Two games, two home runs.
Dan Uggla hasn’t been able to say that at all this year…until last night. Uggla has been an interesting player this year as he was coming off a career 2010 season and moving to a presumably better offense in Atlanta. (Injuries to Jason Heyward and Martin Prado put a bit of a damper on the lineup and a painfully slow start by 21-year-old Freddie Freeman didn’t help matters either.)
Uggla is currently slashing .183/.256/.356—pretty ugly, I know—but he does have 14 home runs this year so he hasn’t been a complete failure at the plate. Considering how weak second base has been this year, you could be doing a lot worse (read: Neil Walker, Aaron Hill, Chone Figgins). Now, Uggla seems to be heating up—but what should you do with him?
To be perfectly honest, there’s not right answer here. It wouldn’t surprise me if Uggla had a monster second half or if he just reverted back to his failing ways. I’m not a fan of Uggla’s approach at the plate this season as he has swung at more pitches, which has resulted in fewer walks and more bad contact (i.e. groundballs). His three walks in the last two games are a good sign though.
If you have someone in your league that is a believer and is willing to pay close to full price for Uggla I say trade him. But otherwise, hold on and maybe you will be rewarded for your patience.
- Ian Kinsler went 2-for-5 last night and has put together a nice little five game hit streak. He is now batting .320 in six games this month and continues to be one of the more underrated players at a very weak position. Don’t let the average (.247) get you down. He has 12 home runs and 19 steals while posting a .361 on-base percentage thanks to a 53:38 K:BB ratio.
- Can we really start calling Jair Jurrjens a top 10 pitcher? I don’t think I can muster up the courage to do that just yet because of his lack of strikeouts (65 in 110 2/3 IP). Still, with the numbers he is putting up right now (12 W, 1.87 ERA, 1.07 WHIP) it’s tough leaving him outside the top 15.
- After a lackluster 1-for-4 performance, Pablo Sandoval went right back to his exta base hitting ways last night. That gives him 12 extra base hits in his last 11 games so any questions that his hand injury would sap his power can now be put to bed.
- Jacoby Ellsbury is playing like a man on a mission. On a mission to get paid. He’s third in the majors in steals (28), tied for third in doubles (25) and has 10 home runs just for added measure. He is what Carl Crawford was supposed to be. Maybe they should have paid him $140 million?
- For some reason Ricky Romero cannot pitch against the Red Sox. If you take out his games against them this year he has a 2.45 ERA and 1.11 WHIP. Don’t react to last night’s start and just learn to sit him against Boston.
- A’s starter Guillermo Moscoso tossed seven shutout innings yesterday and that puts his ERA and WHIP at 2.16 and 1.04 respectively in eight starts. His 1.5 K/BB rate leaves some to be desired, but he is holding opponents to a .186 batting average so I would ride the wave until it comes crashing down.
