A small sampling of today's player notes.
Ryan Howard (1B-PHI) - Howard may have some deeper league value yet. After going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts against right-handers Thursday, Howard blasted an eighth inning grand slam off Houston left-hander Tony Sipp to give Howard 18 homers and 71 RBI to go with a .220 average. Essentially, Howard is Adam Dunn making $25 million a season. No average, lots of K's, a DH, and has power. Howard is now 5-for-14 with two homers, eight RBI, and a double in his last three games. This isn't going to increase his trade value exponentially, but if the Phillies are willing to pay 80% of the remaining amount on Howard's contract, they could find an AL team (A's?) willing to make a deal.
Kolten Wong (2B-STL) - Wong has yet to really show that he's a lock to be an above average offensive second baseman, at least until Thursday. Against the Red Sox Thursday, Wong went 3-for-4 with a pair of home runs to raise his still-low line to .247/.291/.410. With now nine home runs in 251 at-bats, Wong has shown excellent power and he's already swiped 17 bases, so his fantasy value has outpaced his "real life" value to date. Wong is slotted in the two-hole between Matt Carpenter and Matt Holliday, so he's going to see plenty of good pitches the rest of the way. Wong needs to build up his .33 EYE, but given time, he should be able to do just that, as his EYE in Triple-A last year was a solid .68.
Starling Marte (OF-PIT) - Marte may very well be the third most talented outfielder on the Pirates' active roster, but he'd be tops on many other teams as well. Now back from dealing with a concussion, Marte was 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles Thursday to raise his slash to .258/.331/.391. Marte is striking out about 27% of the time, which is way too much for a guy with average power at best, but on the plus side, he has increased his BB% year over year from 4.4% to 6.7%, a rather significant improvement. His .25 EYE is still far too low, but Marte is still just 25, so we have yet to see the best he has to offer. If he continues to hone his skills at the plate and move back up in the upper third of the lineup, Marte could one day be a 20 HR / 40 SB guy.
Billy Hamilton (OF-CIN) - Hamilton finished 2-for-4 with a triple Thursday, leaving him at .271/.298/.399 for the season. The slugging percentage is higher than that of Jay Bruce and others, but the OBP for a leadoff man is well below average. Hamilton obviously has talent and is fun to watch, but he also has a lot to learn, as both his EYE (.19) and SB% (71.7%) are well below where they need to be. If you're looking for progress, it's simply not there, as since June 17, Hamilton's K:BB is just 46:4, far from befitting for a leadoff man. He's dynamic indeed, and the Reds will likely keep leading him off this year as they aren't competing, but Hamilton better learn more patience, and quickly.
Homer Bailey (SP-CIN) - I've always been a huge Bailey fan, as he was rushed to the big leagues, experienced some setbacks, and now owns a $105 million contract for turning things around the last couple seasons. Bailey Thursday shut out the Indians over seven innings, allowing just four hits with an 8:1 K:BB. In his last seven starts, Bailey has a 1.62 ERA, and Thursday, he finally got enough runs to win. In his previous five starts, the Reds tallied a total of nine runs, so the five on Thursday were a welcome sight for Bailey to be sure. His ratios are solid at 7.7 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9, and while Bailey hasn't become the ace that looked possible in his prospect days, he's still been very reliable.
