A couple weeks back, we took some time to look at some of the more amazing slash lines around the league.  Among those players we looked at two weeks ago, DeWitt may be on the verge of losing his job in LA, Jose Guillen has slowed slightly, but it still going strong, Alex Gonzalez has come back to earth, Julio Borbon and Orlando Cabrera continue to struggle, and Dunn and Soriano have begun to hit.  Aaron Rowand has still not drawn a walk for San Francisco, but that’s because he’s on the DL with a concussion  and fractured cheekbone.  Colby Rasmus has built on his hot start and is hitting .304/.443/.732 so far with 6 homers, and 14 walks against 19 strikeouts.  He looks like a star right now.  The kid has officially arrived.

With that out of the way, let’s look at some of the other fascinating performances around the league:

Quick, who leads the Majors in walks and the AL in OBP?  Would you believe it’s actually Justin Morneau?  He’s currently hitting .352/.495/.620.  While initially criticized as part of the traditional Minnesota aversion to walks, Morneau has increased his walk rate every year since 2006, when he was passed in just 8.0% of his plate appearances.  Last year, he walked 12.2% of the time, but he has jumped to 22% so far in 2010.  It’s likely to regress somewhat, but Morneau’s new approach seems to be for real and an important weapon to add to his offensive arsenal.  His extra basehit percentage has also risen every year since 2007, so it’s clear that being patient isn’t hurting him at the plate.  And Morneau isn't alone, as Aaron Gleeman and Kelsie Smith (sorry, can't find Kelsie's article, but Aaron links to it) note, the Twins have had a sudden spike in walks as a team.  Jim Thome and Orlando Hudson must be good influences.  In fact, the team leads the Majors in walks, with 103 (and is the only team over 100 through 20 games or so.  If Justin keeps this up, he might actually earn his next MVP award.

The NL leader in OBP is another unlikely suspect, who seems to have fully rebounded from his injury plagued and disappointing 2009.  Geovanni Soto is absolutely raking for the struggling Cubs, with a .362/.516/.511 line.  He has 15 walks against just 9 strikeouts.  Let’s hope his resurgence is real.

Likewise, Kelly Johnson is a promising early candidate for comeback player of the year.  Non-tendered by the Braves after hitting .224/.303/.389 and losing his starting gig to Martin Prado, Johnson is tied for the NL lead in homers, and leads outright in slugging percentage.  He’s turned into a great bargain pickup for the Diamondbacks, and is hitting .292/.397/.738, with 7 dingers, 8 doubles, 12 walks, and 14 strikeouts.  After watching a game live at Chase Field last week, it was clear that Kelly Johnson was locked in (3 for 6, with three hard hit doubles).  I'm glad he's rebounding.

Then again, both Soto and Johnson would have to fight off the resurgence of Ivan Rodriguez, who is the only major leaguer hitting .400.  Of course, his .400/.422/.517 line will not last.  Pudge is bound to drop off precipitously.  Over the past three seasons, he’s hit .269/.297/.401, and there’s nothing to suggest that a 38 year old backstop with more than 19,000 innings behind the dish could bounce back and become Joe Mauer.  Enjoy it while it lasts, Nats fans.  After all, Jesus Flores isn’t going to be healthy for a while.

Next year’s candidates for Comeback Player of the Year might end up including last year’s NL Rookie of the Year, Chris Coghlin.  In one of the sillier decisions it’s made since the heady days of Pat Listach, BBWAA handed Coghlin the award over Tommy Hanson and Andrew McCutchen.  Because Coghlin set a silly, made-up record, most hits by a rookie after the All Star Break, Coghlin’s defensive limitations and lack of power were ignored.  I mean, all Tommy Hanson did was establish himself as one of the best young pitchers in baseball, and all McCutchen did was hold down a crucial defensive position and post an OPS .014 less and an identical OPS+ (122).  But, you know, whatever.  Congratulations, Chris.  This year, Coghlin has predictably struggled.  Through 79 plate appearances, he has just 12 hits, none of them for extra bases.  Again, that means his SLG matches his batting average, a paltry .162.  His Isolated Power is .000.  His OPS+ is -2.  His overall slash line? .162/.205/.162.  And he’s playing leftfield.  Poorly (-1.1 UZR).  Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad the Marlins are frisky so far in 2010, but Chris Coghlin is probably the new Todd Hollandsworth.  Just saying.

On the AL side, there are a lot of comeback candidates for next year, and most of them play for the White Sox.  AJ Pierzynski is batting .140/.197/.158, has 1 extra base hit (though, to be fair, he only has 8 hits overall) and a -3 OPS+ (congratulations to Chris Coghlin, we found somebody sucking more).  Juan Pierre certainly isn’t helping things.  Like Coghlin, Pierre has had trouble getting past first base in 2010.  Through 84 plate appearances, he’s hitting .211/.268/.211.  Who will be the first to get an extra base hit?  The race is on.  At least Pierre has 9 steals in 11 tries, and 16 singles.

Alexei Ramirez also seems to be trying out for the 2011 comeback squad.  He’s played in 19 of the Sox’s 20 games, collecting 66 trips to the plate in that time.  Yet, Alexei Ramirez still has not drawn a walk in 2010.  His line is a sad looking .212/.212/.318.  That’s right, Ramirez doesn’t even have a HBP to fall back on, and we’re almost a month into the season.  Two years ago, Sox fans were clamoring that Ramirez was a terrific rising star out of Cuba, and that his aggression at the plate was a good thing.  What do you think now, Sox fans?

But Ramirez need not worry, because Pedro Feliz is fighting him tooth and nail to be last regular to get a free pass in 2010.  Feliz even has 68 plate appearances, two more than the Cuban Missile.  Feliz’s .262/.265/.385 line, however, does look better than Alexei’s.  Feliz’s numbers are bolstered by a single HBP, though he is trying to balance that with sacrifice flies (2).  One more Sacbunt or SacFly should put Feliz’s OBP back below his average, where it belongs.  Houston’s lucky that this deal just runs one year.  Think if Ed Wade had gotten his way and given Feliz a Brandon Lyon-esque three-year deal. Oh well, I'm sure Feliz will be available in 2011 if Wade wants to bring him back.