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Prospectus Hit List for August 10



by Matthew Kory

Hit List for August 9 Hit List for August 13
Teams are ordered based on Adjusted Hit List Factor, a computer generated number, and the author isn't responsible for the order of the teams.

Are the Mariners the next Orioles or are the Orioles the next Mariners?

RkTmWLW1W2W3HLF AHLFWin Div%Win WC%Playoff%1-Day7-Day
1

65

45

63.0

66.8

66.2

.593

.612

90.0%

9.5%

99.5%

0.3%

0.8%

Yu Darvish has struck out 26 percent of the hitters he's faced. So he's got that going for him. Now he just has to fix everyting else.
2

65

46

64.9

64.8

65.5

.586

.605

96.5%

2.8%

99.3%

0.6%

1.6%

A few months ago after a tough loss the Yankees were greeted in the locker room by the ghost of George Steinbrenner. After seeing the ghost, they went on a winning streak and all was forgotten. A few weeks ago the team was in a rut and the ghost showed up again, only this time he crashed into the pre-game deli table and his bed sheet fell off. Why Steinbrenner’s ghost was wearing a bed sheet nobody knows.
3

69

43

66.3

67.4

65.4

.598

.579

76.9%

21.9%

98.8%

1.1%

5.6%

Jordan Zimmermann's 11 strikeouts will awaken Spinal Tap fans across the country from eating pudding in their mother's basements. Oh, hi there! I didn't see you sleeping on the couch.
4

59

53

60.8

62.6

63.6

.549

.569

9.0%

59.0%

68.0%

-2.0%

-10.0%

Two days ago the Angels comment here read as follows: "Mike Trout." I'd now like to offer a counterpoint: Vernon Wells.
5

60

50

61.5

59.4

59.6

.547

.566

61.0%

20.8%

81.8%

3.2%

-2.5%

The White Sox were off yesterday, so your regularly scheduled Adam Dunn Struck Out Joke will not be seen today. Instead we'll be showing a hilarious episode of "Saved by the Bell."
6

61

51

66.5

66.9

64.5

.578

.558

15.9%

49.0%

64.9%

11.5%

13.8%

The Cardinals have scored 92 more runs than the Pirates, but it's tough to pin a team when the smoke and mirrors are so disorienting.
7

60

52

58.6

60.1

61.3

.536

.556

39.0%

32.2%

71.2%

-8.3%

12.7%

Prince Fielder may not be a real prince, but he can rule on a baseball from time to time. Like, hit it really hard. Not force it to do his gardening.
8

59

52

58.8

57.8

58.9

.528

.548

2.1%

34.2%

36.3%

5.4%

4.4%

Matt Moore’s stats (before last night): His first two months: 56 2/3 innings, 58 strikeouts, 28 walks, 4.76 ERA. His second two months: 56 innings, 58 strikeouts, 28 walks, 3.06 ERA. (Last night Moore threw six innings of one-run, six-strikeout, two-walk ball.)
9

55

58

59.5

61.1

61.6

.525

.545

0.8%

6.6%

7.4%

-0.8%

-9.2%

Felix Doubront likes pitching. Like a lot. We know because every time he starts a game he tries to throw as many pitches as he possibly can.
10

64

47

63.0

61.3

61.3

.562

.542

23.1%

59.0%

82.1%

0.3%

0.8%

Chipper Jones tweeted about a broken TV in his hotel room and a man showed up to repair it minutes later. Then he tweeted about a broken starting pitching staff.
11

60

51

59.1

55.9

56.7

.522

.542

1.0%

25.6%

26.6%

3.5%

-1.2%

Is Josh Reddick an MVP candidate? If you don't think his performance says so how about his mullet take you around the back of the pancake house and ask you again?
12

66

46

63.3

60.1

59.3

.555

.535

67.7%

22.4%

90.1%

-2.4%

-8.0%

I feel that if I told you, as I did yesterday, that Miguel Cairo started at first base again, it would be repetitive, and yet I still feel, based on my sense of urgency and fear, that it's totally necessary.
13

57

55

60.9

61.5

60.6

.536

.516

19.9%

1.5%

21.4%

4.6%

-11.0%

Two two-run homers later, Jason Kubel's .908 OPS looks pretty good. But you can't look at a guy's stats after a game like that. It's baseball's version of beer goggles.
14

63

48

59.1

57.8

56.1

.532

.512

16.4%

36.9%

53.3%

-8.4%

-6.5%

I haven't done the math but I'm pretty sure Andrew McCutchen has a thousand-game hitting streak.
15

61

51

59.1

59.0

58.2

.530

.510

56.9%

4.8%

61.7%

-5.6%

12.9%

The Giants are using Brad Penny in relief. Yes, that Brad Penny. But don't worry, Giants fans, they'll move him to shortstop soon enough.
16

53

58

55.4

53.6

54.0

.486

.506

0.0%

0.4%

0.4%

-0.2%

-0.6%

Henderson Alvarez is an overly generous parent on Halloween giving away far too may hits to the neighborhood kids and every start is Halloween.
17

60

52

57.5

55.3

55.0

.508

.488

23.2%

4.0%

27.2%

-0.7%

-3.7%

The Dodgers have outscored their opponents by 13 runs on the season. Fortunately, it doesn't take long to win games by 0.12 runs so Dodger fans get to see their team win and they get to beat the traffic home. Win win!
18

51

62

55.0

52.2

53.1

.467

.487

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

-0.1%

-0.2%

For those of you who don't think the Mariners can compete next year, Seattle has scored 22 fewer runs than the Orioles and allowed 62 fewer. Not that the Orioles are anyone's idea of strong planning, but still.
19

60

52

50.4

48.5

49.9

.466

.486

0.6%

8.8%

9.4%

-1.5%

5.9%

The Orioles called up Manny Machado who, in his first game, proceeded to go 2-for-4 with a triple. But it came against the Royals so it was kind of like getting called up to the majors only to play in Triple-A.
20

54

58

54.4

57.4

58.5

.501

.481

0.0%

0.4%

0.4%

-0.1%

-3.4%

R.A. Dickey (five-hit complete game, 10 strikeouts, no walks) has 166 strikeouts and 36 walks in 162 2/3 innings. How long before teams start knuckleball camps for failed prospects with decent arms?
21

52

60

46.2

51.3

51.6

.449

.469

0.0%

0.1%

0.1%

-0.1%

-1.7%

Ubaldo Jimenez got his good start of the month out of the way early so Indians fans won't have to burn precious hours of their lives waiting around for it.
22

49

62

48.6

50.4

50.5

.447

.467

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

After many discussions with industry insiders, I can report that the Twins' biggest problem is that they can't handle a market like Minnesota.
23

51

59

54.3

54.8

53.5

.485

.465

0.0%

0.1%

0.1%

-0.3%

-0.4%

The Brewers are fourth in OPS and 13th in ERA, but where they really fall short is on defense. They are 29th in Defensive Efficiency.
24

48

63

50.0

47.9

48.2

.437

.457

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

Billy "Country Breakfast" Butler went 3-for-5, finishing a single short of the cycle. And so begins the great Silly Breakfast-Related Nickname-Fest of 2012.
25

50

61

51.5

54.2

54.0

.472

.452

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

-0.1%

Have the Phillies peaked? The four-year deal they're about to give to Juan Pierre thinks so.
26

49

64

50.4

51.0

49.3

.442

.422

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

The Padres have the lowest team batting average, .238, in the National League. OK, sure, but have you ever sat outside on a summer night in San Diego?
27

51

61

46.1

47.7

48.6

.432

.412

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

As the saying goes, sometimes the best deals you make are the ones you didn't make at all. Or, to adapt it for the Marlins, sometimes the best deals you make are none of the deals you just made.
28

44

66

45.6

42.9

43.5

.400

.381

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

The Cubs are just as good as any other team if you don't pay attention to talent level, on-field execution, farm-system quality, team uniform, team name, or team history.
29

40

69

43.8

42.4

42.9

.388

.369

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

During the franchise’s infancy, an unforeseen problem appeared: peanut vendors would overshoot their patrons, hitting unsuspecting people five rows back. It wasn’t until the peanuts were stored in a climate-controlled device that things started to work properly.
30

36

77

40.9

40.5

40.5

.349

.331

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

The Astros are still 0-11 in extra innings. Even if they won half of those they'd still be putrid, but still: 0-11!