Jose Bautista
Bautista was sitting on the bench yet again on Saturday. With the Pirates 12th in the NL in team OPS, you’d think they could use a guy with a .915 OPS in the month of May. Sure, Bautista isn’t exactly a superstar and he’s batting .228/.296/.386 overall this year, but sitting guy who’s as hot as Bautista for Doug Mienkiewicz makes little sense. Bautista even seems to be seeing the ball better, posting a 9:5 K:BB in his last 10 games (27:7) prior to that. Bautista is never going to hit for a high average, but .260-20-80 with a handful of steals has some value. I guess the Pirates disagree.
Michael Bourn
Our resident oracle, Michael Leone alluded to this a couple days ago, but Bourn has officially lost his leadoff slot, batting eighth as of Friday. Where this hurts Bourn’s value most is in scoring runs, as the pitcher is less likely to drive him in than the likes of Carlos Lee, Lance Berkman, and company. (Yeah went out on a limb there). Bourn did break out of an 0-for-17 slump on Friday and even mixed in a stolen base, but his owners have to hope he shows enough this weekend to move back to the leadoff role next week. Manager Cecil Cooper seems smart enough to realize that you can’t steal first base however, and Bourn’s .252 OBP is simply unacceptable for a leadoff guy. One thing in his favor however, is that a guy with his speed should have nowhere near a .222 BHIP% as Bourn does. Look at a guy like Ichiro for example. He’s routinely well above .300, a rate that should be sustainable for a guy with Bourn’s skills. I’m still optimistic that he’ll wind up in the .260/.330/.360 range with 50+ steals, a line that makes him a far better fantasy player than real-life player.
Rich Hill
If you’re hoping for a quick return for Rich Hill, it’s probably not going to happen. Hill was awful in Friday’s start for Triple-A Iowa, lasting just 2 2/3 innings, walking three and throwing more balls (28) than strikes (27). Hill’s 3.38 ERA isn’t awful, but the Cubs want to see vastly improved command from Hill before bringing him back. It’s not helping Hill’s cause that Sean Gallagher pitched well on Friday for the Cubs and with Hill having walked eight in 13 1/3 innings (15 strikeouts), he’s going to stay down awhile longer.
Ryan Ludwick
Ludwick is getting more ink here and elsewhere than he’s ever received, but with what he’s accomplishing, it’s deserved. Drew talked about Ludwick after he had nine hits (three of them long balls) in a three-game series in Coors Field recently, but he’s been far more than a product of the parks he’s hitting in. Ludwick on Saturday was 2-for-4 with two more home runs, including a walk-off job against Tampa Bay’s Dan Wheeler. Ludwick now has 10 home runs, one more than Albert Pujols and is batting .336/.406/.724. That’s an ISO of .386. Not too shabby considering a so-so 70% contract rate and 34:15 K:BB. An incredible 23 of Ludwick’s 39 hits have been for extra bases. Expect him to continue to steal time from Rick Ankiel especially. Prior to 2008, Ludwick had a homer ever 22.8 at-bats, but this year it’s almost twice that – 11.6. Clearly this won’t continue, but enjoy the ride. Who knows that the real story is, but Ludwick certainly isn’t hurting himself with an improved BB/AB rate – 8.6% to 12.9% over last year.
Blake DeWitt
With the way DeWitt has stabilized the injury-riddled third base position for the Dodgers, it’s surprising what little ink he’s been given here. DeWitt on Saturday went 2-for-4 with a double and his fourth homer of the season, this one off Ervin Santana. I’m still trying to figure out why DeWitt was hitting lower in the lineup than the Mendoza-busting Andruw Jones and Mike Sweeney (yes, the same Mike Sweeney that played while Matt Kemp sat), but that’s another story. DeWitt is now up to .327/.400/.533 and for a guy who’s main knock was a lack of power for a corner infielder, you have to be pleased with his .206 ISO. There really isn’t much to not like about DeWitt’s game this year, including a 0.92 EYE, .933 OPS, solid defense, and a “gamer” type attitude that he’s brought to the clubhouse. It’s really surprising to see what DeWitt has done this year considering his struggles at the Double-A level the last couple years, but you have to trust the skills in this case – DeWitt is a former first round pick, a guy once thought to be the best High School bat in his draft class. Whether DeWitt keeps his job once Nomar Garciaparra returns from his latest DL stint is a big question, but he may be making Joe Torre’s decision for him.
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