ANDY LaROCHE
8/13/83; '03 39th (Los Angeles); Grayson County College
R/R; 6-1, 225
| Level |
BA |
OBP |
SA |
AB |
2B |
3B |
HR |
BB |
K |
SB |
CS |
| 2003 R+ (LA) |
.211 |
.238 |
.263 |
19 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
| 2004
A+ (LA) |
.237 |
.295 |
.434 |
219 |
13 |
0 |
10 |
17 |
42 |
2 |
3 |
| 2004 A (LA) |
.283 |
.375 |
.525 |
244 |
20 |
0 |
13 |
29 |
30 |
12 |
5 |
| 2005 AA (LA) |
.273 |
.367 |
.445 |
227 |
12 |
0 |
9 |
32 |
54 |
2 |
2 |
| 2005 A+ (LA) |
.333 |
.380 |
.651 |
249 |
14 |
1 |
21 |
19 |
38 |
6 |
1 |
| 2006 AAA (LA) |
.322 |
.400 |
.550 |
202 |
14 |
1 |
10 |
25 |
32 |
3 |
2 |
| 2006 AA (LA) |
.309 |
.419 |
.483 |
230 |
13 |
0 |
9 |
41 |
32 |
6 |
3 |
| 2007
NL (LA) |
.226 |
.365 |
.312 |
93 |
5 |
0 |
1 |
20 |
24 |
2 |
1 |
| 2007 AAA (LA) |
.309 |
.399 |
.589 |
265 |
18 |
1 |
18 |
39 |
42 |
2 |
2 |
| 2008
NL (LA) |
.203 |
.319 |
.322 |
59 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
10 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
| 2008 NL |
.152 |
.227 |
.232 |
164 |
4 |
0 |
3 |
14 |
30 |
2 |
0 |
| 2008 AAA (LA) |
.293 |
.452 |
.439 |
123 |
3 |
0 |
5 |
37 |
14 |
2 |
1 |
| 2008 AA (LA) |
.318 |
.400 |
.364 |
22 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
6 |
1 |
0 |
The Pirates acquired LaRoche, the brother of current firstbaseman
Adam LaRoche, in the three-way trade involving Jason Bay
and Manny Ramirez. LaRoche was considered for a while one of the top prospects
in the minors. For the last five years, Baseball America has ranked him
in the top ten prospects in a strong Dodgers' system, including either first
or second in each of the last three years. His stock seemed to slip, though, in the
year or so before the trade, although it's not entirely clear why.
He was hampered by injuries in 2007, including the aftermath of shoulder surgery
at the beginning of the year and some back problems later, but he still hit
well in AAA. His lack of power in 2008 before the trade
could have been the result of a thumb injury he suffered in spring training,
which required surgery to repair a ligament. Overall, while LaRoche had shown
very good strike zone judgment, there were still concerns that he
wouldn't hit for power. The power he showed in AAA may have been a bit of an illusion,
as the Dodgers' AAA affiliate, Las Vegas, plays in an extreme
hitter's park. LaRoche's OPS in AAA was 1.067 at home and .829 on the
road.
The Pirates installed LaRoche at 3B immediately
after the trade and eventually traded the unhappy incumbent,
Jose Bautista. Unfortunately, LaRoche struggled even more with the Pirates than he had
with the Dodgers. At the plate he looked completely lost. The
vaunted plate discipline was nowhere in evidence as he repeatedly chased bad pitches.
His K rate climbed, his BB rate dropped, and he rarely hit the ball with any
authority when he put it in play. He seemed to be trying to pull the ball every time
he swung. He also struggled in the field, committing nine errors in 45
games and showing little ability to come in on slow rollers or bunts. To
top it off, he got caught loafing at least a couple times. It often takes
hitters a long time to recover from hand and wrist injuries, but LaRoche himself
has denied that the thumb injury played any role in his
struggles. The Pirates, however, better hope it did. His
MLB sample size is still way too small for the Pirates to give up on him, as
some of their fans would like to see, but he's 25 now and has over 300 ABs, so
he should be showing some signs of progress. The Pirates have said he's
not guaranteed the starting job at third in 2009, but with Neil Walker showing
no signs of being ready for the majors, there aren't any viable alternatives
barring a trade or free agent signing. Those alternatives wouldn't make
much sense with LaRoche, Walker and Pedro Alvarez all in the
organization.
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