Mike Aviles- KC- Idea- Mike Aviles hit the double digit mark in steals in 3 of his 5 minor league seasons before 2008. After watching the Royals against the Rangers the last couple of nights, it looks like he might provide some help in that category at the major league level. Aviles stole his first major league base on Tuesday and he has been looking like a threat to steal every time he has been on base. He has been batting ahead of Joey Gathright and it looks like manager Trey Hillman is trying to use speed to generate some offense from the bottom of his order.
Alexei Casilla- MIN- Hot- Casilla picked up a hit in 3 ABs last night to extend his current hitting streak to a lucky 13. Speaking of luck, that probably has a major hand in his .330 average this year. Casilla’s .327 BHIPx is a major factor in his performance, so don’t bet on him finishing the season with a .300+ batting average.
Grady Sizemore- CLE- Hot- Sizemore extended his current hitting streak to 8 games with a 2-for-5 night that included his 13th homer of the year. His Batting EYE has been superb during the streak, with 5 walks and 3 strikeouts and his 11-for-33 has raised his batting average 10 points, to .264. Throughout his career, Sizemore has not shown a drop off between the first and second halves, so if he is rounding into form now, that bodes well for the rest of the year.
Justin Verlander- DET- Caution- The first four times Verlander threw 110 or more pitches this season, he failed to record a quality start the next time out. This has not been the case in his last two starts, both following high pitch count efforts. Verlander won’t have to worry about it the next time he pitches, as his complete game yesterday required only 101 pitches. However, it is still a factor to consider in the future. While able to sporadically bounce back from a lot of pitches, most of the time his performance suffers in the following start. This may also contribute to the inflation in his ERA in his first two full seasons after the All Star Break. This season, adding over a run to his ERA in the second half, as was the case in 2006 and 2007, would make him nigh near unusable.
Luke Scott- BAL- Hot- Scott went 2-for-4 with a homer yesterday, making him the fourth Orioles to hit double digits in home runs this season. He definitely seems to have found his power stroke, slugging 4 homers in 34 ABs this month. Scott’s average in June is also a sky-high .382. His main fantasy value is in the homer column. This current ultra-hot streak with the bat is a pleasant bonus.
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