I'm just echoing the concern for Rios.
Hillenbrand's performance this year... well, it's likely a fluke. I'm a Jays fan and I'll admit that. There's no evidence he should keep this up.
Rios on the other hand was EXPECTED to be incredibly good, and he's finally hit his potential. Unlike Swisher, he's not dramatically slowing down, either. His OPS of .971 in June is his worst month yet.
And thankfully my concerns about him he seems to be addressing. I knew he wasn't going to keep hitting .350, and when his average dropped, if he didn't learn how to take a walk, his production would drop too. His 2 walks in April turned into 11 in May and in the same number of PA as in May, he's on pace to have about 20 in June. 20 walks in a month isn't just adequate, that's phenomenal, especially out of a player who didn't walk at all going into this season.
So, his average in June is 100 points lower than in any other month. Yet he's kept up a high OPS through
a) Learning how to walk. Sample size or not, players who don't walk don't have months where they just randomly take 20 of them
b) Continued power. He already has 5 HR this month. We're halfway into June. That means it's quite possible he'll match his 2005 total of homeruns in ONE MONTH. All while learning how to take a walk.
Hillenbrand is a fluke. Few "hit their potential" at 31. But Rios deserves good ratings. I'll argue to the death over this one.
