Streaking in the Park: Strasburg, Reyes
By Brian Phair
SP Stephen Strasburg, WAS
No one had a better week than the most talked about young superstar in the game of baseball, Stephen Strasburg. In his major league debut, Strasburg was unbelievable, striking out 14 over 7 innings of work and allowed 4 hits and 1 homerun. In his 2nd outing of the year this past Sunday, Strasburg was also impressive, allowing 2 hits and 1 earned run over 5.1 innings, but struggled a bit with his command, walking 5 batters and striking out 8. Not a bad way to begin his career.
There is no doubt this kid is for real and has a bright future ahead of him once he gets comfortable pitching in every 5 days against big-league competition. His natural talent and effortless 100 mph fastballs are going to allow him to set-up his breaking pitches and keep hitters off-balance. As we have seen in his first 2 outings, he will have a tendency to give up a long-ball here and there, mostly because hitters will sit on his fastball. If a big-league hitter makes solid contact with a 100+ mph fastball, it’s most likely going to travel a long way.
The Washington Nationals appear to have some top tier young talent and have had the privilege of drafting high-ranking players due to their recent struggles. This team is not far away from being a mid-level team and potentially even a player in the NL East in the upcoming years. Strasburg will be the cornerstone of their rotation for years to come.
SS Jose Reyes, NYM
After a disappointing 2009 season in which Jose Reyes only appeared in 36 games for the New York Mets and a tough beginning to 2010, Reyes has begun to turn his season around. In 6 games this past week, Reyes hit .450 with 2 homeruns and 2 rbis in just 25 at-bats. Reyes has also added 2 stolen bases to his numbers this week, bringing his season total to 16 (only 2 caught stealing). This week has boosted Reyes season average to .265, but he is still .20 behind his solid career average of .285. If this trend continues, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Reyes return to his impressive numbers between 2006 and 2008, where he hit around .285-.290 with 12+ homeruns and 50+ stolen bases.
3B Kevin Kouzmanoff, OAK
Even though the Oakland Athletics are sitting below .500 in 2010, they are still just 4 games out of 1st place in the AL West. If they have a chance at leapfrogging the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, they need their 3rd baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff to continue to hit like he did this past week. In 6 games, Kouzmanoff hit and even .500 with 5 rbis in 26 at-bats. The Athletics signed Kouzmanoff this off-season to add some offense fire-power to their lineup and have been happy thus far. On the season, Kouzmanoff is hitting .286 with 6 long balls and 35 rbis.
Honorable Mention
LF Ryan Spilborghs, COL
SP Colby Lewis, TEX
Team
New York Mets
No team in baseball is looking better than the New York Mets these past 10 days and it is thanks to their pitching staff. The Mets are the only team to have gone 8-2 in their last 10 games and they now have the best home record in the majors at 24-10 in their new ballpark, Citi Field. The Mets pitching staff has a league best 1.77 era this past week, allowing just 11 earned runs in 56 innings while striking out 33 and walking just 9. The Mets’ offense has been only okay during this same stretch, but it didn’t matter because their pitching staff was unreal. The Mets find themselves now just 1.5 games behind the NL East leading Atlanta Braves in 2nd place.
Honorable Mention
San Francisco Giants
Weekly Player Spotlight
LF Jose Bautista, TOR
When compiling a list of surprise performances in the 2010 season thus far, Jose Bautista’s name floats to the top almost immediately. Bouncing between organizations in 2004 and then finally spending 4 years in Pittsburgh and then the last 3 in Toronto, Bautista has had decent power numbers and a poor batting average (.237) for his career. Due to his low average and only decent power numbers, he was a forgotten player until this year.
In just 65 games so far, Bautista has already eclipsed his career high in homeruns with 18 (previous high was 16) and has driven in 45 rbis, which is near his best season already. Bautista’s slugging percentage is .131 above his career mark and his on-base percentage is a career best as well. However, given his inability to hit for average, his impressive run is bound to end and is showing signs this past week.
Bautista had just 2 this in 27 at-bats this week and struck out 8 times. His season batting average is down to .231 and will be the hurdle for him in becoming a solid big-league outfielder consistently. Power is important, but most teams would rather a guy get on-base consistently then hit the cover off the ball on occasion. Bautista is likely to finish the season with career highs in several categories, but his low average will be to his detriment.
C Jason Kendall, KC
Looking a Jason Kendall’s long career, he has been a strong offensive catcher with very little power (75 career homeruns in 15 seasons). This year, Kendall has hit slightly below his career numbers and has really struggled this past week to get any hits. In 6 games, Kendall has just 1 hit (25 at-bats) and has struck out 3 times for the Kansas City Royals. The concern for the Royals has been Kendall’s inability to get on base and help out the rest of the lineup, with his .074 on-base percentage this week. Hopefully for Royals fans this is just a tough slump that Kendall can break out of soon.
SP Jamie Moyer, PHI
When attending a Phillies vs. Sox game at Fenway Park this past weekend, I had the opportunity to see Jamie Moyer in the dugout interacting with his teammates. One thing for sure is that his impact on the Phillies and the Mariners before has been incredible, but his one horrid performance this week landed him on the cold list. In his start against the Red Sox this week, Moyer lasted just 1 inning and allowed 9 earned runs on 9 hits while walking 1 and striking out 1. Moyer’s infamous slow fastball and breaking balls didn’t fool anyone in the Sox lineup and raised his season era to 5.03.
Honorable Mention
CF Carlos Gomez, MIL
SP Kevin Millwood, BAL
Team
Pittsburgh Pirates
Over the last several years, the Pittsburgh Pirates have been at the basement of the National League on a consistent basis. This year, the Pirates find themselves at 17 games below .500 (23-40) and already sitting 12.5 games back in 6th place in the NL Central. They have lost 9 of their last 10 games including 8 straight losses, creating a free-fall that is painful even to watch. This past week, the Pirates pitching staff is 0-4 with a 4.59 era and the bullpen has allowed 2 blown saves in 2 opportunities. Sadly, the Pirates hitting numbers are worse, as they hit .230 this past week with just 3 homeruns and 17 rbis.
Honorable Mention
Seattle Mariners
Brian Phair – BoSox Injection – Streaking in the Park
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