Each year in baseball, we notice a number of stars whose April/May numbers are nothing short of disappointing. For some players, it is alarming. Primarily in regards to aging veterans, where fans and media wonder: are they done as a player? This type of scrutiny can just lend to increased pressure on the ballplayer in question, leading him to press,  and continue to struggle as a result. For other players, the guys who are still relatively young (in baseball terms), yet have been around long enough to establish themselves as a steady player, if not a star, it can be somewhat nerve racking for the fans. We ask: What’s wrong? Are they hurt? When will they come around? The questions continue, until the guys start smoking like we know they’re capable, then all seems right with the world.

Here are a few players in 2008 to keep an eye on. By any rational calculations, they should start raking, or dealing, any day now:

Carlos Beltran, NY Mets: Beltran is off to a very poor start in 2008. As the clean-up hitter for the Mets, Beltran is batting just .210 with only 3 HR. We must remember, he did indeed miss weeks of spring training due to his “knee issues”. Aside from the fact that Carlos Delgado, who has had struggles of his own, has not offered Beltran much protection. There is a good sign, here. Despite hitting a pathetic .210, Beltran’s on-base percentage continues to hover around .370 (25 walks). This means he’s seeing the ball well. With Moises Alou returning as the team’s # 5 hitter, look for Beltran to start getting more pitches to hit.

Travis Hafner, CLE Indians: The slugging first baseman for the Cleveland Indians is hitting .209 thus far. He, too, only has 3 HR, driving in 17 RBI. There may be a little more cause for concern with Hafner, as he has had some lingering shoulder soreness. ESPN Baseball Tonight’s crew broke down hafner’s swing, recently, and noticed some differences between this year and last. If the shoulder was that bad, I’d expect the Indians to give him a bit more rest (unless he is not telling anyone, of course), but he’s in there every day. Hafner is too good (four straight 100+ RBI seasons) to slump much longer.

Robinson Cano, NY Yankees: You can file Cano under the “notoriously slow starter” category. He seems to get off to that “iffy” start, only to rebound and put up nasty numbers from the second base position. This year’s slump seems to be lasting longer than usual (he rebounded to hit .270 last April). He’s currently hitting just .154, with 3 HR and 8 RBI. He’sproven he’s too good for this to continue much longer. He’s most likely pressing, and trying way too hard to snap out of the slump. He hit a homer in yesterday’s win over the Seattle Mariners, so this could be a sign of good things to come.

David Ortiz, BOS Red Sox: Ortiz is already on the road to “recovery”, as he’s been hitting the ball again the last few weeks with authority, raising his average to .216. Even with marginal production from Ortiz, he still has 5 HR and 26 RBI. Not too shabby, considering he could not buy a base hit the first few weeks of the season.

Roy Oswalt, HOU Astros: The reliable and durable Oswalt is off to a rocky start for Houston in 2008. He is currently 3-3 with a 5.57 ERA and 1.55 WHIP. He’s given up at least 3 ER in 6 of 7 starts, including two real clunkers against the Marlins (8 ER on Apr. 11th) and against the Cubs (6 runs, 5 ER, on Apr. 5th). He’s kept his team in most of the games, but more is expected from a staff ace. It’s much more difficult to judge with pitchers, as they’re mroe “touch and feel” in regards to the elements, arm issues, etc. He should be fine, as he has been in the past for Houston.

Obviously this is a small sample of players that continue to struggle, but I expect these guys to “bust-out” anyday now. It’s a tough time as a fan if you have a guy like this on your favorite team. You just hope it’s the weather, and not injury.

Filed under: Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Houston Astros, New York Mets, New York Yankees