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Under the Rader Performers: Casey Blake

While not as under the radar as Joe Crede, nor with additional likelihood of improving over his season to date, Casey Blake has quietly been a force for the Dodgers this year. The former Indians part-time player is hitting a very respectable .285/.366/.485 this year for the boys in blue.

Now Blake has been lucky to an extent, but nothing out of the realm of insustainability. His .851 OPS would be the tops for his career if the season ended today, but only by about a dozen points. His BABIP is sitting at .327 against a career of .307; his walks are up this year but not by leaps and bounds, his strikeouts are a tick under his career rate. On the defensive side of the ball for the career Blake is slightly below average at -2.3 a year. This year he is 2.9 above to date which is abnormal but not screaming for regression either. Overall, Blake has had a nifty little season

To date Blake's WAR sits at 2.6 wins, which puts him behind only Matt Kemp on the Dodgers squad (Manny will make knock him down to third in the not too distant future.) On a team that has succeeded with good all around effort Blake has certainly held up his share. And while Blake probably won't justify the trade for Carlos Santana and will be pressed to continue his performance through his contract expiration at the age of 37 so far Blake has done his job

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