A couple of aces have shown on Tuesday, that maybe they still have it. In Detroit, Justin Verlander might not have been dominant, but right now he’ll take it. Verlander threw six innings giving up just one run and striking out three against the Rangers. After the way he started the season, Justin and his fantasy owners
must be breathing a sigh of relief that he was able to pitch so well. After being talked about as someone potentially to drop after his last awful start, C.C. Sabathia came back with a vengeance Tuesday against the Royals. Sabathia went six shutout innings and struck out 11, and is in line to take the win. As I have said previously, I don’t expect him to come close to last year’s Cy Young statistics, but he should be more than a .500 pitcher this season.
Not that Ted Lilly would be described as an ace, but another guy that fantasy owners were starting to think of parting ways with had a turn around start himself. Lilly collected his first win of the season giving up just one run in six innings, while striking out four. Like Verlander, he wasn’t dominant (he did walk four), but it was good to see a guy that some players put some big stock in having a good time out.
It was good news/bad news for the Brewers on Tuesday. The good news was young gun Manny Parra had a better outing than his last couple. Parra has struggled going deep into games, and that continued as he only lasted five innings. But, he did give up only three runs today, and was in line for the win….until the bad news game into the game. After converting give straight save chances, Eric Gagne has now blown two in a row. He continues to show that it was most likely foolish for the Brewers to sign him to that ridiculous contract.
Red Sawks rookie Jacoby Ellsbury is really heating up now. After having two consecutive two-hit, two-steal games, Jacoby added another 2-fer, as he hit two homers on Tuesday. Ellsbury came into the season with the hype that he was a strong candidate for the Rookie of the Year, and after he couldn’t get a start in the beginning of the season, he was cut in many leagues. Well, get yourself running to the waiver wire to see if this guy is available in your league, he could be a 20/50 kind of guy.
The greatest hitter of all time, Nate McLouth, finally had his season beginning hitting streak come to an end. McLouth was up to 19 games before he took the 0-fer tonight. He did still walk twice, so he continues to find ways on base even if he doesn’t hit. I have been urging you to try to sell high on McLouth, as his past performance doesn’t show this type of production in his future.
Injury Notes
Alex Rodriguez was not in the lineup today for the Yankees due to a combination of his second child being born, and a quad injury. It was reported on Baseball Tonight that he is due to rejoin the lineup on Thursday.
Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett was scratched from his start due to neck pain. This appears to have just been a giant precaution, and manager Terry Francona has said that Beckett will make his next scheduled start.
That giant sigh of relief you hear is coming from Seattle. The Mariners activated closer J.J. Putz from the disabled list today, and free agent prize Eric Bedard is due to come of the DL on Saturday. Get both of these guys back into your lineups immediately.
Cubs OF Alfonso Soriano has targeted May 1st as his return to action after missing time with a strained calf suffered when making his signature hop when catching a fly ball. Get ready to get him back into your lineup.
Quick Hitters
Reds rookie pitcher Edinson Volquez continues to impress. Volquez improved to 3-0 Tuesday, with a commanding seven innings with seven strikeouts. Volquez gave up just one run, and his season ERA sits at just 1.21. He was a highly touted prospect for the Rangers, so he shouldn’t be considered a flash in the pan.
Rickie Weeks has got to be one of the more frustrating players to own. Weeks will go 0-4 with 3 Ks two or three times a week, but then he has a game like he did on Tuesday and you go back to thinking that he could be an impact player. Weeks had three hits including a triple, drove in three runs with that triple, and stole his fifth base of the year. These are the days that you try to find someone to bite on a trade with Weeks, or you will have no hair left by the end of the year.
Angels 1B Casey Kotchman is showing signs of living up to his potential. Kotchman hit his fifth homer of
the season, and is now batting .315. Casey now has 15 RBI, and could be looking at a .300/22/85 kind of season.
Marlins 3B Jorge Cantu is starting to really look like that guy we knew three years ago. Cantu went 3-4 on Tuesday, and hit his third homer of the season. Jorge also has 7 doubles in his first 20 games, and should be a good option toward the bottom of your roster as a sleeper. Pick him up if you have some dead weight on your team.
Nats SP John Lannan has been great in three of his first four starts. Lannan followed up a one run, 11 strikeout performance, with seven shutout innings with four Ks against the Braves. It is time to give this guy a serious look to see if he should have a spot on your roster. He had a pretty good 2007 in the minors, so he might be for real although I’m not ready to make that statement just yet.
Braves Old Man River John Smoltz joined the exclusive 3,000 strikeout club Tuesday, but unfortunately his team could score any runs for him. Smoltz gave up just one run in seven innings and fanned 10. He continues to defy Mother Nature and pitches great.
As always, your questions about your team (adds, drops, trades, etc) and comments are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee an answer within 18 hours.
Welcome to Fighting Chance Fantasy Sports 