Hitter Rankings: An unexpected switch in the top five
Stats shown are those accumulated for the week consisting of April 23-April 29.
13. Adam Kennedy: 0-for-3 (.000)
When will the Dodgers DFA this Garret Anderson look-alike. It’s time to lay off the ex-Halos in this writer’s opinion.
12. Matt Treanor: 1-for-3 (.333)
11. Justin Sellers: 1-for-3 (.333)
10. Juan Rivera: 2-for-7 (.286)
He homered in time to defend his case against DodgersNation, but promptly got injured.
9. Tony Gwynn, Jr.: 3-for-14 (.214)
8. Dee Gordon: 4-for-22 (.182), 2-for-3 stolen base attempts
The Dodgers need more out of Dee. Without a table setter putting pressure, Kemp and Ethier’s power is limited.
7. James Loney: 5-for-20 (.250)
He’s coming around, and has secured more at-bats versus lefties, having not liked a platoon situation. If confidence is what James needs, he was just given an insurmountable quantity of it.
6. Mark Ellis: 4-for-20 (.200)
5. Jerry Hairston, Jr.: 3-for-11 (.273)
I would not be opposed to seeing more of Hairston, who has made a believe in me. It seems as if he is always doing something positive on defense for the Dodgers. He sees lots of pitches at the plate, making him an attractive option in front of Kemp should it ever be needed.
4. Juan Uribe: 7-for-21 (.333)
Juan did this against stellar pitching this week, an achievement worth lots of applause. If he could keep this up, I just might stop by chants for a new third baseman. But why get ahead of myself, this is still the same Juan Uribe that I’ve been getting my hopes up about for a year. It is encouraging to see that somebody not named Matt Kemp led the team with five RBIs this week.
3. Andre Ethier: 6-for-22 (.273)
Nine strikeouts this week made up for 23 percent of the team’s output. Not good for Andre, but he should bounce back with much force at Coors Field this upcoming week. He added a clutch home run on Friday night that allowed the Dodgers to seal the deal against the Nationals.
2. A.J. Ellis: 7-for-16 (.438)
Notice how there hasn’t been any rumblings about the Dodgers trading for a catcher? That’s because A.J. Ellis is delivering. Quietly, Ellis has put together a .288 batting average, and was pivotal this week, driving in three runs, and making contact when he was needed. A.J. also walked three times, boosting his OBP to .439 for the season.
1. Matt Kemp: 7-for-20 (.350)
Were you expecting somebody else? The walk-off home run from Saturday night alone would merit Kemp this top spot for a fourth consecutive week. Kemp tied with A.J. Ellis and Juan Uribe for the team-lead with seven hits this week, and smashed two home runs, including the aforementioned walk-off. Both home runs were solo shots, and the only RBIs of the week for Kemp. He added two walks, and swiped a bag in a sole attempt. Kemp continues to do it all for the Dodgers despite already having signed that massive contract, good news for Dodger fans.