Hinske With Your Best Shot

The Braves added a productive corner outfielder to their roster with much fanfare last month when they took Jason Heyward north out of Spring Training, but over the last week or so they’ve improved the other corner spot without nearly as much attention. Melky Cabrera’s offensive ineptitude (.236 wOBA prior to today’s fruitless pinch hitting appearance) proved too much to overcome, so Bobby Cox has instead started playing former Rookie of the Year Eric Hinske on an almost every day basis in left field.

Hinske woke up Sunday with a .403 wOBA, and that’s only going to go up following his 2-for-3 with a homer (four RBI) effort this afternoon. Since joining the regular outfield picture nine days ago, he’s 10-for-21 with five doubles, that one homer, and nine runs driven in. His 3.2 wRAA is right behind Brian McCann for the second highest total on the team, but he’s still miles behind Heyward.

A .421 BABIP isn’t sustainable, so expect his .340 AVG to settle back into his usual .250ish range at some point. The homer today was his first of the season even though he’s hitting approximately the same number of fly balls as he always has (37.8% in 2010 vs. 39.7% career), and his line drive rate is actually the highest of his career (27% vs. 20.6%). That’ll come down and so will the extra base hits, but for now Hinske is performing well and has definite value in NL-only or deep mixed leagues.

The object of many Blue Jays’ fans affection (I keed, I keed) is owned in just 1% of Yahoo leagues, so he’s probably available in yours. Best of all, he’s eligible at 1B, 3B, and in the OF, and flexibility is always appreciated. Aside from a date with Johan Santana on Tuesday, the Braves will face righthanders all week, so Hinske should see plenty of at-bats. If you’re looking to tread water while dealing with an injury or a prolonged slump (I’m looking at you, Casey Blake), or if you just need an upgrade to your bench, Hinske’s a great waiver target.