A Tatis/Murphy Platoon Makes Sense

The more I think about Tatis coming back, the more inclined I am to like the idea based on the statistical evidence before us.

First off, Tatis, who had a dreadful first 2/3rds of a season in 2009, hit very well in August and September.

In August he hit .310 with an .811 OPS, and in September he hit .353 with an .883 OPS (he was 4 for 8 in October as well).

His overall splits were:

2009 Batting Splits
Overall	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	HBP	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Total	340	42	96	21	4	8	48	22	9	54	4	1	.282	.339	.438	.777
By Breakdown	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	HBP	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
vs. Left	133	16	37	9	3	3	19	15	4	25	0	1	.278	.364	.459	.823
vs. Right	207	26	59	12	1	5	29	7	5	29	4	0	.285	.321	.425	.746
Home	172	23	48	8	2	5	27	14	6	27	2	1	.279	.352	.436	.788
Away	168	19	48	13	2	3	21	8	3	27	2	0	.286	.324	.440	.764
Day	107	23	37	5	0	5	21	7	4	18	4	0	.346	.397	.533	.930
Night	233	19	59	16	4	3	27	15	5	36	0	1	.253	.311	.395	.706
Grass	340	42	96	21	4	8	48	22	9	54	4	1	.282	.339	.438	.777
By Day/Month	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	HBP	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Last 7 Days	11	2	6	2	0	0	3	0	0	1	1	0	.545	.500	.727	1.227
April	23	6	8	1	1	1	2	2	1	3	2	0	.348	.407	.609	1.016
May	66	8	15	3	0	1	9	2	4	4	0	1	.227	.288	.318	.606
June	60	5	14	3	1	0	6	6	1	5	0	0	.233	.313	.317	.630
July	48	7	11	4	0	4	8	2	2	10	1	0	.229	.288	.563	.851
August	84	8	26	5	2	1	11	6	1	22	0	0	.310	.359	.452	.811
September	51	6	18	4	0	1	10	4	0	10	0	0	.353	.393	.490	.883
October	8	2	4	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	.500	.500	.625	1.125
Pre All-Star	173	24	43	9	2	4	20	11	8	15	3	1	.249	.320	.393	.713
Post All-Star	167	18	53	12	2	4	28	11	1	39	1	0	.317	.359	.485	.844

If you look at his numbers vs lefty's, the picture becomes even clearer: a decent .278 BA, .364 OBP, and .823 OPS, and that includes the numbers from his putrid May, June and July.

Similarly, Daniel Murphy had a horrendous May, June and July, and it seemed to click for him a little bit in August and September, especially in the power department.

Murph had a very respectable .556 Slg % in September, though he hardly walked at all during the entire season.

2009 Batting Splits
Overall	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	HBP	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Total	508	60	135	38	4	12	63	38	0	69	4	2	.266	.313	.427	.740
By Breakdown	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	HBP	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
vs. Left	94	10	21	6	0	4	14	6	0	19	1	0	.223	.267	.415	.682
vs. Right	414	50	114	32	4	8	49	32	0	50	3	2	.275	.324	.430	.754
Home	248	30	73	22	4	7	33	12	0	30	2	0	.294	.323	.500	.823
Away	260	30	62	16	0	5	30	26	0	39	2	2	.238	.304	.358	.662
Day	180	21	47	12	2	4	29	16	0	23	3	1	.261	.318	.417	.735
Night	328	39	88	26	2	8	34	22	0	46	1	1	.268	.311	.433	.744
Grass	508	60	135	38	4	12	63	38	0	69	4	2	.266	.313	.427	.740
By Day/Month	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	HBP	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Last 7 Days	15	1	5	1	0	1	2	0	0	1	0	0	.333	.333	.600	.933
April	68	13	22	2	1	1	7	6	0	6	1	0	.324	.373	.426	.799
May	68	8	12	3	0	3	10	10	0	8	0	1	.176	.278	.353	.631
June	75	7	18	3	0	1	7	7	0	10	0	0	.240	.298	.320	.618
July	84	9	21	9	0	1	11	9	0	17	1	0	.250	.323	.393	.716
August	113	9	33	11	1	1	11	3	0	18	1	1	.292	.308	.434	.742
September	90	13	25	9	2	4	15	3	0	9	1	0	.278	.298	.556	.854
October	10	1	4	1	0	1	2	0	0	1	0	0	.400	.400	.800	1.200
Pre All-Star	242	30	60	11	1	5	28	25	0	30	1	1	.248	.314	.364	.678
Post All-Star	266	30	75	27	3	7	35	13	0	39	3	1	.282	.313	.485	.798

You'll notice that his numbers against RH pitching are much better than his numbers vs LH'ers. Moreover, his 20 doubles in 203 August/September at bats is simply outstanding.

If we combine Tatis against LH and Murph against RH using their 2009 splits we can forecast a worse case "player" with about a .280 BA, .350 OBP, and .450 Slg % and 15 HRs and 80 RBIs.

While those numbers are still very average compared to most first basemen in the league, they are not terrible.

I think the two players will actually outperform their 2009 seasons based on the end of season trends, and they can very easily attain a combined 20 HR and 90 RBI season and get on base enough times with gap power to make a decent contribution.

That is good enough.