5 MLB Hitters Who Need to Avoid Another Slow Start

Dee Gordon, 2B, Miami Marlins

Unlike his fellow middle infielder, Dee Gordon never fully recovered from his terrible start in April with the Miami Marlins.

Fresh off leading the league in hits (205), batting average (.333) and stolen bases (58) in 2015, Gordon signed a five-year, $50 million deal to keep his talents in South Beach. The only problem was that while he was in Miami throughout last April, his talents were nowhere to be found.

Through 97 plate appearances, the speedy second baseman slashed a depressing .266/.289/.340 and drew a walk just 3.1% of the time, all of which led to a wRC+ of 67.

Some off-field issues definitely played a role, as he ended April by accepting an 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs. However, a big key for him will be to keep the ball on the ground more often to take advantage of his speed -- he posted a 52.7% ground-ball rate and 27.0% fly-ball rate last April, which were far off what he did in 2015 (59.8% and 18.7%, respectively).