It Could Be Worse: Nick Markakis

After a couple seasons of calling for a breakout season for Nick Markakis, it appears that the upswing in his offensive numbers may never happen. I was never one to think that Nick's line drive swing would develop into  30 home run power but I thought he would hit .300 with 20-25 homers and a great on base percentage and that his OPS would hover around .900 for his peak years.

Alas, it appears that Nick will not become "Enos Slaughter of the New Millennium" as I had hoped. But that doesn't mean that there's not a lot to like.

As of this morning .300/.390/.426. That good for a .360 wOBA which is good for a top 30 wOBA in the AL, even with the diminished power. And although his fielding is not what it once was, it's way better (so far) than it was last year.

There is concern about Markakis' diminished power but he leads the AL in doubles and a few of those are going to start going over the fence. ZIPS agrees and projects .297/.372/.464 with 10 homers and 25 doubles for the rest of the season.

There is not much to like about this season but Nick Markakis is still a reason to go to the park.

And while he looks to be more Brian Roberts than Ellis Burks at the plate, he's still a nice player to have on your team.