Ian KinslerIt may seem crazy to say that a guy who has 20 home runs, 53 RBI, and 16 steals is struggling, but Kinsler is hitting a career low .253 on the season. That's definitely a disappointment after Kinsler batted .319 last season in 121 games after batting .286 in 2006 and .263 in 2007. I know many saw last season as a breakout season for Kinsler and expected him to continue to be a .300 hitter throughout the rest of his career.
Kinsler started off the season red hot hitting .322 in April and then getting his average up to .337 on May 3rd. Since that date, he has struggled mightily, with just 51 hits in his last 231 at-bats for a .221 average. That is a huge amount of at-bats to be hitting so poorly and definitely not a good sign. If you dig deeper into those numbers, you can see that Kinsler is just 32 for 165 against right-handed pitching which is an average of .194. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that Kinsler can't hit right-handed pitching right now.
In fact, here are Kinsler's average/on-base/slugging numbers against right-handers in each season of his career so far:
2009: .216/.299/.401
2008: .332/.385/.530
2007: .239/333/.399
2006: .292/.359/.449
It's no surprise that in Kinsler's two worst hitting seasons, he also hit poorly against right-handed pitching. Last year he was an absolute beast against righties, which makes this season even more unexpected. I'm not sure if this is just one of those fluky every other season things that players go through, but I do know that Ian Kinsler better figure out how to hit righties sometime soon this season or else his batting average and production is going to continue to suffer. My guess is that Kinsler might go on an unbelievable hot streak sometime soon. Either that or Kinsler might just not be able to hit in odd numbered years.
Other MLB News
- Roy Halladay could be on the move with the Yankees, Phillies, Rangers, Red Sox, Dodgers, Brewers, Cubs, White Sox, Angels, and Mets all interested, as well they should be. Halladay is a bonafied ace and would make any playoff team a tough out. He could definitely tilt the balance of power in the direction of the team that acquires him.
- The Phillies are interested in Pedro Martinez and I would expect that Pedro would be signing with a team soon or else we will not see him pitch this season. I would love to see Pedro pitching for a playoff team like the Phillies once October rolls around and have him pitch one last classic playoff game.
- For my money, Tampa Bay is still the best team in the AL. They are definitely the most balanced with a 109 OPS+ and a 106 ERA+, which ranks them 2nd in hitting and 4th in pitching. The Red Sox would be next in line, with a 101 OPS+ and a 113 ERA+, which ranks them 7th in hitting and 3rd in pitching. Obviously their weakness is at the plate where they are just above average and it's why I give the edge to the Rays. The scary thing about the Rays is that I don't think they've even played their best baseball yet and I expect them to make a strong push at the Red Sox for the AL East lead. The Yankees of course are first in hitting with a 116 OPS+, but on the pitching end of things they are still below average ranking 9th with a 98 ERA+.
More: MLB & MLB Weekly
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