Prince Fielder went through a long stretch after the all-star break in which he just wasn't driving the ball anymore.
The big man was still hitting, but instead of being a hefty slugger, he was more closely resembling Tony Gwynn — a big man without much power who was one hell of a hitter.
Over the past six games, specifically these past three against Houston — all Rangers wins — Fielder has gotten back to being the fearsome heart-of-the-order hitter who pitchers don't want to face.
In that six-game span, Fielder is hitting .444 with an .815 slugging percentage with a double, three homers and 10 RBIs. Those three long balls have come in the past three games — his game-winner on Monday night and his two monstrous blasts to the upper tank in right field on Wednesday.
Fielder is now batting .314 on the season, meaning he'll likely end the year with a career-high number in that department. After a long power drought, he's now up to 21 home runs — not the 30-homer pace he seemed to be on earlier in the year, but still solid — and he's up to 83 RBIs.
It'd be hard to unseat Josh Donaldson for AL MVP honors, and he is deserving of the award, but Fielder is putting together a pretty great season a year after going through cervical fusion surgery.
