Some pretty good players are experiencing a serious June swoon right now.
Toronto infielder Jose Bautista has shocked everyone by hitting 18 HRs with 46 RBI thus far this season. However, an 8 for 55 start to June has led his average to sink to a mediocre .227 overall.
Vernon Wells is another Blue Jay who has cooled considerably after a torrid start. While he does have a respectable three home runs this month, his average is just .175. For that matter, Adam Lind is hitting .172 this month; Edwin Encarnacion is at .167. Not an optimal time to be a Blue Jay.
Last year, Baseball Prospectus was uncharacteristically projecting Orioles rookie Matt Wieters to post MVP-level numbers. Instead, Wieters was pretty average in his freshman campaign, and he’s hitting just .143 this month. Now hitting .223 overall, he’s not angling for MVP honors this year either.
In the National League, Cubs star Alfonso Soriano actually has the lowest average this month of any player in the Senior Circuit. He’s hitting just .167 in 48 at bats.
As for the mound, Dennys Reyes of the Cardinals has managed a most dubious distinction. In FIVE appearances, he has managed to total just two-thirds of an inning, giving up ten hits and six earned runs for an ERA of 81.00. Hard to bottom , though Indians reliever Tony Sipp comes close by giving up 11 hits and nine earned runs in just 3 1/3 innings. For those scoring at home, that amounts to a 24.30 ERA.
Among starters, Mariners pitcher Ian Snell was banished to AAA ball after giving up14 earned runs in just nine innings, while Twins hurler Nick Blackburn has surrendered a whopping 32 hits and 20 earned runs in just 15 innings over four starters. No wonder my Rotisserie team has bottomed out lately.
