by Eric Stashin (aka The Rotoprofessor)

Travis Wood went on a strikeout binge, with 11 K against the Rockies, though still allowed 4 ER on 6.0 IP and owns a 5.10 ERA.  Alex Wood bounces back, after taking a beating at the hands of the Padres, to hold the Dodgers to 1 R over 7.0 IP (with 8 K), though he was matched pitch-for-pitch by Zack Greinke (8.0 IP, 1 R, 13 K).  Yovani Gallardo reminded us how good he can be, with 7.0 shutout innings against the Rays.  What else happened on the day before the Trade Deadline?  Let’s take a look:

1) Corey Kluber dominates…
And that may be putting it mildly as it took him just 85 pitches to throw a complete game shutout against the Mariners.  Think with that few pitches he couldn’t generate strikeouts?  He had 8 K, 0 BB and allowed just 3 H to improve to 11-6 with a 2.61 ERA and 1.08 WHIP.  He entered the day with a 9.76 K/9, 1.99 BB/9 and 48.6% groundball rate so it’s easy to like what he brings to the table.  He’s quickly emerged as one of the better starters in baseball and there’s no reason to think that it’s not going to continue.

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by Eric Stashin (aka The Rotoprofessor)

Marcus Stroman again showed his stuff (7.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 8 K, W) and while we still have to think that there will be a few bumps along the way how can we not love his overall potential?  Alex Cobb arguably stole the show yesterday against the Brewers, with 12 K over 8.0 spectacular innings.  He had competition from Francisco Liriano, who whiffed 11 over 7.0 IP to defeat the Giants.  What else happened yesterday?  Let’s take a look:

1) Has Anthony Gose finally figured it out…
We’ve long heard about his speed and potential, though he’s never been able to put it together in the Major Leagues.  After going 2-4 with 2 RBI and 1 R yesterday he now owns a modest three-game hitting streak (4-9 with 2 RBI, 2 R and 1 SB).  Of course the overall .245 average isn’t going to impress us as he’s striking out too much for someone with his speed (21.8%).  He is putting the ball on the ground (60.8% groundball rate) and trying to use his speed, but he needs to consistently put the ball in play.  Unless he figures out how to do that, he’s never going to be able to fully take advantage of his assets.

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by Eric Stashin (aka The Rotoprofessor)

Ervin Santana posted his second consecutive start with 10+ K, striking out 11 over 8.0 IP.  R.A. Dickey showed why he’s worth the gamble, allowing 1 ER with 10 K against the Red Sox.  What else happened that we need to know about?  Let’s take a look:

1) Jason Lane solid in first Major League start…
His story is definitely an interesting one, recently converting to the mound after making a career of it as an outfielder (41 HR as a member of the Astros between 2005 and 2006).  Now 37-years old, he’s converted back to the mound and pitched fairly well at Triple-A this season (4.67 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 4.90 K/9, 1.71 BB/9, 37.9% groundball rate).  He went 6.0 innings yesterday against the Braves pitching even better than his minor league numbers, allowing 1 ER on 6 H and 0 BB, striking out 2.  It’s obvious that he has good control, but there is no strikeout stuff and there’s actually little to get excited about.  It’s a nice story, but from a fantasy perspective there’s nothing to it.

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by Eric Stashin (aka The Rotoprofessor)

Carlos Santana continued his scorching hot stretch, going 3-3 with 2 HR, 4 RBI and 2 R (5 HR in his past three games).  Clearly there’s no one in the game who is going better than Santana right now, though there are plenty of other performances worth noting.  Let’s take a look at yesterday’s action:

1) Allen Webster wins 2014 debut…
That doesn’t mean that he pitched well, though.  Taking on the Rays he allowed 2 ER on 3 H and 5 BB, striking out 4, over 5.1 innings.  In fact he threw just 42 of his 86 pitches for strikes as he assumed the rotation spot vacated by Jake Peavy.  He owned a 2.95 ERA and 1.27 WHIP at Triple-A prior to his recall, to go along with a 7.38 K/9 and 3.25 BB/9.  However, in 30.1 innings in the Majors last season he owned a 5.34 BB/9 so struggling to find the strike zone shouldn’t be a surprise.  Whether Webster sticks in the rotation or not also remains to be seen, with Brandon Workman and Anthony Ranaudo waiting in the wings to grab the role.  At this point there’s nothing to get overly excited about.

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by Eric Stashin (aka The Rotoprofessor)

Gio Gonzalez (7.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 8 K) and Johnny Cueto (7.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, 9 K) put on a show in what was the matchup of the night.  Meanwhile Carlos Santana stayed hot (2-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R), Chris Sale dazzled (8.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 12 K, W) and Clayton Kershaw continued to do what he does (9.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 7 K, W).  What else do we need to know?  Let’s take a look:

1) Shelby Miller strong in return to rotation…
He settled for a no decision, as Jake Arrieta (6.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 6 K) matched him pitch-for-pitch.  Miller allowed 2 ER on 3 H and 0 BB, striking out 3, over 5.2 IP.  We talked about him in detail yesterday, which you can view by clicking here, with the biggest question being his success and usage of his fastball.  According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (click here for the article) he was still extremely dependent on the heater: Read more

by Eric Stashin (aka The Rotoprofessor)

Carlos Santana continued his resurgence, going 2-3 with 2 HR, 3 RBI and 2 R and we got a tremendous matchup with Jon Lester and David Price squaring off on the mound.  What else happened that we need to know about?  Let’s take a look:

1) Should Mark Trumbo be on fantasy benches…
He went 0-4 with 2 K yesterday and is now 0-11 with 4 K over his past three games.  He hasn’t had a multi-hit game since returning from the DL and is hitting .121 with 0 HR and 10 K in 33 AB since returning.  Overall he’s hitting .184 with 7 HR in 114 AB, with a 26,4% strikeout rate.  The power has actually been reasonable, overall, with a 25.9% HR/FB, and the strikeouts are right around where we would expect (25.2% for his career).  The problem has been a steady stream of groundballs (52.4%) and poor luck (.187 BABIP).  Stay patient, for now, as things should get better with time just don’t expect him to be a source of average (not that we ever imagined that).

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