AN ASTRO TRIO
Jose Altuve had a bagel Thursday with four hitless at-bats as he’s really struggling of late. Over his last 17 games he’s hit .174 with 12 hits in 69 at-bats. He’s hit a remarkable .342 this season even with the slump, but the last three week’s he’s remarkably been an easy out. Still, the guy is two homers and three steals from a 25/30 season and no one on Earth predicted that was gonna happen.
Alex Bregman has been named the Minor League Hitter of the Year by MLB.com. In 80 games between Double and Triple-A he hit .306 with a .406 OBP and .580 SLG. He also blasted 20 homers, drove in 61 runs and had more walks than strikeouts (47 to 38). He started out a massive tailspin at the big league level, but he’s really cranked things up of late. He’s only hitting .267/.324/.813 on the season in the bigs, but over his last 21 games he’s hit .341 with seven homers, 23 RBI and 20 runs scored. He’s been blistering hot the last three weeks.
Yulieski Gurriel hit his second homer Thursday as he went 2-for-4 helping to push his slash line up to .333/.353/.521 slash line this season with seven RBI and seven runs scored through 15 games. He’s only struck out six times in 48 plate appearances which is great but he’s also walked just twice which I hate. A good start, but I need to see more.
THE WONDROUS MR. DOZIER
On June 1stBrian Dozier was batting .202 with five homers and 17 runs batted in over 46 games. He was dreadful. He was also really poor in the second half last season, but I said maintain the faith, he’s just too productive to disappear was he (in fact I pleaded with a few folks on Twitter). He hasn’t disappeared. He’s blinded folks with his excellence. Since June 1st he’s hit .314 with a .374 OBP. That’s excellent work. It’s even better than that as he has a .694 SLG in that time. Let me put it another way. Over his last 88 games played he’s been the best power hitter in baseball as he’s hit 34 homers with 75 RBI and 73 runs scored. He’s been even better than that. I know, but it’s true. Over his last 37 games he’s hit 22 home runs. "As a player and a coach, including my short time as manager, I've never seen a power surge like this at this level," said Twins manager Paul Molitor. One final note. Dozier has hit 37 homers while playing second base putting him within striking distance of the all-time record for a second baseman which is 42 (Rogers Hornsby 1922 and Davey Johnson in 1973). His run has been one of the most remarkable of the past decade, at least.
By the way, middle infielders are pounding the rock. There were four men last season who played MI and had 20 homers. There are already 16 men who have reached that number this season.
Kevin Kiermaier has been useful this season when healthy. Jose Peraza just needs his opportunity but when he plays, he produces. Byron Buxton has been on a tear since his latest recall. BIG 3 VIDEO
THIS AND THAT…
You can click the link above to see my video review of Byron Buxton. The following comes from Aaron Gleeman; Buxton has a .640 OPS through 116 career games and he’s appeared in 116 games. Kirby Puckett had a .640 OPS through 116 games and he was 24 years old. Puckett is in the Hall of Fame. As Aaron said, and I say daily, show some patience and give these youngsters some time before you bail and move on.
Remember when you were panicking when Miguel Cabrera started the year slowly? That’s an afterthought now. Cabrera has hit .358 with a .424 OBP and .637 SLG in the second half to push his season line up to .315-31-87-77 with a .941 OPS. Same as always folks. #NeverDoubtGreatness
Bryce Harper has his first 20/20 season. He’s also up to 76 RBI and 76 runs scored. He’s hitting a mere .252 but he also owns a .382 OBP that is just two points below his career norm. Since the 15th of August he’s appeared in 22 games hitting .329 with 18 RBI and a .967 OPS as he’s turned things around. That’s the Harper everyone drafted, right?
I’m not easily impressed, but… how could you not be impressed by that?
Andrew McCutchen has a hit in 5-of-6 games and 13-of-15 games.
Rougned Odor has 30 homers and 15 walks. That’s simply absurd.
David Ortiz has been a monster this season, but he’s really regressed of late. That’s sorta of unfair. He’s hit nine homers with a .891 OPS in the second half (47 games), so it’s not like he’s fallen apart. That’s really good work but obviously miles from his insane first half (22 homers, 1.107 OPS in 81 games). He’s had a remarkable season. Question. How has he scored just 66 runs with a .406 OBP? Oh yeah, he’s slow as all get out.
Carlos Santana was a guy I had to have this season cause the cost was so low. He’s gone out and had a terrific season. Thursday he hit his 30th big fly, the first time he’s reached that level, and he owns a .354 OBP and .475 SLG. He’s also driven in 71 runs and scored 75 times. In an OBP league he’s a boss. In 5x5 leagues his .244 batting average is a big hit to his production.
Since May 1st Jason Werth has a .352 OBP with 16 homers and 66 runs scored. Since June 1st he’s posted a .378 OBP with 12 homers and 50 runs scored over 76 games. He’s boring, but he’s also fairly productive for an old guy (he’s younger than me at 37 years of age).
Ray Flowers can be heard Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday, 8 PM EDT, Wednesday 7 PM EDT on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 11 PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).