by Eric Stashin (aka The Rotoprofessor)

To say that it was an exciting day of baseball would be an understatement.  You had an epic matchup between Jose Fernandez and Alex Wood.  You had Albert Pujols (2-4, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 R) reaching the 500 HR plateau.  But what else was there that fantasy owners need to know?  Let’s take a look:

1) Has the time come for to move on from Danny Salazar…
It was yet another disappointing outing for Salazar who allowed 5 R (4 earned) on 7 H and 2 BB, striking out 6, over 4.1 innings.  Sure he has generated strikeouts, but he also owns a 7.85 ERA and 1.96 WHIP.  In his last three outings he has not gone 12.2 innings giving up 14 ER in the process.  He’s struggled with his control (4.91 BB/9) and to keep the ball in the ballpark (2.45 HR/9, 18.5% HR/FB).  Has there been some bad luck?  Of course, with a .420 BABIP, but there are obvious concerns here.  There’s no reason to dump him, as he should right the ship, but be cautious with him until he shows signs of turning things around.

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by Eric Stashin (aka The Rotoprofessor)

It was an extremely exciting day of baseball around the league, getting off to an early start thanks to it being Patriots Day in Boston.  Who excelled?  Whose poor performance is concerns?  Who could prove to be a viable buy low candidate?  Let’s take a look at all the important stories from yesterday’s games:

1) What to make of Clay Buchholz’ poor outing…
The Baltimore Orioles ultimately beat up on Buchholz, who allowed 6 ER on 7 H and 1 BB, striking out 1, in just 2.1 innings of work.  It’s the second time that he simply hasn’t had it in his 4 starts (he allowed 6 ER over 4.1 innings against the Brewers in his first start) and now has a 7.71 ERA and 1.93 WHIP on the season.  However, before we jump ship there are a few numbers to keep in mind: Read more

by Eric Stashin (aka The Rotoprofessor)

Mark Teixeira made his return to the Yankees lineup going 2-6 while hitting in the fifth spot.  The Yankees desperately need him to produce and solidify not only the middle of their lineup, but their infield defense.  What other important notes are there from around the league?  Let’s take a look:

1) Has Rick Porcello truly figured it out…
He had an impressive outing against the Angels, allowing 1 ER on 5 H and 1 BB, striking out 4, over 7.0 innings of work.  While he hasn’t generated many strikeouts this season (12 K in 20.0 IP), he actually entered the day with a 10.3% SwStr% (and had a 7.22 K/9 in ’13).  Couple that upside with a 50+% groundball rate (he generated 12 groundballs yesterday) and impressive control (2.29 career BB/9) and there is an awful lot to like.  There is a little bit of risk, since the strikeouts are not a given, but he’s well worth snagging off the waiver wire if he’s still there.

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by Eric Stashin (aka The Rotoprofessor)

Jose Reyes made his return from the DL yesterday, but that was hardly the biggest and most important story for fantasy owners.  What closer news came out of the day?  How should fantasy owners view pitchers like Felix Doubront or Henderson Alvarez?  What about the scorching hot performance of Kevin Kouzmanoff?  Let’s answer these questions and all the rest from yesterday’s games:

1) The good Felix Doubront takes the mound…
If he could only find consistency, right?  He allowed 2 ER on 5 H and 2 BB, striking out 7, over 6.2 innings against the Orioles yesterday.  He entered the day with three glaring issues:

1. Poor luck (.333 BABIP, 64.7% strand rate)
2. Lack of strikeouts (4.91 K/9)
3. Poor control (4.30 BB/9)

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by Eric Stashin (aka The Rotoprofessor)

Aaron Harang flirted with a no-hitter, and has been highly impressive this season, but is he really the best option for fantasy owners?  Would we be smarter to invest in youngsters like Drew Hutchison or Martin Perez?  How about Jonathan Niese?  What other performances do we need to know about?  Let’s take a look at all of the action from yesterday’s games:

1) Drew Hutchison continues to impress while Sergio Santos rebounds…  Kind of…
Hutchison was highly discussed this spring, but after allowing 6 ER in 3.1 innings to the Yankees in his second start many probably soured on him.  That’s proving to be a mistake, as he was strong again last night (this time against the Indians) allowing 2 ER on 8 H and 0 BB, striking out 9, over 5.1 innings.  In 20.0 innings he now owns a 3.60 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 24 K and 8 BB.  While the WHIP is scary, he actually has been plagued about a lot of poor luck (.365 BABIP).  Make sure to check out our profile of him from prior to the season (click here to view), as it all still applies.  He does bring strikeout potential and owns good control, making him worth considering in deeper formats.

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by Eric Stashin (aka The Rotoprofessor)

It was another exciting day around the Majors, with some of the biggest star pitchers posting impressive performances (like James Shields striking out 12 against the Astros).  While those are nice, what are the things that fantasy owners need to know?  Let’s dive into the biggest stories from yesterday’s games:

1) Danny Salazar with another poor showing…
He lasted just 4.2 innings allowing 5 ER over 6 H and 3 BB, striking out 3, against the Tigers.  Things looked good through the first four innings, but he imploded in the fifth.  In his past two starts he’s now allowed 10 ER over 8.1 innings (though he did have 10 K in his last outing).  He now owns a 7.71 ERA and 1.93 WHIP, and home runs have been a significant issue (4 HR over 14.0 IP).  He entered the day with a 50% fly ball rate, and also had been hit relatively hard (25.0% line drive rate) when opponents do make contact.  Throw in the questions regarding his ability to work deep into games (something he still hasn’t shown) and things are heading in the wrong direction.  Obviously no one is about to give up on him, but don’t be surprised if he is relatively inconsistent all season long.

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