LF Rocky Kowalski (AUR)
He's hitting .190 through 10 games with only 1 home run. He actually hit extremely well in the spring, posting a .370 average and 1.020 OPS over 22 games. It seemed like he was ready to go. Instead, of his 8 hits during the regular season so far, he's got one double and one home run, but he has yet to draw a walk.
3B Kenkichi Daikawa (SCO)
Hitting even worse than Kowalskio, Daikawa is at .167 on the year with just 7 hits in 46 trips to the plate. He had a .079 average in the spring, getting 38 AB's, so this is actually an improvement on that. The Claymores are 9-4 to take an early lead in the Trans Atlantic, but their 50 home run slugger hasn't done much of anything yet. With the way Eric Nelson is hitting in the 3 hole, you can expect a lot of runs from Scottish this year.
RF Raúl Ortega (SS)
The 36 year old Ortega had an ugly spring hitting 3 home runs but not much else. It has carried over in the season now, where he's hitting .180 with no power at all. He had a strong year last year and looks like he should be able to still compete. Perhaps it just takes him longer as he ages.
CF Gordon Knopp (FLA)*
He's got a .704 OPS so far with only one extra base hit. It's the beginning of the end. Florida should've traded him when they had the chance!
![Dopey :-B](./images/smilies/dopey.gif)
SP Volmer Buscher (HAV)
Buscher has been extremely consistent the last 3 seasons and came into this year as the Leones' #2 starter. In 4 spring starts he was 2-0 with a 2.14 ERA and 22 K's to 5 BB's. The Claymores and Fishermen didn't care. They knocked him around to the tune of 2 losses and 9 runs allowed. That second start against Gloucester, however, suggested he was just left in the game a bit long. He gave up 3 early runs in the 1st inning, but settled in after that to throw up zeroes until the 8th.
SP Armando López (HAR)
Everyone knows that Hartford has a good top of the rotation, but the starting staff is actually quite deep. López is their #4 starter and last year went 5-5... wait, 5-5, really? Yes... you see he just doesn't go deep into games. He averaged less than 5 innings per start, but he posted a 2.58 ERA, 159 ERA+ and 3.4 WAR. That's quite good. This year, he's on pace for 0.0 WAR. That said, his actual results haven't been terrible, his ERA is 3.38 which is only slightly higher than his career average. That said, his FIP is 5.74. He's given up 2 home runs, 3 walks, and 8 hits in just 8 innings. Whether the Harpoons make the postseason will largely be dependent on if they can get the back of the rotation to perform well.
SP Yvon Fortier (FAR)
Fortier isn't exactly a household name, but he was solidly good for Fargo last year, going 11-12 with a 4.19 ERA for the last place Dinosaurs. A step forward may have been hoped for, but so far he's been roughed up in both his starts. Lasting less than 4 innings in each, the Malts and Badgers scored a combined 11 runs off of him.
* We get our first taste of Florida in May. And we have to go there. On Friday the 13th. Seriously?