Player Spotlight: David Guerrero

The new-look New Orleans River Crushers currently stand at an unspectacular 33-35, but in the AL South, that puts them just two games behind the division leaders. A big part of their competitiveness can be attributed to 6'3" Cuban 3B David Guerrero. In his seventh major league season, Guerrero is once again putting up the power numbers that opponents have come to expect and that the new ownership was counting on. A Season 3 Silver Slugger Award winner, Guerrero has pounded out 26 HR already, good for fourth in the AL, and is on pace for a career high. That hot start has helped the River Crushers score 394 runs, good for seventh in MLB.

Guerrero's power surge out of the gate is a very encouraging sign for the franchise, who was hoping he would be able to bounce back from a slight down year last season, so much so that they locked him up to a four-year, $29 million contract extension early in the year.  New owner badmoon002 clearly knows the importance of having some solid pieces in place to build around, and Guerrero looks as solid as they come right now.  Just entering his prime, Guerrero has a career .543 slugging percentage and 239 career HR.  This season, that SLG has skyrocketed to .637 and he has already driven in 63 runs.  

With Guerrero batting fourth, young 1B Alex Brinson has seen more fastballs, which has helped him swat 22 HR thus far. "Oh I don't think there's any doubt about it," Brinson says. "Pitchers don't want to walk me because they know David is coming up to drive in some runs." Hitting coach Feiipe Nunez agrees: "Knowing that that kind of hitter is coming up is definitely on the mind of the opposing pitcher, and it has a very real trickle-down effect on the rest of the order. All the guys are seeing more stuff to hit just because of David's presence."

The only area where Guerrero has not excelled this season has been in the field.  Sporting a subpar career fielding percentage of .931 at the hot corner, he has already made 13 errors this season.  Fielding instructor Troy Meadows is somewhat perplexed by the big man's struggles: "David is really a very solid player.  He's got a solid arm and has a pretty rangy body; that tall frame gives him a long reach.  It's just a matter of having soft hands over there and getting your confidence up.  Right now, he's definitely fighting off some of the hard-hit balls he's seen over there."  

Regardless of the shaky defense, New Orleans fans can expect to see Guerrero in the lineup everyday; his power is capable of producing games like the one he had last week against the Monterrey Cheese, when he went two for three with a walk, two home runs, and four runs scored. "When this guy is on, you just stand back and watch," marvels teammate Deivi Escobar. "I mean, that day, every time he came up, we were all standing at the fence in the dugout, waiting to see what he would do next."

Gurrero still spends offseasons in his native Cuba, where he enjoys deep sea fishing.  "When you reel in a big catch, it's the same as when you hit a long home run.  It's just a rush; I can't tell it in words."  Fans of the New Orleans River Crushers hope that he boats a few more whoppers here in the States before he heads home this fall.