From Sherman's Hardball blog:
I do believe Daniel Murphy is ready right now to hit in the majors. Eighteen plate appearances is an incredibly small sample size, but he has two qualities that stand out that project positively: 1) He is not afraid to work deep into counts. He is seeing 4.44 pitches per plate appearance, so far, and he seems to have that Kevin Youkilis thing in at-bats in which he treats each one with fervor and diligence. 2) He is not pull conscious and he can hit the ball with authority the opposite way. With Ryan Church appearing more dubious to ever return this season, Murphy does need to be a real hitter -- and I think he is.I love the way this kid approaches at bats. He hangs that bat low on his shoulder, almost with a swagger. He also watches every single pitch hit the catchers glove if he doesn't take a hack.
Taking pitches is a huge part of the game in my mind. Just wait for the pitcher to make a mistake and groove one for you, a trait Jose Reyes does not have. Murphy seems ready to go, and I think he'll be sticking around for a while if he can keep it up.
Sure, it's only 15 AB's (18 PA with the three walks), but he is hitting .467 with an OBP of .556.
Nasty.
