Greetings as the lovely months of summer, warm weather, and lazy days at the yard are upon us.
Those warm months also mean bats starting to really heat, and teams getting in their groove, because during June and July every team gets hot and every team looks like they could be a contender for a little while, anyway.
June also means those high profile prospects we savored, and maybe even paid for during our drafts this year, or maybe for a while if you are in a keeper league that allows for minor leaguers.
And, in the past few weeks a number of players have come up worthy of note. But, probably none has with more anticipation--at least in 2008--let alone as auspicious a beginning as Reds outfielder Jay Bruce.
All the kid has done is go .591-2-6 with a pair of swipes over his first week at the Show. He has also sent Corey Patterson (Patterson was optioned to AAA last week). Bruce is a top flight prospect, but, it would be hard to not suggest he will flatten out over the course of the season.
That is partially due to the strikeout/walk totals he has generally posted (45:12 at AAA Louisville so far this year). But, in general, he is busting out all over, and is a must play/use in any possible scenario.
Meaning he is worth trading in keeper leagues where a dump swap will put your team over the top. As noted, no one continues as hot as the 21-year old Bruce is, but, he compares nicely to both Jeff Francouer and Ryan Braun, two fine players who each enjoyed a big splash when they arrived.
If Bruce is gone in your league, perhaps Oakland's Carlos Gonzalez is not. Gonzalez, promoted by the Athletics on Friday, made his debut with a pair of doubles on a day when the A's made the most roster moves (nine) in a single day in their history.
Acquired in the deal for Nick Swisher, Gonzalez is a blue chip prospect, able to hit, hit with power, run, and steal a base when needed. He was hitting .293-4-25 with a steal over 157 at-bats with Sacramento when summoned. But, the main thing he gives Oakland right now is some defense in center field.
The Atheltics also activated Travis Buck with Gonzalez' promotion which means the ugly pairing of Jack Cust and Emil Brown in the outfield can be mitigated. Buck and Gonzalez can cover for one bad glove, but probably not two. No one could.
Sticking with Oakland, with the activation of Eric Chavez it looked like Jack Hannahan would be out of a job. Well, with rookie first sacker Daric Barton slumping (.213-2-17 with one hit his last 15 at-bats), Hannahan has gotten a couple of consecutive starts at first, and has hit well. Going into Sunday Hannahan was .233-3-18 with a pretty good .355 OBP. But, over the past week the corner guy is hitting .300 (six-for-twenty) wit five RBI.
Across the bay, I scored the Giants/Padres game on Saturday, and well, it is just sad to see the Giants struggle. But, the Padres starter, Josh Banks was nothing short of brilliant (although be it noted the Giants are not what you would call an offensive juggernaut).
The 26-year old was picked up off waivers from the Blue Jays in April, following some rough performances. From a 7.36 ERA over four games last year, Banks is 2-0, 0.00 over 17.1 innings with the Padres. His game Saturday took 103 pitches, 23 of them in the last innings. Banks would have had a shutout if not for a Brian Giles error--in the ninth- that forced the plating of an unearned run.
Another NL starter worth a long look is Atlanta's Jorge Campillo. At almost 30, Campillo toiled in the Mexican Leagues since 1997 before hooking up with Seattle in 2005. Campillo's major league totals are 2-0, 3.00 over 24 games and four starts. Three of those starts have come this year with the Braves where Campillo is 2-0, 0.99 over 36.1 innings (33 whiffs).
With Tony Pena unable to hit much of anything, the Royals advanced shortstop Mike Aviles to try and generate just a little offense. Aviles is older (27) and kind of reminds me of the Stubby Clapp type of player, although with more pop. He has broken out at AAA this season (.293-17-77) but if he gets to play regularly, expect .260-7-34 totals or so from him through now and the end of the season. So far he has started only once since his arrival at the show. He has marginal value in AL only formats, but that is about it.
While we are in Kansas City, let's remember it is easy to get giddy over the Jay Bruce's, but look only at Billy Butler, demoted this week after he simply could not get it done (.263-1-18 over 163 at-bats). It is a tough game. Butler will be back, but it is a tough game.
Finally, take a look at Kelvin Jiminez, of the Cards. Ugly big league numbers (3-0, but 7.63), for sure, but a former starter Jiminez has combined at AAA the past two seasons to go 3-5 with a couple of saves. He also has 48 whiffs over 63.2 innings, allowing 70 hits and 14 walks. Jiminez is the kind of guy who can quietly give some good innings in non-pressure situations to really help your team.