Fred Lewis: In his first 19 AB, Lewis has 9 hits, 3 for extra-bases, and 7 RBI. Lewis went 4/15/.263 with 7 SB in 114 AB for Fresno in Triple-A. He has the potential to steal bases and hit for decent power. The 81% contact rate from Triple-A will put a ceiling on his batting average potential and he has trouble hitting southpaws so look for a platoon role. Despite the hot start, he will probably not help mixed leaguers, but he should definitely be picked up on NL-only leagues.
Ryan Church: Church has been one of the few bright spots on a terrible team, 3/15/.265 with 13 doubles in 132 AB. A nice little bonus is that he is a perfect 3 for 3 in the steals department. The numbers are supported by growth in two key areas, 2005/2006/2007 batting eye's of .34/.44/.96 and Ct%'s of 74%/72%/82%. The disparity between doubles and home runs should even out, especially if he hits a few more fly balls, 34%, but a 43% last year.
Jason Bergmann: Bergmann took a no-hitter into the 8th inning en route to a 2-1 victory over the Braves Monday night. After 8 starts, he is sporting a stingy 2.76 ERA. Bergmann was hit hard last year, 6.68 ERA in 64.2 innings, but was plagued by bad luck, .329 BHIP% and a 63% strand rate. The 7.5 K/9 from 2006 showed potential. This year, the K/9 of 7.7 is impressive, but the BB/9 of 3.9 is slightly elevated. He is also an extreme fly ball pitcher, 53% FB%, which is perfectly suited for his home park. With these skills he is worth using in most leagues, just bench him for road starts in places like Philadelphia and Cincinnati. Keep an eye on the BB/9, if it rises, being proactive and trading or benching him would be a wise move.
Ryan Klesko: It appears that the 35-year old Klesko is off to a good start, .303 batting average in 66 AB. But a deeper look into his numbers reveals some problems. Klesko missed basically all of 2006 with a bad shoulder and before that his power had been in decline. This year he is hitting for little power, four extra-base hits, none of which are home runs. His GB% is a way too high 60%. It is too early to tell if age and injuries have robbed him of the ability to improve on those power numbers. Also with a BHIP% of .314 look for the batting average to come down in the near future.
Ken Griffey Jr.: Griffey is off to an outstanding start, 8/25/.322. Also a good sign is that he is reversing some disturbing trends from the previous few seasons. From 2004/2005/2006, he had downward trends in batting eye, .66/.58./50 and his FB% rate 47%/44%/43%. This year he has a superb batting eye of 1.57 and a FB% of 52%, which is much better for a power hitter, especially one playing half of his games in homer happy Great American Ballpark. There is no guarantee that the injury-prone, 37 year-old can keep this up, but it is encouraging that his underlying skills are supporting his numbers.
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