2008's Surprise Successes

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So we're roughly 70 games into the season and the samples are big enough to no longer be pure flukes. Which hitter and pitcher in each league have really blown you away with their success so far?

 

Hitters

AL: Milton Bradley. Yeah, he played well for SD last year, has a track record of some success, and plays in a hitter's park. That said, the guy leads the AL in OBP and SLG.

NL: Ryan Ludwick. He has some good years under his belt, but nothing that would point to a 1.038 OPS.

Pitchers

AL: Shaun Marcum: Who? The guy who's beating his ace teammate in ERA by over .60. This one was actually hard, as Eveland, Saunders, Floyd, and Contreras are pretty impressive.

NL: Edinson Volquez: I heard the hype but he never looked to be a superstar in the making when I saw him pitch for Texas. A 1.63 ERA though 88 IP while pitching in Cincy is god-like. *Honorable mention to Ryan Dempster.

[GoudaBrew]

Nate McLouth - .293, 14 HRs, 46 RBI and add in 7 SBs. Who saw that coming?

[Fatter than Joey]

Josh Hamilton

[zzzmanwitz]

Cliff Lee

[Schlitz001]

Hitters:

AL - Carlos Quentin, started pelting the ball early in the season and really hasn't slowed down too much. He's a big reason for the White Sox success.

NL - Dan Uggla, I think I heard that he is on pace to have the most extra base hits for a second baseman since the 50's.

 

Pitchers:

NL: Brad Lidge, I really didn't think moving to Philly would help him at all.

AL: The Oakland A's entire pitiching staff. They have the lowest team ERA in the Majors right now with 3.35.