Conor Jackson - Jackson continued his assault on the NL last night, finishing up with a single, two triples, and a homer in five trips to the plate. He is hitting 364/473/750 on the year, and Drew's prediction for a breakout from him this season looks pretty solid so far. It's not uncommon for hitting growth to come in fits and starts, and with Jackson last year's line, albeit similar to 2006's, carried a few important improvements: a 20 point increase in ISO and a substantial decrease in strikeouts. I have little doubt that his hot start portends a breakout year.
Matt Cain - Cain has been uncharacteristically wild in the early going this season, walking 15 men in his first 20 1/3 innings without a game in which he walked fewer than three. It's only four games, but if this lasts another start or two it will be time to be concerned. Wildness is often a precursor of injury, so let's hope he rights the ship quickly. He also has allowed three homers already, putting him at nearly double the rate that he has allowed in his career. Lots of warning signs right now for Cain.
Skip Schumaker - Schumaker had another couple of hits yesterday, bringing his line to 321/419/491 for the year, and he's wrested a full-time job away despite the fact that Brian Barton is hitting just about as well. I actually think that Barton has the higher ceiling, but Schumaker has always shown the ability to hit for average long with a bit of speed, so this isn't completely a fluke. He's walked nine times against five K's so far, but like all of the Cardinals the schedule has been very kind so far. If there are any Cards fans in our league, the next week or so might be the optimal time to try and take advantage via the trade market.
Todd Wellemeyer - Wellemeyer had another excellent start last night, but before we get too excited about his first four outings let's look at the schedule he's faced: COL, @HOU, @SF, SF. That's three games against two of the worst offenses in baseball, and that is absolutely a reason to discount his early season statistics, especially when coupled with the rest of his career. The last time his control was this good was in A-ball in 2002. He does get the Pirates next time out, which might not hurt him, but after that he gets the Reds, Cubs, and Rockies in Coors. Things could turn around in a hurry. -
Ryan Zimmerman - Sometimes I think I'm the only guy around that just isn't THAT enamored with Ryan Zimmerman. Sure, he had an excellent rookie season with the Nats at age 21, and he's moving to a slightly better park for hitters this year. Of course he's going to break out.....except for that pesky regression last season, which of course only amounted to a few singles that didn't drop in. Unlike some of the other young hitters around the game, I see Zimmerman as a solid all-around player rather than an offensive force. His defense, which is tremendous, isn't going to play in fantasy, so you end up with a player that I think will be overrated more often than not. His most comparable players are all good but not great players....15 year guys but not Hall of Famers. That being said, he's certainly going to bust out of this slump soon, and maybe the Marlins staff is exactly what he needs to get going.
