David Freese

WTM’s PLAYER PROFILE

2006
A-:  379/465/776, 58 AB, 8 2B, 5 HR, 7 BB, 21 K
A:  299/374/510, 204 AB, 13 2B, 3 3B, 8 HR, 21 BB, 44 K, 1-2 SB

Freese started off in short season ball, but dominated through 18 games there and moved up to low A.  He continued to hit well in full season ball.

2007
A+:  302/400/489, 503 AB, 31 2B, 6 3B, 17 HR, 69 BB, 99 K, 6-7 SB

The Padres sent Freese to the California League, where he continued to hit well.  The numbers have to be viewed in light of the fact that he was in the hitting-happy California League, although his home park at Lake Elsinore was one of the league’s better parks for pitchers.  Freese was 24, which was old for the level.  After the season, the Padres sent Freese to the Cards for Jim Edmonds.

2008
AAA:  306/361/550, 464 AB, 29 2B, 3 3B, 26 HR, 39 BB, 111 K, 5-7 SB

The Cards jumped Freese to AAA and he responded with a big season.  Baseball America rated him the team’s ninth best prospect after the season.

2009
R:  455/500/909, 11 AB, 2 2B, 1 HR, 1 BB, 3 K
AA:  375/444/625, 16 AB, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 BB, 2 K
AAA:  300/369/525, 200 AB, 15 2B, 10 HR, 22 BB, 51 K, 1-1 SB
MLB:  323/353/484, 31 AB, 2 2B, 1 HR, 2 BB, 7 K

Freese made the Cardinals’ roster to open the season, but he was still struggling with an off-season ankle injury and was sent to AAA in mid-April.  Starting in mid-May he missed two months due to the ankle.  The Cardinals brought him back up partway through September.

2010
AA:  500/667/1.000, 2 AB, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K
MLB:  296/361/404, 240 AB, 12 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 21 BB, 59 K, 1-2 SB

Freese opened the season as the Cards’ third baseman, but he went out at the end of June due to trouble with the same ankle.  He eventually underwent surgery and didn’t appear, except for an abortive minor league rehab, after the end of June.

2011
AAA:  231/286/308, 13 AB, 1 2B, 1 BB, 3 K
MLB:  297/350/441, 333 AB, 16 2B, 1 3B, 10 HR, 24 BB, 75 K, 1-1 SB

Freese served as the Cards’ starting third baseman, but he missed nearly two months of the season with a fractured foot.  He hit well in the majors when he was able to play.  After the regular season, he became the MVP in both the NLCS and the World Series.

2012
MLB:  293/372/467, 501 AB, 25 2B, 1 3B, 20 HR, 57 BB, 122 K, 3-6 SB

Freese finally put in a full year with the Cards and had his best season.

2013
AAA:  333/385/500, 12 AB, 2 2B, 1 BB, 2 K
MLB:  262/340/381, 462 AB, 26 2B, 1 3B, 9 HR, 47 BB, 106 K, 1-3 SB

Freese missed the first week with a back strain.  He evidently didn’t fully recover, as his hitting, mainly his power, fell off from previous seasons.  After the season, the Cards sent him to the Angels for Peter Bourjos and Randal Grichuk.

2014
AAA:  200/429/800, 10 AB, 2 HR, 4 BB, 1 K
MLB:  260/321/383, 462 AB, 25 2B, 1 3B, 10 HR, 38 BB, 124 K, 1-4 SB

With the Angels, Freese had largely the same season as the year before, at least on the surface; St. Louis has a better hitters’ park than the Angels.  It’s possible the back injury was still affecting him.  Freese had very rough months in April and May, before hitting well of the last four months.  He missed two weeks with a fractured finger.

2015
AAA:  286/400/429, 17 AB, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 BB, 7 K
MLB:  257/323/420, 424 AB, 27 2B, 14 HR, 31 BB, 107 K, 1-2 SB

Freese’s power bounced back a little.  He again suffered a fractured finger, this time missing over a month.  Although his hitting numbers were improved over the previous year, his line drive rate dropped and he had fewer hard-hit balls.  Freese became a free agent after the season and signed with the Pirates in the middle of spring training.

2016
MLB:  270/352/412, 437 AB, 23 2B, 13 HR, 45 BB, 142 K

Freese opened the 2016 season as the Pirates’ third baseman.  Once Jung-Ho Kang returned, he became the right-handed half of the first base platoon and continued to play third frequently, as the Pirates rested Kang every few days.  Freese got off to a good start and had an .793 OPS through August 22.  Possibly out of concern for Kang’s legal situation, the Pirates signed Freese to an extension covering 2017 and 2018, with a team option for 2019.  Freese promptly went into a slump, batting 244/330/314 through the end of the season.  Although he still finished with solid numbers overall, Freese’s hitting contained some alarming signs.  His strikeout rate was an astronomical 28.9%, far above his career high.  According to Brooks Baseball, Freese had particular trouble hitting fastballs while doing best against offspeed pitches, which suggests he’s lost bat speed.  His batting average was supported by an unsustainable .372 BABIP.  His groundball rate was an extremely high 60.7%, again easily a career high, and he seldom hit the ball in the air.  The solid power came from a HR/FB rate of 21.7%, well above his career norm.  The frequent ground balls and Freese’s lack of speed produced a GIDP rate of 16%, well above the MLB average of 11% despite the extremely high K rate.  Defensively, Freese played well at third, a little above average according to UZR.  At first he was adequate despite his lack of experience.

2017
MLB:  263/368/371, 426 AB, 16 2B, 10 HR, 58 BB, 116 K, 0-1 SB

With Kang unable to get a visa, Freese ended up as the Pirates’ starting third baseman.  He got off to a good start; in fact, apart from Adam Frazier, he was about the only player on the team hitting anything at all in the season’s first few weeks.  He had a .954 OPS in 18 April games, but he injured a hamstring and was out for three weeks.  From the time he returned in mid-May, he didn’t hit much, posting just a 254/360/346 line, with the lack of power being a real problem on a team that got very little power from the outfield corners.  Freese had a significant platoon split, posting an OPS of .839 against LHPs and .704 against RHPs.  He remained an extreme groundball hitter, with a 57% groundball rate.  Freese did a solid job on defense.

The Pirates’ biggest off-season need was to upgrade offensively and the most obvious place to do that was third base.  The acquisition of Colin Moran should supplant Freese as the starter, although the risk remains that, as long as Freese is on the roster, Clint Hurdle will want to get him regular playing time.  Moran has a history of struggling against left-handed pitchers, so Freese could serve as a platoon player, but for a rebuilding team it would make more sense for Moran to play every day.  With Sean Rodriguez also on the team, Freese could end up blocking younger players like Max Moroff from getting time in a utility role.  The Pirates’ best course would be to trade Freese, which they should be able to do if they pick up some of his salary.