Max Scherzer won his first game in just over a month, but it isn't like he has been pitching horribly. Scherzer only gave up four earned runs in one start since May 31st. Unfortunately, he pitches for the Diamondbacks and that will lmit his wins. Don't be mistaken though, Scherzer has a ton of talent and is one of the better strikeout pitchers in baseball. He just turned 25, and I think 2010 will be his huge breakout. For the rest of this season you can expect him to pitch to an ERA around 3.50 and strikeout a ton of guys. He won his sixth game of the year tonight, he likely won't get far past ten wins.
Brett Cecil continues to pitch well, and it is time for you to find out if he is available in your league. Cecil was one of the better pitching prospects for Toronto, and was doing well before he was injured earlier in the season. In his last five starts, including tonight, Cecil had allowed one run or less in four of them. I think at this point he deserves to be on someone's roster in a 12 team league, and he just turned 23 in the beginning of July.
It is looking very likely that Chris Tillman will be called up to start on Wednesday. Tillman can have an immediate impact, so if you need pitching, I would make the move now. I spoke about this last week, so jump back to that article if you want to know more about Tillman.
Joe Blanton has been pitching great over the past couple of months, but I don'[t think that it can continue at this rate. Blanton ran his record to 7-4 after allowing just two runs over eight innings and struck out six. He has always been an average pitcher, but Blanton hasn't given up more than three earned runs in six straight starts and only once since Memorial Day. His career ERA is near 4.25, so I just can't see this run keeping up. Blanton is also striking out more than usual (103 in 117 innings), so don't be surprised if he starts to tail off some.
Mark DeRosa has finally woken up for the Cardinals and for those of you who have been waiting for him all season long. He started 0-13 with St. Louis with a two week Disabled List stint in there. In the last week, DeRosa has four two hit games, four home runs, and six RBI. He likely won't stay THIS hot, but he should be a very productive player for your team for the rest of the year.
Kyle Blanks is starting to show some power, but he isn't being consistent enough to warrant fantasy attention yet. Blanks does have three home runs in the last six games, but only two other hits in those games. Keep an eye on Blanks, but is just not worthy of a roster spot at this time.
David Hernandez continues to be a giant killer for the Orioles as he collected a win against the Red Sox. In his starts against the Red Sox, Angels, Yankees, and Tigers, Hernandez is 3-0 and pitched great in the one game where he didn't get the win. He isn't a big strikeout pitcher by any means, but he looks like a reasonable pickup if you really need the pitching.
Rich Harden now has three straight very good starts, and if you own him you should start to feel confidence again. Harden allowed just one run and one hit over six innings and struck out eight. This isn't any mind-blowing analysis, but be sure he is in your lineup every time he takes the mound.
Aaron Cook is again having a strong season as far as wins are concerned, but his secondary numbers make his value lowered. Cook won his tenth game of the year, but his ERA is close to 4.00, his WHIP is 1.41, and he strikes out a very low number (69 in 128 innings). He has some fantasy value because of his solid win total, but I am just not a fan of his. I would rather have a young guy with some upside.
Ervin Santana was absolutely awful again, and if you have lost patience with him, I can't say I blame you. Santana couldn't get out of the fourth inning, and allowed six runs while striking out four. He has now given up four earned runs or more in six of his last seven starts. I know he was great last season, but this is getting tough to swallow. His ERA is now over 7.00 and his WHIP is over 1.70. There is a chance he could turn this around and he plays for a team with a good offense, but he is certainly testing your loyalty.
Rick Porcello struggled again, although he settled in after a bad first inning. He has now given up four earned runs or more in four straight starts and he is not going deep into games anymore. Porcello hasn't gotten through the sixth inning since June 12th. Tonight against the White Sox Porcello allowed four runs partly due to some inexperience on his part. But after the first he allowed just one more run over his next 4.1 innings. Seasonal leagues I can feel you wanting to cut this guy, and I can't blame you. I believe I am about to do so in one of mine. Keeper leagues all you can do is ride out the storm with this guy. He is 20 years old and has already shown a good deal of some signs of the future.
As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don’t miss the “Fantasy Baseball Tonight” podcast four nights a week from Monday-Thursday. The Big Show on Wednesday is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com. To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show. Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the the info and craziness we can pack into one hour. A can’t miss if you plan on winning your league.
Jeff Francoeur has injected some offense into the pathetic Mets' lineup. Tonight against the Nats Frenchy had three hits including a homer and drove in three runs. Since being traded by the Braves on July 10th, he now has eight RBI in seven games. You would think as the Mets start to get healthier and there are some better players around him, Francoeur's numbers should increase. However, I am not saying go run out and get him, but if you have an injury or someone who REALLY is making you mad, he could be a decent option. I picked him up in one league that I am in with 16 teams in it and he is one of my starters.
For those of you in deep leagues where you might own Rodrigo Lopez, he pitched well again, but I think his time in the Phillies rotation might be short lived. He allowed just one run over six innings and struck out five against the Cubs, which is pretty impressive. With Hamels, Happ, Moyer, and Blanton set in stone, Lopez time might be short after the signing of Pedro Martinez. The Phillies are also usually in the lead when rumors of trades of Roy Halladay are being discussed, so it seems this moment in the sun will be short lived. If you have been counting on him, I suppose you should do so until he implodes or he is removed from the rotation. He did have a couple of good years for Baltimore a while back, but I am not expecting this pitching to continue.
David Hernandez has pitched pretty well under the radar for the Orioles. He allowed just a home run to the Yankees on Monday, and that was to Eric Hinske. In six starts, Hernandez has allowed more than three runs only once, although his strikeout numbers are a little lower than you would like with 21 in 38 innings pitched. There is a certain amount of risk with Hernandez because he is young, and the fact that he pitches for the Orioles means he won't get a ton of wins in that division. But he has now pitched reasonably well against the Yankees, Angels, and Tigers this season, so he might be worth a look in deeper leagues.
Tommy Hanson had his first double digit strikeout game tonight, a nice bounce back after allowing four runs in five innings his last time out. He also went seven innings for the second time in three starts, which is also nice to see a young guy start to be able to pitch deeper into games. I don't think I need to tell you to start Hanson every time he takes the mound, but if you are having any doubts, here goes..........Be sure you start Tommy Hanson every time out! There you go.
Johnathan Sanchez made his first start since throwing his no hitter, and had another pretty decent start. It was a long way from another no hitter, but considering how he was throwing before that, anyone who picked him up should be happy with it. Sanchez allowed three runs over six innings, walked three and struck out eight. He's not going to carry your team by any means, but if he can keep the ERA under control, Sanchez has always been good for the Ks.
Frank Francisco's latest trip to the DL is due to pneumonia. The move was made retroactive to July 11th, which means he is eligible to come back this Sunday, July 26th. C.J. Wilson will close in his absence
After hearing that Carlos Quentin would need a week to get back into shape to play actual games, he showed up tonight activated from the Disabled List and in the lineup for the Sox. He was able to get one hit in his return.
Nelson Cruz has a slightly fractured finger, but he is going to attempt to play through it. He should be back in the lineup tomorrow. Brandon Phillips had a similar injury, and he was able to play through the pain.
Mets' prospect Jonathon Niese looks to be in line for the start that Fernando Nieve would be taking except that he was the latest Met to hit the DL. Niese has been great in the minors lately (5-0, 0.72 ERA in his last seven starts), but he has struggled in the majors when the Mets have given him a chance.
As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don't miss the "Fantasy Baseball Tonight" podcast four nights a week from Monday-Thursday. The Big Show on Wednesday is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com. To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show. Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the the info and craziness we can pack into one hour. A can't miss if you plan on winning your league.
Wandy Rodriguez continues to pitch quite impressively at home, as he threw a complete game shutout on Wednesday against the Pittsburgh Pirates, striking out 11. Wandy is a guy that I have learned to have more faith in this season, especially at Minute Maid (which is surprising considering some of its dimensions). He is a guy that I have on a few of my teams, generally as my fifth starter. Even if your staff is good, he is worth picking up for a good, home matchup from time to time. When he's on, Rodriguez can deal.
Chris Volstad is impossible to figure out. Volstad had lost six of his last seven decisions, and then all of a sudden (when I benched him!) he goes out and throws a shutout. In his last outing, he only lasted three innings against the PIRATES! Why would I have started him, or anyone for that matter, against the Giants who have been hitting. I still really like Volstad, and he is one of the better young pitchers in Florida, but he is going to have his moments that will make you want to touch that drop button.
Jorge De La Rosa won his fourth straight start, allowing three runs over 6.1 innings and struck out five. He has been an incredibly streaky guy. He started the season by losing his first six decisions. Since then he has gone 6-1. Which guy is the real one? Your guess is as good as mine. If nothing else he will get you a pretty good number of strikeouts, so even when he is bad he will help you in one category. However, even with this win his ERA sits at 5.03 and his WHIP is 1.43, mostly because of too many walks.
Chad Gaudin is another pitcher that you can look at if you really need strikeouts. He is on a roll lately, but this one won't last. Tonight Gaudin allowed just one run over 6.2 innings and struck out seven. That now makes it four of his last five starts that he allowed three runs or less. He mostly pitched out of the bullpen (ineffectively) last season, and wasn't a good starter for the A's back in 2007. Put that together with the fact that he pitches for the Padres and that makes him a guy that you can't put too much stock in. You can expect strikeouts, but not much else.
David Hernandez is one of the good young arms that the Orioles have coming through their farm system. He might be the worst of the group, but that doesn't mean he won't be good. Hernandez had a good minor league career, with a record of 15-6 record, and ERA under 3.00 and 245 Ks in 198 innings. So far in his last three starts in the majors, Hernandez has looked pretty good. The strikeouts haven't been there, but he allowed just two runs over six innings against the Mariners. He has also been walking too many guys, but his control should improve as he gets more comfortable and could be a guy who has a solid second half.
Homer Bailey was good again, even though he wasn't in line for a win. Bailey allowed just two runs over six innings and struck out six. The best part of the start was that Bailey didn't walk anyone. His control has been by far the biggest problem, and if he can continue to pitch like this, perhaps he will finally start to live up to all of the hype that was given to him when he was in the minors.
Scott Kazmir had his first bad start since coming back from the Disabled List, and BOY was it bad. Kazmir allowed seven runs over 6.1 innings, but kept his control walking only two and striking out four. Feel free to start Kazmir like you would have before his injury. He was good most of the time, but was prone to this kind of outing once in a while.
I know I promised I would never talk about him again, but I feel it is worth mentioning that Oliver Perez was back for the Mets, and was his usual self. It was like Oliver never left. He only allowed two runs over five innings against a great Dodgers' team and actually collected the win. However, like I said, the same old Oliver showed up. Perez walked seven guys over his five innings and threw 108 pitches in that span. He is worth a look if you are desperate, but don't put too much stock in this one outing, he has always pitched good against good teams.
Martin Prado continues to hit for the Braves, accumulating another two knocks and drove in his 16th run of the year. He had 17 hits over the last eight games, and has been on fire since being named the starter at second. I would consider using him as a short-term replacement for a middle infield spot, but I still don't have faith that he will keep this up for the rest of the year. He never showed much power or speed in the minors, so I think this is just a hot streak, and in a month we won't be talking about Prado anymore.
Andruw Jones had three homers on Wednesday, giving him 14 on the season. I don't think that this is a guy that you want to focus on. He does have seven homers in his past ten games, but even with that production, Jones is still not playing every day. This is a good story that he was able to find his talent again in Texas, but I still don't believe Jones to be fantasy worthy unless you are in an AL-only league.
Ervin Santana was bad again, and now the question comes "what should you do with him?" I would say this; While I don't have him in any league, I have to admit that it would be difficult for me to keep him on my roster considering the way he has been pitching. However, what are your options in free agency? If there is a solid pitcher out there that probably shouldn't have been dropped, then go ahead and drop him. If you are thinking of picking up Oliver Perez or Chad Gaudin or someone like that, I would hold on to Santana. The leash he would be on couldn't get any shorter though.
As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don't miss the "Fantasy Baseball Tonight" podcast four nights a week from Monday-Thursday. The Big Show on Wednesday is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com. To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show. Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the the info and craziness we can pack into one hour. A can't miss if you plan on winning your league.
