As we look ahead to the second half of this baseball season, here’s some hitters you’ll want to keep an eye and ear out for as the summer and pennant races really start to heat up.
Jung Ho Kang - PIT 3B/SS
It took this Korean import a little while to get going, but now that he seems to have a permanent role in the Pirates everyday lineup, it’s time to start taking notice of him.
Through the first month of the season, Kang found himself in just 12 games with five starts. The results weren’t great. In 24 plate appearances, he was hitting .182 with 5/1 K/BB, zero home runs, one extra base hit, and four RBIs.
On April 29, Kang went 3-for-4 in a Pittsburgh 8-1 win in Chicago with a double, 2 RBIs and a run scored. Since, then Kang has been very consistent despite being in and out of the lineup.
Kang then found himself in the lineup regularly until the end of May. Between April 29 and May 31, Kang slashed .318/.400/.489 with 3 HR, 13 RBI, and made 22 starts in 24 games played.
He finished the break with a .268/.348/.384 line with 4 HR, 29 RBI, and an 18/51 BB/K ratio. What’s encouraging is when Kang is in the lineup, he is taking advantage of it.
As a starter, Kang hits .282 with an OPS of .766 versus his .136 line with just 2 RBIs and one extra base hit as a pinch hitter.
The talk around Pirates camp prior to the break was Kang had shown enough to be a regular in their lineup (and I would more than agree with that), so when Josh Harrison returns from injury, Kang is likely to remain in the lineup for Pittsburgh, possibly as a super-utility guy like Harrison, or even moving him to first base.
Either way, Kang should be in the lineup for Pittsburgh and if he is, he adds a legitimate power threat that can find his way on base in other ways too.
Michael A. Taylor - WAS OF
Michael Taylor is one of those super athletes you draft early to mid-rounds of the MLB and then give them a lot of time to mature, develop their skills, and adjust to the pro game.
Progressing slowly but surely, Taylor got better and better at each stop he made in the minor leagues for Washington, which is more than a good thing.
He never repeated a level, though he would jump a level mid-season, return the next year, and advance at some point the next year.
Taylor broke out in 2014, showcasing a .304/.390/.526 slash line with 23 HR and 37 SBs.
The knock on Taylor is his strikeouts. 144/57 K/BB ratio that year. That’s not good in case you were wondering.
Taylor has been up and down with the big club so far in 2015 after making his major league debut last summer. He’s been in and out of a regular role thanks to the injury prone Jayson Werth and Denard Span so far in 2015.
But I point out, he has been playing regularly since June 19, and is slashing a .297/.333/.405 with a homer, 9 RBIs and five doubles.
For the season, Taylor’s strikeouts are way down from his short stint in 2014 (32% compared to almost 40% last year). Now that still isn’t great by any standard, but it is encouraging he continues to learn the strike zone and improve in that area.
Additionally, Taylor squares the ball up more than the league average. His line drive rates is a 26% percent and is reflected in his .345 batting average on balls in play (BABIP). It’s worth noting his BABIP during the June 19 time period is an astronomical .420.
That’s obviously not sustainable but it’s quite encouraging he’s seeing the ball really well right now.
If Michael Taylor can at least maintain a .280 average the rest of the way, that will be huge given the uncertainty of the health of Span and Werth.
Jake Lamb - ARI 3B
If it weren’t for an unlucky first half, Jake Lamb may have been an all-star alongside teammates Paul Goldschmidt and AJ Pollock.
Unfortunately, a foot injury in April and into May shelved pretty much the first third of his season. During that time Yosmani Tomas emerged as an option at the hot corner, but has since shifted to left field.
Which is good news for Lamb that the organization is sticking with him, and for good reason.
Through 38 games played, Lamb is slashing a line of .280/.348/.408 and has really started to put it together the last few weeks before the All-Star break.
The former Washington Husky and sixth round pick (2012)., Lamb pretty much bypassed Triple-A (he played a whopping five games there last year) and straight to the big leagues as he left little doubt of his readiness to be promoted after each stop in the minors.
A minor league .408 OBP and low strikeout totals make Lamb such an intriguing, under the radar guy in Arizona. A strikeout rate of 21% and a strong 12% walk rate shows his knowledge of the strike zone but also his patience at the plate.
Additionally, 37 HRs in 247 games gives hope his power should show up in the big leagues at some point, and possibly soon.
Lamb drew raving reviews from people around the organization in the spring, Lamb is squaring the ball up very well in the limited time he’s seen in 2015 (30% line drive rate, .371 BABIP).
I confidently look for Lamb to have a pretty big second half for Arizona and to further that thought, I can’t say I’d be surprised to see Arizona start to turn the corner.
I wrote in the preseason, I thought they had one of the top systems in baseball, and some the talent they have coming is going to help them turn things around in a hurry.
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