33-year old righty swinging SS Willie Bloomquist is having a hard time at the plate for the Diamondbacks so far in August. Bloomquist has played in 16 games for the D-Backs so far in August and he is 13 for 63 (.206 avg, .575 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 1 homer, 7 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He is starting to slow down from the grind of playing every day since Stephen Drew’s injury. Bloomquist has now played in 76 games overall this year and he is 71 for 271 (.262 avg, .658 OPS) with 35 runs scored, 4 homers, 21 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. The Diamondbacks are on the hunt for a shortstop to replace Bloomquist or platoon with him before August 31st.

30-year old 3B Ryan Roberts started the 2011 season like a ball of fire with the bat in his hands. But, he is starting to cool off at the plate as the pitchers have adjusted to him. Roberts has played in 23 games so far in June and he is 21 for 91 (.231 avg, .686 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 3 homers, 11 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Roberts’ overall numbers still look solid for the Diamondbacks. Roberts has played in 68 games for the Diamondbacks this year and he is 61 for 237 (.257 avg, .790 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 10 homers, 33 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Roberts is 3rd in runs scored (42), 4th in homers (10), 5th in RBIs (33) and he’s tied for second in stolen bases (9) for the Diamondbacks so far. This really came out of nowhere as the D-Backs were planning on platooning Geoff Blum and Melvin Mora at 3B in 2011. Injuries to both of those guys opened the door for Roberts and he has taken advantage of that chance so far this year. Roberts already has career highs in runs scored, homers, RBIs and stolen bases so he might just keep the starting job at 3B. But, he needs to start to turn things around a little bit with the bat going forward.

35-year old lefty swinging Russell Branyan and 28-year old lefty swinging Juan Miranda have been sharing 1B. The D-Backs need to pick a guy and see if he can get into a groove. Branyan has played in 27 games so far this year for the D-Backs and he is 12 for 56 (.214 avg, .659 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs. He has already whiffed 19 times this year, but that has always been a problem with him and it’s not going to change at this point in his career. It’s something his teams have learned to put up with in the past due to his power. Juan Miranda has played in 28 games for the D-Backs so far this year and he is 13 for 62 (.210 avg, .709 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 2 homers and 5 RBIs. Like Branyan, Miranda has some holes in his swing as he has whiffed 17 times already this year. The Diamondbacks could ultimately decide to platoon righty swinging Xavier Nady with Miranda or Branyan at 1B. Even if that is the case, the Diamondbacks have to decide who they are going to go with. Having them split the ABs will not allow either of them to get into a groove at the plate.

29-year old lefty swinging 2B Kelly Johnson is off to a very, very slow start for the Diamondbacks so far this year, but, manager Kirk Gibson is sticking with him for now. Johnson has played in 31 games for the Diamondbacks so far this year and he is 21 for 120 (.175 avg, .572 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 4 homers, 7 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Johnson has already whiffed 38 times this year as he has looked helpless at the plate at times. Gibson has alternatives at 2B like Willie Bloomquist or Ryan Roberts, but, neither of those guys have the upside of Johnson. Johnson played in 154 games for the D-Backs last year (his first with the team) and he was 166 for 585 (.284 avg, .865 OPS) with 93 runs scored, 26 homers, 71 RBIs and 13 stolen bases.

The Arizona Diamondbacks don’t have enough offense to cover for guys who aren’t producing. Johnson has played in 11 games for the Diamondbacks so far this year and he is 8 for 46 (.174 avg, .574 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer, 4 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Johnson has good power for a 2B and he’s probably the best lefty hitter on the team. With those factors in mind, the Diamondbacks really need Johnson to pick up the pace with his bat, and soon.