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Paul Goldschmidt went to field a bunt and nearly scooped up a bird

Two months into the baseball season, it’s no longer acceptable to shrug off a player’s struggles by saying, “Ah, it’s early.” It’s going to take a serious hot streak to make that sub-.200 batting average or near-2.00 WHIP look a little more respectable.

Nine players whose struggles we certainly didn’t see coming (and still can’t fully explain):

Manny Machado, 3B, Orioles

After back-to-back top-five finishes in the AL MVP voting, Machado has looked absolutely lost at the plate (53 Ks in 245 plate appearances) and his six errors at the hot corner are just one fewer than his total from 2016 (when he also spent time at shortstop).