Generally, we are the "authors" of "content" around here - "here" being a blog and not a message board. Recognize, we do, that you've come here not to contribute, but to consume. Nevertheless, there is the sporadic occasion where, either for our benefit or for to exercise the thinkifiers of the masses, we ask you a question. Today's question is ...
Who is the most surprising player so far on the baseball roster?
Candidates abound, for sure.
Maybe it's David Phillips, whose four home runs in the first two weeks set a torrid pace. Phillips has come back down to Earth, a bit, but still sports a healthy .529 slugging percentage. His 29 strikeouts lead the team and his .282 batting average is nothing to write home about, but Phillips has been a contributor. Last season, he was a major liability - a .300-ish batter that never got big extra base hits. Now, he leads the team in doubles and home runs. For Bianco apologists, it's nice to see Phillips come around.
What about Alex Yarbrough? A freshman that is second on the team in batting average, fielding respectably at .969, and has two triples on the year.
My MVP, thus far, (and with apologies to Drew Pomeranz) is Tim Ferguson, whose .350 batting average reflects a team leading 103 at bats and 36 hits (3 of them home runs). And, of course, there are those 14 stolen bases (he's perfect for the year). Many of us saw this season come from Ferguson, even though he split time with Evan Button last year (I guess this is coming as a surprise to someone).
The other big surprise is from our Saturday starter Aaron Barrett with his spotless 6-0 record. His 38 innings pitched leads the team. And his 2.13 ERA would have us all worshiping him more, if Drew Pomeranz did not exist, and, therefore, by definition be dominant.
My pick is David Phillips. I expected Phillips to be the weakest link in an outfield that I did not expect much out of, anyway. Instead, he is a nice compliment of power to high-percentage hitters like Tanner Mathis and Tim Ferguson (though, as a pointed out above, Ferg has plenty of pop, himself). From the last time we saw him in 2009 blowing the series against Virginia to his super-smashing opening weekend, something has clicked for Phillips.