Casey McGehee – After a torrid start to the season, Casey McGehee has cooled off lately, posting just a .205/.222/.472 slash line in the past 14 days with 0 HR and 3 RBI. After recording a .946 OPS in April with 5 HR and 19 RBI, McGehee tallied an .824 OPS in May and really struggled as the month came to an end. He was just 2-for-12 in June before going 1-for-5 Saturday against the Cardinals with an RBI double. McGehee’s current numbers (.290/.349/.490) are right in line with his 2009 season (.301/.360/.499) when he finished with 16 HR and 66 RBI in 355 ABs. The ISO stats for the two seasons are also very similar (.197 in ’09/.200 in ’10). This is all good news for McGehee’s owners because it shows that the third baseman can sustain his solid numbers and be a very nice source of power in any league format.
Aramis Ramirez – He’s alive! Entering Saturday’s game against the Astros with a paltry .158 BA and .105 ISO, Ramirez collected his 5th HR of the season while finishing 3-for-4. Why has Ramirez been so bad this season? He’s witnessed his K% increase to 25% (compared to a 15.5% career mark), his ISO has dropped 93 points and he had a comical OPS of .485 prior to Saturday’s game (compared to .905 in ’09). Ramirez has definitely been unlucky as he’s dealt with a .181 BABIP but he’s also posted a 14% LD%, which is significantly lower than the 21% he recorded in ’09. It’s possible Ramirez simply isn’t the same after missing much of last season with a shoulder injury, but it’s also hard to imagine he’s become THIS awful. Expect the bat to improve, but it’s hard to say by how much based on the third baseman’s putrid first two months.
Jon Garland – Entering Saturday’s start against the struggling Phillies’ offense, Jon Garland had posted an impressive 2.15 ERA and 1.28 WHIP to go along with a 6-2 record. However, the Phils lit up Garland for 6 ER on 10 Hits in 7 innings as the right hander took the loss. Garland has improved his K/9 rate this season (5.64 in ’10/4.81 in ’09) but has also witnessed a spike in his BB/9 (4.03 in ’10/2.69 in ’09). He’s enjoyed a .258 BABIP (compared to .289 career mark) and his LOB% is the highest it has ever been at 80%. If Garland’s going to sustain his early-season success, he’ll need to drastically cut his BB/9, maintain his HR/9 mark (0.67 in ’10) and continue inducing a high number of ground balls (1.98 GB/FB mark). Considering his FIP is 4.20, now’s the time sell high on Garland before he regresses to his career averages.
Manny Parra – Manny Parra will start his third game of the season today against the Cardinals, looking to improve on his 1-3 record in 2010. For his career, the left hander has an ugly 5.08 ERA but a much more respectable 4.34 FIP. He’s struggled with command since debuting in the big leagues in 2007 as he’s never finished a season with a BB/9 rate lower than 4.07. In ’10, Parra has posted a 7.84 K/9 and 4.35 BB/9 while allowing just 0.58 HR/9. His FIP is just 3.74 (compared to a 4.06 ERA) and he’s recorded an impressive GB/FB rate of 1.96 – the highest mark of his career. The walks will hold Parra back from being a decent option in deep NL and mixed leagues, but he does draw a nice matchup against St. Louis today – the Cardinals have hit just .243 with a .679 OPS against lefties this season.
David Wright – The Mets’ third baseman went 2-for-3 Saturday with a HR, 3 RBI, 2 Runs Scored and a Walk against the Marlins. After a power outage in 2009 when he posted a disappointing .140 ISO and hit just 10 HRs, Wright has bounced back to record a .218 mark this season and already has matched last season’s HR total. While Wright’s power is in line with his career numbers, his BA (.270) is significantly lower than his career average (.306). Part of the BA drop is because of a higher K% (36%) and the rest can be explained due to a small sample size. I’m sure Wright’s gone through 200 AB stretches during his career where he hit in the .270 range. I expect that BA to rise as the season progresses and as his K/9 moves closer to his career mark of 21%.
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