Chris Coghlan on Fire Against Right Handers
By Bill Pivetz
It seems like more and more teams are going with platoons at certain positions instead of keeping a consistent lineup week in and week out. Most teams switch the lineup when they face a lefty pitcher. This makes life difficult for a fantasy owner when looking through the waiver wire for a sneaky pickup.
However, when the league has a majority of right-handed pitchers, the platoon isn’t as bad. This is the case for Chicago Cubs second baseman/outfielder Chris Coghlan. If you are looking for a hot bat, then Coghlan is your guy.
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Throughout his career, Chris Coghlan was known as a bench player or platoon option with the Miami Marlins. His career high games played was 128 in his rookie season in 2009. His games played after that were 91, 65, 39 and 70. The Marlins then released him.
Miami’s loss is Chicago’s gain. He played 125 games, hitting .283 with nine home runs and 41 RBI last season. He is on pace to surpass most of those numbers this season. In 114 games, Coghlan is hitting .254 with 14 home runs, 34 RBI and 11 stolen bases.
Chris Coghlan has made great strides at the plate. His walk rate increased and strikeout rate decreased in each of the last three seasons. He is hitting more fly balls and less ground balls. Coghlan had a 43.0 ground ball percentage and 31.5 fly ball percentage in 2014. This year, those stats are at 45.9 and 34.0 percent, respectively.
In his five previous games, Coghlan has seven hits (two triples and three home runs), nine RBI and a .467 batting average. In Friday’s afternoon game, Coghlan hit another home run off of Atlanta Braves pitcher Shelby Miller.
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The caveat to all of this is that Chris Coghlan does not start against lefties. He has started 89 games, all against right handers. And there’s a good reason for that. Coghlan has a .233 batting average and five home runs against left-handed pitchers in his career compared to .280 and 39 versus righties.
The Cubs have a dangerous lineup with Coghlan, Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant all hitting the ball well. If you are looking for some late-season power, Coghlan is the guy to target. He will continue to get playing time, especially over the next week as the Cubs face right-handed starters in their next six games.
Chris Coghlan has been added in 4.1 percent of ESPN.com leagues. I don’t have the stats to see what kind of leagues those are, but with at least six straight starts coming up, he should be added in all league types.