Now that we’re just past the halfway point of baseball’s regular season (roughly 90 games in), it’s time to take a look at our preseason player projections, starting with the hitters.
Below are the current 10 best hitters in the American League based on batting average, on-base percentage, strikeouts, power numbers, and proficiency on the base paths. Below them are the hitters we projected before the season began. Statistics are through Tuesday’s games.
10. Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins; 2012 offensive stats: (average/on-base/slugging) .328/.414/.454, 6 home runs, 43 RBIs, 48 runs scored, 45/49 walks/strikeouts, 4/5 steals/attempts. The 29-year old Mauer, who many thought was done being a top-notch hitter after playing in just 82 games last season, is hitting .374 since the beginning of June.
We had: Alex Gordon, who, after a horrible start to the season, is hitting .349 since May 28. The key seems to be putting him in the leadoff spot, where he excelled last year.
9. Adrian Beltre, Texas Rangers; 2012 offensive stats: .327/.358/.527, 16 home runs, 58 RBIs, 63 runs scored, 18/42 walks/strikeouts, 1/1 steals/attempts. Beltre, long considered a better fielder than hitter has been extremely consistent at the plate this season, hitting better than .300 in every month. Beltre gets the nod over Mauer with his power numbers.
We had: Jacoby Ellsbury, who missed three months with a partially dislocated right shoulder, has been back in the Boston Red Sox lineup the past five games hitting .333 over that short span.
8. Prince Fielder, Detroit Tigers; 2012 offensive stats: .304/.385/.501, 15 home runs, 65 RBIs, 51 runs scored, 42/46 walks/strikeouts, 1/1 steals/attempts. Fielder has had a lot to live up to after switching leagues to sign that $216 million contract. He has done fairly well, though he was listed third on this list in the preseason—a close call over Beltre, Fielder has a much better eye at the plate.
We had: Dustin Pedroia who is currently on the disabled list with a right thumb strain and has hit just .266 so far this season. Last year he hit .334 in the second half of the season after a slow start similar to this year’s.
