Didi Gregorius began the 2011 season on the shelf while he dealt with kidney problems. He would miss about seven weeks of the season before making his debut on May 28th with the Bakersfield Blaze. He would go on through the season and split his season between Bakersfield with the Blaze and Carolina for the Mudcats.
The power wasn’t showing itself much during the first month of time when Gregorius hit .288/.351/.356 between a few games at the end of May and June. He would walk nine times in that time period and struck out just fifteen times, showing off his solid plate discipline.
Once July rolled around Gregorius took a bit of an opposite turn from what he had done for the month as he hit .283/.312/.509. The power certainly showed its face in the month with seven doubles, a triple and five home runs, but he also saw his plate discipline take a step backwards with just four walks to go with thirteen strikeouts. The strikeout total is low, but the walk rate was also very low leading to a lower end on-base percentage despite hitting .283. He was promoted to Carolina for the last week of the month.
In August and September the shortstop would have a month that fell in between the previous two months. His batting average would be a season high .294 during that time, while his on-base percentage fell in the middle of the other months at .331 as did his slugging at a solid .421.
Overall Thoughts
Despite the late start to the year, Gregorius turned some heads in the time he did spend playing. He once again showed above average defense and athleticism and at the plate he showed solid skills at both levels he played at. Defensively he is a step or two ahead of his bat which will likely mean he begins 2012 back in AA with the new farm team, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos. The largest concern I would have with his game is his low walk rate. It comes along with a low strikeout rate, so it isn’t as concerning as with some players, but it could lead to a lower on-base percentage in the long run as he tends to try to fight off close pitches which leads to more contact and fewer walks.
Stats
| Tm | PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| Bakersfield | 203 | 188 | 57 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 28 | 10 | 25 | .303 | .333 | .457 | .791 |
| Carolina | 160 | 148 | 40 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 16 | 9 | 25 | .270 | .312 | .392 | .704 |
| 2 Teams | 363 | 336 | 97 | 18 | 4 | 7 | 44 | 19 | 50 | .289 | .324 | .429 | .753 |
Spray Chart
| To | Total | Rate | Outs | 1B | 2B | 3B | HR | SacB | SacF | AVG | SLG | IsoP |
| P | 15 | 5.1% | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| C | 3 | 1.0% | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| 1B | 25 | 8.5% | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .083 | .083 | .000 |
| 2B | 45 | 15.3% | 39 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .133 | .133 | .000 |
| 3B | 17 | 5.8% | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .059 | .059 | .000 |
| SS | 44 | 15.0% | 41 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .068 | .068 | .000 |
| LF | 39 | 13.3% | 24 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .368 | .447 | .079 |
| CF | 46 | 15.6% | 14 | 27 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .696 | .870 | .174 |
| RF | 60 | 20.4% | 19 | 18 | 12 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 2 | .672 | 1.293 | .621 |
Video (Brand New, just uploaded last night)