David Lough- BAL- Hot- Lough went 2-for-3 in his first start in about a week on Sunday and hit his first homer of the year. His average is still below the Mendoza Line at .176, suppressed by a .214 BABIP. If Lough were to get some more playing time regression to the mean would help him but he isn't likely to be able to have the opportunity to do that in the near future. Last year with the Royals Lough hit .286 in 335 PAs, helped by a .326 BABIP. He has equaled the 5 steals he picked up in part time play in 2013 with fewer than a third of the PAs. If he does end up getting significant playing time he could help in that area in very deep leagues.
Brock Holt- BOS- FYI- Holt cooled off a little last night, going only 1-for-4 with a run scored. He has been on fire lately which has brought up his season numbers to a .333 average in 101 PAs. This is mainly due to some very good luck, in the form of a .408 BABIP. Holt had enjoyed good, but not quite the same level, of luck at AAA Pawtucket with a .344 BABIP driving a .315 average. Holt will get some time at 1B this week, while Mike Napoli gets closer to returning from the DL. After that he is slotted for a super sub role. That may get less frequent if regression to the mean raises its ugly head.
Felix Hernandez- SEA- Great Player- Hernandez threw a very solid start last night, allowing 2 runs on 8 hits in 7 IP, walking none and striking out 8. He threw 111 pitches. That was the third time this season that Hernandez has hit the 110 pitch mark this year, after doing it 3 times all of last season. This doesn't necessarily mean that his usage is going to continue to be intense. Last year, his final high-pitch game came on May 30th, about the same time. Hernandez hasn't had as many pitches wrung out of his arm in recent years and high usage didn't seem to bother him even in his formative seasons. He was an exception to the usual caution. His production did drop off some at the end of 2013, but some was due to bad luck (a .342 OBP in August.) Hernandez looks to be positioned to continue dominating.
Jon Singleton- HOU- Rookie- Singleton will be in a Houston uniform tonight and make his major league debut. With 14 homers already at AAA Oklahoma City he is a legitimate power prospect. His Batting EYE improved from .52 in his first AAA experience last year to .81 this year. Singleton's .292 BABIP had some impact on his .267 average. He has had two suspensions due to substance abuse issues in his minor league career but the Astros are confident enough that it is behind him that they signed him long term. Singleton could be a significant power source at 1B for a long time.
Robinson Chirinos- TEX- Stats- Currently part of a platoon behind the plate for Texas, Chirinos needs to capture the plate discipline he has showed at AAA in order to keep a job when Geovany Soto comes back later this season. Chirinos had a 12.2% BB% for AAA Round Rock last season, walking 38 times in 311 PAs. He had a .356 OBP despite an average of .257. He has only walked 6 times with the Rangers this season in 116 PAs, with an OBP of .274. For AAA Durham in 2011, Chirinos had a BB% of 9.1% and OBP of .343. The Texas catcher of the future, Jorge Alfaro, is working his way up the system but only at High A right now. Chirinos has something to prove to show that he is more than a AAAA player.
