Jordan Walden- LAA- Caution- Although he has been saving games with regularity, Walden's strikeout numbers have been decreasing lately. After getting at least 1 K in 26 of his first 32 appearances this season, he only has strikeouts in 4 of his last 10. Walden only has 5 strikeouts in 9.1 IP in those 10 games. He hasn't been an automatic out machine, facing the minimum number of batters 12 times in those first 32 appearances and 3 times in his last 10. If he continues to have a decreasing strikeout rate the runners he puts on base are going to give him more trouble.
Jered Weaver- LAA- Idea- I still look at Weaver as a sell high candidate. And, no, it's not berceuse of the number he did on my Rangers yesterday. Not only is Weaver's luck evidenced by his .249 BABIP and 82.1% LOB%, but his HR/FB ratio is at 2.5%, way below his career mark of 7.2%. Weaver has been giving up as many fly balls has he has in the past but they haven't been traveling as far. I wouldn't bet the farm on that trend continuing for the rest of the season.
Elvis Andrus- TEX- Hot- Although he had what turned out to be a costly caught stealing in the first inning yesterday, Elvis went 3-for-4 with a double, his 2nd 3-hit game in his last 5 and 5th multihit game in his last 10. Andrus has improved his plate discipline of late, striking out only 8 times since June 22nd while walking 10 times in that span. He is developing into more of a solid hitter than originally projected, at least at a faster pace.
Mark Teixeira- NYY- Cold- It's like April in July for Teixeira. Normally the beginning of the season is when you see numbers like a .224 average, no homers and 4 RBI from the first baseman. This year he started hotter but is having a slump in the middle of the year. The drop in Batting EYE to .54 is a concern. Even when he was suffering through the bad luck of a .151 BABIP last month that drove a .213 average in June, Teixeira's Batting EYE was at .85, probably part of why he hit 9 homers. He needs to regain control of the strike zone in order to recapture his power stroke.
Joe Mauer- MIN- Hot- Mauer extended his current hitting streak to 7 games, 5 of which are multihit. His average climbed to .303 after his 2-for-4 game yesterday. We are still waiting for Mauer's first homer of the season and with a 12/2 GB/FB ratio during this streak it looks like we might be waiting a while longer. For those of you with 5-game eligibility, Mauer played his 5th game at 1B yesterday, giving him more flexibility.
Follow me on Twitter all season - @fantisticspaul
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