Rotoprofessor

Joey Votto & Grady Sizemore returned to their respective line-ups.  Zack Greinke continued to roll.  Jhonny Peralta showed signs of life.  Let’s look at these stories and all the rest from yesterday’s games:

Detroit 5, Chicago (NL) 4

• The day I post the National League Closers Report is the day that Carlos Marmol (1 IP, 3 K) looks like the man and Kevin Gregg (0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 K, 2 ER) looks like a bum.  One outing is not going to change the potential outlook on the situation, however.  If Gregg goes on a long streak and Marmol continues to find the strike zone, then maybe, but I want to see both of those things happen before I even consider a potential change.
• Magglio Ordonez returned to the Tigers line-up, batting 7th and going 0-2 before being lifted for a pinch runner.  I’d like to actually see him left in there for a full game before deciding he’s worth using once again.  It’s not like he was playing like a superstar anyways, and in shallower formats he really should ride the bench until he proves otherwise.

• Jacoby Ellsbury went 4-4 with 3 RBI, 1 R and 1 SB.  He is continuing to hit 7th in the line-up, and this performance, which included a pair of triples, could be the spark to get him back to the top of the order.  Over his previous four games he had gone just 1-11 with 1 SB, so I don’t see them just thrusting him back up there, but a few more hot games should be all it takes.  Even at the bottom, considering his 30 SB, he’s still valuable in all formats.
• Following up on his brilliant performance against the Yankees, John Lannan gave up 3 runs on 9 hits and 2 walks, striking out 3, over 6.1 innings.  That’s certainly a respectable performance against the high powered Red Sox.  Over his last 5 starts he’s allowed 9 earned runs over 34.2 innings (2.37 ERA) including starts against the Phillies, Yankees, Red Sox & Mets.  Of course, he’s managed to just go 2-1 suring the stretch, thanks to pitching for the Nationals.  He does have value to mixed league owners, but he’s a bottom of the rotation guy thanks to his lack of wins potential.

• Grady Sizemore returned to the Indians line-up, going 2-5 with 2 RBI and 1 R.  He’s a great sight for fantasy owners and should be put back in your active line-up immediately.
• Jhonny Peralta went 2-4 with 1 HR, 3 RBI and 1 R.  He’s finally really beginning to get heated up, making him worth using in all formats right now.  He has 2-hit games in four of his last five, going 10-22 with 2 HR, 6 RBI and 2 R.  If you’ve been sitting on him all season long, it’s certainly nice to be getting some sort of payoff.
• We can talk about Ian Snell’s talent all we want, but he’s 2-8 with a 5.36 ERA.  Yesterday he lasted just 2.2 innings giving up 4 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks, striking out 1.  If you have been stashing him away, just in case, there certainly should be better options for that spot on your roster.

• Joey Votto returned to the Reds, going 1-4 and batting third.  It’s great to see him back and he should certainly be active in all formats immediately.
• Scott Rolen went 2-4 with 1 HR, 1 RBI and 1 R.  He is now on a 12-game hitting streak, going 24-52 with 2 HR, 7 RBI and 12 R.  Needless to say, if you need a 3B, he absolutely needs to be in your line-up while he’s this hot.  He’s not the player he once was and is not likely to be a long-term solution, but cash in while you can.
• After getting bombed by the Marlins on 6/14, Brian Tallet has strung together two strong starts.  Going on three days rest, he went 6 shutout innings giving up 3 hits and 1 walk, striking out 7.  He has some lower end value, at 5-4 with a 4.36 ERA and 1.26 WHIP, but facing the Phillies in Toronto (Philly has been tremendous on the road) is not a start I would use him for.

• Chase Utley led the way, going 3-5 with 1 HR, 4 RBI and 2 R.  I can use every superlative in the book, but we all know how good Utley really is.  He had just 3 RBI in his previous 9 games, so this one definitely felt good for fantasy owners.
• David Price got bombed for 10 runs (5 earned) on 7 hits and 2 walks, striking out 2, over 4.1 innings.  Obviously, it wasn’t completely his fault, but you need to be able to limit the damage and pick up your teammates.  He has looked anything like an elite pitcher this season, going 1-2 with a 4.45 ERA and 1.65 WHIP.  Granted, he’s struck out 33 over 30.1 innings, but that’s the only potential positive number.  He’s allowed 5 earned runs in each of his past two outings and has only gone more than 5.2 innings once in his six starts.  I know, he had allowed just 5 earned runs in his first four starts, but in two of those he was limited to 4.1 innings or less thanks to high pitch counts.  Will the Rays continue to throw him out there and see how he responds?  If they want to get back into the AL East race they can’t afford many more poor starts, but that hasn’t stopped them from running Andy Sonnanstine out there every five days.  We’ll see what happens, but as of right now, he clearly is no must use option.

Atlanta 4, New York (AL) 0

• Chien-Ming Wang fell to 0-6, posting his second consecutive moderately OK start.  I don’t really know how else to put a game where you give up 3 runs on 6 hits and 1 walk, striking out 4, over 5 innings of work.  It’s not really good, by any stretch, but it also is obviously an upgrade over what he had been doing earlier in the season.  He’s improving, which is a positive, but he’s still an unusable option at this point.
• Tommy Hanson struggled with his control, giving up 4 hits and 5 walks, but he struck out 4 and avoided giving up a run in his 5.1 innings of work to improve to 3-0 on the season.  He hasn’t given up a run in his last two outings, but his control has been a clear issue.  He has 15 walks overall and 14 of them have come over his last 17 innings of work.  The ERA is nice, but it doesn’t translate to the 1.61 WHIP he’s currently sporting.  Be careful here.  I’ll have more on Hanson in the next few days.

Florida 7, Baltimore 6 (12 innings)

• Matt Wieters went 2-4 with 1 HR, 2 RBI and 1 R.  He has hits in five of his last six games, going 7-22 with 2 HR, 6 RBI and 4 R over that span.  He’s up to .262 and all of his HR and RBI production have come during that stretch.  He’s slowly coming around and obviously remains a must own in all formats.
• Nice start for Koji Uehara, giving up 1 run on 7 hits and 0 walks, striking out 2, over 6 innings of work.  He’s been up and down, but overall he’s been solid with a 4.05 ERA and 1.25 WHIP.  I wouldn’t trust him full-time, but if the match-up is right there’s no reason to shy away from him.  His next start, which is against Washington, is one that makes sense to use him for.
• Matt Lindstrom lasted just 0.2 inings, giving up 3 runs on 4 hits, coughing up the Marlins lead.  He’s now carrying a 6.52 ERA.  Of course, Leo Nunez allowed 2 runs without recording an out, but something has got to give here.  I said it this morning and I’ll say it again here, Lindstrom is a ticking time bomb at closer.  If you are desperate for saves, stash Nunez immediately.

Minnesota 7, Milwaukee 3

• Francisco Liriano won, but he certainly wasn’t impressive in doing so.  He allowed 3 runs on 7 hits and 5 walks, striking out 6, in just 5 innings.  He threw 117 pitches, 67 of them for strikes.  You love to see him get the win, but right now he is far from a must use option depending on who else you have on your roster, considering his 5.88 ERA and 1.57 WHIP.
• Jason Kendall, who went 1-5 with 1 R, was hitting leadoff for the Brewers.  With his .227 average?  Really?  It’s time to get Alcides Escobar out of the minors and into the leadoff spot for the Brewers.  He is an electric player who could really cause some havoc on the basepaths and set the table for Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun.  If you are in need of some SB, keep your eye on his name coming up.  I wouldn’t be surprised if it came pretty soon.
• Joe Mauer went 0-5 and is now 0-9 over his last two games, dropping his average to .395.  Somebody stop the presses!

Kansas City 2, Houston 1

• Billy Butler went 2-4 with 1 HR, 1 RBI and 1 R.  It was his 7th HR of the season to go along with 32 RBI and a .289 average.  He’s quietly emerged as a low-end option in all formats.  Obviously, we’d all like to see more power from him, but that is two long balls in his last four games.  I’m not calling it a trend, but it’s just something to watch. 
• Zack Greinke allowed 1 run on 8 hits and 0 walks, striking out 5, over 8 innings to improve to 9-3 on the season.  Just another normal outing for him in 2009. 
• Joakim Soria picked up his first save since May 7.  I know, he spent some of that time on the DL, but still.  Fantasy owners need him to be racking up the saves, so hopefully this is the start of things to come.

Los Angeles (NL) 5, Chicago (AL) 2

• James Loney was dropped to the eighth spot, going 2-4 with 1 HR, 2 RBI and 1 R.  At least it’s not just Matt Kemp anymore, right?  The team is 47-24, so obviously Joe Torre is doing something right.
• Hiroki Kuroda almost went the distance, going 8.2 innings, giving up 2 runs on 4 hits and 0 walks, striking out 9.  He had struggled his last two times out, having allowed 9 earned runs in 11.1 innings, so this definitely is a nice turn around for him.  Overall he’s sporting a 3.44 ERA and 0.95 WHIP, so he does continue to have value in all formats, though he is not a must use option.  His next start comes against Seattle, which is a start I’d have him active for.
• Gordon Beckham went 0-3, dropping his average back to .185.  He’s been showing life of late, so don’t give up on him so quickly.

Arizona 8, Texas 2

• After struggling for wins, Max Scherzer is simply on fire.  He won again last night, giving up 2 runs on 7 hits and 1 walk, striking out 7, over 6 innings of work.  He’s posted three consecutive wins, giving up just 4 earned runs over 19.2 innings over that stretch.  I know the first two came against the Giants & Royals, hardly high-powered offenses, but this one against the Rangers is impressive.  His next time out he goes against the Angels, so we’ll see if the trend can continue.
• Matt Harrison allowed 7 runs on 7 hits and 4 walks, striking out 2, over 3.2 innings.  I could see watching him from a distance, but that’s about it right now.

San Francisco 4, Oakland 1

• Tim Lincecum went the distance, giving up 1 run on 7 hits and 2 walks, striking out 12, to improve to 7-2 with a 2.57 ERA and 1.14 WHIP.  That’s impressive before I mention the 124 K in 105 innings of work.  Is there anything left to say  about him that hasn’t already been said?
• It was Vin Mazzaro’s worst start since being recalled, giving up 4 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks, striking out 6, over 6 innings of work.  He struggled in the first two innings, but them threw four shutout frames before being lifted.  It’s going to happen.  He has still been impressive and definitely is worth considering in deeper formats right now.  Smaller leagues, I wouldn’t, because he is still a young pitcher who is likely to bring inconsistency.

Los Angeles (AL) 4, Colorado 3

• Troy Tulowitzki went 2-3 with 2 HR, 3 RBI and 2 R.  He’s now on a 8 game hitting streak, going 12-27 with 4 HR, 8 RBI and 9 R.  In June he’s now hit 7 HR.  He’s finally looking like the player he did two years ago and clearly is a must use option in all formats right now.
• Juan Rivera went 1-3 with 1 HR, 1 RBI and 1 R.  He’s been playing everyday , helping him to a .310 average to go along with 11 HR and 38 RBI.  In five outfielder formats, he’s clearly got value.
• Ubaldo Jimenez struggled, giving up 4 runs on 7 hits and 1 walk, striking out 5, over 7 innings of work.  He’s now given up 4 earned runs in three of his last six starts and continues to appear to be a very inconsistent option.  I know his ERA is 3.83 and his WHIP is a usable 1.36, but he’s just too frustrating an option for me.

San Diego 9, Seattle 7

• Scott Hairston returned to the line-up for the Padres, going 2-5 with 1 RBI and 1 R.  He certainly brings an added threat to the line-up.  Now, if Kyle Blanks (0-3, 1 R) can show us something, the Padres have the potential to produce a major league offense almost every game. 
• Chad Gaudin had 11 K over 7 innings?!  Really?  Great performance, but honestly, who cares?  Do not be enticed in the least.
• Adrian Beltre returned to the line-up to go 0-3 and be lifted for a pinch hitter.  His owners have got to be at least a little nervous at this point.  Hopefully he’s in the line-up today, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see him on the bench yet again.

St. Louis 3, New York (NL) 0

• Joel Pineiro was the one and onl story to take out of this game.  He tossed a complete game shutout, allowing 2 hits and 1 walk, striking out 1.  Of his 27 outs, 21 of them came via the groundball.  It took him just 100 pitches to complete the game.  This breaks a five start losing streak, though he really hadn’t been awful during that stretch (4.33 ERA).  He doesn’t strikeout many batters, 40 K over 92.2 innings, which influences his value as well.  In deeper formats, depending on the match-up, he does have some potential value given his 3.40 ERA and 1.18 WHIP.

Anyone have any thoughts?  Anything to add?

To read the previous article, click here.

Picture courtesy of Icon Sports Media, Inc.