Boof Bonser – Bonser gave up only one run last night, a solo HR off the bat of Joe Crede, over 7 innings versus the White Sox. He allowed 6 hits, while striking out 8 and walking 1. That is Bonser’s 5th quality start in 6 tries on the season, so do not let his 2 – 4 record fool you. If he keeps pitching like this, the wins will come. Also, Bonser’s expected ERA, previous to last night’s start, was 3.64 (actual ERA was 4.34). Probably the most encouraging thing about Bonser’s latest outing was his strikeout total. Bonser struck out 8 in 7 innings, and before that performance he was only striking out .48 batters per inning, down from .79 last season. Combine that with a lowering of his walk rate (.33 per IP last season; .25 this season) and Bonser is currently pitching at a level that better than the conventional statistics (wins, ERA) may say, which makes him a buy low candidate in deeper leagues.
Chone Figgins – Last season, Figgins’ singles average was an extremely lucky .345. Since there was no reason to think that that number would not dip below .300 this season, we projected Figgins’ overall batting average to drop below .300. So far this season, Figgins is batting over .300 in large part because of another high singles average (.355). However, this season there are actually some reasons to explain why Figgins has been able to have such a high singles average. First of all, his BB% has increased by over 4% from last season, giving him an EYE of .81 heading into last night’s action. Secondly, Figgins has put the ball on the ground more, allowing him to utilize his speed. Figgins’ career GB:FB ratio is 1.25, but so far this season it is 2.59. With that said, Figgins’ singles average is still likely to drop somewhat, but with his newfound approach at the plate, it is very possible he could hit .300 this season.
Gavin Floyd – Floyd took the loss last night, giving up 3 runs in 6 innings. He gave up only 5 hits, but struck out just 1 and walked 3. Floyd now has as many walks as strikeouts (15) on the season. This, among other things, leads me to believe that the 2.84 ERA and 1.026 WHIP Floyd put up through his first 4 starts are a fluke. Among those other things is Floyd’s BABIP. Before last night it sat at .161, 135 percentage points below his career average of .296. Also, Floyd has managed to give up less HR/9 in his first four starts (1.07) than he has over his career (1.76), despite an increase (over his career average) of nearly 14% in the amount of fly balls he has allowed.
Carlos Gomez – Gomez already has double digit steals on the season (while only getting caught once), but he has not swiped a bag in his last 6 games. The reason why is that Gomez has not been able to get on base much. During that span, he has 26 plate appearances. Only 3 of them have resulted in Gomez getting on base (all hits), and 8 have ended via strikeout. Gomez’s AVG/OBP heading into last night’s game was .255/.271. Things don’t look to improve either. Gomez has an EYE of .08, which is absolutely horrendous. He is sure to run when he gets on base, but that speed will come at some serious batting average risk. Gomez’s inability to get on base is dispelling any early notions that he could steal 80 or so bases. At this point 50 is more realistic, and it is hard to imagine that the Twins will continue to bat a guy with a sub .300 OBP in the leadoff spot.
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