White Sox rookie first baseman Jose Abreu came to major league baseball with some hype, as many Cubans do, but there wasnt any

White Sox rookie first baseman Jose Abreu came to major league baseball with some hype, as many Cubans do, but there wasnt any expectation for the kind of first month that hes enjoying. Mikal Bridges Jersey . 27-years-old with a power-hitters build (listed at 6-foot-3, 255 pounds), Abreu has roared into the majors, with 10 home runs, 31 RBI, a .262 batting average and .962 OPS in his first 26 games. As with any one-month sample, these numbers arent sustainable, but what is fair to expect from Abreu? For one thing, his batting average on balls in play is .246, which is well below average, so it would be fair to expect his batting average to go up as a few more balls fall in, but hes also had a major-league best 33.3% of his flyballs leave the park, which isnt going to hold. Over the past five seasons, there have been two seasons in which a player finished with more than 27% of his flyballs turning into home runs -- Adam Dunn in 2012 (29.3%) and Chris Davis in 2013 (29.6%) -- so Abreu is most likely to fall off his current 62-home run pace. No, seriously. What will bear watching with Abreu is how pitchers adjust to him as he makes his way through the league. He swings at a lot of pitches out of the strike zone and hes already seeing among thelowest percentage of strikes when hes at the plate, so pitchers are learning. Its also interesting to note that, thus far, while Abreu destroys fastballs and sliders, hes struggled with change-ups. If thats the scouting report, surely hell start seeing more change-ups, if just to affect his timing. At this point, 14.5% of the pitches Abreu has faced have been change-ups; it will be interesting to see if that number increases over the next month or more. None of this anticipated regression should come as a surprise, merely as a caution. Baseball tends to catch up to sluggers, especially ones that are willing to expand their strike zone by swinging freely. GOOD ADDS (available in at least 40% of TSN leagues) Nick Castellanos, 3B, Detroit - 3 HR, 13 RBI, .258 AVG, 7 R, 66 AB (Available: 71.6%) Dioner Navarro, C, Toronto - 1 HR, 14 RBI, .309 AVG, 11 R, 81 AB (Available: 89.6%) Alberto Callaspo, 3B/2B, Oakland - 3 HR, 13 RBI, .272 AVG, 9 R, 81 AB (Available: 74.6%) Casey McGehee, 3B, Miami - 0 HR, 16 RBI, .287 AVG, 5 R, 94 AB (Available: 75.8%) Dillon Gee, RHP, N.Y. Mets - 2-1, 2.88 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 27 K, 40 2/3 IP (Available: 65.7%) Ian Kennedy, RHP, San Diego - 2-3, 3.16 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 37 K, 37 IP (Available: 76.2%) CLOSER NOTES The Angels have demoted Ernesto Frieri, leaving side-arming veteran Joe Smith for the role. Smith, 30, recorded the first three saves of his career last season for Cleveland. While hes not the classic fire-balling closer, Smith has managed to miss bats this year, striking out 11 in 10 innings, the best rate of his career. Pirates closer Jason Grilli is on the DL with a strained oblique. Mark Melancon, who has 37 career saves, takes over. Melancon has been really good for the Pirates over the past couple seasons, posting a 1.41 ERA and 0.92 WHIP in 84 games, striking out 79 in 83 innings. If the Pirates are in position to win games, Melancon is qualified to close them out. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Phoenix Suns Pro Shop . -- Maple Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf has been suspended two games for his hit from behind on Kevan Miller of the Bruins. Mike Bantom Jersey . -- The Los Angeles Clippers chose not to speak publicly about owner Donald Sterling before they faced the Golden State Warriors for Game 4 of their first-round series Sunday. https://www.cheapsunsonline.com/249z-connie-hawkins-jersey-suns.html . -- Cordell Cato scored his first goal of the season and the San Jose Earthquakes survived a full half playing a man down to beat FC Dallas 2-1 Saturday night. LOS ANGELES -- Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar scored power-play goals, Jonathan Quick made 17 saves in his sixth shutout of the season, and the Los Angeles Kings clinched a playoff spot with a 4-0 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Wednesday night. Kopitar, Jeff Carter and rookie Tanner Pearson each had a goal and an assist for the surging Kings, who have all but locked up third place in the Pacific Division and a first-round post-season matchup with California rivals San Jose or Anaheim. Thomas Greiss stopped 28 shots for the Coyotes, whose playoff hopes have been hurt by three straight losses. Phoenix and Dallas are even in eighth place in the Western Conference with 85 points apiece, but the Stars have seven games still to play -- two more than the Coyotes. Phoenix hadnt been shut out since a 2-0 loss to Columbus on Jan. 2, but the Coyotes managed few good chances against Quick and the Kings formidable defence. Quicks shutout was the 31st of his career, leaving him one shy of tying Rogie Vachons franchise record. Quick, whose six shutouts are second-most in the NHL behind Bostons Tuukka Rask, passed Vachon to become the winningest goalie in Kings history last month. Pearson scored his third career goal and Alec Martinez had two assists for the Kings, who had lost three straight to Phoenix. Los Angeles has been outstanding since the Olympic break, winning 14 of 18 on the way to its fifth consecutive playoff berth. The Kings have won seven of eight oover the past two weeks, solidifying their post-season plans after a prolonged skid before the break. Devin Booker Jersey. . Los Angeles took the lead just 1:20 after the opening faceoff when Jeff Carter feathered a beautiful cross-ice pass to Pearson, who dropped to one knee to take the shot. Pearson, the Kings first-round pick in 2012, has earned a regular lineup spot after just 22 games in his rookie season. Doughty scored early in the second period, putting a shot behind Carters moving screen. The two-time, gold medal-winning defenceman played an outstanding two-way game, passing and shooting with the formidable skill showcased while playing for Canada in Sochi. Carter scored on an end-to-end rush midway through the third period, forcing a turnover and blowing a shot past Greiss. Kopitar scored his 25th goal of the season 40 seconds later on a vicious one-timer, giving the Slovenian centre six 25-goal seasons in his career. Los Angeles (45-26-6) needs one more victory to match the franchise record of 46, done three times previously. The Kings, who have won eight straight road games, visit the Shark Tank on Thursday night to open a four-game trip. NOTES: C Martin Hanzal went to the Phoenix dressing room for several minutes in the first period after getting hurt by an elbow from Jordan Nolan, who received a minor penalty. ... Martinez has 14 points in his last 16 games. ... Greiss made his fifth straight start in place of Mike Smith, who has an injured right knee. ' ' '