Justin Upton- ARI- Cold- The potential is there, but it has certainly not been realized this season. Upton was lifted for a pinch hitter yesterday, after remaining hitless for 2009 in an 0-for-3 game. The strikeouts have been plaguing him, with 6 of them in his 12 ABs and only 1 walk. If he doesn’t turn it around soon at the major league level, a trip to the minors is likely.
Mike Pelfrey- NYN- Cold- Unless manager Jerry Manuel knows more about an injury situation than he is letting on, it’s not time yet to be too concerned about Pelfrey. He posted an ERA of 4.43 last April and it had swollen to 4.98 by the end of May before he got his act together. Pelfrey may just be a slow starter.
Edinson Volquez- CIN- Cold- Volquez continues to have control problems. Yesterday he walked 4 in 5 IP, which went a long way towards the 6 runs he allowed on 7 hits. A total of 45 of his 99 pitches were outside the strike zone. Unless Volquez can find the strike zone, his crash after last year’s season will be hard.
Corey Hart- MIL- Hot- Hart gave his average a 35 point boost with a 2-for-4 day at the plate, extending his hitting streak to 5 games. His batting average of .268 last year was suppressed by a miniscule .215 BHIPx and he also didn’t help himself with a Batting EYE of .25. Hart has increased his EYE in the early going to .63. We may be looking at a small sample size, but if he can maintain somewhere close to that and get average luck, Hart may be close to a .300 hitter.
Anderson Hernandez- WAS- Rise Value- Willie Harris’ oblique strain was bad enough to land him on the 15-day DL. In his place, the Nats activated Hernandez from the DL. He had been playing on a rehab assignment at AAA Syracuse, recovering from a hamstring strain. Hernandez started yesterday and went 1-for-4. Last season he batted .333 for Washington in 81 ABs. Hernandez’ average was boosted significantly by a BHIP that was also .333. Overall, as a hitter Hernandez is a fine defensive infielder. Don’t expect much in the way of offensive production from the career .265 minor league hitter who has 28 homers in 3550 minor league ABs.
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