Through 41 games Miguel Cabrera has torn the cover off the ball. He is currently posting a line of .370/.439/.597 with 9 homeruns and 33 RBI. He's shown in the past that he can be a .300 hitter with 30 homeruns, but can he take his production to the next level and truly become a once-in-a-generation type of hitter?
Let's start with the bad news. His ridiculously high '09 batting average is mostly a product of his .387 BABIP which should regress at least to his .352 career mark, maybe lower. That's it for the bad news.
On the sunny side, Cabrera's batting average has been somewhat hindered by a 50% groundball rate, which is almost 10% higher than his career rate. His K/BB rate is the highest of his career at .89 which shows a more mature approach at the plate than in past years. His homerun/flyball rate is right in line with his career numbers at 19.5%. In 2008, he led the American League with 37 homeruns and finished 3rd with 127 RBI despite a rough first-half numbers largely due to a tough adjustment to his new team and league.
Now 26 years old, Cabrera is just entering his prime and superior peripheral stats suggest he can make a serious run at the triple-crown in 2009 and for years afterward.
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