As I have mentioned previously, I have a bet this season on who will end up with better statistics on the season between Corey Hart (my pick) and Nick Markakis. We came up with a very complicated method for comparing the players, which isn't important here - I'm just going to provide the raw statistics as of games through July 22.
Corey Hart .286/.325/.507 16 hr, 59 rbi, 14 sb, 108 h, 52 r
Nick Markakis .295/.400/.489 15 hr, 54 rbi, 9 sb, 111 h, 66 r
As with last time, these guys are pretty close. Markakis has a pretty big lead in OBP and runs, and Hart is pulling away in stolen bases and has a decent lead in SLG, but all of the other categories are still up for grabs. If the season ended today, I think I would lose the bet but there are still two months to go. The Brewers are getting hot as they push for the NL Central lead, while the Orioles may dump players at the deadline. My hope is that Hart and Markakis will trend with their teams from here on out, bringing Hart ahead in the end.
Showing posts with label Corey Hart. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Corey Hart. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Wager Update
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Markakis vs. Hart
As I previously posted, I have a running wager this season with a friend regarding the performance of Nick Markakis of the Orioles and Corey Hart of the Brewers. As it is turning out, we could not have picked two more similar players through the first two months. Here are their respective stats as of today:
Nick Markakis: 187 at bats .251/.367/.433 9(hr) 24(rbi) 7(sb) 28(r) 47(h) 7(2b) 0(3B) 33(bb) 43(k)
Corey Hart: 196 at bats .296/.347/.464 6(hr) 27(rbi) 9(sb) 26(r) 58(h) 11(2b) 2(3b) 13(bb) 40(k)
The only significant difference is that Hart has a higher batting average, which Markakis makes up for with walks (leading to a higher OBP). I still feel pretty good about the wager, though. To this point, Markakis and the Orioles have played above their heads (the Orioles are 26-26 right now) and should slow down - in fact they have lost seven of their last ten games. The Brewers, on the other hand, have been unable to get things going. They are currently 26-27 and while they may not be as good as I thought before the season, I still expect them to pick up the pace. I somehow doubt that Prince Fielder will stay on pace to only hit 19 homeruns this season (after hitting 50 last season).
So, I believe that while Markakis' stats are the best you can hope for out of him considering the performance of his team and the players around him, Hart has considerable room for improvement once his team begins to play better.
Nick Markakis: 187 at bats .251/.367/.433 9(hr) 24(rbi) 7(sb) 28(r) 47(h) 7(2b) 0(3B) 33(bb) 43(k)
Corey Hart: 196 at bats .296/.347/.464 6(hr) 27(rbi) 9(sb) 26(r) 58(h) 11(2b) 2(3b) 13(bb) 40(k)
The only significant difference is that Hart has a higher batting average, which Markakis makes up for with walks (leading to a higher OBP). I still feel pretty good about the wager, though. To this point, Markakis and the Orioles have played above their heads (the Orioles are 26-26 right now) and should slow down - in fact they have lost seven of their last ten games. The Brewers, on the other hand, have been unable to get things going. They are currently 26-27 and while they may not be as good as I thought before the season, I still expect them to pick up the pace. I somehow doubt that Prince Fielder will stay on pace to only hit 19 homeruns this season (after hitting 50 last season).
So, I believe that while Markakis' stats are the best you can hope for out of him considering the performance of his team and the players around him, Hart has considerable room for improvement once his team begins to play better.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Opening Day Predictions - National League
Technically, opening day was a week ago, when the Red Sox played the A's in Tokyo. The games counted towards the regular season, but it didn't feel much like Opening Day. Even tonight, Atlanta plays Washington, won't seem like Opening Day - that's tomorrow, when the rest of the teams start playing for real.
Every year about this time I make some predictions and I'm usually only right about the obvious stuff. That won't stop me, though - it's just too much fun making the predictions. Here goes:
Division Winners:
NL East: New York - they aren't without their problems, namely that Delgado and Castillo are past their prime and the Church/Pagan/Chavez trio will be filling 2 outfield spots, but the offense can revolve around Wright, Beltran and Reyes and let Delgado and the others be complementary players. Their big upgrade in pitching (switching out Glavine for Santana in the rotation) makes them a lot better, although I am skeptical of Pedro's health at this point in his career. I would expect the Mets to deal for a starter at the trade deadline (although they've only got one big trading chip left: Fernando Martinez).
I'm not a fan of the Phillies - their offense will be exciting with Howard, Utley, Rollins, and Burrell - but the back of the rotation with Jaime Moyer, Kyle Kendrick and Adam Eaton scares me. The Braves, on the other hand, I do like. With Kelly Johnson setting the table and Jones, Teixeira, McCann and Francouer forming the heart of the linup, they should score some runs. Smoltz and Hudson at the top of the rotation is nice, and I like the pickup of Jurrjens for the middle of the rotation. Unfortunately, the starting 5 is rounded out by Mike Hampton and Tom Glavine, who both might be toast (although Hampton looked good when I saw him in the Spring).
NL Central: Milwaukee - I like this Brewers team a lot. There is no doubt that they will score some runs, with Fielder, Braun, and Hart in the center of the lineup. They are complemented well in almost every spot: Weeks and Hardy are young starts just notch below the other three, Hall has proven that he can play big (see 2006), and Cameron will be his usual solid-if-not-spectacular self. The health of Ben Sheets is always a question, but I am going out on a limb and picking him to get 30 starts and be in the hunt for the Cy Young. Add Yovani Gallardo, the ever-steady Jeff Suppan and the potential of Manny Parra to Sheets and you've got a deep and talented starting staff.
I dislike the Cubs on principal as a Cardinals fan. As an unbiased baseball fan, though, I think this team is poised to make a run. The NL Central, which was the laughingstock of baseball the last two seasons, will be an exciting division to watch, as the Cubs and Brewers will battle for first place all season and the loser will get the Wild Card. The Cubs upgrades over last season (Fukudome and Pie instead of Jaque Jones and Clif Floyd; and a full season of Geovany Soto instead of Barrett/Kendall) will make a huge difference in their offense (as would the potential switch of DeRosa for Brian Roberts, if they can ever finalize the deal with Baltimore). I am a bit worried about the possibility of Marquis and Dempster at the end of their rotation, but they've got some youngsters (including Sean Marshall) to fill in if trouble arises. I also like the end of their bullpen with Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood (converting him to the pen will save his career, in my opinion).
NL West: Los Angeles - I don't trust this team to do the right thing with its young players, but I think they will overcome some poor choices because they have talent across the board (Juan Pierre notwithstanding). Russell Martin is just entering his prime, Ethier, Kemp and Loney are young studs (and LaRoche would be if he'd stay healthy) and Kent and Andruw Jones still have some in the tank. The pitching is deep, too with Penny, Lowe, Billingsly and Kuroda starting and Broxton and Saito in the pen.
If the Dodgers falter, there will be a mad rush to take their place. I love the Diamondbacks young team and Webb/Haren is might be the best duo in the NL. If they aren't the best duo in the NL, then it is probably Peavy/Young with San Diego. The Padres problem is that they will rely too much on Jim Edmonds and Brian Giles to carry their offense. The reigning NL Champions, the Rockies, will also be in the hunt, but I am afraid that their pitching will come up short this season.
Miscellaneous NL Predictions:
MVP: David Wright - He should have won last year and I would expect him to be close to the top of the ballot for years to come. He wins this year as he leads the Mets to the playoffs.
Cy Young: Ben Sheets - The obvious choice would be Santana or Peavy, but I'm sticking with my prediction of this being the year that Sheets stays healthy and puts it all together.
ROY: Geovany Soto - Every fiber of my being wants it to be Colby Rasmus of the Cardinals. If Braun won it last year after coming up in May, why can't Colby this year? Colby and Jay Bruce will probably have better careers, but I'm going with Soto in this one because he will get more at bats to pile up the counting stats and his team will get more attention because they'll be in the pennant race.
Johan Santana: 17-8, 3.23 ERA, 242 K's - A very good year, but not a Cy Young performance.
Dan Haren: 15-10, 3.63 ERA, 194 K's - Haren might be the game's best #2 starter, but don't confuse him for a #1 (luckily the D-Backs already have Brandon Webb).
Kosuke Fukudome: .278/.389/.438 - He will adjust well to the United States and will be even better in 2009.
Corey Hart: .292/.367/.571 and 32 homers - a breakout year, combining with Fielder and Braun to bring the Wallbangers back to Milwaukee.
Tomorrow: the American League
Every year about this time I make some predictions and I'm usually only right about the obvious stuff. That won't stop me, though - it's just too much fun making the predictions. Here goes:
Division Winners:
NL East: New York - they aren't without their problems, namely that Delgado and Castillo are past their prime and the Church/Pagan/Chavez trio will be filling 2 outfield spots, but the offense can revolve around Wright, Beltran and Reyes and let Delgado and the others be complementary players. Their big upgrade in pitching (switching out Glavine for Santana in the rotation) makes them a lot better, although I am skeptical of Pedro's health at this point in his career. I would expect the Mets to deal for a starter at the trade deadline (although they've only got one big trading chip left: Fernando Martinez).
I'm not a fan of the Phillies - their offense will be exciting with Howard, Utley, Rollins, and Burrell - but the back of the rotation with Jaime Moyer, Kyle Kendrick and Adam Eaton scares me. The Braves, on the other hand, I do like. With Kelly Johnson setting the table and Jones, Teixeira, McCann and Francouer forming the heart of the linup, they should score some runs. Smoltz and Hudson at the top of the rotation is nice, and I like the pickup of Jurrjens for the middle of the rotation. Unfortunately, the starting 5 is rounded out by Mike Hampton and Tom Glavine, who both might be toast (although Hampton looked good when I saw him in the Spring).
NL Central: Milwaukee - I like this Brewers team a lot. There is no doubt that they will score some runs, with Fielder, Braun, and Hart in the center of the lineup. They are complemented well in almost every spot: Weeks and Hardy are young starts just notch below the other three, Hall has proven that he can play big (see 2006), and Cameron will be his usual solid-if-not-spectacular self. The health of Ben Sheets is always a question, but I am going out on a limb and picking him to get 30 starts and be in the hunt for the Cy Young. Add Yovani Gallardo, the ever-steady Jeff Suppan and the potential of Manny Parra to Sheets and you've got a deep and talented starting staff.
I dislike the Cubs on principal as a Cardinals fan. As an unbiased baseball fan, though, I think this team is poised to make a run. The NL Central, which was the laughingstock of baseball the last two seasons, will be an exciting division to watch, as the Cubs and Brewers will battle for first place all season and the loser will get the Wild Card. The Cubs upgrades over last season (Fukudome and Pie instead of Jaque Jones and Clif Floyd; and a full season of Geovany Soto instead of Barrett/Kendall) will make a huge difference in their offense (as would the potential switch of DeRosa for Brian Roberts, if they can ever finalize the deal with Baltimore). I am a bit worried about the possibility of Marquis and Dempster at the end of their rotation, but they've got some youngsters (including Sean Marshall) to fill in if trouble arises. I also like the end of their bullpen with Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood (converting him to the pen will save his career, in my opinion).
NL West: Los Angeles - I don't trust this team to do the right thing with its young players, but I think they will overcome some poor choices because they have talent across the board (Juan Pierre notwithstanding). Russell Martin is just entering his prime, Ethier, Kemp and Loney are young studs (and LaRoche would be if he'd stay healthy) and Kent and Andruw Jones still have some in the tank. The pitching is deep, too with Penny, Lowe, Billingsly and Kuroda starting and Broxton and Saito in the pen.
If the Dodgers falter, there will be a mad rush to take their place. I love the Diamondbacks young team and Webb/Haren is might be the best duo in the NL. If they aren't the best duo in the NL, then it is probably Peavy/Young with San Diego. The Padres problem is that they will rely too much on Jim Edmonds and Brian Giles to carry their offense. The reigning NL Champions, the Rockies, will also be in the hunt, but I am afraid that their pitching will come up short this season.
Miscellaneous NL Predictions:
MVP: David Wright - He should have won last year and I would expect him to be close to the top of the ballot for years to come. He wins this year as he leads the Mets to the playoffs.
Cy Young: Ben Sheets - The obvious choice would be Santana or Peavy, but I'm sticking with my prediction of this being the year that Sheets stays healthy and puts it all together.
ROY: Geovany Soto - Every fiber of my being wants it to be Colby Rasmus of the Cardinals. If Braun won it last year after coming up in May, why can't Colby this year? Colby and Jay Bruce will probably have better careers, but I'm going with Soto in this one because he will get more at bats to pile up the counting stats and his team will get more attention because they'll be in the pennant race.
Johan Santana: 17-8, 3.23 ERA, 242 K's - A very good year, but not a Cy Young performance.
Dan Haren: 15-10, 3.63 ERA, 194 K's - Haren might be the game's best #2 starter, but don't confuse him for a #1 (luckily the D-Backs already have Brandon Webb).
Kosuke Fukudome: .278/.389/.438 - He will adjust well to the United States and will be even better in 2009.
Corey Hart: .292/.367/.571 and 32 homers - a breakout year, combining with Fielder and Braun to bring the Wallbangers back to Milwaukee.
Tomorrow: the American League
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
2008 Breakout Pick
My breakout pick for the 2008 MLB season is Corey Hart. Hart is a 26 year old rightfielder for the Milwaulkee Brewers. Last year he hit .293/.353/.539 over 140 games with 24 home runs and 23 stolen bases.
Hart was drafted out of high school and played his first professional games for the Ogden Raptors in 2000. He repeated the rookie level in 2001 at Ogden and dominated, with a .941 OPS and 11 homers and 14 stolen bases in 67 games. He split time between high A and AA in 2002, hitting 24 home runs combined. He spent a complete year at AA in 2003 and had an .807 OPS.
At 22 years old, Corey debuted in AAA, an made his major league debut the same year. While bouncing between the majors and AAA over the next two years, Corey's OPS' at AAA were .830 and .913. In 2006 Corey spent the majority of the season in the big leagues (his OPS at AAA was .951 for the 26 games he was down).
The Brewers had a bit of a glut of outfielders in 2006, with Carlos Lee, Brady Clark and Geoff Jenkins getting the majority of starts. But Hart managed to get 237 at bats and performed well (.283/.328/.468). Then in the offseason before the 2007 season, the Brewers allowed Carlos Lee and Brady Clark to leave, opening up a full time position for Hart in 2007.
This season, Hart will be back starting in the outfield and will get a prime spot in the lineup, batting in some combination with Rickie Weeks, Prince Fielder, and Ryan Braun. I expect him to continue to hit well and to get a lot of opportunities to bat with runners on base. In a perfect world, the Brewers lineup would look like this:
1. Rickie Weeks - 2B - .374 OBP in 2007
2. JJ Hardy - SS - .323 OBP; .423 SLG in 2007
3. Ryan Braun - LF - .370 OBP; .634 SLG in 2007
4. Prince Fielder - 1B - .395 OPBP; .619 SLG in 2007
5. Corey Hart - RF - .353 OBP; .539 SLG in 2007
6. Bill Hall - 3B
7. Mike Cameron - CF
8. Jonny Estrada - C
JJ Hardy is a little low on the OBP for the #2 slot and Corey Hart might actually be better there, but for my fantasy team, I like Hart at the #5 slot so he can get more RBI opportunities.
So Hart is my breakout pick for this year and I expect his line to look like this:
.302/.362/.582 with 32 homeruns and 25 stolen bases.
Hart was drafted out of high school and played his first professional games for the Ogden Raptors in 2000. He repeated the rookie level in 2001 at Ogden and dominated, with a .941 OPS and 11 homers and 14 stolen bases in 67 games. He split time between high A and AA in 2002, hitting 24 home runs combined. He spent a complete year at AA in 2003 and had an .807 OPS.
At 22 years old, Corey debuted in AAA, an made his major league debut the same year. While bouncing between the majors and AAA over the next two years, Corey's OPS' at AAA were .830 and .913. In 2006 Corey spent the majority of the season in the big leagues (his OPS at AAA was .951 for the 26 games he was down).
The Brewers had a bit of a glut of outfielders in 2006, with Carlos Lee, Brady Clark and Geoff Jenkins getting the majority of starts. But Hart managed to get 237 at bats and performed well (.283/.328/.468). Then in the offseason before the 2007 season, the Brewers allowed Carlos Lee and Brady Clark to leave, opening up a full time position for Hart in 2007.
This season, Hart will be back starting in the outfield and will get a prime spot in the lineup, batting in some combination with Rickie Weeks, Prince Fielder, and Ryan Braun. I expect him to continue to hit well and to get a lot of opportunities to bat with runners on base. In a perfect world, the Brewers lineup would look like this:
1. Rickie Weeks - 2B - .374 OBP in 2007
2. JJ Hardy - SS - .323 OBP; .423 SLG in 2007
3. Ryan Braun - LF - .370 OBP; .634 SLG in 2007
4. Prince Fielder - 1B - .395 OPBP; .619 SLG in 2007
5. Corey Hart - RF - .353 OBP; .539 SLG in 2007
6. Bill Hall - 3B
7. Mike Cameron - CF
8. Jonny Estrada - C
JJ Hardy is a little low on the OBP for the #2 slot and Corey Hart might actually be better there, but for my fantasy team, I like Hart at the #5 slot so he can get more RBI opportunities.
So Hart is my breakout pick for this year and I expect his line to look like this:
.302/.362/.582 with 32 homeruns and 25 stolen bases.
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