Wednesday Wrapup: Good Z/Bad Z

Scott Olsen - 4 1/3 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 4 K. Another ugly outing from the popular preseason sleeper. He had a brutal first half last year before turning it around in a big way in the 2nd half, so make sure to keep an eye on him in case he does the same this year. He's too talented to keep throwing like this all year long.

Kevin Gregg - Notched his 9th save last night as he continues to breeze along as the Marlins closer. You'd probably be able to deal him for a closer with more job security if you'd like, and I might try doing the same.

Carlos Zambrano - 6 2/3 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 9 K. A little wild, but a step in the right direction (again). I read he was hitting mid-90s with his heater more often last night, and that will be huge for him if he can regain his normal velocity. I went against my own advice from his last start and started him yesterday due to a gut feeling, and it worked out well. I think that fight is what he needed to wake the hell up and start pitching like he normally does. One random thing I thought of in regards to his velocity amidst all the potential injury talk was him babying his arm a bit as he pitches towards a new contract. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

Prince Fielder - Tied A-Rod back up with his 21st HR last night. He's raking against anyone and everyone right now.

Felix Pie - Quite a night for him last night. 3/5 with a double, HR, 3 R, 3 RBI, and a SB. I'm not sure he'll be much of a mixed league asset, but he has legit speed and is the only true CF on the Cubs roster. I think he's probably up to stay for now, so he should have job security in case you'd want to stash him on your bench.

Howie Kendrick - He has been brutal at the plate since returning, looking nothing like the player who has hitting very well before the HBP that put him on the DL. He homered last night, although that was his only hit of the night. I think he'll pull through eventually, so let's hope this is a start. This man is not a .248 hitter, he's a .300 hitter.

Kevin Slowey - 5 IP, 10 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 2 K. Well, this is Kevin Slowey for you. He'll have some fine outings, and he'll have some rough ones like this. He'll never walk a bunch of guys, so his WHIP damage will come via hits. I know he was a popular pickup in fantasy leagues upon the news that he was going to be promoted and the hype of his minor league numbers, but I don't think it's going to translate into fantasy success at the big leagues. Start him with caution.

John Lackey - 7 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K. It was one bad inning last night. In the 5th, he allowed 4 runs and 5 of those baserunners. An error didn't help things, either. Nothing to worry about.

Daniel Cabrera - 8 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 6 K. After allowing 4 runs and 7 baserunners in the first two innings, he cruised through the last 6 and showed a nice turnaround. I'd still keep my eye on him as I've been saying for the past month.

Joey Gathright - Called up yesterday, and stole his first base of the year. He showed a lot of improvement in OBP during this minors this season, so add him if you like to chase stolen bases. He'll run plenty, and if he can port his OBP success into the majors, he could be fairly valuable.

Octavio Dotel - Another rocky outing, giving up 2 H, 1 ER, and 1 BB while registering the save. He'll save some games and K some batters, but his ratios probably won't be that great while doing it.

Scott Kazmir - 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 4 K. Ugh, he just won't stop walking people. He's giving up a hit an inning, and has allowed 38 BB in 78 IP. I think he's presenting a buy-low opportunity with the command problems because I do think he'll get this straightened out at some point this year. He is doing a good job pitching around all the baserunners with an ERA under 4 despite the 1.49 WHIP.

Orlando Hernandez - 6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 3 K. He continues to amaze, although he didn't get the win last night. He's been one of the better pitchers in baseball this year while he's been healthy.

Jimmy Rollins - There he is! 3/4 with 1 R, 3 RBI, a HR, and 2 SB last night. He's been extremely quiet recently, but with 3 multi-hit games in a row, it looks like he's ready to catch fire again.

Bronson Arroyo - 6 2/3 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 5 K. Still a mess, plus he threw 119 pitches last night. As I keep saying, leave him benched until something gets figured out here. Given his ugly outings, I bet you could even drop him if you need the roster spot and he wouldn't be picked up.

Albert Pujols - 2 run, go-ahead HR last night. He hasn't had that massive hot streak yet, but he has 10 hits in his last 10 games, including 4 HRs and and 2 2Bs. He's slowly getting there.

Bobby Abreu - Yahoo had the following in the scoring summary: "B. Abreu homered to deep left center". Really? Abreu hit a HR? Weird. His 3rd of the season, and he's starting to wake up now.

Chien Ming Wang - 9 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. As good as it gets for the sinkerballer.

Javier Vazquez - 6 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 7 K. Ah, the jeckel/hyde act continues. He's gone at least 5 1/3 IP in every start, so he never truly bombs in a start even if he doesn't pitch well. His 4.13 ERA this year would actually be the best mark he's posted since coming over to the AL.

Gary Sheffield - 2 more HRs last night (along with 5 RBIs), giving him 15 on the year. His AVG is now .272 after hitting .200 in April. Guess we all should have traded for him, huh?

Justin Verlander - 7 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K. His K rate is up a bit from last year, and he's having a fine season so far. I still think he'll decline in the 2nd half, so selling him during the 1st half of the season for an ace who's used to throwing 200 IP is a good idea.

Lance Berkman - Hit his 7th HR last night, and he has 11 RBIs in his past 10 games. His buy-low window is about shut.

Brandon Webb - 7 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 7 K. He had 2 straight 1 BB performances, but gave up 4 free passes last night. Still, he's dominating everyone not named Colorado. Thank you Chris Young for the HR that give him the run he needed for the win!

Matt Morris - 8 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K. Please, sell him high before this gets any more ridiculous. He's not going to keep this up, trust me.

Jeff Kent - 3/4 with a HR last night, moving his AVG back to .265. He just came off enduring one of the worst slumps of his career, losing over 30 points off his AVG during the last 3 weeks. Hopefully he's ready to start hitting again.

Randy Wolf - 5 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 6 K. That's two rough outings in a row against bad offenses. Hopefully he's still feeling good. Beware of his next start if it's against a quality offense.

Greg Maddux - 6 1/3 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K. Nice outing for Mr. Maddux, despite the lack of Ks. He can still get it done.

Trevor Hoffman - Career save #500. Congrats to one of the best closers in baseball history!