Giancarlo Stanton - Giancarlo Stanton had a great game against Cliff Lee and the Phillies on Friday, belting 2 hits including a HR and a double. Stanton has only played in 118 games this season, but still reached a new career-high in HRs with 35 as of last night. So, for those keeping tracking, Stanton has now hit 22, 34 and 35 HRs in his first 3 seasons and only 1 of those was a full season. By the way, he turns 23-years old in November. With a .319 ISO and .605 SLG%, Stanton is on track to be the premier home run hitter in baseball in the very near future. And it's not like he's an all or nothing hitter - Stanton owns a .286 BA in 2012. The only downfall is that Stanton was injured for a decent amount of the year, but otherwise he's worthy of being one of the first hitters taken in 2013 drafts.
Adam Wainwright - Adam Wainwright took on the Astros on Friday and yielded 5 hits and 1 ER in 6 innings. He also struck out 5. After a rough first half where he posted a 4.56 ERA despite his peripherals being much better than that, Wainwright has enjoyed better luck in the second half and it's shown in his 3.40 ERA entering last night's start. For the season, Wainwright's numbers look very similar to his 2009 and 2010 seasons aside from a much higher ERA - which is almost entirely a result of poor luck. He should be an excellent SP option in all league formats next season, and should be a bit underrated because of the inflated ERA.
Jose Reyes - After a huge year in 2011, Jose Reyes has regressed to a more normal production level in 2012. Reyes went 0-for-4 on Friday against the Phillies and is now batting .284/.344/.429 compared to a .337/.384/.493 slash line in 2011. One of the biggest differences is that Reyes' BABIP has dropped from .353 to .294 this year, despite him hitting about the same number of line drives. He's also not getting much benefit from the Marlins' lineup, which looks more like a Triple-A squad than a major league team. Looking toward next year, expect Reyes to post numbers much closer to his 2012 totals than his 2011 ones.
Tim Hudson - Tim Hudson took on the Mets on Friday and pitched 7 innings and gave up 3 ER. After posting xFIP marks in the 3.44 to 3.77 range the past 3 seasons, Hudson's 2012 mark is 4.11, indicating a slip in performance. His ERA has also increased from 3.22 in 2011 to 3.62 while his whiff rate has dropped by about 1.5 batters per game. All told, those are some concerning trends for a 37-year old pitcher who owns a 5.00 strikeout rate. Hudson has been an ERA machine the past few seasons, but I'd be cautious expecting him to keep his ERA low enough in 2013 that it offsets the lack of strikeouts he provides.
A.J. Burnett - A.J. Burnett faced the Reds on Friday and gave up 1 ER on 7 hits while striking out 5 and walking 1 in 8 innings of work. Burnett's been downright good this season. He's got excellent peripheral stats with an 8.10 strikeout rate, 2.75 walk rate and 0.82 HR rate. Add in a 57% GB rate and it's easy to see how Burnett has posted a 3.39 xFIP and 3.43 ERA. Burnett's big improvement isn't entirely surprising considering he owned a 3.86 xFIP in 2011 despite a 5.15 ERA. Looking toward next season, Burnett should be able to put up numbers that make him a solid middle of the rotation starter in most leagues.
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