Jeff Francoeur:
Francoeur went 3-5 on Sunday and got his batting average up to .304. There are a couple things going on with Frenchy this year to note. First and foremost he has improved his EYE considerably as he has cut down his K Rate and upped his BB's significantly. The numbers on the whole still aren't very exciting in terms of his total EYE, but its progress and considerable progress for a young player. While an increased EYE usually leads to an increased batting average it has helped Francoeur in this case raise his average about 40 points and that seem a bit excessive. A look to his BHIP%, which sits at .291 at the end of yesterday's game tells the story of how he has gotten up over .300. Francoeur had been in the league average .250 range throughout his first 1 1/2 years, so the .291 mark shows a bit of good luck. With the improvements Frenchy has made you can probably expect the batting average to settle in around the .275-.285 mark by the end of the season, which means there is likely an extended cold streak looming for Francoeur somewhere in the final 2 months of the season.
Ryan Zimmerman:
There might not be a hotter hitter in all of baseball right now than Ryan Zimmerman and it's getting very little attention because he's playing for the lowly Nationals, but Zimmerman registered 4th consecutive multi-hit game, his 3rd 3 hit game in those 4 games, and he now has multi-hit games in 8 of his last 11 games and in the process raised his average to .274. Zimmerman's been stuck in the mid .240's/.250's this season and has suffered what some may term a sophomore slump after driving in 110 last season and hitting .287. However much of Zimmerman's indicators are right in line with last season's performance as his EYE and power rates are nearly the same and much of the difference in his performance has just been some bad luck in his BHIP% .226 and a putrid top half of the lineup that is really limiting his RBI opportunities. Zimmerman should continue to build his average back up into the .280's and be a solid contributor the rest of the way who is just being held back a bit by the lineup around him. If he's available in mixed leagues hop on him and ride this recent hot streak and a strong finish to the season.
Aaron Rowand:
Rowand had a nice afternoon on Sunday going 3-6 with 3 RBI's and he needed it. Rowand's been struggling having gone 1-20 during the last 5 games before yesterday. Back in May we mentioned that Rowand's improvements were very much real and he's going to offer significant value throughout the season as his power and his EYE have both jumped this season. As good as he's been throughout the season, I'm now going to suggest putting out feelers to sell high on him. Rowand's EYE has progressively dissipated throughout the season (by month: .69, .50, .50, .25, .38 in) and while his BHIP% has come down to .286, it's still above his 3 year track record by about 27 points. I think the average ultimately settles in around the .295 range and the decreasing EYE concerns me that we could be getting the 04-06 Rowand the rest of the way and not the 1st half of 07 Rowand.
Ryan Howard:
I haven't seen any reports to this point with Howard but fantasy owners should be aware that Howard took a pitch off his back foot on Sunday and was visibly limping around the bases. He stayed in the game, because Charlie Manual's brilliant managing had left them with zero bench players, but looked shaken up a bit while moving around the field. It could be nothing, but it's worth mentioning. Howard's in a horrid slump right now as he's struck out 11 times in his last 20 AB and 17 times in his last 31 AB's. During this period his average has fallen to .268 and this is kind of the area we should expect Howard's average to sit at with such a high Strikeout total. Last year's .313 average was a mirage and likely won't ever happen again. He should essentially be a better version of Adam Dunn the rest of his career with 50 HR power and .265-.280 batting average limitations.
Ryan Spilborghs:
Spilborghs got the start against the lefty Chuck James on Sunday and continues to mash LH pitching. He went 2-3 with 2 HR's on Sunday and is now hitting .467-.510-.889 against lefties this season in 45 AB's. Spilborghs makes for the perfect platoon partner with Brad Hawpe who has a 1.000+ OPS against RH's and just a .530 OPS against LH's and with 3 LH's on deck this week for the Rockies (Marshall, Capuano, and Hill) Spilborghs should get some more opportunities this week and makes for a nice option in deep deep NL Only leagues.
