Matt Harvey’s 2012 campaign came to a close in impressive fashion. Pablo Sandoval showed signs of heating up. Kris Medlen continued to pitch lights out baseball. Let’s look at these stories and all the rest from yesterday’s games:
- Andy Pettitte came off the DL to pitch 5.0 shutout innings for the Yankees allowing 4 H and 2 BB, striking out 3. He threw just 75 pitches, but you would expect that number to grow as the Yankees get him rebuilt in time for the playoffs. He could be a great option over the final few days, especially with his potential for W and potentially favorable matchups. Depending on your situation, he’s worth considering.
- Over the two games Ichiro Suzuki went 7-8 with 1 RBI, 2 R and 4 SB. There’s a chance that, with their season (and the division) on the line, he starts to see more playing time. If you are in need of a little speed, he’s as good of an option as there is.
- The Kris Medlen train continued last night as he tossed 8.0 shutout innings to defeat the Marlins. He allowed 4 H and 1 BB, striking out 6, to improve to 9-1 with a 1.51 ERA. As I’ve said before, can we really expect him to be able to continue at this pace? He entered the day with a 94.3% strand rate as a starting pitcher. Sooner or later the bubble is going to burst, but at this point there is no reason to think that he can’t maintain it for his finally few starts. Ride him to the finish.
- Starling Marte went 0-4 yesterday and is now hitting .229 with 0 HR, 5 RBI, 5 R and 3 SB in September since returning from the DL. He has a ton of potential, but it’s hard to trust him at this point.
- Matt Harvey gave fantasy owners one final show prior to being shut down for the year. He allowed a leadoff home run to Jimmy Rollins, but that was the only hit he would ultimately allow over 7.0 innings. His final line was 1 ER on 1 H and 3 BB, striking out 7 (unfortunately, with Frank Francisco unavailable, the bullpen blew the W in the ninth inning for him). He finishes with a 2.73 ERA and 70 K over 59.1 innings of work. Yes, he needs to refine his control, but his talent is obvious. We’ll look at him a lot closer in the offseason, but he appears to be a great keeper heading into 2013.
- In the second game of the double header Matt Kemp finally woke up, going 2-4 with 1 HR, 2 RBI and 3 R. He had gone 7 games without an RBI, 11 games without a HR and still has gone 14 games without a stolen base. It was about time, but hopefully it’s the start of things to come.
- Josh Willingham went 4-5 with 1 HR, 4 RBI and 1 R yesterday, as he just continues to produce. He’s hitting .262 with 35 HR and 110 RBI, with 19 HR in the first half and 16 HR in the second half. Do we believe he can maintain a 22.0% HR/FB in 2013? That’s up for debate, but that’s one for the offseason. He has proven that he can thrive in Minnesota (21 HR at home), making him a solid option in all formats.
- Will Miguel Cabrera take home the Triple Crown? He went 1-3 with 1 HR, 1 RBI and 1 R yesterday, putting him at .333 (Mike Trout is second at .327), 41 HR (1 behind Josh Hamilton) and 130 RBI (Hamilton is second with 123). It’s definitely becoming a very realistic possibility and will be an interesting storyline to follow down the stretch.
- Carlos Pena went 1-2 with 1 HR, 3 RBI and 2 R. It was his first home run and RBI since September 2. Obviously, we all know he has power, but he has failed to show it consistently (just 18 HR and 54 RBI). Keep an eye on him, just in case he gets hot, but he still can’t be trusted.
- It was another poor outing for Daisuke Matsuzaka, allowing 5 ER on 9 H and 1 BB, striking out 2, over 3.0 innings of work. With a 7.68 ERA and 1.64 WHIP, has the time come to write him off permanently?
- Scott Rolen went 2-4 with 1 RBI last night, now having started back-to-back games. That’s not really noteworthy, except for the fact that Todd Frazier hasn’t started since September 16 (two games). It’s something worth noting, especially if you had been depending on Frazier. We’ll have to watch it closely, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see Frazier become more of a utility player down the stretch.
- It was another nice outing for Chris Sale, despite taking the loss. He allowed 3 ER on 8 H and 2 BB, striking out 8, over 6.2 innings and is now sporting a 2.82 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 181 K over 181.2 innings of work. While his 80.8% strand rate gives us a little indication that he could regress, his ability to generate strikeouts with good control (2.28 BB/9) tells us that there aren’t too many concerns. He threw just 71.0 innings in 2011, so it will be interesting to see how far they push him, but there has been no indication that they may pull a Stephen Strasburg (aka shutting him down during a pennant race). Stick with him.
- Lance Lynn’s return to the rotation continued to go well, though it was against the Astros. He tossed 6.1 shutout innings allowing 3 H and 2 BB, striking out 5. Over his two starts he has allowed 1 ER with 12 K over 12.1 innings of work. Is he a guarantee he continues at this rate? Ride him while he’s hot, though remember that it wasn’t long ago that he was demoted to the bullpen.
- Justin Upton went 2-4 with 2 R yesterday and, while this was clearly a disappointing season, he has scored 93 R, putting him in line to eclipse 100 for the second straight year. Over his past 10 games he’s hitting .316 with 3 HR and 7 RBI, giving us hope to finish the year. It’s probably too little too late, but at least he’s showing the signs that the elite player is still in there. Don’t be surprised if he has a huge 2013.
- Mike Napoli went 1-3 last night and is 5-12 with 2 HR, 5 RBI and 2 R over four games since coming off the DL. As long as he’s hitting the Rangers are going to find a place for him in the lineup so be prepared to use him down the stretch.
- It was Adam Jones’ turn to deliver in extra innings for the Orioles, going 2-5 with 1 HR, 2 RBI and 1 R. He’s now hitting .286 with 30 HR and 14 SB on the year. You would expect more RBI (he has 77), but that’s not entirely his fault (he is hitting .269 with runners in scoring position).
- Pablo Sandoval went 3-5 with 1 HR, 3 RBI and 2 R. It was his first HR since July 8, so clearly this was much needed. Could it be the sign of things to come? Fantasy owners still in the running certainly hope so, since he has been a major disappointment. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him get scorching hot (we also would’ve expected a better average than .283). Keep your fingers crossed that he can catch fire for the final week and a half.
