Odubel Herrera- OF- PHI- Hot- Herrera has had some nagging injuries this season and has been out of the occasional game this month. When he's been in recently, though, he's produced. Yesterday Herrera went 4-for-5 with a homer, 3 RBI, and a run scored. In August he is 21-for-57 with 5 homers and 12 RBI in 65 PAs. For the season Herrera is slashing .259/.313/.438. His BABIP is .277, well below his career mark of .330. He has a HardHit% of 40.5% and Exit Velocity of 89.4, both career highs. If there is regression to the mean happening, Herrera is poised for a strong finish if he can stay healthy.
Will Smith- RP- ATL- Stats- Smith has been a big beneficiary of the Braves' recent hot streak or maybe he is one of the causes. Either way, He has earned 6 saves in the past 2 weeks. Smith picked up hits 28th save of the season yesterday. It hasn't been the smoothest of stretches for him. In only one of Smith's 8 appearances did he face the minimum number of batters. He has allowed 4 runs on 6 hits and 5 walks in 7.1 IP. Three of the hits were homers. Smith has registered 12 Ks, which explains how he has escaped with just one blown save. He has kept his role, even with shaky outings, so don't expect him to be demoted at this point. With Atlanta surging, Smith should continue to contribute saves.
Tyler Naquin- OF- CIN- Hot- Naquin hit 2 solo homers in a 2-for-4 game yesterday. It extended his current hitting streak to 12 games in which he has gone 21-for-46 with 5 homers, 9 RBI, and 11 runs scored. Naquin has only struck out 5 times during the streak and walked 4 times. Last season he slashed .218/.248/.383 and had a .275 BABIP, well below his .339 career average. He also has an Exit Velocity of 91.7 and HardHit% of 50.5%, so a bounce back was not unthinkable. Early in the season, it looked like that was happening. As of May 10, Naquin was slashing .278/.365/.578 with 8 homers in 104 PAs, despite a .293 BABIP. Then he went into a prolonged slump. Between May 11- August 10, Naquin slashed .227/.287/.354 with a BABIP of .288. His Exit Velocity in that span was 88.6 and HardHit% 37.5%. Finally, Naquin saw his luck turn and his current streak started. He is now slashing .268/.333/.482 for the season with 18 homers in 405 PAs and he has a BABIP of .311. Naquin's Exit Velocity for the year is 89.9 and HardHit% is 42.1%. There is still room for positive regression in his BAIBP and in the long term he is more likely to look like the player he was in the early part of the season than in his slump. Naquin's power surge looks legitimate, and his increased plate discipline will help overall.
Aaron Ashby- P- MIL- Rookie- It was not coincidence that Ashby was called up when Adrian Houser was activated from the COVID list. It was anticipated that Houser wouldn't pitch for long and the Brewers would need someone to toss multiple innings. That's what happened, although Ashby's were the bare minimum of "multiple" innings. He earned a hold by throwing 2 scoreless IP in which he gave up 2 hits, walked 1, and struck out 4 of the 9 batters he faced. Milwaukee seems to want to get some looks at Ashby facing major league pitching but haven't given him a long stint with the parent club. He has pitched 8.2 innings in 3 games with a 41.5 ERA, 9.35 K/9, and 4.15 BB/9. Ashby has a 2.48 FIP and that kind of discrepancy exists with his performance at AAA Nashville. There he has posted a 4.41 ERA but 2.65 FIP. Ashby has an outstanding 14.21 K/9 at AAA but is still showing some control issues with a 4.55 BB/9. A lot of that was in the early season, however, when he walked 15 in his first 4 starts that covered 15 IP. Take those out and he has a BB/9 of 3.16. In years past Ashby would probably be a September callup. With rosters only expanding by 2, though, he may not get back to Milwaukee unless he is there to stay. Some of that may depend on the state of the NL Central standings. If the Brewers get a comfortable lead, it's more likely Ashby will get a chance to show his improved power and control.
Gregory Polanco- OF- PIT- Stats- There is a good chance that Polanco will surface with another team before too long. He was slashing .199/.278/.343 when the Pirates waived him after yesterday's game. Polanco has suffered bad luck the past two seasons, with a BABIP of .193 in the shortened 2020 season and .241 this year. He has 11 homers in 367 PAs this season and his Statcast numbers are solid. Polanco has an Exit Velocity of 89.4, Barrel% of 9.2%, and HardHit% of 46.5%. With a FB% of 44.9%, he should be able to contribute some power still. Polanco's Batting EYE of 0.37 is his best since 2018. Some regression to the mean would have him contributing some average as well.
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