I'm going to enjoy that stat before somebody cries the r word. Stupid r word.....
Mike Trout is the first to 10 homers and 10 stolen bases. Was there any doubt?
Oh yeah, there was....
While I marvel at watching Miguel Cabrera hit a baseball on the sweet part of the bat more than any player in baseball, for pure entertainment, there is no player in baseball I'd pay to see more than Mike Trout.
Comparing him to Cabrera is comparing apples to orange marmalade.
And from strictly a fantasy point of view, for a player his age, Trout plays under control very well. Limiting his injury risk.
Damn, now I've done it. I've jinxed Mike Trout.
You know how broadcasters and Managers say they like a leadoff hitter that sees a lot of pitches?
If you own Carl Crawford, don't fall in with that line of thinking.
Listen to this-
When Crawford sees more than two pitches in an at bat, his batting average is .173
When Crawford hits the ball before the the third pitch in his at bat is thrown, he's hitting .417
Does anybody else get tired of hearing a batter has a 'good at bat' going when reaching a full count and then fouls a ball off?
Bah!
He simply reached a full count and fouled a ball off. We've all done that. It's like getting an attaboy for putting your car in 'park' when reaching your garage.
Adam Eaton and Ryan Madson both had setbacks and will not be on the field for at least another month. Most likely, both leave a lot of NFBC teams this weekend. If asking if there is anything worse than holding onto a player for eight weeks, only to be told it'll be longer, yes, there is something worse.
David Price was taken near the end of the second or early third rounds in most drafts. It is much worse to have under achieving numbers before having a player ride the pine.
And still, I'm betting Eaton and Madson owners don't feel any better.
All those good kids the Royals have in their lineup and who does Ned Yost lead off?
Chris Getz.
The Royals continue to amaze in how bad Management is from top to bottom.
Who had the lowest average in the Indians lineup last night?
Jason Kipnis.
Yeah, that's a pretty good lineup.
And just an aside, listening to the Indians play by play guy on radio is worse than going to the dentist.
HE is always right. In one inning, he questioned two umpire calls, the official scorekeeper's call, and a Manager decision by the opposing Manager. They may as well have hired Rush Limbaugh.
I posed the question to NFBC readers about who will have a better year, John Buck or Evan Gattis.
In Buck's last 15 games, he has no homers, a .154 average, and a double for his only extra base hit.
John Buck did something in April that was incredible, he made us forget how much John Buck sucks.
We always hear Trout and Harper. Trout and Harper. Trout and Harper....
When does it become Trout, Harper, and Machado?
If we strip Alex Rodriguez of his age, his proneness to injury, a little bit of power, and his never ending arrogance....
We have Manny Machado.
Only 38 players in baseball have half as many rbi as Miguel Cabrera.
Seriously.
Perhaps the hardest combo of the five hitting categories is finding a guy that can both drive in runs and steal bases.
Here are the only five players in baseball that have driven in 25 runs and stolen eight bases.
Mike Trout 35/10
Adam Jones 31/8
Carlos Gonzalez 29/8
David Wright 28/10
Andrew McCutchen 25/12
What do we think of when we see the names Dan Uggla, Adam Dunn, Mark Reynolds, Drew Stubbs, and Ike Davis, Pedro Alvarez, and BJ Upton?
If you said, 'all or nothing hitters''- you're right
If you said, 'strike out hitters'- you're right
And these hitters are, again, all in the top 25 in striking out this year.
But, you know who else is?
Jay Bruce is third.
Will Middlebrooks is ninth.
Josh Hamilton is 11th.
Alejandro De Aza is 15th.
Their owners are less than surprised.
Yoenis Cespedes was a popular pick in drafts.
He's hitting .212
And he has one less stolen base than Travis Hafner
Worse, he has one more trip to the dl list than Hafner.
This, Just(in) -
Justin Upton has 14 homers.
He also has 28 rbi....
Justin Morneau has two homers
He also has 31 rbi
With one home run this year, Eric Hosmer is outJames Loneying James Loney.
With one home run this year, Sal Perez has as many as his backup, George Kottaras, yet with 125 more at bats.
With one home run this year, Lorenzo Cain has as many home runs as Clayton Kershaw.
With one home run this year, Jeff Francoeur, a corner outfielder, maintains a place in the Royals lineup.
With one home run this year, Chris Getz hits atop that lineup.
With one home run this year, Jarrod Dyson is the most powerful Royal of all.
Dyson has the power to limit appearances by Francoeur and Getz.
Owning Baltimore players is a good thing for fantasy.
The Orioles are first in home runs in baseball.
And third in stolen bases.
Joey Votto has been intentionally walked nine times this year.
There are 18 TEAMS in baseball who have nine or fewer intentional walks....
The Braves don't really have a Starter who racks up k's.
Mike Minor leads them with 51. Not enough for fans to hang K signs.
So, what are fans to do with the time on their hands?
Here's an idea.
Between them, the Upton's and Uggla have 161 strike outs already.
They can be called the 'U.K.'
Fans can keep busier when hanging a K each time these guys walk away from the plate....
Braves fans, get in line behind the Royal fans in the complaint department
....Who knew?
Right there, behind Joe Blanton and Vance Worley, who has given up the third most total bases this year?
CC Sabathia.
And likewise, Sabathia only trails Blanton and Worley in most hits allowed.
I like to think of doubles as closer to singles than home runs.
I know some disagree with me.
However, this stat is on my side.
74 Players in baseball have at least 10 doubles.
Only 11 0f the 74, also have 10 homers.....
Jhonny Peralta is having a nice year in an empty sort of way.
.323/23/4/20/2
And still, for some reason, his first name pisses me right off....
Speaking of which, Giancarlo Stanton is still the most powerful man on the disabled list.
Upon returning, he will be the most powerful man...likely to return to the disabled list.
.221/15/1/10/2
.281/19/1/15/2
By looking at those two sets of numbers, you'd be thinking that besides the 60 points in batting average, these two players were similar, right?
The first set is that of my good buddy, Jeff Francoeur.
The second set is that of Melky Cabrera.
Francoeur is not the worst fantasy player in the world. Just close.
When trying to find the worst fantasy player, we are searching for a lot of at bats and a lot of empty stats.
There's a song in there somewhere.
It comes down between two players, I'll let you decide...
In this corner, wearing depends, and playing a power position...
PLLLLLLLLA CIDO POOOOOOOOLANKO...!
In 163 at bats, Polanco sports a .239/13/0/6/1
Yeah, that's bad.....
And in this corner, wearing a skirt, and sometimes posing as a real hitter....
JEFFFFFFF KEPPPPPPPPPPINGER...!
In 157 at bats, Keppinger sports a .204/9/1/12/0
Yeah, that's bad too....
Neil Walker deserves a mention with a .228/11/1/11/0 in 114 at bats
Cliff Pennington with a .204/7/1/9/0 and that '0' at the end includes not even an attempted steal. I'm sure his owners want to thank him for that. Or should I say, former owners.
So, who has the most at bats without a homer or steal?
Chris Nelson.
In 103 at bats this year, Chris Nelson has neither a homer or stolen base.
Which leaves him with this line
103/0/0/2
At bats/HR's/SB's/DFA's