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| Alex Rodriguez, whose 2011 was quickly becoming a cause for concern, has tweaked his stance, replaced the mouthful of sunflower seeds with Skoal long cut, and is right back in All-Star form. |
A-Rod performed masterfully last week, hitting .419 with 7 R and 3 HR to go along with his 1.179 OPS. Alex, who has been struggling as of late, had a few meetings behind closed doors with hitting coach Kevin Long and they have seemed to make the necessary adjustments in his swing to get him back on track. Rodriguez had two 4 hit games last week and double cheesed in Tampa Bay on Tuesday. Even at his ripe old age, you can pencil him in for his usual 100 R, 30 HR, 100 RBI and .290 batting average by season's end.
Mike Stanton, another big name that seemed to struggle early, has shaken off a hamstring injury and started to turn it on. Stanton connected on 3 HR this week, but more importantly hit .318 with a 1.087 OPS, way above his season average. Stanton is a 40 HR threat this season, with an upside that's climbing through the roof.
Sticking with the theme of the big names getting off the schnide, traditional slow stater Alexi Ramirez took huge steps in his quest for a successful season last week, hitting .417 to go along with a weekly high of 9 RBI and a staggering 1.273 OPS; impressive numbers for anyone, let alone a shortstop. There is no reason to believe he can't keep up the productive numbers now that the calendar is making the turn into June.
On the pitching front, James Shields just continues to impress, striking out 13 on Sunday to give him a total of 22 K on the week to go along with his 1.69 ERA and 0.75 WHIP. His K/9 this week was 12.38 (Congrats to you and your family, Shields owners). Another pitcher rigging the deck was Felix Hernandez. He matched Jimmy's 22 K week and also weighed in with an identical 1.69 ERA. After a shaky start, outings like Sunday's make you remember why he is one of the most feared pitchers in the game. The "Rook" Michael Pineda was perfect this week striking out 16, winning two decisions and sporting a 0.00 ERA in 14 innings pitched. The kid is the real deal, and for Yankee fans, is just one more reason why the M's should ship the King to his rightful throne in the Bronx.
3 Players UP: Asdrubal Cabrera (CLE), David Ortiz (BOS), Andrew McCutchen (PIT)
On the pitching front, James Shields just continues to impress, striking out 13 on Sunday to give him a total of 22 K on the week to go along with his 1.69 ERA and 0.75 WHIP. His K/9 this week was 12.38 (Congrats to you and your family, Shields owners). Another pitcher rigging the deck was Felix Hernandez. He matched Jimmy's 22 K week and also weighed in with an identical 1.69 ERA. After a shaky start, outings like Sunday's make you remember why he is one of the most feared pitchers in the game. The "Rook" Michael Pineda was perfect this week striking out 16, winning two decisions and sporting a 0.00 ERA in 14 innings pitched. The kid is the real deal, and for Yankee fans, is just one more reason why the M's should ship the King to his rightful throne in the Bronx.
3 Players UP: Asdrubal Cabrera (CLE), David Ortiz (BOS), Andrew McCutchen (PIT)
3 Players DOWN: Andre Either (LAD), Dan Uggla (ATL), Ben Zobrist (TB)
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