Fifteen baseball stars continue to look towards the Mendoza Line in 2018

Few people would have predicted that the Philadelphia Phillies would be eight games over .500, and just a half-game behind the Washington Nationals, heading into June. Those optimists were likely banking on the fact that the last-place Phils made a couple of key acquisitions over the winter and were therefore bound to be better.

A warning that last season’s rookie sensation, Rhys Hoskins, would be hitting just .220 with just six home runs would likely have made even those devoted fans envision Philadelphia eight games under .500 rather than over, and ​That prediction would be even worse if you had told them free agent All-Star Carlos Santana would be hitting just over the .200 mark.

Believe it or not, Santana’s low batting average isn’t the worst we’ve seen in 2018, a season that looks like it could see record batting averages. There are fifteen star players who have batting averages below .200, a mark that has become known as the Mendoza Line.

Nick Ahmed .199

The Arizona Diamondbacks managed to hold on to first place in the National League West for much of the season, despite their usual shortstop’s below-average offense.

Jackie Bradley Jr. .199

Boston announcers refer to the star outfielder as JBJ, whose Red Sox have the best record in all of baseball.

Carlos Gomez .194

Now with Tampa Bay, the former MVP runner-up has struggled so far in the Days outfield.

Logan Morrison .198

After setting a career high for home runs in 2017, the left-handed slugger is off to a rocky start with his new team in Minnesota.

Jason Kipnis .199

His struggles symbolize those of the Cleveland Indians, who have managed to stay at .500 solely because of their excellent pitching rotation.

matt joyce .199

Oakland has had its ups and downs over the first two months as it continues to wait for Joyce’s bat to regain prominence.

Ian Desmond .190

The Colorado Rockies first baseman has shown plenty of power, but any other hits have been rare.

Adam Duvall .184

Cincinnati’s odd four-man outfield rotation may have taken a toll on the former All-Star, who has had to sit out every three games or so.

Dexter Fowler .180

Now that wide receiver Yadier Molina is on the disabled list, the St. Louis Cardinals may need to get this star outfielder back to the form he was in when they signed him to a big free-agent deal last year.

Kolten Wong .180

Unlike his aforementioned tag team partner, Wong’s struggles have lasted much longer than just this season.

Chris Davis .160

Baltimore’s first baseman has never hit for a really high average, but now he’s too low and so is his power.

Lewis Brinson .155

Miami is rebuilding, but they need this youngster to really step up to come close to replacing Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yellich and Marvel Ozuna in the Marlins’ outfield.

Kole Calhoun .145

While he often stands alongside MVP Mike Trout in the Los Angeles outfield, he’s hardly in the same ballpark when it comes to batting averages.

Russell Martin .174

His receiving skills will keep him in the lineup, but the Blue Jays need Russell to increase his average by about fifty points if Toronto wants to compete in 2018.

Kendrys Morales .194

He’s been plagued by injuries, but if he can bounce back, he can offer some much-needed protection for the rest of the guys in the Blue Jays’ lineup.