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Hot
Miguel Velazquez, BAK: When Bakersfield lost Engel Beltre to promotion, their offense could've taken a hit, but Velazquez was added to the roster and got off to a great start. Four of his eight games with the Blaze have been multi hit games, and he already has a couple home runs. Velazquez missed all of 2008, but he came back and played very well in 2009 and halfway through 2010. His plate approach needs some work, but he showed with Hickory that he can be a pretty efficient base stealer.
Dennis Raben, HD: Raben is not new to the hot list, and I wonder how much longer he's going to remain a Maverick. I don't want to use this space to criticize him, but one thing to keep an eye on is his home/road split, as is the case with every High Desert player. All 10 of his home runs have come at home, and his plate approach has been much better too. Nevertheless, Raben has been hitting over .400 since the break, and he is clearly recovering nicely from his injury.
Jaff Decker, LE: I have to be fair, and if I'm going to point out when Decker struggles every chance I get, I have to point out that he's had a great second half so far. He's still striking out to much, but the plate discipline he showed last year with Fort Wayne is starting to resurface. Decker already has more RBI than he had in the first half, and he's just one extra base short of his first half total too. If he just needed time to recover from his hamstring injury, he needs to perform in the second half, and he's off to a good start.
Paul Goldschmidt, VIS: He still strikes out too much, but Goldschmidt's power so far in the second half cannot be denied. Goldschmidt has 20 hits in 15 second half games, and nine of them are home runs. Of course, he has also already added 20 strikeouts to his season total, but a .862 second half slugging percentage is hard to argue with. A number of his home runs have been solo, but his recent hot stretch has him close to the top of the minor league home run leaderboard.
Marc Krauss, VIS: After going through an extended slump in May, Krauss bounced back with an improved June and in the early going, a great July. Krauss already has 32 second half hits, seven of which are home runs to double his season total. His batting average falls a little bit short of .500, and he's slugging over .900. Those are obviously unsustainable, but Krauss has been one of the best hitters in baseball over the last couple weeks. If I wanted to nitpick, I would say he needs to take some more walks.
Not hot
Rich Poythress, HD: I was a bit unsure of Poythress being named to the Cal League All Star team, and he hasn't had a very good start to the second half. Poythress is hitting under .200 and has just two walks in 54 AB. His July hasn't been bad so far, showing some power but not putting the ball in play. His OBP has dropped each month, although his walk rate is still pretty good. He only has eight hits in his last 10 games and has eight strikeouts in his last 40 AB.
Pedro Baez, IE: It's been a difficult year for everyone with the 66ers, and Baez has battled injuries and hasn't been able to continue his strong start. Baez only has two extra base hits since the break and hasn't had a good plate approach at all. He's still working his way back from an injury, and the Dodgers hope that with consistent at bats he can regain the form he had in April. He has no extra base hits in his last 10 games, and teams generally expect more power than that from a corner position.
Jay Austin, LAN: Austin was incredibly hot to start the season, but he has really struggled since. Austin is only hitting .217 since the All Star break and only has six hits in his last ten games. He's one of the league's better basestealers, but his plate approach hasn't improved at all. Lancaster has one of the most hitter-friendly stadiums in baseball, and for some reason, Austin hasn't been able to take advantage. He only has three home runs at home, and after hitting four total in May, only has two since.
Rossmel Perez, VIS: Perez hit .306 in April, but it was a pretty empty .306 with no real power. His OPS in May was good, but since then Perez has really struggled. His OPS in the second half is an ugly .422 and even worse in his last 10 games. Perez only has four hits in that span and hasn't hit for power at all. In May, he showed he can have a decent plate approach, and since he showed he can succeed once, he can certainly do it again after he comes out of this slump.
Moving on
Jason Christian, STO: After spending most of the season on the DL, Christian was sent to extended spring training to rehab...
Drew Cumberland, LE: After the All Star Game, Cumberland reported to AA San Antonio for a well deserved promotion...
Engel Beltre, BAK: Beltre repeated the Cal League this year, and he showed an improvement to earn a promotion...
Alexi Amarista, RC: Amarista was originally assigned to AAA Salt Lake, but he was quickly sent to AA Arkansas...
Brandon Belt, SJ: Belt was promoted to AA Richmond a month or two too late...
On the radar
Stephen Parker, STO
Charlie Culberson, SJ
Jimmy Cesario, MOD
Thomas Field, MOD
Albert Cartwright, LAN
Travis Denker, IE
John Whittleman, BAK
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