30 Players in 30 Days: Cristian Guzman

Cristian Guzman

Coming off of his second All-Star season in 2008, Cristian Guzman had a good season offensively but might have lost a step defensively. The 11-year veteran from the Dominican Republic continues to be a productive hitter and a crucial cog in the Nationals lineup.

Guzman has been a solid hitter throughout his career. He had 49 multi-hit games this season, which ranks most on the Nationals, and had a 17-game hit streak. The shortstop ranks fourth on the career active triples list with 85, including the seven he hit this season.

One area where Guzman could greatly improve is his plate discipline. This year he averaged 3.25 pitches per plate appearance, which is the second lowest in the Majors out of all qualifying batters. In comparison, teammate Adam Dunn is fourth highest overall and sees 4.32 pitches per plate appearance. For Guzman, this resulted in only 16 walks this season and an OBP of .306. With a batting average (.284) so close to his OBP, Guzman relies almost entirely on his hitting to get on base. If he drew more walks, he could continue to be productive at the plate even when he is not hitting the ball well. For a veteran such as Guzman, this could prove to be a hard adjustment to make.

Plans for Guzman in 2010 include possibly moving him to second base to make room for Ian Desmond at short. Guzman missed the last two weeks of the season with a shoulder injury and underwent arthroscopic surgery for it on October 8. He is expected to recover fully and should be ready for the 2010 season.