Good June; Bad June: A Look at Individual Jays' Performance So Far This Month

In an idea shamelessly stolen from the Animaniacs "Good Idea; Bad Idea," I thought it'd be worth it to take a look at who is performing well (and who is not) this month, since season stats start to obscure monthly trends at about this point in the season. The month isn't over, of course, so things are subject to change.

Good June:  Scott Rolen is batting .389/.429/.542 this month with 2 home runs, 10 RBI, and spectacular defensive play UZR just can't figure out (they have him at just a tick over average).  He has been making highlight-reel plays on a daily basis and has been great at the plate.

Bad June: Rod Barajas has been cold.  The Cap'n is hitting just .210/.258/.419 this month.  Ouch, but not that far off his career numbers, really.

Good June:  Adam Lind is torching the ball this month, with a .354/.436/.695 line and more walks than strikeouts.  If he keeps up this pace, he'll finish with over 30 home runs and close to 50 doubles.

Bad June:  Aaron Hill has had a tough month, batting just .236/.289/.438.  With his power (5 HR this month), it's not awful production for a second baseman of his defensive aptitude, but that OBP is ugly and he can do better.  BABIP is of course playing a role, but Hill's approach, as good a hitter as he is, isn't without its flaws.

Mediocre June: Marco Scutaro returned to his career averages this month (or, at least, last year's numbers) with a .267/.354/.372 line.  He has still walked almost as much as he's struck out (12 to 13, respectively).  And with his stellar SS defense, it's still valuable play to the Jays, just not to the stratospheric levels of play he was achieving in April and May. 

Good June:  Lyle Overbay has had another very nice month in what is shaping up to be a very nice season - hitting .288/.449/.559.  He's slugged over .500 each month this year, so his power is back, and you have to love that eye at the plate.  Great stuff.

 

Bad June:  After a good May, Alex Rios has derailed a bit, batting just .244/.293/.407 this month.  That's 3 regulars with a sub-.300 OBP this month. 

Bad June:  Vernon Wells has picked it a lot recently, hitting in his last 9 games, but he started the month so terribly that the overall numbers are still ugly: .226/.283/.393.  Still, there's some room for optimism here, as he is crushing the ball recently - .342/.390/.605 over his last 8 games. 

Brutal June:  Kevin Millar was horrific this month, "hitting" .205/.300/.318 and actually making fans glad to see Russ Adams at designated hitter. 

 

Good June:  Scott Richmond has been steady as she goes, with a 0.95 Whip, 4.07 ERA, and 20 Ks to 7 walks over his 24 1/3 innings in 3 June starts and 2 June relief appearances. 

Good June:  Ricky Romero recovered from a couple of shaky starts after first returning from an oblique strain with an excellent month thusfar - 2.96 ERA, a 1.21 Whip, near a K an inning, and a touch below a 3/1 K/BB ratio. 

Mediocre June:  Two poor starts spoiled Brian Tallet's month a bit - but he still ended up with a 4.61 ERA and 1.32 Whip.  He's been consistently a touch below 2 Ks for every walk which isn't great, but not awful.

Bad June:  Brandon League had a great May but has had a really rough time of it in June, giving up 12 runs in 10 2/3 innings.  That said, he has a 6:1 K/BB ratio this month so he's been more unlucky than anything.  If you want proof, his FIP is actually below 4 this season. Doing this post convinced me that he'll come around.

 

Good June:  Shawn Camp has had an impressive month, racking up 16 (mostly low leverage) innings of 2.81 ERA ball and 13 Ks to 5 walks.  Interestingly, he hasn't had the trouble with lefties he had last year. 

Good June:  Jason Frasor has had a very fine month, pitching to a 1.29 ERA and 1.14 Whip over 7 innings, with 5 Ks and 2 walks. He has 1 save.

Bad June:  Jesse Carlson continued to struggle, giving up 8 runs (6 earned) in 9 innings and allowing a devastating .390 opposing batting average.  The 11/4 K/BB ratio over the 9 innings actually suggest he hasn't been that bad, so maybe he's just getting unlucky.  I haven't felt like that watching him though.

Good June:  Everyone's favourite (ok, my favourite) bridge pitcher (it sounds better than garbage-time-guy), Dirk appeared in 7 games in June, compiling a 1.00 ERA, 1.33 Whip, and 2/1 K/BB ratio.  He had 5 good appearances and 2 bad ones (in one of which he was lucky not to surrender a run). 

Injured June:  Roy Halladay was spinning a great month before a groin strain sidelined him, striking out 20 and walking 1 over 21 innings, with just a 0.95 Whip and 2.14 ERA.  That's right, a 20/1 K/BB ratio.  Doc's walk to win count:  12 walks, 10 wins. That's kind of like Joe Dimaggio almost having more career HRs than Ks (361 to 369), only even more ridiculous.

 

Injured June:  Scott Downs only made four June appearances before hurting his toe that fateful day, but they were gems - 1 hit and 2 walks over 4 1/3 innings, no runs, and 5 Ks. 

B.J. June:  I don't know how else to describe a month in which BJ Ryan has managed to walk 5 and strike out 3 6 2/3 innings, yet somehow finish with a respectable 1.35 Whip and not give up any runs.  The .174 opposing batting average probably explains it, but one can't expect that to continue.