It was a brutal day for Braves outfielder Jordan Schafer Monday in San Francisco. The rookie went to the plate four times and punched out all four times, gaining entrance into the notorious LBS Golden Sombrero Club. Schafer went down hacking his first three times up, twice against starter Jonathan Sanchez, then the third time against reliever Justin Miller. By his last at-bat, he likely decided it just wasn’t his day so he didn’t bother swinging, striking out looking against Brian Wilson.
The Braves lost the game 8-2 and Schafer left three men on, so there’s no doubt he let his team down. Despite homering in his first major league game ever, the rookie’s average is now hovering around the Mendoza line at .205, with his slugging percentage not much higher. He’s been dropped to eighth in the order and could be headed to Triple-A before long if he keeps this up. By the way, his 55 strikeouts through 44 games puts him second only to Mark Reynolds. He’s whiffed more than Ryan Howard, Prince Fielder, and Adam Dunn this year. Hmm, let’s see, Howard, Fielder, Dunn, Reynolds, and Schafer. Which one doesn’t belong? Exactly. Can you say “Gwinnett here I come?”
