Tim Hudson - Hudson made it 5/6 in quality starts for the month yesterday, shutting out the Nationals over seven innings of work in a 5-0 win. Hudson is riding a GB% of close to 70 and his best velocity since 2004 to an 8-3 start this year, and I'm not sure that his FIP ERA (which is the 2nd-WORST of his career, incidentally) is properly accounting for the massive number of groundballs that he's generating. The BABIP of .234 is almost perfectly in line with what you'd expect from the LD%, and who needs K's if every batter hits a weak grounder? Oversimplification I know, and certainly a bit of regression can be expected...partly due to the fact that he's posting the worst swinging strike% of his career, but I think something halfway between his actual and FIP ERA's (2.37 and 4.36, respectively) would be a reasonable expectation.
Ricky Nolasco - It's way early to claim that he's figured something out, particularly when he's allowed four homers in his last two outings, but in those same two outings Nolasco's K's have outstripped his innings pitched for only the second time in back-to-back outings this year, and this time he won both starts. I've caught myself wondering frequently this year if his pre-season declaration that he was going to walk fewer than 30 or 40 batters this year (I can't remember which, to be honest) has caused him to throw the ball down the middle more than normal, and with an HR/9 of 1.77 there might be something to it. He still has a ton of potential with the K/BB ratio that he does, but without limiting the long ball he's going to be stuck with ERA's in the mid-4.00's at best. I'm cautiously optimistic.
Rickie Weeks - Weeks followed up Sunday's performance with another three hits on Monday, and he's now hitting 274/376/461 for the year. Weeks has slid under the radar a bit after an injury-plagued start to his career, but he's played in just about every game this season, and at age 27 he certainly has even more upside than he's shown us. Between 2009 and 2010 Weeks has a HR/FB of around 17.5%, which when combined with his excellent walk rates gives him .900-OPS potential with just a few more flyballs. Weeks will never be a .300 hitter in all likelihood, but his secondary skills are more than enough to give him plenty of value at 2B.
Juan Uribe - Uribe continues to bat cleanup for the Giants, as he is posting the best walk rate of his career combined with his typically decent power. At age 31 Uribe has really blossomed with the Giants, posting the first back-to-back seasons with an OBP over .300 in his career to this point in 2010, so perhaps there is some real growth here. At his age I'd be a bit skeptical, however, and would definitely be on the watch for an opportunity to package his solid counting stats for something with a bit more substance behind it, as the highest HR/FB rate and second highest swinging strike% of his career lead me to believe that at least some regression in the second half is likely.
Ryan Howard - A double and a triple last night give Howard an on-base streak of 14, bringing his season's line up to 296/352/517. Howard is swinging more and making more contact this year, but the results are pretty much the same as ever with less power, leading me to believe that we're watching the early stages of his decline phase. Howard is only 30, but players with his skill set often don't age well, so in long-term keeper leagues I'd be thinking about when the optimal time to unload him would be. For now, Howard is still extremely productive, and with an ISO of over .300 in June he might just be hitting his stride again.
