Doug Miller’s article takes a look at several players including Shin-Soo Choo, Chris Dickerson, and Felipe Lopez and their hot second halves.
Needless to say, small sample size is extremely legit reason to suspect that these guys won’t quite follow up their torrid “second halves” with a hot season.
But very quietly, stars of the future were putting it all together.
Shin Soo Choo
Dig deeper and you’ll see that he primarily got hot in two months, August and September. In 194 PA he hit 0.359 with 10 HR, 41 RBI, and 20 BB vs. 38 K.
Felipe Lopez
Like Choo, he had a hot August and insane September/October (.414/.443/.596 line). In only 169 PA he hit .385 with 4 HR, 21 RBI, and 11 BB vs. 28 K.
Alexei Ramirez
Had a poor 2nd half and in September/October he hit .211/.286/.411 in 105 PA. His hot months were June and July where he hit .348 with 7 HR and 31 RBI. He really shouldn’t be included in this list but he was a young player, had a good August, and apparently Doug Miller can overlook that.
Chris Dickerson
Only had 122 PA but he hit .304/.413/.608 with 6 HR, 15 RBI, and 17 BB vs. 35 K.
Of course, I can easily play this game with players who had solid but not great season totals as well.
A.J. Pierzynski: Over July and August he hit .287 with 7 HR, 24 RBI, and 5 BB vs. 29 K in 188 PA but had a poor September. Seemed a lot like Alexei Ramirez.
Nick Swisher: Over July and August he hit a miserable .208 but still had 11 HR, 28 RBI, and 28 BB vs. 49 K. Outside of the BA, he showed power and plate patience and should have a better season just for those two factors alone.
Hunter Pence: Over August and September/October he hit .259 with 11 HR, 30 RBI, and 18 BB vs. 44 K in 210 PA.
