Kevin Gregg - 1 IP, 2 K, SV (20). After going through some struggles, Gregg has pitched scoreless innings in 5 of his last 6 outings, and each of those 5 outings resulted in a save with 8 Ks. He's back on track as a valuable fantasy closer, and he doesn't have any job security issues.
Miguel Cabrera - 2/2, 2 solo HR (21). Cabrera has hit 3 HR in his last 2 games, and he is well on his way to smashing last year's disappointing total of 26 longballs. To think that he accomplishes what he does in a pitcher's ballpark is a bit scary.
Fausto Carmona - 7 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, W (11). About what owners expected in a matchup against the Royals. He's settled in nicely as a end-of-the-rotation starter that you were able to snipe off of the waiver wire, and the wins should keep coming with that explosive offense supporting him each time out.
Billy Butler - 1/4, 1 R, 1 RBI. The news here is that with Reggie Sanders due off the DL, it will be Gathright and not Butler who is sent down to make room. Butler remains a safe option as a UTIL guy while hitting 4th in that lineup. The Royals lineup is nothing to write home about, but he's hitting .312 with 3 HR, 17 RBI, and 11 R in 28 games. He's not Braun/Pence, but he's hitting well and producing reasonable fantasy stats for a rookie.
Ryan Garko - 2/3, 2 R, 1 RBI, HR (11). He's had three 2 hit games in a row since the AS break, so he's come out hot. He's not a bad UTIL hitter depending on your roster. He's produced a .304 AVG with 11 HR, 34 RBI, and 38 R in 75 games so far.
Oliver Perez - 6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, W (8). He had a successful return to the rotation last night against the Reds and looks ready to roll from here on out.
Jose Reyes - 2/3, 2 run HR (6). Reyes has showed a bit more power coming out of the AS break with 2 HR and a double. One thing to note was that the New York Mets have added Ricky Henderson to their coaching staff. Henderson might be able to further develop Reyes OBP and SB ability, as scary as that sounds given how good he is already.
Corey Patterson - 2/4, 2 R, 1 RBI, SB (20). This is a weird year for Patterson. He continues to disappoint, but he's hitting .321 against LHP, and only .216 vs. RHP. Those are the exact opposite splits since Patterson has long had troubles against LHP, and hasn't had troubles against RHP before in his career. At any rate, he was hitting 2nd last night as he's getting bounced all over the lineup. He'd definitely add some fantasy value if he stuck there, but given his poor OBP and free swinging ways, he makes for a pretty bad #2 hitter.
Mike Mussina - 6 IP, 11 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 0 K. He dodged bullets and was actually in line for the win before the bullpen blew the lead. He was hardly his sharpest yesterday, but given how well he's been pitching prior to this, I doubt this is any sort of problem.
Brad Hawpe - 1/4, solo HR (16). Hawpe is quietly producing a great season, hitting .303 with 16 HR, 61 RBI, and 47 R. He's been a very nice 3rd OF for fantasy teams this season.
Josh Beckett - 8 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K. A great outing from Beckett last night, but he was the victim of poor run support. After posting WHIPs of 1.04 and 0.88 the first two months, he's come back with WHIPs of 1.30 and 1.38 the last two months. Also worth noting is that after posting BAAs of .218 and .182 the first two months, he's come back with BAAs of .277 and .271 the last two months. All in all, his 3.35 and 1.14 WHIP are about in line with his talent level, although those might still grow a bit yet given the AL East has the strongest offenses from top to bottom than any division in baseball. In hindsight, I should have recommended a sell high after his unsustainable start, but he's settled in as a great fantasy starter regardless.
Dan Haren - 6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K. He had a ridiculous first 3 months, but he's sporting a 5.09 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP this month. Things are starting to even out for him, and given the overall 2.33 ERA and 1.03 WHIP that he has, things figure to get a bit worse for him over the rest of the season. I'm tempted to suggest selling high on him before they do, but like I said before, aim high for who you want in return. The bottom won't fall out, but after looking into it, I just don't see him maintaining those sort of ratios all year long.
Derrek Lee - 3/3, 3 run HR (7), SB (4). Yes, his 7th HR. His career low 6.8% HR/FB ratio stands to improve in the 2nd half, so expect him to start hitting for more power down the stretch. I expect him to definitely improve his HR and RBI totals from here on out.
Jered Weaver - 7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K. Shields blew the game for him, so he didn't pick up the win even though he definitely deserved it. Both runs he allowed were unearned thanks to a couple of errors. He should improve on his current WHIP rate of 1.42 and continue being a solid fantasy starter.
Mark Teixeira - 2/4, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR (13). Welcome back, Tex. He should be ready to go on a tear given he's hit 3 doubles and a HR since returning.
Chone Figgins - 3/4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 3 SB (24). Not a bad way to end the week for his owners. Probably won quite a few steal catagories with this one.
Justin Verlander - 7 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, W (11). It has to be nice knowing that your starter can give up 4, maybe 5 runs and still come away with a win thanks to a ridiculous offense. Even on Verlander's off nights he has a chance to walk away the winner like he did here.
Gary Sheffield - 2/3, 2 R, 2 SB (16). The stolen base numbers are without question the most surprise aspect of Sheffield's return to fantasy greatness. For the year he's hitting .311 with 22 HR, 62 RBI, 82 R, and 16 SB. He's been an absolute monster, and will without question be overvalued next season.
Jamie Burke - 1/4, 1 R. It's bad times when you look in a box score in the opponent's SB department and see 5 lines of stolen base situations, including allowing one to Sean "Sweet Feet" Casey, who's slower than a flow of molasses.
Justin Germano - 6 1/3 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, W (6). Maybe he's not done yet. Still, the outlook over the rest of the season doesn't look good for him, so move him in a deal while you still can, pawning him off as a reasonable fantasy starter by his stats.
Brandon Webb - 5 2/3 IP, 11 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 10 K. That's not the type of 10 K game his owners want. There's really no explanation for this one, and I was hoping for much more against a blah San Diego offense. His 1.32 WHIP, thanks mainly to his 49 BB (he had 50 all of last year), is keeping his ERA up higher than what we expected while drafting him. Unfortunately it doesn't look like we're going to get an extended 2006 version of Brandon Webb at any point this season. Let's just hope he closes strong.
Eric Byrnes - 1/3, 2 SB (19). He continues to excel in his true breakthrough season. Thanks to the stunted development of Chris Young and Stephen Drew, they're using him as a leadoff man or else his run production would be even better.
Albert Pujols - 3/5, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 HR (20). I like this Pujols guy. I wonder if he's pretending the baseball is LaRussa's face after the All-Star game benching. If so, keep it up.
Brian Sanches - 2 IP, 4 H, 2K, 4 HR. I think Jamie Burke has been topped on yesterday's pathetic performances given this is all Sanches' fault.
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2 comments:
Today's Trib had a piece on the lack of home runs at Wrigley and the Cell.
The weather is not helping. Wrigley is on pace to have the fewest home games with the wind blowing out since they started keeping track.
I disagree with the Trib regarding the White Sox as I believe it's moreso a factor of the struggling offense. Konerko and Thome have just recently started hitting well (their recent HR totals are more in line with their career output), and Dye seems healthy for the first time all season. Outside of those guys, if you look at their lineup, they just don't have much power at all. Their outfield has been a disaster zone for offensive production all season long, running out guys like Jerry Owens, Rob Mackowiak, Andy Gonzalez, etc.
With the Cubs, I definitely agree. That's been mentioned by Kasper/Brenley during Cubs games before and it's a great point. However, if you look at guys like Aramis Ramirez and Alfonso Soriano, their HR totals are right about in line with what they do each season, if not down just a bit. The HR decrease is far more prevalent with Derrek Lee, and I do think there's reason for optimism heading into the 2nd half that he'll pick up the pace.
Thanks for the comment!
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