Positive September Signs

Several of the young players are having good months of September so far, perhaps giving us some hope for next year. John Buck and Jimmy Gobble had great Septembers last year, and that meant nothing for this season, so I suppose it could be meaningless as well. But, perhaps the players having good Septembers have made some progress.

Zack Greinke: Greinke is probably having the best September overall, especially considering how much he struggled throughout the middle part of the season. Greinke has a 2.96 ERA for the month of September and has a good K/BB ratio of 3. Greinke seemed to pitch better in August, but he was still giving up a lot of hits. If his sophomore slump is over, Greinke will be a solid league-average or better starter next year.

John Buck: Buck is having another solid September. Buck finished last season with 11 HRs in the last two months. Buck has a .910 OPS for September with 3 HRs. Without his slow start, Buck probably hit .250-260. So, hopefully Buck will be in that range next year with 15 HR power. With solid defense behind the plate, that will make Buck a solid catcher for us.

Mark Teahan: Teahan is hitting .276 and has an OPS of .780 for the month of September. Teahan’s plate discipline improved throughout the year. Teahan drew just 5 walks in April, May and June and walked 11 times in both July and August. Teahan has been a well-below average 3rd basemen offensively this year. But, he should improve and hopefully can become a 40-double hitter with 10-15 HR power. Otherwise, Mr. Gordon will gladly take his job.