Jerry Royster 66 (76) ... had a few decent years as utility guyTom Veryzer 65 (61) ... last year as regular at 26Andres Thomas 64 (61) ... epitome of bad Braves teams of late '80sTim Foli 63 (64) ... Lots of these no hit '70s shortstops hereJack Wilson 61 (76) ... Had 64 extra base hits with Pirates at 26Enzo Hernandez 56 (61) ... Infamously had 12 RBIs in 618 PAs in '71
Not surprisingly almost all these guys were shortstops. The two who developed the best at the plate were the two who didn't play shortstop or second base third baseman Pendleton and center fielder Gomez. Pendleton hit .240 at age 24 and .239 at age 25 with the Cardinals but later went to the Braves and won a batting title and hit 22 and 21 homers his two big seasons. We know the Gomez story.
Looking at the others however you can see that Vizquel and Smith are unique cases. Iglesias' glove should still make him a valuable asset for the Tigers but I would bet against him becoming even a minor threat at the plate.
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