The bullpen situation in Cleveland is an absolute mess. A couple days after removing Rafael Betancourt from the interim closers role while Joe Borowski is out, Masa Kobayashi gave up a TOWERING three run homer to Adam Dunn and blew a save himself. I can’t believe it is possible, but are the Indians (and fantasy players) asking how much longer Joe Borowski will be out? Borowski is one of the more criticized closers in baseball, but we are finding out why he has kept his job for so long.
One start after getting absolutely tattooed, Rich Harden showed flashes of brilliance again Saturday. Harden
allowed just one run over seven innings and struck out eight, as he showed why fantasy owners continue to pick him, even though he breaks their hearts with his injuries every season. Hold on to him, until…….
Not too many details yet, but Brad Penny will be scratched from his start on Sunday due to stiffness in his right arm. No news yet to the extent of the injury or when he will pitch again, but it is certain that at least this start will be skipped as the Dodgers will move Derek Lowe up to pitch on Sunday.
For the second consecutive start, Arizona rookie Max Scherzer didn’t allow an earned run, but he wasn’t exactly sharp. Scherzer lasted just five innings, and although he struck out five he walked four and gave up three hits. Overall, not bad at all, but he has been unable to recapture the magic from that first appearance of his career. Also, Doug Davis is making his way back to the majors following cancer treatment, so Scherzer’s days in the rotation appear to be numbered.
Ervin Santana has now struggled in two consecutive starts. Santana has seen his ERA go up almost an entire run in just two starts, as he gave up four runs over six innings and striking out five. Santana took his first loss of the season on Saturday, and he is someone that I would look to sell high before he has a few more starts like this.
Aaron Harang had one of his typical starts, and of course, the Reds didn’t score the runs in time for him to get a win. Harang went seven, allowed just one run, one walk, and struck out five but left in a tie game. The Reds would win on a walk off homer by Adam Dunn, so Harang’s record will still sit at 2-5. He is a player that I would be targeting cheap if I were looking for starting pitching.
Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsusaka ran his record to a perfect 7-0 with another impressive start on Saturday. Dice didn’t allow an earned run over 6.2 innings, and struck out six, lowering his season ERA to 2.15. He has taken his game to the next level this season, and is starting to prove what all the hype was about last season. He obviously isn’t going to finish the season 25-1, so you have to expect at least a little drop in production, but it appears that Matsusaka is going to have a top 15 starter kind of year.
After three great starts in succession, it appeared that Matt Garza had it all put together. Well, Garza took one on the chin Saturday against St. Louis. In just 4.1 innings, Garza allowed six runs, walked two and only fanned one. He is still a young pitcher, and I always preach with pitchers under 25 you are going to have your fair share of starts like this. But be patient with Garza, he was one of the best pitching prospects in recent years.
One day after hitting homer number seven and eight, Alfonso Soriano went 5-5 today and hit dingers
number nine and ten. Soriano is now hitting .295 and is the hottest hitter in baseball. Look for Soriano to finish the year between 35-38 homers and 93-97 ribbies as he gets back to a feared fantasy player. He isn’t stealing bases like he used to, but his power still makes him valuable.
Although he is hitting for a good average and swiping some bases, Corey Hart has been a mild disappointment to his fantasy owners with his lack of power. Hart connected on just his second homer of the season on Saturday, and hopefully this will start a little chain reaction of power. You don’t expect him to hit 35 out of the yard or anything, but we were projecting 20-25. He is hitting .301 and has stolen seven bases, so he isn’t a wasted pick, but his owners would like to see him showing a little more pop, he could be available cheap.
The knock on Albert Pujols coming into the season (besides the elbow injury) was that he had no one hitting behind him that struck any fear into the opposing pitcher to stop them from pitching around Albert. Well, the Cardinals may have found that protection in Ryan Ludwick. With two more bombs on Saturday, that is now six for Ludwick in the past ten games to go with RBI. He isn’t a young guy, so this production might be a fluke, but if you can pick up a guy batting over .330 with ten homers you gotta grab him now.
As always, your questions (adds, drops, trades) and comments are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Don’t forget to check me out at mlbfrontoffice.com on Tuesdays under In The News. Also go to fantasybaseballsearch.com to find me in the Gurus Blog.
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