Jonathan Schoop: Hype Or Hope?

Any good Oriole fan is high on Jonathan Schoop. That being said, where’s the hype for him? He’s 24-year-old second baseman who can hit 20-30 home runs with a batting average that hovers around .270-.280 with plus defense at second base, can play third in a pinch, and has shown he can maintain success anywhere in the lineup.

The unhappy reality is that Schoop isn’t terribly special offensively. Since coming into the league in 2014, he’s 24^th in BA, 31st in OBP (second to dead last among qualifying second basemen), 25^th in wRC+, and 26^th in WAR when compared to second basemen. Even if you want to take out his statistically worst season (2014) where he doesn’t even qualify because of his injury in 2015, he comes in 26^th, 38^th, 27^th, and 26^th respectively, out of second basemen with 700+ plate appearances between 2015 and 2016.

All this before you even get to his abysmal BB% and K%, which are lowest and fifth highest since 2014, respectively. Schoop only has three offensive categories going for him. He’s 6^th in HR, 9^th in SLG, and 5^th in ISO among second basemen since 2014.

Defensively, however, is another story. Schoop has an UZR of -0.8 and DRS of 5, which is 11^th and 6^th since 2014, respectively (Not including dWAR because it’s weird). But, advanced defensive metrics are about as questionable as the rate Barry Bonds’ head grew over his career. They’re not to be disregarded completely, but one would need to combine it with the good old fashioned ‘eye-test’ to get the complete view of a player’s defense.

That being said, there’s a lot of value in Schoop’s arm and his chemistry with J.J. Hardy and Manny Machado, but not enough to separate him from the likes of Ian Kinsler and Dustin Pedroia (Note: It physically hurt me to type Pedroia’s name).

It’s still important to remind ourselves that Schoop is only 24 years-old and has plenty of room to improve with the only other two performing at the same position at his age is Rougned Odor and Joe Panik. Schoop is an average to above average second baseman with plenty of room grow.

Nothing special, just average.