Who's Hot/Who's Not 9 6 13

How about a little fire, scarecrow? Let’s take a look at who’s hot and who’s not. 

 

 Shin Soo-Choo: I still think that the Reds picking up Choo in the offseason was one of the best pickups in the free agency, even when not a lot of people noticed it. Though he has a .287 batting average, which is nothing incredible, Choo has a .420 on base percentage. With that, he is a great lead-off man for the team. Lately, he is batting .448 with three homers and seven RBI’s, totaling to 20 homers and 48 RBI’s. I’d say that’s pretty good for a lead-off man. 

Coco Crisp: Not only does Coco Crisp have one of the best names in baseball, but the 33 year old veteran has brought a lot to the A’s, and is really the definition of Billy Beane’s “He gets on base” motto. Lately, Crisp has batted .345 with four homers and nine RBI’s, and now bats .260 with 18 homers and 54 RBI’s. But just like Choo, he gets on base, as shown with his .331 OBP. Not as much speed as what he used to had, but Crisp still has 17 steals. His 18 homers on the year is a career high.

Jacoby Ellsbury: The leader in stolen bases, Ellsbury has been getting it done both at the plate and on the bases. In his last seven games, Jacoby has batted .313 with a homer and five RBI’s, and has added three steals to his 52 total. Yet another good lead-off man, Ellsbury now bats .299 with eight homers and 52 RBI’s. 

Edwin Encarnacion: Unfortunately for Encarnacion, since he’s on the Blue Jays, he really hasn’t seen much paparazzi around his name. However, he still has been a solid player with lots of power. He’s been red hot, batting .435 with three homers and six RBI’s in his last seven games. He now has 36 homers and 103 RBI’s, trailing only Miggy and Chris Davis in that pack. He bats .279/.376/.548, and if he keeps it up, he’ll break his career high in homers (42 last year).

Homer Bailey: Remember when he threw a no-hitter this year? Man that was a while ago. He’s back to those roots, going 2-0 with a 1.33 ERA in his last three starts, striking out 20. He now is 10-10 with a 3.42 ERA in 184 innings pitched.

Jose Fernandez: I swear if this guy doesn’t get Rookie of the Year, something is flawed. Yes, he’s on the Marlins, but Fernandez is having one of the best Rookie seasons of all time (for a pitcher, at least. He’s no Mike Trout!). In his last three starts, Fernandez has gone 2-1 with a 1.42 ERA and 24 strikeouts. He’s now 10-6 with a 2.33 ERA. Since the all-star break, Fernandez has been one of the best pitchers in baseball. 

 

Charlie Morton: Who? A pitcher out of the Pirates rotation, of course! Morton is 3-0 with a .84 ERA in his last three starts, moving his ERA to exactly 3.00 (he’s 7-3 on the year). That’s a nice sign to see right now, especially for a team that’s moving into the playoffs.

That’s good for who’s hot. Who’s been struggling lately? I’ll be honest, the Cardinals have really been struggling, even if it might not look like it.

Daniel Descalso (Cardinals): A rough week for him, he’s batting .143 with only one RBI this past week. That’s moved his slash marks down to a mediocre .236/.292/.362. He has a career high in home runs and RBI’s, but that’s only 5 and 34, respectively. 

Jon Jay (Cardinals): The first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, a Founding Father, and now the outfielder for the Cardinals, Jay has done it all. However, he’s been struggling big time, batting .083 this week. He still has a .262/.336/.364 stance, which is still ok for a non-power hitter, but if he keeps batting like this, that won’t be the same. 

Yadier Molina (Cardinals): I thought Molina would continue to be the leader in the MVP race, but it’s not looking like that. Molina is batting .120 this week with only one RBI. He still bats .321 with 10 homers and 61 RBI’s, and is probably the best defensive catcher in baseball, but Clayton Kershaw and Andrew McCutchen are now the top picks in the race.

Adam Wainwright (Cardinals): The FOURTH Cardinal on the list, Wainwright has been struggling. He’s 1-2 with an 8.47 ERA in his last three starts, with his last outing giving up six runs in six innings. He’s walked four batters in his last three starts, which usually isn’t much for anyone, but for Wainwright, who has only walked 29 and is on track to have the best K/BB ratio in a single season, that’s critical. 

Alright, enough tearing up on the Cardinals.

Barry Zito (Giants): It seems like Zito is always on the Cold list. Things have still not gotten better, as Zito has an 11.57 ERA in his last three starts, going 0-3 with a 2.23 WHIP. He now is 4-11 with a 5.91 ERA.

Daisuke Matsuzaka (Mets): It’s good to see Dice-K back from injury, it really is, but things aren’t working. In his first three starts back, he’s gone 0-3 with a 10.95 ERA in only 12.1 innings of work. He needs to get his stuff together.

Email me at statsbuddy42@gmail.com for any questions/comments/concerns.

-Evan Boyd