I really believe that Chone Figgins deserves the great player status, and as Figgins has posted a ridiculous 1.06 FPI to start the season, it‘s hard to argue anything else. He is the biggest on base threat in the major leagues next to Hanley Ramirez in my opinion. Figgins is certainly backing that up this year with a .393 batting average (2nd in MLB) while his .507 OBP and 7 SB are good enough to lead the league. It seemed a sign of even greater things to come for Figgy when he hit .290 and stole 62 bases in 2005. His regression in batting average the following year was mainly due to bad luck (BHIP of .261, well below his average) and he rebounded when he came off the DL early last season. He finished 2007 at .330 in 115 games and he hasn’t slowed down a bit in 2008. I expect Figgins to swipe 70 bases this year and hit up above the .310 mark, mainly because his BB/K numbers seem to show he’s turned a corner at the plate. He has a league-leading 13 walks compared to just 9 SO, which translates to more than 40 points above his average BB/K% of .61.
Erik Bedard has been put on the DL due to inflammation in his left hip. There were some reports saying his hip felt better earlier this morning but it’s probably better for the young ace to shut it down for a couple weeks. The hip has obviously been bothering him since the outset of the season as we have seen him struggle mightily with his control (8 H and 8 BB in just 11I P). With exception to his K/9, Bedard’s peripherals have been woeful in his first two starts. The main difference seems to be leaving pitches up in the zone when he’s not hit walking batters. Bedard has been over a FB% of 40 just once in his career and right now it’s at 40.6% with an 23.1% of his FB going for HR. That rate is ridiculously high but the rest should help him regroup. We’ll follow Bedard’s progress over the coming weeks and as of now the injury doesn’t appear to be serious.
Miguel Cabrera might be finally breaking out of his early season slump. Cabrera hit a game-winning 2-run blast last night against Minnesota and has gone 4-11 with a 2B, HR, and 3 RBI in his last three games. Cabrera only has 10 hits total this year, so the fact that four have them have come in such a short span shows he’s finally starting to see the ball better. He’s also steadily lowered his FB% from an astronomical 71% to 45%, meaning he isn‘t pressing as much at the plate. The Tigers have now won two in a row and 3 of their last 5. Sometimes the best medicine for a slumping hitter is to get the feel for winning a few ballgames, particularly on a team that has such high expectations.
Casey Kotchman is turning into the hitter that the Angels expected him to become when they drafted him with their 1st round pick (13th overall) in 2001. Kotchman went deep for the fourth time this year yesterday afternoon, boosting his numbers to .352/4/10. The Angels’ young 1st baseman hasn’t walked or struck out much at all this year (3 times each) but his high average is explained through his 19 and 96% Contact rate. Thus far in his career Kotchman has shown he is primarily a ground ball hitter (53.8 GB%) and right now he is staying true to form as his GB/FB is a whopping 2.82 (64.6% GB). The question then must be how on Earth does he have 4 homers already? When Kotchman has hit a fly ball this year, he’s made it count - Out of 13 FB, he’s hit 4 HR, making his HR/FB a ridiculous 30%. I would expect that number in particular to take a steep drop as the season goes on but don’t sell Kotch short because this kid can flat out hit (finished with a 90.3% Ct rate in 2007). I’d say Kotchman is a solid UTIL option, and maybe even a 1B option for deep leagues. He is still available in a ton of leagues, so if you need some help in AVG and HR pick him up and ride him while he’s hot.
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