5 MLB Hitters Quietly Having a Tremendous Start to the Second Half
Chris Taylor, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers
Pop quiz: Who leads the MLB so far in the second half with a 279 wRC+ and a .597 wOBA? If you didn't say Chris Taylor from the Los Angeles Dodgers, then I'm not really sure what to tell you since you're probably also staring at his picture.
Even with the injuries they've had to deal with -- Clayton Kershaw being the most recent victim -- it's clear that the Dodgers are the deepest team in baseball. They're the first team to reach the 70-win plateau, and despite having two other teams in the NL West with winning percentages above .569, the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies are both 12.5 games behind Los Angeles.
The Dodgers have been so good this year because they've gotten contributions from all areas of their roster, including some unexpected places, i.e., Taylor. He's been great all season in Hollywood, but has taken things up a notch since returning from the All-Star break.
Through his last 45 plate appearances, he's slashing .523/.533/.909, producing an Isolated Power (ISO) of .386 despite hitting just 2 home runs. He's obviously due for a little regression -- sustaining that kind of performance is basically impossible, but even more when considering he has a 2.2% walk rate and has posted a .656 BABIP -- which is the highest in baseball by 100 points during that time.
It's not like he hasn't earned this hot start, though. Taylor has managed to post an identical 35.3% mark in line-drive rate, fly-ball rate, and hard-hit rate.
