Toronto Blue Jays: Aaron Hill: Why The Slow First Half?

If you are a Toronto Blue Jays fan like I am you may be wondering the same thing. Why did Aaron Hill have such a slow start? With 2009 being such a fantastic year with him winning a silver slugger award, the comeback player of the year in the American league, and making the All-Star team I figured he was well on his way to becoming an elite player for the Jays for many years to come. This may still happen but the first half of the season has certainly been a bump in the road.

Last year Aaron Hill hit .286 with 36 home runs and 108 RBIs. He hit 37 doubles, had 195 hits and scored 103 runs. You could put those numbers up against anyone in baseball and realize he had an outstanding season.

This year has been completely different. He is currently hitting .189 with 12 home runs and 33 RBIs. He has 12 doubles, 53 hits, and 33 runs scored. You can basically double the hitting stats to get a projection of where he will finish at his current pace. A statistical concern is also that his slugging percentage is down a whopping .140 points and his on base percentage is down nearly .60 points.

So, the big question is why is Aaron Hill having such a difficult season? Some people may say he has just come back to Earth but I would disagree with that comment. The two seasons before he had his season-ending concussion he had 177 and 159 hits respectively, so the guy can hit. I think the big problem for him this season is he can not shake the nagging hamstring injury which popped up in early April. It has landed him on the disabled list and has made him also miss a few games he would have normally played in. With baseball being a sport that is played almost every day it will be extremely hard for him to be able to heal the hamstring fully. I am sure the rest during the All-Star break will help.

Aaron Hill is my favorite player on the Jays and I am hoping he will turn his season around and finish with a strong second half. I even picked him up in the fantasy pool I am in hoping he will do so.

My season ending stats for Aaron Hill are as follows:

BA: .222 HR: 28 RBI 72

Let me know what you think he will end with. Thanks for reading and feel free to leave any comments.

*Thanks to TSN for the stats.

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