It was another great day around the league, so let’s take a look at all the stories from yesterday’s games:
- Danny Duffy allowed 2 ER on 8 H and 3 BB, striking out 6, over 5.0 innings to defeat Fausto Carmona (7.1 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 2 K) and the Indians yesterday. However, there were way too many base runners, as has often been the problem in 2011. He is now sporting a 1.67 WHIP and, while part of it is due to poor luck (.335 BABIP entering the day), he has struggled with his control (4.31 BB/9). That may be atypical of his minor league career, but he has 13 starts in the Majors at this point so it’s hard not to buy into it. He has been erratic, as you would expect from a rookie pitcher, and while he does have promise it is tough to depend on him in any format.
- I have all the respect for Jered Weaver and he is clearly one of the elite pitchers in the game. He was good again yesterday, despite taking the loss, allowing 3 ER on 4 H and 1 BB, striking out 8, over 6.2 IP to fall to 14-5 on the year. However, you cannot be throwing the ball intentionally towards someone’s head. Throw behind him. Throw towards his midsection. The head is just off limits. A suspension is coming, so monitor the news on that.
- It feels like Justin Verlander can throw a no-hitter every time he takes the mound, doesn’t it? He carried one for 7.2 innings yesterday, finishing allowing 2 R (0 earned) on 1 H and 2 BB, striking out 9, over 8.0 innings of work. Is it safe to consider him one of the Top 5 starting pitchers heading into 2012? It certainly is hard to argue against it right now.
- Adam Jones went 2-4 with 1 RBI and 1 R, giving him hits in eight of his past nine games (including seven multi-hit games). Over that stretch he has gone 14-34 with 2 HR, 7 RBI, 3 R and 3 SB. On the season he is now hitting .294 with 18 HR, 63 RBI, 47 R and 9 SB as he is fully coming into his own. We’ve heard about the potential for some time and he is finally starting to live up to the hype. He entered the day with a .316 BABIP and 17.0% HR/FB, so the numbers aren’t unbelievable either. Even if the HR/FB should wane, he’s currently posting just a 33.4% fly ball rate (and 47.6% groundball rate). He clearly has developed into a must use option in all formats.
- Finally Colby Rasmus delivered his first hit as a member of the Blue Jays, finishing 2-4 with 2 RBI and 1 R. Was anyone really concerned? Give him time and, once he settles in, you have to figure that he’s going to deliver some pretty good numbers.
- You may have expected a blowout in the Blue Jays-Rangers matchup, but definitely not the way it turned out. Brandon Morrow was great, allowing 2 ER on 6 H and 2 BB, striking out 11, over 7.0 IP. C.J. Wilson, however, was terrible allowing 7 R (5 earned) on 7 H and 3 BB, striking out 2, over 3.2 innings. It’s his second straight poor outing, allowing 9 ER over 7.2 innings of work. You have to expect him to be able to rebound, especially considering his believable metrics (.290 BABIP, 72.0% strand rate entering the day), though that’s not to say that owners have to be happy about it.
- Johnny Cueto was tremendous against the Giants, tossing a complete game shutout. He allowed 3 H and 1 BB, striking out 6. On the year he has yet to allow more than 3 ER in a start (though he did allow 6 unearned runs in his last outing). He’s now 7-4 with 1.72 ERA and 0.98 WHIP on the season. Can we really expect this to continue? With a .226 BABIP entering the day, it is really hard to imagine. He has not been showing much of a strikeout rate (5.45 K/9), his third straight season below 7.0. If you can sell high on him, now id the perfect time to do so.
- Somehow Ricky Nolasco pitched into and out of trouble against the Braves. Despite allowing 12 H and 0 BB, striking out 4, over 6.2 innings he limited the damage to just 1 ER to pick up the victory. He continues to be erratic this season, though the potential is still there. He entered the day with a .316 BABIP and 68.5% strand rate, so sooner or later you would think his luck would change. Then again, is BABIP in 2009 & 2010 was .317 and .316, so it’s hard to expect a sudden improvement, isn’t it? That said, with good control (2.24 BB/9), he should be a viable option in all formats. Just be prepared to deal with the ups and downs.
- Could anyone have expected Jordan Zimmermann to be as good as he has been this season? While his bullpen spit up his victory (Drew Storen blew a save, though was rewarded with a victory, giving up 1 R on 1 H and 0 BB, striking out 1, over 1.0 inning), he was tremendous again. He tossed 7.0 shutout innings allowing 7 H and 1 BB, striking out 6. It was a great bounce back start, after allowing 12 ER in his previous 11.2 innings. That said, after throwing just 31.0 innings for the Nationals last season he is now up to 133.2 in ’11. There’s a good chance he gets shut down at some point and easily could run out of steam. Don’t look towards him for help come September and don’t be surprised to see a few more bumps in August.
- The resurgence of Raul Ibanez continued, going 3-5 with 2 HR, 4 RBI and 2 R yesterday. While he had slowed in recent days (2-15 with 1 RBI in previous four games), he finishes July hitting .284 with 7 HR and 25 RBI. It’s his second big month of the season (he hit .315 with 7 HR in May), but has proven to be wildly inconsistent in 2011. It makes it hard to depend on him, though when he’s playing like this he is a viable option in five-outfielder formats.
- Has Andrew Miller’s time in the Red Sox rotation come to an end? Once again he allowed a ton of base runners, allowing 3 ER on 10 H and 1 BB, striking out 8, over 5.2 innings. He has a 5.36 ERA and 1.88 WHIP on the year, clearly once again failing to live up to expectations. It’s either him or Tim Wakefield that will go, but even if he sticks Miller should not be in fantasy lineups.
- The new look Astros lineup had Jason Altuve (1-4, 1 R) leading off, Clint Barmes (1-3, 1 R) hitting second and Jason Bourgeois (1-4, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, 2 SB) hitting third. It is going to be really hard to come by runs in that lineup, isn’t it? Hitters ballpark or not, this is going to be a real messy situation.
- There were a lot of rumors surrounding the A’s outfield, with Josh Willingham and Coco Crisp both involved in talks. Instead, they stayed around and both contributed. Crisp went 2-3 with 1 RBI, 1 R and 3 SB while Willingham went 2-3 with 1 RBI and 1 R. Crisp now has 5 SB in his past two games and 5 R in his past three games. Considering he had gone 10 games without a stolen base, he knows how to make up for lost time.
- It was a career start for Juan Nicasio, despite taking a no decision. He allowed 2 R (1 earned) on 5 H and 2 BB, striking out 10, over 7.0 innings against the Padres. He does have the strikeout potential, as he posted an 8.99 K/9 over his minor league career (he entered the day with a 6.64 K/9). An improvement there would definitely go a long way in helping him improve his overall numbers.
- Jesus Guzman went 2-4 with 3 RBI and 1 R. Over his last six games (one of which he had just 1 plate appearance, drawing a walk) he’s gone 9-17 with 2 HR, 7 RBI and 6 R. Even with Kyle Blanks (0-3, 1 R) up, he is currently forcing himself into the lineup and with the way he’s producing is a viable option in deeper formats, though be ready to move on.
- Ben Zobrist has been hot of late, and has been capitalizing on a return to the middle of the lineup (thanks to the recall of Desmond Jennings). He went 3-5 with 3 RBI and 1 R yesterday, giving him an 11 game hitting streak (19-46 with 3 HR, 13 RBI, 7 R and 2 SB). Now that he’s not hitting leadoff the runs scored may decrease, but he clearly is going to enjoy an improvement in the RBI department. Is anyone going to complain?
- Gerardo Parra had a big day, going 2-4 with 2 HR, 3 RBI and 3 R. The problem is that he just isn’t guaranteed playing time, with Justin Upton, Collin Cowgill and Chris Young also in the mix for playing time. That makes him just an option in NL-only formats at this point.
- It was nice to see Carlos Marmol lock down the save with no real “incident”, wasn’t it? In an inning of work he allowed 0 ER on 1 H and 0 BB, striking out 2, picking up save #20. Is it enough to make you more comfortable with him? I certainly would have my reservations. The strikeouts are nice, but he has proven to be a combustable option, especially given his potential to meltdown with his control. Right now, I’d consider him a #2 closer until he can prove otherwise.
