In what was another disappointing week from a results perspective, several players on the offensive side of the ball showed signs of coming out of their slumps. These crises happen all the time in baseball, but it’s pretty odd that they all seem to happen at the same time for the team.
One of the players who went a little crazy was our player of the week. And he was really crazy.
Kyle Schwarber, 8/5-11: 33 PA, .346/.455/.885, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 18.2 BB%, 27.3 K%
Listen, is the race for National League MVP over? Probably. There could be a team campaign in September if their player decides to somehow take off, but basically Shohei Ohtani has already won the award. However, players like Schwarber can secure some votes on the lower ballots. This season, he’s become a more complete hitter, adding a few singles here and there and being less of a risk against left-handed pitchers. It won’t be enough to catapult him into the league’s top five, but it was a season he can be proud of.
Honorable Mention
Carlos Estevez: 2 G, 2 IP, 1 SV, 0.00 ERA (0.18 FIP). 33.3K%, 0.0BB%
Was the price of signing him high? Yes, it definitely was. As a pure loan, trading two pitching talents was a bit high, but so far in his Phillies career, Estevez has looked as good as it gets. He only made two appearances this week, but those two showed what the Phillies were looking for in signing him. When October finally arrives, the quartet of Estevez, Jeff Hoffman, Matt Strahm and Jose Alvarado looks pretty impressive.
Nick Castellanos: 28 PA, .391/.500/.609, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 10.7 BB%, 10.7 K%
We’ve already established that Castellanos has bounced back from his early-season mishaps, but he’s been a really good hitter for some time. He’s finally gotten his OPS over .700 for the season, which is nothing short of a miracle considering his May season, but consider this. The last time his batting average was below .200 was May 29. Since that date, he’s hit .286/.335/.504 with nine home runs and 36 RBI, which is good enough for a 136 wRC+ during that time frame. That’s pretty good.
