Out of the Gate

More than any other sport, baseball can be a streaky game as far as stats go.  The ebbs and flows of a season are very normal, and, in the end, most players put up numbers that were in the vicinity of what was projected of them at the beginning of the season.  Some of these streaks certainly warrant our attention though.  Today, let's focus on the guys who consistently start slower than they finish.

To be short, you don't want to draft a slow starter.

Think about it.  If you have a good idea that a guy is going to be sluggish in April and May, you are picking a player in an auction or draft who is going to lose value immediatley after you take him.  Why would you want to draft someone who is about to head into a prolonged slump?  Sure, the numbers look the same at the end of the year, but, how many times are you so sick of a guy after two months of underperformance that you want to jettison him regardless of his likelihood to heat up?  I see people selling slow starters in June and July in leagues EVERY YEAR.  Why draft them then?

And yes, I think the same way about guys who start fast.  Why not pick up some guys in the draft that are going to go up in value immediately?  Think Justin Morneau and Ian Kinsler.

With that said...here are some guys who have a history of slow starts, and did the deed again in 2009.  It's worth noting that Johan is a historical slow starter too, but he was great in April and May in 2009.  Also, Rafael Furcal used to be notorious for not showing up until Memorial Day, but he has been more consistent over the last couple of years.

Slow Starters

T. Tulowitzki -- Always starts slow. .200 in April, .240 in May in '09 with five HR in the two months combined.
M. Teixeira -- .200 BA in April last year.  Got cookin' faster than usual though in May.
R. Howard -- The prototype guy to deal for in June.  Last year only differed because he had a decent April before crashing in May and June.  April usually is slow too.
I. Suzuki -- Like Pedroia, Ichiro only hits under .300 in April.
D. Pedroia -- Career .271 in April, which is his only month under .300.  Only two HR on June 30 in 2009.
CC Sabathia -- 5.03 April ERA for 2007-2009.  One April win in '09.
D. Lee -- Broke out of this trend for one year in 2005, but form held in 2009.  Lee was hitting just .248 with 5 (of his eventual 35) HR on May 31.
R. Nolasco -- Just horrendous in April and May for his career, ERA was 9.07 on May 22 last year.
A. Beltre -- He's hitting under .250 in April and May for the 2007-2009 period.

Did I miss anyone?

UPDATE:  Yes, I did.  Adam LaRoche.

Cheers,
TFAM