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Who's Hot/Who's Not Week 6

Stats are from August 28th to September 3rd @ 1pm

Trea Turner (Utility Washington Nationals)

  • .563 BA

  • .640 BAbip

  • 1.451 OPS

  • 2 HR (one inside the parker)

  • Statcast: Sprint Speed 100th percentile, xBA 95th, K% 90th, xwOBA 86th, xSLG 82nd

  • Analysis: Trea Turner has been the fastest player in the league, consistently in the top 2% of the league in Sprint Speed for his five year career. Couple this with his above average power, and Turner is a 20/20 threat. What's upped his production this year is knocking the strikeouts down (14% this year compared to 21.7% for his career). This past week showed of his abilities with hitting an inside the park homer.

Franmil Reyes (OF Cleveland Indians)

  • .542 BA

  • .611 BABip

  • 5 doubles

  • 1.577 OPS

  • Statcast: Exit Velo 98th percentile, Barrel% 91st, xBA 89th, xwOBA 89th, Hard Hit % 88th

  • Analysis: This is Franmil's third time on the list, second as Who's Hot which is well deserved. This may be his last time on it because all of the stats and metrics point to this level of production being obtainable. Each of the five doubles that were hit were smoked at at least 100MPH. As a matter of fact, the batted balls he had last week averaged 97.3 MPH. As I mentioned before, his immense potential power is only unlocked if he actually hits the ball. I'm keeping my eye on the strikeouts, which he only had four in 24 at bats.

Andrew Heaney (SP Los Angeles Angels)

  • 14.2 IP

  • .61 ERA

  • .140 BAA, .364 OPSA while facing 54 batters

  • Statcast: Fastball Spin 80th percentile, Whiff% 77th, K% 67th

  • Analysis: Other than the above metrics, Heaney really hasn't had a great year. He's in the bottom half of most categories including Hard Hit (25th), Barrel % (35th), and Exit Velo (36th). While he did blank the Padres in his most recent outing (7IP, 3H, 6K), the other team he went against were the Mariners. I'd be surprised if we see Heaney up here again.

Danny Duffy (SP Kansas City Royals)

  • 11.2 IP

  • 6.94 ERA

  • .303 BAbip

  • Statcast: Barrel % 31st percentile, Exit Velo 44th, Hard Hit % 49th, Whiff % 51st

  • Analysis: The four above metrics are intertwined. Obviously, if players barrel up the ball, the Exit Velo and Hard Hit % will increase. Because you're seeing the ball better, you're less likely to whiff. What stinks for Duffy is that he went up against the buzzsaw of the Chicago White Sox in back to back starts giving up 4 homers leading to his inflated ERA

Charlie Blackmon (RF Colorado Rockies)

  • .091 BA

  • .303 OPS

  • 8 K's in 22AB

  • Statcast: Hard Hit % 21st percentile, Barrel % 32nd, Exit Velo 42nd

  • Analysis: As every stat nerd says, all numbers regress to a mean. Chuck was flirting with a .400 BA season, but is now regressing back to his career BA of .305 (currently at .343). By no means is a career batting average of .305 is bad, but he is cold right now. His Hard Hit % is back to his 2015 season, except he doesn't have the speed he used to. I can see this trend continuing downward for Blackmon.

Bryce Harper (OF Washington Nationals)

  • .130 BA

  • 9 K's in 23 AB

  • .518 OPS

  • Statcast: Whiff % 30th percentile, K% 70th, Exit Velo 74th

  • Analysis: Harper truly is cold right now. All of his metrics are about where Harper usually lays. As a matter of fact, he's in the top 1% for walks, with a .431 OBP. The only reason he saw a dip this past week are the unusual strikeouts. Harper will not be on this list next week.

The Youngins: These past couple of weeks have seen the debuts of some Top 100 prospects. Sixto Sanchez (#1 Marlins prospect) had two starts this past week putting up a 1.29 ERA in 14IP. His fastball is averaging 98mph! Triston McKenzie (#2 Cleveland prospect) also put up some great stats with a 1.80 ERA in 10IP across two starts., Alec Bohm (#1 Phillies prospect) killed a ball 446ft and carried a .837 OPS this past week. KeBryan Hayes (#2 Pirates prospect) was just called up and hit a homer in his first game. There are a lot more rookies that have made their debut this year. This shortened season and expanded rosters give these guys a shot to face other Major Leaguers which could pay dividends down the road.

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