John Patterson
Patterson's injury has certainly been a curious case this year. He pitched seven games, going 1-5 with a 7.47 ERA and 15:22 K:BB, likely pitching many of those games hurt, before he was placed on the DL in early May with a nerve problem in his pitching elbow. Patterson attempted to rehab the injury before being shut down with pain in his second rehab start. Rather than undergo "conventional"surgery, Patterson opted strangely to travel to Canada for some mysterious injections that aren't approved in the U.S. Patterson began throwing again last week, but suffered another setback on Saturday, making his return this year unlikely and surgery a likely possibility. It's unfortunate, because in 2005, Patterson had apparently turned the corner on his past injuries and was one of baseball's better pitchers that year before missing most of 2006 and 2007 with arm problems. Don't expect much from him next year either.
Jeremy Hermida
Hermida was 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBI Saturday, considering a recent hot streak that has seen him hit in nine consecutive games and bash three homers in his last six. Hermida is batting .375 this month after a .338 July and for the year, Hermida is now hitting .284/.373/.490 in 292 at-bats with 13 home runs. The two steals are a disappointment, as Hermida has shown 20-25 stolen base ability in the minors, but the knee injury that delayed his start until May 14 is certainly a contributing factor, so consider him a big-time sleeper headed into 2008. I'd like to see his contact rate climb above his current 75% mark, but 40 walks to 293 at-bats and a .207 ISO for a guy hobbled by an injury earlier in the year is still quite impressive.
Josh Phelps
One has to wonder whether the Pirates would consider trying Phelps or Adam LaRoche in LF (Matt Kata of all players started there on Saturday), because Phelps is on fire for the Pirates. He hit a pinch-hit homer on Saturday to give him five homers in 46 at-bats as a Pirate, and all Phelps is doing in August is hitting .609/.655/1.261, albeit in just 22 at-bats. There's a reason Phelps is with his fifth organization since 2004, and it's his glove, as Phelps has shown he has the bat (.843 career OPS) to be a successful big league hitter. Phelps has been mostly a 1B/DH throughout his career, so it's hard to see him earning a more prominent role with LaRoche playing well and being the incumbent with a good glove, but his performance is nonetheless noteworthy for NL-only leaguers.
Ubaldo Jimenez
We don't usually go out of our way to recommend Colorado starters outside of Jeff Francis, but this Jimenez kid could be something special. Saturday, Jimenez allowed just one run on three hits over seven innings to run his record to 3-2 on the year. Okay, the game was against the Nationals, and Jimenez's previous two starts were against the Padres and Pirates, so let's see how he fares against some better offenses, but still, a 0.90 ERA and 17:4 K:BB over three starts (20 IP) is still pretty good. For the year, he has a 4.03 ERA and 7.9 K/9 and while the 3.6 BB/9 is a bit high, five of his 18 walks came in one start and he's shown solid command recently. Jimenez had an 89:62 K:BB this year in Triple-A, so the command issue is nothing new, but if he can learn to trust his stuff, the 23 year-old could have #3 (or maybe higher) upside.
Rafael Soriano
With Bob Wickman surprisingly getting designated for assignment this week, the Atlanta closer situation is currently in flux. Peter Moylan could see some chances, and Octavio Dotel may get a shot once he returns from the DL (mid-September), but Soriano has to be the favorite here. He had some struggles earlier this month, but has appeared to right the ship, tossing five consecutive scoreless innings and walking just one batter since July 27. For the year, Soriano boasts a 51:12 K:BB and 8.0 K/9, but his main problem has been the long ball. He's allowing 1.72 HR/9 thanks to a less-than-ideal 0.64 GB/FB, and one must wonder how worse his ERA would be if not for having Andruw Jones patrolling center field. Still, Soriano has, by far, the best stuff from among the various closer candidates, and could see 7-8 saves the rest of the way potentially.
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