5 National League Players Who Need to Have a Big Week

As we head toward the end of May, decisions have to be made on some players that just haven't performing up to their capabilities. After Memorial Day, it's getting past the point of the season where you can keep saying "it's early" and hope things turn around.

Teams are past the 40-game mark now and are getting a clear idea of what they have. How much longer can clubs such as the Mets, Braves and Brewers continue to give opportunities to players whose struggles increasingly appear hopeless?

A few have earned benefit of the doubt, given their past success. But others who continue to watch their batting averages plummet and ERAs skyrocket should perhaps be getting nervous, if they aren't already. 

Here are five National League players who really need to show something this week, lest their starting positions or major-league roster status could become truly endangered.

Ike Davis, New York Mets

When Mets manager Terry Collins was asked if Davis was under consideration to be demoted to the minors, he gave the following answer.

"There is nothing etched in stone," Collins told ESPN New York's Adam Rubin. "We will never, never say something is not going to happen. What we're trying to do is make sure is we wring the rag dry."

Collins continued:

"

And that's why, coming into this road trip, we said, 'Look, here's some pretty good opportunities.' This is a pretty good hitting park. Pittsburgh is a pretty good hitting park. We've got right-handers, right-handers, right-handers coming up. Let's just see if we can get him going.

"

When a manager is asked about a player possibly being sent to the minors, and the manager says, "We'll never say something isn't going to happen," that's not a good sign for the player. 

Davis is batting .163/.221/.304 with five home runs and 15 RBI in 141 plate appearances. He has two hits in his last 21 at-bats (.095). 

Collins pretty much laid it out. Here's a good park to hit in, against a pitching staff you should succeed against. So what happens if and when Davis doesn't hit well during the Mets' next three games at PNC Park? 

Mike Minor, Atlanta Braves

With several series versus teams at or near the top of their respective divisions, the Braves have a tough schedule over the next few weeks. Getting through that stretch would surely help them build upon their current 1.5-game lead in the NL East.

An improvement from the back end of its starting rotation would certainly provide a major boost. That begins with Minor, who's been pounded in his last four starts. In each of those appearances, he's allowed six or more runs and served up seven homers.

Minor's ERA has surged from 3.42 to 7.09 during this four-game span. Considering those numbers, does it need to be mentioned that Minor hasn't pitched more than five innings in his past three outings? 

If Minor gets blown up on Monday night versus the Reds, he would seemingly be in danger of being sent back to the minors.

Yet according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution's David O'Brien, Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez says he believes Minor has to tough it out at the major-league level because the experience simply can't be simulated in the minors. 

That may be, but if Minor gives up another six to eight runs in his next start, the Braves will surely consider making a move. They can't keep sending Minor out there to get shelled and have his confidence deteriorate, while the team loses important games it needs to win. 

David Freese, St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals suffered a huge blow with the news that Lance Berkman suffered a torn ACL on Saturday and is out for the rest of the season. 

Berkman was expected to be the Cards' cleanup hitter and middle-of-the-order stud that would help replace the loss of Albert Pujols. And he seemed more than capable of the task, given his 31-homer, 94-RBI performance last season. 

But St. Louis didn't miss Berkman too much when he was out with a strained calf. That was due in large part to hitters like Freese hitting like an MVP candidate early in the season. However, that's beginning to look like a long time ago.

Freese is hitless in nine of his past 10 games. It looked as if he broke his slump when he went 3-for-4 in a game against the San Francisco Giants last week. But since then, he's 0-for-14. 

Sunday night may have been the worst, as Freese donned the golden sombrero, striking out in all four of his at-bats. That dropped his slash average to .259/.318/.469 for the season.

With Berkman out, along with Jon Jay and Allen Craig, the Cardinals need some production from their incumbent veterans. Freese has a chance to right himself, with three games against the San Diego Padres this week.

Christian Friedrich, Colorado Rockies

After his first two starts, Friedrich looked like the Rockies' ace in the making. In 13 innings, he allowed two earned runs and struck out 17 batters.

It's worth noting, however, that those appearances came against the Padres and Giants, two of the lowest-scoring lineups in the National League. 

Friedrich didn't face a juggernaut in his third start on Saturday. The Seattle Mariners have scored the fourth-fewest runs in the American League. But in Coors Field, as opposed to their home ballpark of Safeco Field, the Mariners' bats came alive. 

Seattle lit Friedrich up for eight runs and nine hits in five innings, giving him his first major-league loss and taking much of the shine off any phenom status he may have accumulated. 

Friedrich's first two starts came on the road. So if Coors Field is the problem, he'll confront that against a Cincinnati Reds team that has a few explosive bats in its lineup. To give the Rockies some confidence in him, Friedrich needs to show that his prior start was a fluke, not a sign of bad things to come.

Rickie Weeks, Milwaukee Brewers

We already singled out Weeks last Thursday for donning the golden sombrero against the Houston Astros. But since then, it hasn't gotten much better for him.

In his past three games, Weeks has hit 2-for-13. On Saturday against the Minnesota Twins, he was doing a lot of swinging and missing again, racking up four strikeouts in an 0-for-5 performance. That earned him a seat on the bench Sunday.

Weeks is now hitting .154/.288/.297 in 170 plate appearances. His 53 strikeouts lead the NL. Is a sore left hand bothering him, as the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Todd Rosiak raised as a possibility? Or is this still a mental thing, as Brewers manager Ron Roenicke believes? 

With three games against the Giants, and Madison Bumgarner and Matt Cain scheduled to pitch, it doesn't figure to get much better for Weeks. Maybe facing Barry Zito on Wednesday can help him get back on track.

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