Roto Chronicles: National League–Sept. 22

162 games can be grueling; some players found out just how grueling with a little more than a week to go in the regular season.
The season is just over a week away from completion. Some players are finding out that a long 162-game schedule is pretty grueling and it’s showing in their performance over the past week, but for some it didn’t bother them at all and are showing signs of better health and a good next season.

Royalty:

Chris Young: Since he’s come off the DL he’s done marvelously. He pitched a shutout in his last outing against the Nationals giving up only two hits in seven innings. The start before that he pitched against the Giants giving up three runs in seven strong innings. The extra time off being on the DL must have helped. Since coming off the DL his ERA is a very steady 2.80 lowering his season ERA to 4.11. The DL does strange things to people, but take his points while you can. He’ll face the Dodgers this week, but he might have a hard time against them. On the season the Dodgers’ BAA is .286. I still say Young is worth the start. He hasn’t faced the Dodgers after coming off the DL.

Adrian Gonzalez: Gonzalez is smashing the ball around the yard and he has a .370 average on the week to show for it. To go on top of that he has eight runs and 11 RBIs. He did tail off a little the last few weeks, but now he’s back to normal form. His season average is .280; however, this week he will face Chad Billingslea, a pitcher he is batting over .300 on for the season. Start Gonzalez and ride his hot streak until the rest of the season.

Adam Dunn: Dunn is finally starting to hit base hits and striking out less. I put him here not because of his stellar average for the week, but his consistency hitting and his getting seven RBIs. Dunn only has one homerun on the week, and struck out nine times. He does lead the league in walks and he added two more, and ironically, as much as he strikes out he gets on base. He is seventh in the league in OBP. Either pitchers fear him even though his average is so low, or Dunn is just concentrating too hard at the plate. Either way, it’s paying dividends.

Freddy Sanchez: Sanchez’s season average has raised over the last two months and now stands at .267. He isn’t as much of a homerun threat as he has been in the previous seasons; however, he is starting to show the composure and confidence at the plate that won him the batting title in 2006. He obviously won’t get there this season, but he should maintain this hot streak going into next season. Sanchez is at .310 for the week with four runs. One thing that’s impressed me about him is that he doesn’t strikeout much. He only has 60 on the season. Sanchez has struggled this season against the Brewers, but he is still worth a start only because of his hot streak.

JJ Hardy: Hardy has a .455 average on the week. That’s a pretty scary average to deal with if you’re an opposing pitcher. Hardy does have some consistency issues the plate, but he certainly didn’t show it this week. Though he may have a good average, he only netted three runs and two RBIs. That’s not going to win many games for you, and it’s obvious the Brewers didn’t win that many; they are slipping fast out of the playoffs unless they can find timely hitting. Even with Hardy and Braun having good weeks, it’s simply not enough. Hardy will be facing the Pirates and Cubs this week, teams that he is hitting over .300 against. Start him.

Ruts:

Randy Winn: He sits at a .162 average for the week, and doesn’t look focused at all. The 10-year vet has struggled of late, but he’s cushioned his average early on seeing how he is still over .300. Winn may have a good average (.306), but he has a long way to be elite. One bright spot on Winn is his ability to steal bases. He has 25 of those which ranks him ninth in the league. Though the Giants are out of contention he will still be the normal center fielder. He’ll face Colorado and he has dominated them at the plate this season. Start him for that series, but sit him against the Dodgers, a team that he is hitting .174 against.

Ty Wigginton: Wigginton has regained the starting position at third base, but he’s not showing that he’s worthy of it. He is batting .157 with no runs and two RBIs. He’s never been a flashy player, but he’s good enough to be batting .287 this season with 22 homeruns and 67 RBIs. He does, however, play the Reds where he is hitting .388 against for the season. That’s incredible and that is the highest against any other team. Start him.

Andre Ethier: Ethier is showing the effects of a long season, but he’ll be okay. He hit a pretty good .280, but he’s here because he only has one run and was thrown out twice at home plate. He’ll need rest if the Dodgers make the playoffs. This second year player is still worth the start for average’s sake, but don’t count on him for much else. The Dodgers play NL West rival San Diego and San Francisco. He’ll be able to find some bases against those two teams.

Bret Myers: He did have a string of good starts until he went to Florida where he got shelled for 10 runs on nine hits. He only stuck out three; it definitely wasn’t his best effort. With that outing his ERA raised to 4.46 and took the loss going 10-12. It’s too early to tell if there was an ill effect in his arm, or if he just wasn’t on his game. Since coming back from Triple A he has a 3.02 ERA so he’s improving from his early season woes. He faces Atlanta, who has owned him. It’s risky to start him because you don’t know if his last bad outing is him reverting back to his old ways. Sit him, at least for Atlanta.

Josh Willingham: Willingham is hitting .222 on the week, but has three runs in the process. That’s not bad for someone who only had five hits. Willingham is an underrated player; he has a .255 average on the season. Then again, the Marlins have been underrated all season and are right on the line of elimination from the playoffs. Willingham faces Washington this week and he has a .302 average against them. If it’s anytime to get out of a slump, Washington’s the team to do it against.