A Look Back At 2012: Howard Kendrick

If Howard Kendrick doesn’t have a nickname already, I’m going to give him one right now: Mr. Consistent. You can basically bank on what you are going to get from Kendrick year in and year out. Here are his stat lines from 2010-2012

2010: .279/10/75 .721 OPS

2011: .285/18/63 .802 OPS

2012: .287/8/67 .725OPS

Sep 19, 2012; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels second baseman Howard Kendrick (47) before an at bat during a game against the Texas Rangers at Angels Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-US PRESSWIRE

The outlier was the 2011 18 home runs which he probably won’t replicate again, but 10-12 a year from here on out wouldn’t shock me. Yes he was expected to win batting titles. Yes his salary is going to go from $4.5 mill to almost $9 million and over that in 2014-15. Kendrick is a steady player at a position where your value is higher because there aren’t as many stud second baseman as you may think. He can also play first base in a pinch and is a steady defender. The 14 errors are the most in any season he’s ever had and I fully expect that number to drop back down to career norms.

Game Of The Year: His May 2^nd performance against the Minnesota Twins is the winner. Kendrick went 4-4 that night, with three runs, a home run and three RBI as the Angels beat the Twins 9-0 that night. Oh yeah, Jered Weaver pitched a no-hitter that night too.

2013 Outlook: Around a .280 batting average, probably about 12 home runs and 70 RBI. Book it now. Pencil it in. Plus he can block a trade to half of baseball now. I really don’t see him going anywhere