Matt Holliday, OF STL Holliday went 3-for-4 with an RBI Wednesday against the Nationals and is 5-for-8 over the last two days, raising his average from .233 to .279 in the process. Holliday got off to a slow start but he has had some poor luck on batted balls despite carrying ratios that are similar to his career numbers. His career average on grounders is .299, but he came into Wednesday's game hitting just .115 on groundballs (3-for-26).
Stephen Strasburg, RHP WAS Strasburg dropped to 1-4 after losing his latest start Wednesday against the Cardinals. He has a 3.16 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP after five starts, but is getting just 2.3 runs per 27 outs when he is in the game. The Nationals gave him 4.6 runs per 27 outs when he was in the game last season. Strasburg has had difficulty starting and finishing this season -- he has allowed six of his 11 earned runs in the first inning and the other five earned have come in the sixth -- but is spotless in innings 2-5.
Shin-Soo Choo, OF CIN Reds' leadoff hitters had an on-base percentage (OBP) of .254 last season. Shin-Soo Choo has rectified that problem, coming over from the Cleveland Indians and reaching base at a ridiculous .529 clip in 104 plate appearances. Getting hit 10 times in 21 games has helped that number, but Choo also has walked 14 times. His .392 average obviously will dip once his .483 BABIP regresses, but Choo always hits for a high BABIP (.357 career BABIP) because 68 percent of his batted balls in his career either have been line drives or grounders.
B.J. Upton, OF ATL Upton has to be driving fantasy owners mad by now. An 0-for-5 day Wednesday against the Rockies dropped his average to .150. Upton's line-drive rate is down two percentage points from last year and his strikeout rate is up nearly four percentage points. Upton also is hitting more grounders than last year so far, which isn't be the worst thing since he possesses great speed, but he is just 3-for-24 (.125) on his groundballs this season. He has a career .285 average on grounders. Upton also has lined out six times on nine line drives this year.
Roy Halladay, RHP PHI It looks like Roy Halladay has figured out how to stop his decline. The right-hander has allowed just eight hits, four walks and four earned runs over his last 21 innings. Facing the Marlins and Pirates in two of his last three starts has helped, but he also dominated the Cardinals in the second of those three outings. According to Pitchf/x, Halladay threw his sinker 50 times in his last start, the most he has used that pitch since 2009, per ESPN Stats & Info, and he threw it 46 times Wednesday night. Moving back to that pitch has helped Halladay regain his form.
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