Delmon Young- OF- BAL- Idea- Young has been tough on LH pitching this season, although he hasn't hit a homer against them. His slash line of .356/.370/378 gives a solid chance at some hits against C. C. Sabathia, who has a slash line of .336/.381/.551 against RH pitching this season. If Young is going to find his power stroke Sabathia is a good candidate to serve one up as he has already yielded 11 homers in 54.1 IP against right-handers.
Hanser Alberto- 2B- TEX- Drop Value- Alberto went 0-for-3 last night. Regression to the mean has kicked in quickly as he has gone 4-for-21 in his last 6 games. This has dropped Alberto's average to .267 and his BABIP to .308. With Rougned Odor batting .373 at AA Round Rock, Alberto's time as the starting 2B is likely coming to a rapid end.
Nick Swisher- 1B- CLE- Old Player- Swisher went 0-for-3 to continue a second straight disappointing season. Swisher seems to have succumbed to age and injury very quickly. His surgically repaired knees may be the cause behind a precipitous drop in FB% from 38.1% last year to 25.3% in 2015. That probably isn't the entire story, however, as this is the 6th straight season of decline. Swisher's homer output has dropped from 22 in 2013, his first season with the Indians and last full season, to 8 in 401 PAs last year and 2 in 11 PAs so far in 2015. He has a .237 BABIP impacting his .198 average, but his career mark is .289 and last season's BABIP was .247 so a low value could be his new normal.
Chris Davis- 1B- BAL- Hot- Davis was one of several Orioles who teed off on Yankees' pitching last night. He went 3-for-5 with a homer and 3 RBI. He has a modest 3-game hitting streak. Two of those games have been for multiple hits. Davis saw his BABIP rise 7 points to .289. There is still room for positive regression and with 13 homers Davis is contributing even with a .231 average.
Mason Williams- DH- NYA- Rookie- Williams made his major league debut last night, going 1-for-2 with a homer, run and 2 RBI. He will be manning CF against RH pitching at least until Jacoby Ellsbury comes back from the DL. After two poor minor league seasons, Williams finally seems to have clicked and is looking like the player who was the Yankees' top prospect before the 2013 season. He hit .317 for AA Trenton before getting promoted to AAA Scranton/Wilkes Barre where he ht .321 before hi promotion to the Yankees. At AAA Williams showed outstanding plate discipline, with a Batting EYE of 1.33 in 20 games. He hadn't regained his power stroke, not hitting a homer in the minors, but he slugged his first of the year in his first major league game. Williams has also swiped 13 bases in 54 minor league games this year. Williams will get playing time in the short term and has potential to contribute across the board if he's returned to the five-tool player he was projected to be.
Follow me on Twitter all season - @fantisticspaul
There are over 100 player news blurbs posted in the member area each morning. Members can read the rest of today's player news by clicking here. Not a member? Join today.
