Saturday, June 19, 2004
ALL-STAR ON THE CORNER
So, with Vernon Wells joining Carlos Delgado on the DL, and Roy Halladay still not pitching with 2002-03 gusto, who will Joe Torre pick as the Jays' lone All-Star representative this year?
Might it be a guy who's hitting .243/.322/.367 and last in his position in OPS?
It might be, because 3B Eric Hinske is on a .319/.411/.511 tear in June after a stupendously slow start. (That and perennial All-Stars Eric Chavez and Troy Glaus are on the DL.) If he keeps this up, he'll get his mid-season numbers back to the glory of his .279/.365/.481 Rookie of the Year campaign.
Eric's 2003 sophomore season was a disappointment in comparison (.243/.329/.437), but the secondary stats suggested he was still a solid hitter. His IsoPwr, BB/PA, BB/SO, and secondary average were all still very good, and in line with what he did in 2002. The main difference was the lack of homer power (probably due to a nagging wrist injury, which no doubt further frustrated fantasy owners and only added to the sense of disappointment). But he still had 60 XBH in 2003 compared to 64 XBH in 2002, the difference being that he saw a lot of those homers turn into doubles. And while I don't have his batting average on balls in play on hand from the past couple of years, it also seems to me that he also was a little unlucky in 2003 and had fewer balls drop in for hits.
Considering PETCO predicted a .270/.353/.483 rebound, it looks like things are finally starting to fall his way again.
