Owners who have been waiting for Carlos Santana & Matt Wieters are finally getting a pay off on their patience. Matt Kemp’s struggles continued. J.D. Martinez & Mark Trumbo showed signs of finally turning things around. Let’s look at these stories and all the rest from yesterday’s games:
- Matt Moore struggled against the Yankees, allowing 5 ER on 3 H and 4 BB, striking out 4, over 3.0 innings. He has allowed 11 ER over his past 13.1 IP (3 starts). Walks, which have been a problem at times in ’12, have been an issue recently with 7 BB over his past 7.0 innings. Would I still use him? Most likely, but at this point in the season your situation is going to play a major influence in your decision. With the way he’s been pitching lately, there are definite scenarios where I would want to play it cautiously.
- It certainly appears like Pedro Ciriaco is trying to prove that he deserves a job for the Red Sox (or someone else) in 2013. He went 1-3 with 1 SB yesterday, his third consecutive game swiping a base. He doesn’t bring much in the way of HR (he has 2 on the year), but he is hitting .300 with 14 SB in 203 AB. While he has been hitting the ball well (25.2% line drive rate), is that a number we can expect him to replicate? That would put his .358 BABIP in jeopardy, meaning the average could suffer. For now, he’s worth using in all formats if you need some speed.
- J.D. Martinez went 2-3 yesterday and is now 4-7 with 1 RB (and having a double and triple). Is it a lot? Of course not, but in what has been a lost season at least it is something. He hasn’t been playing every day, but if he is going to be hitting he is going to be in the lineup. If he is in the lineup, the preseason sleeper has the potential to produce. He’s worth monitoring for those in five-outfielder formats and should be a solid bounce back candidate in ‘13.
- Mark Trumbo went 1-4 with 1 HR, 3 RBI and 1 R, his first home run since August 21 (and just his fourth since July 21). He’s a streaky hitter, so owners can only hope that this is the start of things to come.
- Joe Mauer returned to the Twins lineup, manning first base, and went 2-3 with 1 HR, 1 RBI and 1 R. He may not be catching, but as long as he’s in the lineup he needs to be active in all formats.
- It was a tremendous start for Wily Peralta, who tossed 8.0 shutout innings against the Mets. He allowed just 2 H and 1 BB, striking out 5. In three starts since returning to the Majors in September he has gone 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 12 K over 20.0 innings of work. Considering he had a 4.66 ERA, 1.58 WHIP and 78 BB over 146.2 innings at Triple-A, there is reason to be skeptical. Yes, he suffered from a .351 BABIP, but the control alone is a potential concern. He entered the day with a 25.6% line drive rate, so I wouldn’t be looking to lean on him unless you are desperate.
- In a 13-9 game between the Cubs and Pirates there were obviously some big performances. The biggest, however, came courtesy of Pedro Alvarez (2-5, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 R) and Anthony Rizzo (3-5, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 3 R). Alvarez is finally showing the power potential we’ve all heard of, with 29 HR on the year. He also is hitting .260 in the second half, which no one would bat an eye at if he can maintain. His HR generally come in spurts, and the potential is there for him to carry your team the rest of the way.
- Jose Valverde allowed 2 ER on 3 H and 2 BB over 0.1 inning to blow the save. In his past 10 outings he’s posted a 5.79 ERA, though we all know he’s going to continue to get save opportunities. If you need saves, all you can do is hope he rights the ship.
- Carlos Santana went 3-5 with 2 RBI and 1 R yesterday. In September he’s hitting .316 with 2 HR, 10 RBI and 10 R, more along the lines of the production fantasy owners had hoped for. He still offers tremendous upside for a catcher and sooner or later you have to think that it is all going to click. He should be a solid buy low candidate for 2013.
- It was another fantastic start for Matt Harrison, allowing 1 ER on 6 H and 1 BB, striking out 5, over 8.2 innings of work. He is now 17-9 with a 3.26 ERA and 1.26 WHIP over 193.1 innings this season. He doesn’t offer the strikeout potential of other pitchers (he entered with a 5.60 K/9), but he offers good control (2.53 BB/9) and a solid groundball rate (50.5%). There is a little room for regression, but his .288 BABIP and 76.9% strand rate to open the day are both believable.
- Matt Wieters went 2-3 with 2 HR, 2 RBI and 3 R. He entered the day hitting .317 in September and now has 4 HR and 11 RBI in the month. He certainly is picking the right time to get things on track, isn’t he?
- It certainly wasn’t a good start for Dan Straily, allowing 4 ER on 5 H and 5 BB, striking out 1, over 4.2 innings of work. This is a good example of the inconsistencies of young pitchers, isn’t it? Generally a much better source of strikeouts, I would consider this a small bump in the road. That said, while he has upside, he isn’t a must use option.
- It was a great day for the top four hitters in the Padres lineup with Everth Cabrera (2-6, 3 RBI, 2 R, 2 SB), Logan Forsythe (4-6, 3 R), Chase Headley (2-3, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R) and Yonder Alonso (4-5, 2 RBI, 1 R) all providing big days. Forsythe just continues to roll, hitting .390 with 11 R over his past 10 games and over .400 in September. Does anyone really think he can continue on this type of pace? Ride him while he’s hot, but be ready to cut bait quickly.
- Justin Upton went 2-4 with 1 HR, 3 RBI and 1 R yesterday. Obviously it’s not a lot, but he does have home runs in back-to-back days and 4 HR in September. Would it really surprise anyone if he got scorching hot over the final two weeks of the year? He’s obviously not a player to ever give up on.
- A lot of the talk around the Dodgers struggles goes toward the new guys, like Shane Victorino or Adrian Gonzalez. How about Matt Kemp, though? He went 1-5 yesterday and is now 4-42 with 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R and 0 SB in his past 10 games. He has just 1 HR, 2 RBI and 3 R in September, when the Dodgers need him most. We all know he’s going to turn it around, all we can do is hope that it comes incredibly soon.
- Dan Uggla went 1-3 with 2 RBI for the Braves and is now 2-6 with 3 RBI over his past two games. He is hitting .314 over his past 10 games (though he is just 5-24 in his past 7 games), striking out just 4 times over that span. Sure, he’s hit only 1 HR over this span, but at least he’s finally starting to show signs of getting things together. He has the potential to get smoking hot over the final two weeks of the season, but it is also hard to trust him at this point. He’s usable, depending on your situation, but he’s more for the person searching for a longshot considering that his struggles have lasted almost the entire season.
