Kris Bryant- CHN- Hot- Bryant slugged his 4th homer in 5 games since being promoted from AAA. That move came on the strength of 22 homers for AA Tennessee. All of Bryant's AAA hits have been homers so his average is a paltry .222. Of course, since all of his hits have been homers, that makes his BABIP .000. So he is definitely due for some positive regression to the mean. If he can keep the power going (and while he can't keep this pace he will be solid) it will be tempting to have him make the jump to the majors. If Bryant moves position to the outfield that could indicate a move in the offing. The highest batting average of a Cubs outfielder is currently .242. Bryant is likely to be a better defensive fit eventually in the outfield anyway.
Zack Greinke- LAN- Cold- Greinke failed to record a quality start for the 3rd time in his last 7 outings. There could be regression to the mean at work here. Greinke hadn't allowed more than 2 ERs in any of his first 10 starts. He has only done that twice in his last 6 starts and the 5 he allowed last night were a season-high. Greinke's ERA of 2.89 is now much more in line with his FIP of 3.16 and xFIP of 2.81. However, it is troubling that his strikeout rate has dropped. Greinke recorded at least 1 K/IP in 7 of his first 8 starts. He has only done it twice in his 8 starts since then and not since June 1st. Walks aren't a problem, but the K rate could indicate trouble in the future.
Jean Segura- MIL- FYI- Segura stole a base last night. It was his 14th of the season and his first since June12th. Segura stole 44 bases last year and was caught 13 times. He has been caught 7 times already this season. Combine that with a drop in his Infield Hit % from 13.1% to 9.9% and it looks like his speed may have dropped a notch. Segura is still pounding balls into the ground (60.4% as opposed to 58.7% in 2013) so it looks like the shift has been that he hasn't beaten as many of them out. His .272 BABIP is still due for some positive regression but the bonus you might expect from a speedy player may not materialize.
Gio Gonzalez- WAS- Caution- Gonzalez spent a month on the DL. Last night was his second start since coming back. He was allowed to throw 114 pitches, which was what he needed to get him through 6 IP. Of those pitches, 68 were strikes. Gonzalez threw 18 pitches in the 6th and half of them were balls. Watch him in his next start. It looks like manager Matt Williams may have let Gonzalez pitch past the point where he was feeling fatigue. There could be residual effect.
Josh Harrison- PIT- Drop Value- With Neil Walker returning from the DL and Gregory Polanco in the outfield, Harrison will be getting ABs in a super utility role. He had put up a .382 average as the starting 2B so manager Clint Hurdle will try to work Harrison's bat into the lineup. However, some regression to the mean may have already started setting in. He is 4-for-20 in his last 5 games. Harrison's BABIP was at .348 before this recent stretch and it's down to .333 now, with more room for dropping. If he was slated to continue starting he would be a sell high candidate. With his change in role it would be hard to get much for him now.
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