5 National League Players Who Need to Have a Big Week

As the 2012 season moves into its second month, some players who had been scuffling are breaking out of their slumps. 

Others continue to struggle, however, which calls into question how much longer their respective teams can continue to keep them in the lineup before making a chance. 

Several teams find themselves in a precarious position right now, with injuries threatening to become a tipping point in their seasons. As a result, players who previously weren't relied upon to make a major contribution are suddenly being asked to help keep their clubs on track, maybe before they're truly ready for the responsibility. 

Keeping those two scenarios in mind, here are five National League players who really need to have a good week. 

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Ryan Roberts, Arizona Diamondbacks

One major contributor to the Arizona Diamondbacks' NL West title run last year was Ryan Roberts. With regular at-bats for the first time in his career, Roberts had a breakout season and seized the regular third base job with 19 home runs and 65 RBI.

But maybe his .249 batting average was a tip that things could go south quickly if he made even less contact. 

Roberts has been awful so far this season, batting .182/.261/.299 with two home runs and 11 RBI. And that's despite Roberts actually hitting well in his last five games, going 4-for-11 with one homer and three RBI.

The key may have been to relax, as the Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro reports. Roberts has been so concerned with making adjustments with his swing that it took him totally out of his game.

With the D-Backs one game under .500 and currently holding third place in the NL West, they'll need a turnaround from Roberts to help keep their offense productive.  

Steve Cishek, Miami Marlins

Heath Bell is the Miami Marlins reliever that probably most needs to have a good week. But manager Ozzie Guillen has taken him out of the closer role until he can get himself right in some middle relief situations.

But someone needs to close out games if and when the Marlins have a ninth-inning lead. The Miami Herald's Clark Spencer expects Steve Cishek to take over when the next few save opportunities come up.

With his sidearm delivery, Cishek has been the Marlins' best reliever this season, compiling a 4-0 record and 0.63 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 14 1/3 innings. 

Cishek hasn't pitched in a save opportunity since Guillen made the decision to temporarily demote Bell, as he threw three innings on Friday against the Padres, leaving him unavailable until perhaps Tuesday. That makes him a somewhat curious choice, but Guillen apparently wants to keep Edward Mujica in the setup role he's pitched well in recently. 

If Cishek doesn't work out as closer and Bell continues to struggle, Guillen has a couple of other arms he could try, such as Ryan Webb or Randy Choate. But Cishek pitching well in the ninth inning would settle down a shaky bullpen and give the team some reliability it hasn't had all season.

Winners of their last six games, the Marlins look like they might be pulling themselves together. But a couple of blown saves from Cishek this week could derail that progress quickly. 

Chad Tracy, Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals were already hurting in a big way, with their big bats shelved because of injuries.

Michael Morse hasn't been available since the spring because of a lat injury. Ryan Zimmerman is on the disabled list due to shoulder inflammation. Adam LaRoche is fighting an oblique injury that knocked him out before the weekend. And now, Jayson Werth will be out of the lineup for at least six weeks with a broken wrist suffered in Sunday night's loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Nats already called up Bryce Harper and Tyler Moore as reinforcements to help out in left field and first base. But Davey Johnson could use a steady veteran hand in his lineup, and Chad Tracy looks to be just that guy.

Tracy had a big series against the Phillies this past weekend, batting 6-for-13 with two homers and three RBI. But the Nats will need him to maintain that level of performance to give them some production in the middle of their batting order. 

Six years removed from his 20-homer, 80-RBI seasons, that might be asking a bit too much from Tracy. But there aren't really any other options for the Nats until they start getting some of their injured players back in the lineup. 

Taylor Green, Milwaukee Brewers

At 12-16 and tied for fourth place in the NL Central, five games behind the St. Louis Cardinals, the Milwaukee Brewers are teetering on the edge of keeping their playoff hopes alive.

Injuries have wiped out the Brewers roster in recent days.

First baseman Mat Gamel was already under some pressure, having to replace Prince Fielder at first base. But he's out for the season with a torn ACL. MLB.com's Adam McCalvy heard from a player that the injury could be worse than has been reported so far. 

Shortstop Alex Gonzalez also suffered a knee injury that could end his season. He'll undergo an MRI exam that will reveal just how serious the issue is, but as the Journal Sentinel's Tom Haudricourt reports, the Brewers are expecting the worst.

In addition, Carlos Gomez is also on the DL with a hamstring strain. 

Aramis Ramirez appears to be turning his slow start around, which helps. But the Brewers need someone to fill in and help provide some pop. 

Taylor Green was called up from Class-AAA Nashville and was penciled in at first base for Sunday's game against the San Francisco Giants. Though he's mostly been a third baseman for his career, he'll be taking Gamel's spot at first base. 

Green had a terrific season with Nashville last year, batting .336/.413/.583 with 22 homers and 88 RBI. Milwaukee could obviously use that kind of production with the big league club. Green has been off to a bit of a slow start in Class AAA this year, but perhaps a call-up to the majors is just the boost he needed. 

Ike Davis, New York Mets

It's way past time for Ike Davis to begin making a contribution to the New York Mets lineup.

Davis is actually tied for second on the roster with three home runs, and his nine RBI rank fourth on the team. So when Davis is hitting the ball, he's hitting it pretty far. But it's making contact that's been a major problem. 

With a .168/.225/.274 slash average, Davis is dragging down the rest of his lineup. Unfortunately, he's hitting in the middle of the batting order and needs to be a run producer for the Mets. 

Mets manager Terry Collins benched Davis and his sub-.200 batting average on Saturday. According to the Star-Ledger's Jorge Castillo, Collins claimed he wanted to get Justin Turner more at-bats. 

If the intention was to give Davis a breather and possibly jump start his near-flatlining numbers, the tactic didn't work. At least not yet. Davis went 0-for-2 with a walk in Sunday's game against the D-Backs. 

After getting swept by the Houston Astros, the Mets recovered nicely to win two of three from Arizona this past weekend. But for them to put together a sustained streak of success, they'll need production from more batters than David Wright, Daniel Murphy and Kirk Nieuwenhuis.

The big bats need to start swinging the heavy lumber. No one needs to do so more than Davis.