Around the Diamond: Top Five Outfielders of 2010
Posted by homerunheyer on June 23rd, 2010
There is an abundance of outfielders so far this season that are putting up huge numbers for their teams. Out of 20 hopefuls I narrowed the list down to five. Out of all the positions, outfielders are definitetly putting up the best stats this year.
5. Torii Hunter, Los Angeles Angels: Hunter is best known for his gold glove centerfield defense. This year, Hunter is now being recognized as a power threat in the middle of the Angels lack-luster offense. With the departure of Vladamir Guerrero and Kendry Morales’s stint on the disabled list, Hunter had to step up his game on offense to keep the Angels in the race for first and he’s doing just that. Hunter is hitting .288 with 12 home runs and 50 RBI’s. Hunter is leading his team in all three of those categories along with on base percentage-.362, slugging-.520, and doubles-22. The Angels are currently in second place in their division, three and a half games behind the Rangers. Thanks to Hunter, the Angels are right in the race for first, if the rest of the bats heat up, the Angels will be hard to beat.
4. Corey Hart, Milwaukee Brewers: Move over Ryan Braun and make way for Corey Hart. This year Hart is putting up better power numbers that his teammate Braun. Braun’s homerun numbers are down this year, but he is still having a solid offensive year, just not as good as Hart’s. Hart is known to be an average hitter over his short career so far, but this year his stats already passed his season totals from last year. Hart is hitting .268 with 18 home runs and 54 RBI’s. Hart is actually in third for most home runs in baseball and fifth in most RBI’s. Where is this production coming from? Maybe a little bit of Braun power rubbed off on Hart.
Unfortunately the Brewers are having a terrible year, currently in fourth place, 10 games under .500 and nine games back from the division leading Cardinals. If Hart keeps up his production, which would give him career highs in almost every stat possible the Brewers may have a chance to turn things around. Hart alone will not give the Brewers a playoff berth but if Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun starting pounding out more home runs, they have a good chance to turn things around.
3. Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays: What is in the water in Canada these days? The Blue Jays are hitting home runs like its no ones business these days. There are five players on the Jays that have double digit home runs already this season. Bautista leads them all, not just on his team, but for all of baseball. Bautista is hitting for a terribly low average of .232, but his production is through the roof with 20 home runs and 49 RBI’s. Bautista was always known to be a second rate player always hitting for a low average and low production. The average stayed the same this year, but the power is through the roof! How does this happen? Bautista’s previous season high in home runs was 16 back in 2006 and the most RBI’s for one season was only 63 in 2007. Out of the 56 hits Bautista has this year 20 of them are home runs, which is a little more than 1/3 of his hits.
I don’t know what it is, but the Blue Jays may have found a way around the league’s drug testing policy. No one would have predicted Bautista to be leading the league in home runs. Most people didn’t even know who this guy was until now. With this miraculous jump in power the Blue Jays are staying in the hunt in the toughest division in baseball.
2. Andre Ethier, Los Angeles Dodgers: Ethier is sacrifycing some of his power this season to raise his average up by hitting more for contact. Ethier emerged last year for the Dodgers as one of the top three power bats in their lineup. With an outfield of Ethier, Matt Kemp and, Manny Ramirez, the Dodgers may have the best hitting outfield in all of baseball. Ethier is hitting .320, which is third best in the National League. Ethier’s power numbers are still good, but are a little down from last year with 12 home runs and 44 RBI’s so far this season. The Dodgers are having an up and down season so far this year, currently in third place, but only three games out of first in their division. Once the Dodgers three-headed monster of an outfield starts hitting on all cylinders all at once, the Dodgers will be hard to stop.
1. Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers: After being injured for most of the season last year, Hamilton is back in business this year topping the list of the best outfielders of 2010 so far. When I think of Josh Hamilton I think of raw power and memories of the 2008 home run derby at the old Yankee Stadium. When Hamilton is healthy, he is unstoppable. This year Hamilton has added a higher average to his offensive repertoire which may lead him to winning the Triple Crown. Hamilton is hitting .339 with 17 home runs and 53 RBI’s. As of now his average is good for fifth highest in baseball, his home runs are tied for fourth in all of baseball and his RBI’s are sixth best in all of baseball. Hamilton is one of the main reasons why the Rangers are having one of their best seasons in a long time. The Rangers are currently in first place in their division and are tied for the second best record in all of baseball. I would be surprised if the Rangers vanquish their lead. The Angels are the only team that can threaten the Rangers, but when you put both teams side-by-side, the Rangers have a better all around team. (mlb.com)
By Eric Heyer of Sports Fan Blog Network
