Down the Stretch: The Top Designated Hitters of 2010

Luke Scott has had a career season. Vladimir Guerrero has made a fantastic comeback despite a streaky season. Jim Thome is still a huge threat at the plate and David Ortiz has dared the Red Sox not to re-sign him.

Name	Team	BB%	K%	AVG	OBP	SLG	ISO	BABIP	wOBA
Jim Thome	Twins	17.20%	30.90%	0.269	0.396	0.583	0.314	0.309	0.415
Luke Scott	Orioles	8.90%	21.80%	0.295	0.357	0.584	0.289	0.309	0.399
David Ortiz	Red Sox	14.10%	30.00%	0.267	0.371	0.544	0.277	0.31	0.385
Marcus Thames	Yankees	11.40%	29.90%	0.313	0.399	0.463	0.149	0.402	0.38
Jack Cust	Athletics	16.20%	38.00%	0.271	0.392	0.45	0.179	0.388	0.374
Jorge Posada	Yankees	13.00%	23.30%	0.26	0.365	0.477	0.217	0.287	0.37
Travis Hafner	Indians	10.80%	25.00%	0.271	0.37	0.435	0.164	0.325	0.356
Vladimir Guerrero	Rangers	6.00%	11.30%	0.296	0.344	0.488	0.192	0.292	0.355
Pat Burrell	- - -	12.70%	28.50%	0.253	0.346	0.466	0.213	0.296	0.347
Russell Branyan	- - -	10.90%	33.10%	0.237	0.324	0.478	0.241	0.286	0.347
Johnny Damon	Tigers	11.70%	17.50%	0.273	0.361	0.409	0.136	0.316	0.346
Hideki Matsui	Angels	10.80%	21.70%	0.262	0.341	0.433	0.171	0.294	0.338
Jason Kubel	Twins	10.30%	22.70%	0.258	0.335	0.446	0.189	0.289	0.337
Jose Guillen	- - -	5.80%	20.90%	0.263	0.317	0.434	0.171	0.292	0.328
Shelley Duncan	Indians	9.70%	36.70%	0.223	0.306	0.398	0.175	0.306	0.309
Adam Lind	Blue Jays	7.20%	26.10%	0.234	0.292	0.408	0.174	0.278	0.305
Mike Lowell	Red Sox	9.90%	14.60%	0.229	0.304	0.375	0.146	0.242	0.3
Mark Kotsay	White Sox	9.60%	11.00%	0.233	0.307	0.382	0.148	0.238	0.3
Willy Aybar	Rays	9.50%	21.90%	0.24	0.313	0.361	0.12	0.283	0.3
Milton Bradley	Mariners	10.10%	30.70%	0.205	0.292	0.348	0.143	0.258	0.289
Jake Fox	- - -	4.70%	27.00%	0.22	0.265	0.384	0.164	0.261	0.284

Orioles Prospect Josh Bell Gets the Call

Third baseman Josh Bell has been recalled from Triple-A Norfolk and will be activated by the Orioles in time for Thursday night's game. He will bat seventh and man third base. The Orioles needed a bat with Luke Scott being placed on the disabled list with a strained hamstring.

I like Bell a lot as a prospect and believe he will eventually be a productive major league player. However, he was not exactly tearing up Triple-A. He was batting .266 for Norfolk with 10 homers and 44 RBIs in 74 games this season. He should be owned in all AL-only leagues and large mixed leagues with deep rosters should be aware.

This is what I wrote about Bell before the 2010 season started:

Josh Bell became an Oriole via the Los Angeles Dodgers by being the primary return in the George Sherrill trade. There is a strong possibility that he begins the 2010 season as the starting third baseman. Oddly, it seems his development as a switch hitter is going to be a major factor in the decision. Bell is extremely good from the left side of the plate facing right-handed pitchers. According to minorleaguesplits.com, Josh Bell hit .340 with 19 homers in 315 at-bats as a left-handed hitter, and .198 with one homer in 131 at-bats as a right-handed hitter in 2009. Most reports say his mechanics are fine from both sides of the plate though ESPN’s Jason Grey has said he can “get a little big” swinging from his heels on the right-handed side.

There are those that believe that Bell should abandon switch-hitting and become a left-handed batter. This is the possibility most likely to send Bell to the minors (assuming he has a strong spring and the Orioles do not make a huge move to fill the position). In this scenario, the Orioles would be unlikely to allow Bell to adjust to seeing left-handed pitching from the left side in the majors. Fortunately, those closest to the Orioles believe they are happy with Bell as he is and want to see him continue to switch hit. The belief there (and here) is that Bell can develop enough as a hitter from the right side to be an asset.

Josh Bell just became more dangerous as the season and the post season passed. He was a monster in the AFL. He posted an Isolated Power of .281 (for reference Alex Rodriguez has a career ISO of .271) after the trade, during 114 at-bats at double-A for the Orioles. On the season, he slashed .297/.370/.538 with 35 doubles, 2 triples, 20 homeruns. He also received a very favorable projection from theThe Bill James Handbook 2010. He probably will not be much of a sleeper come draft season but he is an incredibly talented prospect that is worthy of fantasy attention even as a rookie.

Moving Up: Nolan Reimold

Most reports out of Baltimore are suggesting that outfielder Luke Scott is about to be placed on the disabled list. Scott was scheduled to have an MRI today on his injured left shoulder. Most of the Maryland media is in agreement that the result will see Scott on the disabled list very soon. The fondest wish of Orioles fans and Fantasy Baseball owners is that Nolan Reimold will be called up to replace him.

Reimold is an interesting prospect. He has suffered through a variety of injury problems that slowed his movement up the ladder and caused some to doubt his ability to become an impact minor leaguer. The 2009 Baseball America Prospect Handbook describes Reimold as someone who "... crushes mistakes and should be an average overall hitter..." He is better than that. His power is very good and he has improved a lot as a contact hitter over the last two seasons. I expect him to eventually hit for a decent average (in the .275-.285 range) and for 30-plus homers in a full season of at-bats.

Judging by his amazing start at triple-A, he could very well hit that projection by mid-July. On the strength of this start, fantasy owners everywhere are just waiting to pounce. I recommend that you be among them. As I'll say about every call-up, I expect Reimold to have his ups and downs this season but overall he should be worth owning in AL-leagues and deeper mixed leagues.

Season	Team	BB%	K%	OBP	SLG	OPS	ISO	Spd	BABIP	wOBA
2006	Orioles (A+)	15.50%	25.80%	0.379	0.455	0.834	0.200	3.8	0.301	0.379
2007	Orioles (R)	16.70%	13.30%	0.410	0.433	0.844	0.200	3.9	0.269	0.406
2007	Orioles (AA)	8.40%	25.30%	0.365	0.565	0.929	0.258	2.5	0.359	0.401
2008	Orioles (AA)	11.10%	16.20%	0.367	0.501	0.868	0.217	4.4	0.298	0.384
2009	CHONE	8.50%	22.90%	0.320	0.418	0.738	0.165	4.4	0.296	0.325
2009	Oliver	9.40%	21.40%	0.333	0.462	0.795	0.203		0.289	0.344
2009	ZiPS	8.10%	16.50%	0.338	0.462	0.800	0.184	3.6	0.296	0.348
2009	Orioles (AAA)	14.40%	20.80%	0.479	0.713	1.192	0.327	3.3	0.431	0.514