Contributors: Reds
Welcome to the 1st edition of the new IBC Hot Sheet!
The IBC Hot Sheet is a work in progress. It will, over time, be continually enhanced. Our first release will focus only on hitters. We may have an additional Hot Sheet for pitchers, if not this week then in upcoming editions. In the future, look for the Hot Sheet to include both hitters AND pitchers in one published format. The Hot Sheet may also be linked to the homepage in the near future as well, similar to the "This Week In IBC" feature that has brought some much needed visual asthetics to our glorious website. Once we start building on a decent foundation for this thing, the content and evaluation should also get better. For now, its simply functional - fairly archaic - we're in beta mode so to speak. But, this thing has a lot of potential! Sort of like that raw prospect sitting in the 50th slot of your roster. ;)
Aside from encompassing both hitters and pitchers, eventually I envision this thing to have a "Helium" and "Cold" section ala Baseball America as well. Its going to be somewhat of a struggle to get this going in regards to the initial rankings simply becuase we have to choose a starting point of evaluation, and we all know who the best hitters have been since the start of the season.
So, for the pupose of these rankings we're just going to start at May 1st up until May 18th. Remember, this first edition will only contain Hitters. Pitchers will perhaps be published in a seperate post.
So, without further ado, here are the first IBC Hot Sheet rankings of 2008: Hitters edition.
A pair of catcher's tops our list, followed by 2 of the most feared HR hitters in the game. The list also contains a couple surprises. Enjoy!
Hot Sheet
1. Russell Martin - C - DBacks
491/517/825 15 G, 57 AB, 28 H, 8 2b, 3 3b, 3 HR, 13 R, 7 RBI, 3 BB/9 K, 1 SB, 2 CS
The D'back's Russell Martin has been on an absolute tear, as his 491/517/825 line is best in the IBC since May 1st. 28H in 57AB, are you kidding me? The kid is hitting for power too with an 825 SLG and 14 extra base hits during that span. No one has been able to stop Mr. Martin during the month of May.
2. Kenji Johjima - C - Rockies
426/426/721 15 G, 61 AB, 26 H, 6 2b, 4 HR, 9 R, 14 RBI, 0 BB/6 K
The Rockie's Johjima is the second catcher in a row. The position around the league has seemed to be hot during the month of May with several other organization's catchers playing extremely well. But not well enough to top Russel Martin OR Kenji Johjima on the IBC Hot Sheet. Johjima has cruised to a tune of 426/426/721 since May. He's had 26 hits, 10 for extra bases. He's also held the K's to a minimum in that span with only 6 whiffs. Domo Arigato Mr. Johjima.
3. Ryan Howard - 1B - Pirates
321/451/786 16 G, 56 AB, 18 H, 2 2b, 8 HR, 14 R, 16 RBI, 14 BB/22 K, 2 IBB
Ryan Howard, former NL MVP and feared slugger. There may not be a more feared power hitter in the league right now. He's crushed 8HR since May 1st with 14BB. But is it for real? Howard has done most of his damage against RHP, crushing them to the tune of 371/521/1.029, unreal! But he's struggled against LHP to the tune of 238/304/381.
4. Adam Dunn - LF - Royals
386/481/795 13 G, 44 AB, 17 H, 6 2b, 4 HR, 15 R, 6 RBI, 9 BB/11 K, 1 SB
Kansas City's offense has been unreal this year, with Chipper Jones being the obvious component to the leathal lineup. Enter Adam Dunn. KC traded one feared slugger in Travis Hafner for another. Though Dunn certainly has his critics, he's been nothing short of amazing since arriving in KC and nothing short of awesome since May 1st. He's walking a lot, like always, but keeping the K's in check. He's scoring runs for his new team, and hitting for power with 10 of his 17 hits going for extra bases. And the Big Donkey still has some speed with 1 more SB on the year.
5. Chipper Jones - 3B - Royals
377/476/696 17 G, 69 AB, 26 H, 4 2b, 6 HR, 18 R, 16 RBI, 13 BB/9 K, 1 SB
The second Royal to make our list, Chipper Jones has been on FIRE the entire year, leading to early IBC AL MVP chatter. But surprisingly, he hasn't been as good as his new teamate Adam Dunn since May 1st. Still, his 377/476/696 line with 10 extra base hits, 18R and 16RBI, with 4 more BB's than K's during the span is nothing to snear at, and arguably better than Dunn. But Dunn SLG'd about 100 points higher since May 1st, and surprisingly is hitting for a higher AVG. Still, KC has to be mighty happy with this pair of impact bats in their lineup everyday.
6. Joe Dillon - 3B - Rockies
354/400/785 16 G, 65 AB, 23 H, 8 2b, 1 3b, 6 HR, 11 R, 19 RBI, 3 BB/9 K, 2 HBP, 1 SB
Who? Thats right... Joe "Freaking" Dillon. Thats who. The guy plays VG defense at 3B, and his stick has been tearing pitchers in the IBC a new one. Typically when one of your lesser name players is getting on base 40% of the time while slugging 785, good things are going to happen for you and your squad. The rockies find themselves 8 back already, but its not because of Johjima or number 6 on our list, Joe Freaking Dillon!
7. Carlos Guillen - 1B - Cardinals
369/440/692 17 G, 65 AB, 24 H, 4 2b, 1 3b, 5 HR, 16 R, 24 RBI, 9 BB/11 K, 1 IBB
Okay, jeezus. I HATE this guy. Mainly becuase he's an IBC Cardinal, and he just seems to KILL me. For that matter though, Guillen is absolutely destroying the rest of the opposition as well since May 1st. 4 doubles, 1 triple, 5 homeruns, 16 runs, and 24 RBI with 9bb's to 11k's. Are you kidding me? Carlos Guillen - more than a thorn in the side of the IBC's national league.
8. Miguel Cabrera - 3B - Tigers
375/425/703 17 G, 64 AB, 24 H, 4 2b, 1 3b, 5 HR, 13 R, 18 RBI, 6 BB/11 K, 1 HBP, 1 IBB
The first of two tigers to make the first IBC Hot Sheet, Miguel Cabrera has been doing all he can to help the Tigers win the fight for the ALC Champion. He's hitting for AVG, getting on base, and hitting for power. All things a hitter must do to be considered for our Hot List. Since May 1st, he's had 24 hits, 10 for extra bases, created 13 runs, and driven in 18.
9. Colby Rasmus - CF - Rays
306/419/645 17 G, 62 AB, 19 H, 3 2b, 6 HR, 12 R, 13 RBI, 9 BB/19 K, 3 HBP, 2 IBB, 3 SB, 1 CS
Some might say Colby is a surprise, mainly because he might go unnoticed as the Rays battle for the worst record in the IBC. But Colby has been hitting like a man on a mission. His K rate is high, the highest on the list. But he's also walked 9 times and when he HAS made contact, watch out! 3 doubles and he's crushed 6HR. When he's on base, he's a terror. 3SB with only 1CS since the 1st of the year, an indication of his impressive speed.
10. Jeremy Hermida - RF - Tigers
304/360/696 17 G, 69 AB, 21 H, 3 2b, 8 HR, 16 R, 14 RBI, 6 BB/19 K
The second El Tigre and our final player to make the 1st IBC Hot Sheet. Jeremy Hermida hasn't hit for as much AVG as some of the guys above him, but he's absolutely murdered the ball when he's made contact. 8HR ties Ryan Howard for tops on this list, and the IBC HR lead for the month of May In that span he's had 16 runs and 14RBI. Like Rasmus, he's striking out quite a bit, but his display of power has been more than impressive, its been downright disgusting!
In The Team Photo:
Joe Mauer, Ken Griffey, Albert Pujols, Chris Davis, Placedo Polanco, Ryan Raburn, David Wright, Magglio Ordonez, Hanley Ramirez, Alfronso Soriano, Jose Reyes, Mark Teahan, Chris Denorfia, Miguel Olivo, BJ Upton, Mark Teixeira
Big thank you and shout out to Shawn Walsh - who took time out of his busy schedule to basically mold my little idea and integrate it into the IBC Website. Convenience, ease of use and efficiency are going to make this very simple to do and should be lots of fun going forward! And the integration into the IBC will just add another great element to the league. Please take time to thank him for helping put everything together.
Thanks Shawn!
Hope everyone enjoyed. I'm going to try to get the top 10 pitchers done sometime this week.
May 19 Hot Sheet: Hitters Edition
Thanks.. I had some others in the team photo before my IE decided to abrubtly crash, and frankly I didn't have time to go through the stats again. Lots of guys have had great stats since the 1st. But these were the 10 best IMO.
"Hating the Yankees is as American as pizza pie, unwed mothers, and cheating on your income tax."
