Home Run Derby

ADAM LAROCHE – 32 HR, 15.38 AB/HR, 149 G

This guy just plain blew up last season.  He hit career highs in G, AB, HR, RBI, AVG, and just about everything else.  And that caught the attention of the Pirates, who worked with the Braves for what seemed like an eternity in the offseason to work a trade for LaRoche.  He moves to the more hitter friendly PNC Park and will tag team with Jason Bay to punish opposing pitchers who take them lightly just because they’re Pirates.  Takes medication for ADD which some people think is helping his MLB performance. 

CHASE UTLEY – 32 HR, 20.56 AB/HR, 160 G

Has averaged 30 HR and 103 RBI in his first two full seasons in the bigs.  Nice protection in the lineup with reigning HR King/MVP Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell in the lineup.  Playing in the launching pad that is Citizens’ Bank Park doesn’t hurt either. 

TORII HUNTER – 31 HR, 17.97 AB/HR, 147 G

Spiderman struggled a bit from May-July, but absolutely turned it on in the late season, leading to a career high in Home Runs.  Hit 10 HR with a 12.2 AB/HR ratio in September.  He’s a bit anxious at the plate, and he strikes out more than double what he walks, but if the M&M boys continue to produce, Hunter will have plenty of opportunities to produce in HomerDerby.  

JOE CREDE – 30 HR, 18.13 AB/HR, 150 G

The fourth White Sox player with 30 HR in 2006.  Wow.  I thought they played small ball under Ozzie Guillen. With half your games in the bandbox that is US Cellular Field, why would you?  Crede had a career year in 2006 and got a one-year extension for 2007, which should keep him hungry.  He has benefited from home cooking, as his AB/HR ratio is six points lower (better) in the Cell than it is on the road.  

PAT BURRELL – 29 HR, 15.93 AB/HR, 144 G

Pat the Bat was well on his way to a career season in 2006 after hitting 19 HR in the first half.  Alas, like many first half juggernauts, the wheels came off in the Dog Days, as Burrell struggled with a lingering foot injury and saw his HR totals cut in half.  Yet another guy who will benefit from the other boppers in the Philly lineup – especially if opposing pitchers avoid throwing anything good to Ryan Howard. 

KEN GRIFFEY JR – 27 HR, 15.85 AB/HR, 109 G

Once again, Junior had a good year by MLB standards, but a sub-par one in terms of what we expect from him.  Injuries being the culprit again: for the sixth straight year, Griffey failed to post 500 AB.  And he broke his hand in the offseason while playing with his kids – although he’s expected to be ready by Opening Day.  He’s 37 HR shy of 600 for his career, but he probably won’t get there in 2007 … he’ll probably miss a few too many games. 

MIGUEL CABRERA – 26 HR, 22.15 AB/HR, 158 G

After hitting 33 HR in 2004 and 2005, Cabrera experienced a bit of a brownout last season while anchoring a Florida lineup pretty much void of any protection for him.  And it doesn’t seem like the Marlins added much in that category for 2007.  Had a career low in strikeouts and a career high in walks while dramatically improving his OBP.  Plays in a park known for deflating HR totals (see Derrek Lee’s pre-Cubs career). 

MIGUEL TEJADA – 24 HR, 27.00 AB/HR, 162 G

Tejada hasn’t missed a game in six straight season, so he’s always a good shot to bank some numbers in HomerDerby.  However, his power seems to be in decline as his number (HR, SLG, OPS) have declined for two years running.  There’s no as much pop in the rest of the orioles’ lineup now, and Tejada seems to be suffering for it.   

DERREK LEE – 8 HR, 21.88 AB/HR, 50 G

After a career year in 2005, D-Lee had a disastrous season in 2006.  First, Lee broke his wrist in April (missed two months) and then returned from the injury too soon (hitting one HR in 75 AB), which led to another month on the DL.  Then in August, Lee came back and returned to pre-injury form … only to have his daughter diagnosed with a rare eye disease – so he took the last two weeks off.  When not injured last season, Lee hit .330 with a 14.29 AB/HR ratio, which is why he’s a great candidate for the 2007 Comeback Player of the Year.

HIDEKI MATSUI – 8 HR, 21.50 AB/HR, 51 G

Matsui hadn’t missed a game in three years with the Yankees before he broke his wrist in May 2006.  But before he went on the DL for 111 games, he wasn’t having a season to remember with only 5 HR and a 23.8 AB/HR ratio.  After the injury is another story, as Godzilla lowered his AB/HR ratio to 17.7.  Batting behind guys like Bobby Abreu, A-Rod, and Jason Giambi should give him plenty of pitches to smack in his comeback bid.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 6th, 2007 at 5:12 pm and is filed under GROUP D. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.