Nate McLouth – McLouth has certainly shown by now that he is not a fluke, and he did that once more yesterday. McLouth finished up the day going 1 – 3 with 2 runs, and 3 RBI’s. His 1 hit went for his 21st homer of the season, and he was also able to draw a walk. The scary part is that he may be in store for an even better second half. On the season, Mclouth’s singles average is just .181, which is very low. Keep in mind that McLouth has always had a low singles average, but that .181 mark is still 30 points lower than his established previous 3 year average. Furthermore, McLouth’s EYE was continues to improve (.15/.31/.51/.72). Expect to see McLouth’s .280 average rise to about .290 by season’s end, so don’t sell high on the All-Star CF.
Carlos Marmol – While Kerry Wood’s blister takes time to heal, Carlos Marmol’s value certainly rises as he is Chicago’s temporary closer. Marmol has a reputation of being a dominant reliever, but he has struggled lately. Yesterday was a good example of both the good and bad of Marmol. He earned the save by recording the final 4 outs and 3 of those outs came via the strikeout. However, Marmol also managed to walk 3 batters over that span. On the season, it is the same story. Marmol has an impressive K/9 of 11.93, but he is walking a batter almost once every other inning. Last season, Marmol had similar issues but benefited from a couple of lucky factors, such as a LOB% of 91% and HR/FB% of 3.9%. This year those numbers have normalized, resulting in a rise in Marmol’s ERA. The bad thing down the line is that Marmol’s BABIP is a very low .221, meaning that his ERA could continue to climb once the inevitable rise in his BABIP begins.
Jason Bay – Jason Bay is red hot. His homer yesterday not only gives him 22 on the season (only had 21 all of last season), but it is his 3rd homer in 4 games. The reason for Bay’s increased power this season from last season is simple. Last season Bay posted a HR/FB% of 11.4%, which was by far the worst of his career. Bay has not been so unlucky this season. Rather, his HR/FB% has normalized and climbed to 16.1%, which is almost identical to his career mark of 16.7%. Expect Bay to finish the season with around 35 homers.
C.C. Sabathia – The NL continues to be kind to Sabathia who threw his 3rd straight complete game in 4 starts since joining Milwaukee. This one was Sabathia’s first shutout; he struck out 7, walked 2, and allowed only 3 hits. In 33 NL innings (just 4 starts), Sabathia has struck out 31 against 8 walks while posting an impressive 1.36 ERA and .848 WHIP. Sabathia is a lefty with somewhat of a funky delivery, so the move to the NL benefits him in 2 ways. First of all, he is going up against a bunch of guys that have not seen him before and his delivery makes him hard to pick up right away. Secondly, the NL is an inferior hitting league. Look for Sabathia to continue to dominate from here on out.
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