Roto Chronicles: American League, Sept. 8

THREE UP/THREE DOWN

Hitters

• Bobby Abreu, OF—NYY (UP) Much to my surprise, when researching over stats for this week, I found that Bobby Abreu has hit .349 since the All-Star break, with six homers and six steals. I had known that he was hitting well, but .349 made me do a double take. He has always been a guy who hits for that mixture of average and power with some speed, but what could be leading to this hot streak? Well, during this run, Abreu has cut his strikeouts down to 14.3 percent of at-bats while walking 12.7 percent. He also has a .385 BABIP in the second half, which is obviously unsustainable, but should that be at his usual .350 level, Abreu would still be hitting around .320. At 34, Abreu’s power looks to have faded a bit, but he can still give one of the best all-around stat lines in the league.

• Billy Butler, 1B/DH—KC (UP) If I were to tell you that a player has hit .320 with eight home runs and 34 RBI since the All-Start break would you believe that they were still available in 67 percent of leagues? The overall slump and lack of power displayed by the Royals 1B/DH during the first half of the year really turned off owners, as he hit .249 with two home runs before the break. You could tell that the talent was there, but the league had adjusted to him. Well, he has adjusted back and is now displaying the batting-average potential that we have heard about. Butler is also mixing in the long ball at a rate better than at any previous point in his short big-league career. Butler will again be a player to buy later in the draft next season.

• Dustin Pedroia, 2B—BOS (UP) What can you say other the man knows how to hit, and that he keeps getting better. After hitting a robust .317 as a rookie, Pedroia has backed that up with a .330 batting average during his sophomore campaign. What is even better, Pedroia has more than doubled his home run total to 17, and also his stolen base total to 17. He is a true all-around threat. He is also the current American League leader in both batting average and runs scored (111). One of the driving factors in his ability to hit for a high average is that he strikes out just eight percent of the time, along with a sustainable .338 BABIP. Buy with confidence in next season’s draft that he can, and will, be a steady force for years to come.

• Brandon Inge, C/3B/OF—DET (DOWN) Many were excited when Brandon Inge was given the opportunity to be an everyday catcher again in Detroit after Ivan Rodriguez was traded. He was just two years removed from hitting 27 home runs and remained a decent home-run threat. However, he is just a .238 career hitter, and the last time he was behind the plate Inge could barely crack the .200 mark. History looks to be repeating itself. Since the trade, Inge has hit .191 with three home runs and 14 RBI. Inge does have a very unfortunate .248 BABIP, which says that his batting average should be higher, but even then a 26 percent strikeout rate will limit any upside.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?