Who’s Hot
Plawecki has had sort of a streaky season but he’s in a hot streak right now that’s lifted has batting average on the season to a healthy .307. He’s 13 for 39 (.333) in his last 10 games with five extra base hits, including his first home run of the season. He’s also scored five runs and drove in five during this timespan. Plawecki has never been a catching prospect that’s expected to hit for much power so all of his future value will have to be carried by his hit tool and his defense. It’s encouraging to see Plawecki’s average at .307 on the season but he’s drawn just four walks in 88 AB’s this season (.333 OBP). It’s worth noting, however, that he hasn’t been striking out much either.
After an extremely cold start to the season, Boyd is picking up the pace in a hurry with a .393 batting average, five RBI and seven runs scored in his last 10 games. He’s also clubbed three doubles and his first two home runs of the season during this hot streak as well. Boyd’s season numbers still look relatively ugly (.232/.333/.374) but it’s good to see that they’re finally on the upswing.
Peavey was good enough in his last two starts to earn MMN’s Pitcher of the Week honors as he recorded his first complete game shutout of his professional career his last time out. In nine innings pitched, he allowed just two hits without walking a batter and striking out six. In the start before that, Peavey went six innings, allowing just one earned run on six hits and two walks. He struck out four in the process. Peavey earned the win in each of his last two starts as his ERA sits at a very nice 3.16 on the season with 25 K’s against 7 BB’s in 31.1 innings pitched.
Who’s Not
Robles has struggled mightily in his last two starts, which have inflated his season numbers to the point where one would have no idea he had a very solid start to the season. On May 6th, he suffered his first loss of the season, tossing 5.1 innings and allowing five earned runs on seven hits. He walked one and struck out four. During his start on May 13th, Robles suffered his second consecutive loss and was beat up for seven earned runs in just 2.2 innings pitched. He allowed six hits, including three home runs, while striking out five and walking one. Robles’ ERA ballooned to 5.40 on the season after these last two starts.
Puello has showed some life in his past two games but, despite that, he has not hit at all this season. In his last 10 games he is batting a paltry .212 with one extra base hit. He has drawn three walks in his last six games, which is somewhat encouraging considering he had just two up to that point. His current line is .248/.309/.297, which is even more cringe worthy when you consider that he’s playing in a notorious hitting environment. Puello’s struggles this season are definitely concerning as his breakout season last year has been tied to the Biogenesis scandal. In order to prove the naysayers wrong, Puello will have to get on track as soon as humanly possible, especially if he wants to be considered for a call-up this summer.
Kirk has severely struggled since being sent down to AAA Las Vegas earlier this month. He has just four hits in his last 31 at-bats and had back to back four strikeout games as well, including 11 in those same 31 at-bats. It looks as if Kirk has not taken the demotion well and it’s hard to believe he’s anything more than a AAAA player at this point.
