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Biography[]
David Adam LaRoche (born November 6, 1979 in Orange County, California) is the brother of the Dodger prospect Andy LaRoche.
He was drafted twice by the Florida Marlins, in both the 1998 and 1999, but did not sign either year. He signed with the Braves after being drafted in 2000.
In 2004, LaRoche's rookie campaign, he hit .278/.333/.488 with 13 HRs, while platooning with Julio Franco.
In 2005, LaRoche was the lefty half of the Braves` first base platoon again with Franco. In the playoffs, LaRoche batted .500 with a grand slam in the Braves 2005 NLDS Series against the Houston Astros.
With Julio Franco going to the New York Mets, 2006 was LaRoche's breakthrough season as a starter. He raised his SLG by over 100 points to .561 with 32 HRs. LaRoche's breakthrough was fueled in part by improved patience at the plate, as he posted his first above-average BB%. Still, he did not lose his aggressiveness. He also cut his groundballs and hit more flyballs.
Even with the impressive play on the diamond, LaRoche made headlines for a not-so-proud moment on May 14, 2006. He jogged to first base too slowly on a routine groundball he had fielded, allowing Washington Nationals baserunner Nick Johnson to beat him to the bag. LaRoche had turned his back to the play and was unaware that the runner had sped up. He was already moving towards the dugout when he saw the runner called safe, much to his disbelief. It should have been the third out of the inning, but instead the inning continued with four runs eventually scoring. The Atlanta crowd booed LaRoche for the rest of the game and the error was replayed repeatedly by local Atlanta media. Manager Bobby Cox even benched LaRoche for some of the next game as punishment. This incident is said to reflect LaRoche's struggles with Attention Deficit Disorder.
In the offseason, the Braves traded LaRoche to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Mike Gonzalez and SS prospect Brent Lillibridge.
LaRoche enters the 2007 season the starting first baseman for the Pirates.
Scouting Report[]
Statistics[]
Batting Stats[]
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG | OBP | SLG | 2B | 3B | BB | SO | HBP | SH | SB | IBB | GDP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | ATL | N | 110 | 324 | 45 | 90 | 13 | 45 | .278 | .333 | .488 | 27 | 1 | 27 | 78 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 2005 | ATL | N | 141 | 451 | 53 | 117 | 20 | 78 | .259 | .320 | .455 | 28 | 0 | 39 | 87 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 15 |
| 2006 | ATL | N | 149 | 492 | 89 | 140 | 32 | 90 | .285 | .354 | .561 | 38 | 1 | 55 | 128 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 9 |
| Total | 400 | 1267 | 187 | 347 | 65 | 213 | .274 | .337 | .504 | 93 | 2 | 121 | 293 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 13 | 34 |
Fielding Stats[]
| Year | Team | POS | G | GS | INN | PO | A | ERR | DP | TP | PB | SB | CS | PkO | AVG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | ATL | N | 1B | 98 | 82 | 720 | 739 | 41 | 5 | 87 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .994 |
| 2005 | ATL | N | 1B | 125 | 117 | 1019.1 | 1070 | 77 | 7 | 105 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .994 |
| 2006 | ATL | N | 1B | 142 | 130 | 1154.1 | 1117 | 97 | 5 | 109 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .996 |
| Total | 1B | 365 | 329 | 2893.2 | 2926 | 215 | 17 | 301 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .995 |
Transactions[]
- Selected by Florida Marlins in the 18th round of the free-agent draft - did not sign (June 2, 1998).
- Selected by Florida Marlins in the 42nd round of the free-agent draft - did not sign (June 2, 1999).
- Selected by Atlanta Braves in the 29th round of the free-agent draft (June 5, 2000 - signed June 21, 2000).