Final Prediction Check In

Let’s wrap this series of awful predictions I made with the NL Players to Watch:

NL East:
Jayson Werth: Again, Werth is having a fine season. His wOBA is at .377, just five points of the .382 mark he put in ’08 and ’09. He was kind of semi-close to being a Yankee during the whole Cliff Lee saga, and I’ve mentioned him as a possible free agent addition before.

Ricky Nolasco: Some of his peripherals are worse than last year, but he’s lowered his ERA quite a bit. He’s still having a solid season for the Fish with a 3.84 xFIP.

Melky Cabrera: I thought Melky could really blossom in the National League, but it’s not to be. He’s actually regressed with a .297 wOBA and an 82 wRC+. His walk rate is slightly down, his strikeout rate is slightly up, and his IsoP (.082) is way down from last year (.142). Wither Melky, eh Ben?

David Wright: Remember a few months ago when everyone was bitching and moaning about Wright’s strikeouts. Guess they’ve got egg on their faces now, huh? Right now, he’s got a .396 wOBA and has been worth 4.1 WAR. Let haters hate, Dave.

Ryan Zimmerman: Zimmerman is having a career year. He’s on pace for career highs in AVG/OBP/SLG/OPS/wOBA/wRC+. Note to everyone: this dude’s really good at baseball.

NL Central:
Colby Rasmus: Rasmus is building off of an okay rookie showing with a .390 wOBA and an impressive .261 IsoP. The youngster from the Cardinals should be turning some heads. In a few years, he could be one of the best CFs in the game.

Xavier Nady: Coming off of his second Tommy John Surgery, Nady’s played in 62 games this year and has not impressed. His wOBA sits at only .288 and a 5.8% walk rate is unacceptable, especially with a strikeout rate of 26.8%.

Alcides Escobar: Escobar’s been average in the field (0.3 UZR/150) and bad at the plate (.280 wOBA) and despite his speed, he’s got only seven steals.

Joey Votto: MVP of the NL with a 4.2 WAR, he’s got a .433 wOBA and has played a great first base thus far. Don’t I look smart?

Lance Berkman: Meh. Not having a Berkman-like-year, but anything looks great in that lineup hi Houston.

Andrew McCutchen: McCutchen (.357 wOBA) isn’t quite matching what he did last year (.360), but he’s still having a fine year in one of baseball’s purgatory.

NL West:
Clayton Kershaw: Strikeouts are up. Walks are down. xFIP is down. Way to make me look smart, Clayton.

Troy Tulowitzki: Injured, but good numbers anyway. He hasn’t played since mid-June, but up to that point, he was wOBAing .385 and flashing the trademark leather. Get better soon, Troy. You’re real fun to watch.

IPK! IPK!: Scuffling of late, Kennedy’s still got good numbers. He’s got a 4.12 ERA and 4.31 xFIP. If he brings down the homers (1.54/9), he could look even better with a K/9 of over eight.

Mat Latos: Though he spells “Matt” wrong, he’s still having a great year for the surprising Padres: 8.35 K/9, 2.36 BB/9, 0.76 HR/9, 2.45 ERA/3.20 FIP/3.52 xFIP/2.1 WAR. Another one making me look smart.

Jonathan Sanchez: Sanchez is again pitching well while going under the radar. The 4.30 xFIP isn’t fantastic, but he’s still got a good 3.47 ERA and is striking out 9.03 per nine.

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