November 13, 2011

Players A to Z, Aaron Hill

Aaron Hill played second base for the Blue Jays and Diamondbacks in 2011. He currently seeks work as a free agent, although the Diamondbacks due have an offer on the table that expires Monday.

Hill’s statistics follow an interesting career arc. He started as a hitter whose strength was getting on base, with a .346 OBP and a .386 slugging percentage his first two seasons. Over the next four years, his power spiked, especially in terms of home runs, but his ability to get on base fell. He finished that period with a .445 slugging percentage but a .315 OBP.

Hill just fell apart for the Blue Jays, resulting in his trade to the Diamondbacks. Everything worked when he joined Arizona, posting a .386 OBP and a .492 slugging percentage in just 124 at bats. He did not hit that well in 2010, however. The Diamondbacks might have seen something they like, or maybe his last 33 games turned out to be an outlier in his last two seasons. He’s a risk to sign at this point, but one Arizona will take for two years.

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