Lee's resurgence

[inari]

Derrek Lee has suddenly remembered how to hit, it seems.

 

After many cries for him to be benched in favor of Micah Hoffpauir, Lee has finally started swinging the bat. He's got his OPS up near .800 now. It's not great at all, but he's certainly come a long way since his awful start. He's had a 1.002 OPS after having one below .600 in April and March.

 

So, what do we expect from here on out? I think the obvious answer is somewhere in between. Does that leave us with a decent .820-.840 OPS player? I certainly wouldn't mind that, after all the fears that he was going to continue being a black hole all year.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Historically, Derrek has always heated up in June, pretty much up until 2005.

[dew1679666265]

Historically, Derrek has always heated up in June, pretty much up until 2005.

 

His June numbers have actually not been that out of line with the rest of his months. If anything, he's hit the ball better in April than most months.

 

For Lee, I think, injuries may be the only thing that keeps him from being productive. He started off very slowly this year and he had a neck issue. Once that healed, he started producing at a high rate - and still is.

 

If he can remain healthy the rest of the way (risky proposition, I understand), I think a good midway point between the last two years (maybe roughly an .840-.860 OPS) is a reasonable expectation.

[Three Finger]

I don't expect Derrek to win another batting title, but the .820-.840 OPS assessment sounds about right. We're better off at first base than a lot of teams, with that OPS and three gold gloves.