Squad Profile: Dustan Mohr

First in a series of player profiles, with Rob Trevelyan


Largely confined to a utility role, Dustan performed well above expectations in 2004. Playing second fiddle to Michael Tucker, Mohr split most of his games between left and right field, posting a .981 fielding average, with 8 outfield assists in just 628 innings of work.

Mohr handled the bat well, hitting .274 with an OBP of .394. In particular he excelled as a pinch hitter, going .386 with 17 total bases in just 18 at bats. He was one of the few Giants other than Barry Bonds who displayed stern discipline at the plate, as a reward scoring 52 runs over just 263 at bats, despite not stealing a single base. He has decent pop too: His 20 two-baggers project him as a 50 doubles candidate over the course of a full season. Whether he will get his chance is another matter, although with the Giant's purse-strings being in a state of tightness, he might find himself splitting time more frequently between all three outfield positions.

Beyond the numbers, the 28-year old Mohr made his mark in San Francisco with his guile, grit and determination. He made the Giant's best defensive play of the year -- and arguably the best in the majors -- in July, and scored only the second inside-the-park home run at SBC Park in August. His sterling defense and eminent enthusiasm for the game were well received in the clubhouse, particularly in August when he hit .400 with a 1.206 OPS in 50 at bats. Once settled in San Francisco, Mohr thrived, hitting .307 and slugging .520 over the second half. Indeed, had he duplicated those feats over both parts of the season, he would have posted similar numbers to Jeff Kent.

The intriguing part is that Mohr is showing strong signs that he could develop into a legitimate hitter. In his first three Major League seasons, he struck out once in every four plate appearances while walking only 8% of the time. This season however, he cut down on his strikeouts to less than one in five, while almost doubling his career walk rate (14.6%).