Los Angeles Angels second baseman David Fletcher was demoted to the No. 9 spot in the lineup after batting just .255 through his first 60 games. He looked out of rhythm and lacking the clutch factor that made him a key component of the Angels future plans. Then, all of a sudden, something clicked, and Fletcher has quietly been one of MLB’s best players.
Through the team’s Saturday night win over the Seattle Mariners, Fletcher is riding a 26-game hitting streak. It’s not just 1-for-4’s that he’s accumulating, as he’s batting an insane .454, bringing his season average all the way up to .318. He has the best batting average in the Majors during this span, and has a .069 advantage over second-place Freddie Freeman.
Joe Maddon could not contain his excitement discussing Fletcher’s hit streak, saying he’s never seen anything quite like it during his time in the Majors, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com:
“It’s pretty fun to watch,” Angels manager Joe Maddon said. “I’ve seen hot streaks, but not here in the big leagues like that. This has been going on for a while. It started in the nine-hole and he continued it in the one-hole. And he’s hitting the ball hard. He’s just a confident young man. I love the way he is. And it all plays into how well he plays this game.”
Alex Cobb — who put together another great performance of his own on Saturday — said that Fletcher not only deserved to be an All-Star, but should reasonably be in a different conversation as well.
“He pretty much got snubbed on the All-Star Game,” Cobb said. “And we hear a lot of very well-deserved MVP chants for Shohei [Ohtani], but that guy’s creeping his way into that discussion as well. There’s nobody I’ve played with that’s more confident than he is.”
While Shohei Ohtani is certainly the American League MVP thus far, Fletcher could get his way into that conversation if he keeps this going. Hit streaks of this length don’t come around often, and players generally don’t have so many multi-hit games in such a small span as well.
Fletcher has been incredible for 26 games now, but his last eight have been even more impressive. He’s batting an unheard of .595, recording seven multi-hit games in that time. He has more hits in an eight game span than anyone in Angels uniform has had since 1994.
It appears everyone from fans to players to the manager are simply sitting back and watching Fletcher with nothing but awe.
Ohtani donates Derby winnings
Ohtani took home a cash prize of $150,000 for competing in the Home Run Derby. Instead of keeping that — which he would be well within his rights to do — he made a predetermined decision to donate that money to various Angels staff members.