Baseball Daily Dose: Daily Dose: Holliday Returns
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In the latest from Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, we learn that Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday is on track to return on Friday for the beginning of the second half. Holliday has been out since June 8, when he suffered a strained right quadriceps that appeared to be more serious than it actually was.
Despite not showing much power, Holliday was in the midst of a productive season, batting .303/.417/.421 with three home runs and 26 RBI. The 35-year-old’s slugging percentage has dropped each season since 2010. As Holliday’s injury was sudden and not a nagging injury, it would be unrealistic to expect the veteran to have a resurgence in power, particularly considering his recent trends, but he has historically always been better in the second half. Over his 12-year career, Holliday has hit .305/.383/.499 in the first half and .311/.390/.547 in the second half.
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Freddie Freeman Likely Out Longer
Quoting Braves GM John Hart, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that first baseman Freddie Freeman might not be back in the first week of August as originally expected. The slugger’s wrist injury isn’t healing as quickly as they had anticipated. Freeman has been out since mid-June.
The first baseman went on the DL batting .299/.367/.520 with 12 home runs and 41 RBI. He was the only consistent bat in an otherwise uninspiring lineup. Without Freeman, the Braves have gone 10-13 with a team-wide .655 OPS and only 16 home runs in 23 games. In his absence, the Phillies have used Kelly Johnson at first base mostly and Joey Terdoslavich occasionally.
Johnson has performed well overall this season, hitting .275/.321/.456 with nine home runs and 33 RBI in 184 plate appearances. For fantasy players in deeper mixed leagues and NL-only leagues, he is certainly a cheap, passable first base/corner infield option for as long as Freeman is out.
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Chase Utley Solves His Problems
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that Phillies second baseman Chase Utley is feeling better and has figured out a flaw in his swing that was caused by his ankle injury. The second baseman was nagged by his ankle injury since spring training and posted an ugly .179/.257/.275 triple-slash line with four home runs and 25 RBI in 249 plate appearances before hitting the pine after a start as DH on June 22 in New York against the Yankees. It’s still not known when Utley will make a return.
In Utley’s absence, Cesar Hernandez has caught fire at the plate. In the time since June 20 – Utley’s last start at second base – Hernandez is hitting .353/.415/.412 with nine RBI, 14 runs scored, and nine stolen bases in 95 plate appearances. In the time since Hernandez has manned second base regularly, the Phillies – prior to Hernandez’s surge, baseball’s worst offense – averaged 4.45 runs per game. As a result, GM Ruben Amaro, Jr. told the media that Hernandez would be the team’s regular second baseman even after Utley returns.
Hernandez is relevant in mixed leagues now, but there’s reason to believe he’ll fall offensively and eventually cede the position back to Utley. Hernandez has benefited from a .455 batting average on balls in play. While he had a high BABIP in the minors and has a career .346 BABIP in his major league career, that’s at least 100 unanswered points of batted ball fortune which we should expect to regress going forward. As his batting average and on-base percentage return to earth, he’ll have fewer stolen base opportunities as well.
Meanwhile, if Utley’s progress is to be believed, he could hit well enough to reclaim his job at second base at some point in August. He makes for a good second half bounce-back candidate.
National League Quick Hits: Mets catcher Travis d’Arnaud (elbow) is out of a brace and is doing limited baseball activities, Mets manager Terry Collins said on Wednesday … Marlins starter Henderson Alvarez has been cleared to begin a rehab assignment with High-A Jupiter … The Phillies claimed reliever Dalier Hinojosa off waivers from the Red Sox and optioned him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley … The Reds claimed pitcher Donn Roach off waivers from the Cubs and optioned him to Triple-A Louisville on Tuesday … The Dodgers released reliever Jeremy Horst on Wednesday … The Rockies sent pitcher Aaron Laffey outright to Triple-A Albuquerque on Tuesday.
American League Quick Hits: The Orioles activated pitcher Wesley Wright from the 60-day disabled list, then designated him for assignment on Tuesday … Blue Jays reliever Aaron Sanchez (lat) will make his next rehab start on Thursday with Triple-A Buffalo … The Twins released pitcher Scott Atchison on Wednesday… The Rangers placed pitcher Ross Detwiler on unconditional release waivers on Wednesday … The Mariners released catcher Erik Kratz on Wednesday.
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