Streaking in the Park: Matt Holliday, Ryan Zimmerman and more
By Brian Phair
LF Matt Holliday, STL
Since joining the St. Louis Cardinals roster in 2009, Matt Holliday has been a beast at the plate. He hit .353 with 13 home runs in 63 games with the Cardinals in 2009 and has hit .302 with 10 home runs in 67 games this season. Since leaving the Rockies, Holliday has been out to prove his critics wrong and show everyone that his numbers were not over-inflated due to the thin air of Colorado. Holliday has proven to be a great compliment to Albert Pujols in the middle of the Cardinal lineup and so far has shown he can be a hitting machine.
Until this week however, Holliday’s numbers were not quite as impressive. This past week, Holliday hit 4 dingers in just 5 games and drove in 8 runs in just 19 at-bats. Holliday hit a whopping .421 this week with a slugging percentage of 1.105 in an effort to keep the Cardinals in 1st place in the NL Central, a spot they currently hold by a single game over the Cincinnati Reds. His numbers this week pushed his batting average above the .300 mark and gave him double-digits in home runs, but look for this to just be the beginning of a Holliday power streak.
With a career .317 average and 162 total homeruns in 6.5 seasons, most expect Holliday to continue to increase his average and begin to hit home runs in bunches. Throughout his career, the one thing you can count on with Holliday is that he is a streaky player and can both hit like crazy and slump with the best of them.
OF Josh Hamilton, TEX
No one is seeing the ball better right now than Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers. While his team is firing on all cylinders, so is his hot bat. In 6 games this week, Hamilton hit an unthinkable .593 with 1 home run and 22 total bases. Hamilton added a triple and double to his stats this week and drove in 6 runs. As if those numbers weren’t enough, Hamilton decided to channel his inner Rickey Henderson and stole 2 bases without being caught. If the Rangers are going to continue to stay atop the AL West, they are going to need their top hitters to remain hot like Josh Hamilton has recently.
SP Josh Johnson, FLA
Josh Johnson has been impressive this entire 2010 season, but had a particularly strong week. Johnson started 2 games for the Florida Marlins and allowed just 2 earned runs in 15 total innings. He was mowing down the opposition with 16 strikeouts and just a single walk and finished the week with a 1-0 record, moving his season total to 8-2 with a 1.80 era. Johnson is rapidly becoming one of the most elite pitchers in the national league at the young age of 26 and barring injuries, he will continue to improve and dominate.
Honorable Mention
2B Dustin Pedroia, BOS
RP Neftali Feliz, TEX
Team
Boston Red Sox
Several weeks ago, there were very few people who expected the Red Sox to be sitting 0.5 games back of the New York Yankees in the AL East. The Sox started the season 20-20 and have since rolled off a 23-8 record, pushing them back into contention. This past week consisted of 2 straight series sweeps (Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers) and they have now won 8 of their last 10 games and are 10-2 in interleague play. This past week, the Red Sox sit 4th overall in team batting average and 5th overall in team era, showing they are playing well in all facets of the game right now.
Honorable Mention
Texas Rangers
Chicago White Sox
Weekly Player Spotlight
3B Ryan Zimmerman, WSH
One of the biggest surprises early in the 2010 season was the strength of the Washington Nationals. The Nationals are perennially the basement team in the NL East and although their young talent is unmatched, their overall chances of making the playoffs were tiny. Most critics were waiting for the Nationals to realize their true potential and sink to the bottom of the division and unfortunately for the club, the team has begun its down-slide thanks partially to the cold bat of Ryan Zimmerman.
This past week, the power-hitting 3rd baseman has just 2 hits in 7 games and drove in a single run. His batting average was an abysmal .087 and he struck out an incredible 11 times in 23 at-bats. Zimmerman has been solid in 2010, hitting right near his career average at .283 and has jacked 13 long-balls in just 67 games played. His power is a spark for the Nationals club when he is hitting well, but their offense is overall a bit lacking. Besides phenom Stephen Strasburg, the Nationals pitching staff follows short of the mark as well.
If Zimmerman can stick with the Nationals for another few years, there is a strong potential for this club to be a contender down the line, given their incredible line-up of young arms in the system. The problem for Nationals fans is that those arms may not be available for another year or two, making the next few seasons a challenge.
OF Vernon Wells, TOR
Good things always come to an end, especially when the good thing is almost too good to be true. Vernon Wells has been an underachieving outfielder for the Toronto Blue Jays since the day he signed a long-term deal. In 158 games last season, he hit 15 homeruns and had a batting average of .260. He began this season on fire and already has 16 homeruns, but has recently started a turn for the worse. In 5 games this week, Wells had just 2 hits and had an embarrassing .111 average. He drew no walks and struck out 4 times and appears to be returning to reality for the Jays.
SP A.J. Burnett, NYY
In a week that the New York Yankees jump into first place in the AL East, A.J. Burnett threw two stinkers. Burnett has been a shaky pitcher since joining the Yankees, because he can look dominate and unhittable for a few starts and then absolutely collapse and pitch horribly for a stretch. This week was one of the tough stretches. Burnett had 2 starts and finished the week with a 0-2 record and an era of 15.95 in just 7.1 innings. Burnett allowed 13 earned runs, including 5 home runs and had a walk to strike out ratio of just 6:7. If the Yankees look to win the AL East, they need more from Burnett in the future.
Honorable Mention
SS Ian Desmond, WSH
DH Jack Cust, OAK
Team
Houston Astros
It pains me to continue to barrage the Houston Astros and place them at the bottom of baseball as the coldest team, but they just can’t seem to do anything this season. Sitting with a record of 26-44 is not where Brad Mills had hoped to be this Spring and their most recent stretch of 2-8 clearly illustrates the direction they are headed and fast. This past week, the Astros were dead last in team era (6.28), and 3rd from the bottom in team batting average, hitting just above the Mendoza line at .201. It has become a season of small victories for the Astros, because large victories are not possible.
Honorable Mention
Washington Nationals