David Murphy- TEX- Hot- Murphy went 2-for-4 yesterday after going 3-for-5 on Thursday. That puts his August average at .345, driven by a .365 BABIP. Murphy has benefited from luck this year, with a .335 BABIP. That has been mostly against southpaws as he has a .391 average supported by a .545 BABIP against them overcompensating for a Batting EYE of .21. Against righthanders he has been very solid, with little impact of luck. His .287 average with a .302 BABIP and .92 Batting EYE indicates solid fundamentals. He may experience some regression to the mean in the final weeks of the season, but is still a good bet for a solid finish.
Chris Sale- CHA- Cold- Sale has failed to pitch a quality start in 3 of his last 5 times out. He hasn't had a similar stretch before in this season. Twice in this stretch he has walked 4 batters, something he had only done once before in his other 16 starts. The White Sox lack of limits on him might be starting to have an effect. Only once in his first 8 starts did he throw as many as 110 pitches. Sale has exceeded that amount in 5 of his last 13 starts. In addition to throwing more innings than he is used to this year he is throwing a lot of pitches. At 23 years old, that is a risk.
Matt Wieters- BAL- Hot- Wieters hit his 4th homer of the month last night and is sporting a much better average (.288) than in July. In 52 ABs in August he has 4 doubles in addition to the 4 homers, after only having 2 of each in July. His Batting EYE this month is an even 1.00. With 17 homers so far this year Wieters has a very good shot at surpassing his career best of 22 in 2011. It's been an up and down year but it looks like Wieters will end up with a solid season and good prospects for 2013.
Dustin Pedroia- BOS- Hot- Pedroia hit a homer on his 29th birthday to extend his current hitting streak to 12 games. His Batting EYE during this streak is a much more Pedrois-like 1.00 than the .69 he has for the year. There is also regression t the mean going on as his .407 BABIP still leaves his season mark at .295. Pedroia seems back to his old self and poised for a strong finish.
Ezequiel Carrera- CLE- Hot- Will somebody please buy Manny Acta a subscription to fantistics.com? Carrera's .389 average is the product of being "more relazed" than last year? How about Carrera's whopping .520 BABIP in his brief major league time this season? I think that has more to do with it and that regression to the mean will be harsh for Carrera no matter how relaxed he gets.
Follow me on Twitter all season - @fantisticspaul
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