Steven Pearce
We haven't written about Pearce yet this year, but it's time to. I've seen him play a couple times, and without a doubt, this is a kid who is going to hit in the major leagues, period. Where he ends up on the defensive spectrum is still in question, but unless the Pirates go hog-wild on the free agent market, their best bet is to have Pearce and Xavier Nady flanking a very good defensive centerfielder (as of now, Nyjer Morgan). Pearce is simply a professional hitter. Pearce started the year in the High-A Carolina League, progressing quickly through that level and the following two in putting up an aggregate line of .333/.394/.622, including a .924 minimum OPS at each of those levels. Pearce stands just 5'11", but through his legs and hips is able to generate excellent power to all fields. He does a good job in controlling the strikezone and managed an 85.6% contact rate. We won't predict superstardom here, but the Pirates, assuming they don't jerk him around (a bit assumption really), have a .280-25-90 guy on their hands. He even stole 14 bases in the minors, so there's lots to like here.
J.J. Hardy
When Hardy sat at 15 homers at the end of May, any analyst/fan with an ounce of sense knew that he wasn't a 45-homer guy, so his regression certainly isn't unexpected. Hardy though has rebounded from a homerless July to hit five in August and after a home run on Saturday, eight since the beginning of August. Expect him to be a 20 home run guy in 2008 and beyond. Of some concern on Hardy lately is the regression in his EYE - 0.58 before the break, 0.41 since. He demonstrated a solid understanding of the strikezone in the minors, so don't worry too much about this. Once you get past guys like Reyes and Ramirez in the NL, Hardy is right near the top of the second tier of shortstops.
Brad Thompson
Pathetic is about all you can say about the Astros lately. After lasting a total of 5 1/3 innings in his last two starts, Thompson shut down the Astros on Saturday, allowing just one run on four hits over six innings. Thompson was pulled for a pinch-hitter after just 64 pitches, so kudos to Tony LaRussa for not pressing his luck and rolling out Thompson for inning #7. If you saw Thompson's line and got excited, please think again. The peripherals and 4.96 ERA are ugly: 49:37 K:BB, 3.6 K/9, etc. Look for Thompson to get shelled next time out versus the Mets.
Tim Redding
With the recent reincarnation of Tim Redding as a decent major league pitcher, I decided to look back and dig up some information on the right-hander when he was a prospect in the Astros system. Incredibly, Redding ranked #49 in Baseball America's Top 100 prospects back in 2001, with the terms "live arm", "great upside", and "potential #1 starter"being thrown his way. Flash forward six awful years, and Redding on Saturday tossed 6 2/3 strong innings at home against the Phillies, allowing just one run on eight hits. He didn't walk a batter and struck out seven. He's struggled a bit recently, going 0-3 with an 8.22 ERA in his last four starts before Saturday's gem. Beware though, while Redding has a 3.53 ERA, a 44:36 K:BB and 10 HR in 79 innings are both ratios that will lead to the ERA taking a turn for the worse (as we've seen recently). Think of Redding as a $1 NL-only guy at best and you won't be disappointed.
Yovani Gallardo
If only Gallardo had been recalled earlier in the year, he may have given teammate Ryan Braun a run for NL ROY honors. Gallardo was great again on Saturday, allowing two runs on three hits over seven solid innings to the Braves. He entered the game with a streak of 21 scoreless innings, but that was ended in the first inning. For the year, Gallardo is 9-4 with a 3.57 ERA, a mark that would be quite a bit better (2.72 actually) if not for an August 8 shellacking in Coors Field (we'll forgive him for that one). There's not much to be critical of here, though his command has suffered at times, resulting in a so-so 3.1 BB/9, but that's nitpicking really. He's going to be special.
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