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Wily Mo Pena is making a statement since being called up on Monday to serve as the Diamondbacks’ DH in AL parks, hitting his second tape-measure shot in four games. (more…)
Archive for the ‘Arizona Diamondbacks’ Category
StockWatch: Friday, June 17
Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From the games of Friday, June 17.
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Brett Myers (37%) may be finally awakening, tossing a complete game against the Dodgers on Friday. Myers allowed four hits and three runs (two earned) with six strikeouts and one walk. Before we get ahead of ourselves and start announcing that the Myers of last year (3.14 ERA, 180 Ks) is back, remember that this is just the third time in his last 11 starts that he has allowed three runs or less. One encouraging sign is that Myers has cut his walk rate in half from 3.2 BB/9 in the first two months to 1.6 BB/9 in June. Myers had always had a problem with the long ball before last year, when his HR/FB rate dropped to 8.5% from his career 14.4%. His old bugaboo has returned this season with a 14.8% HR/FB, so don’t expect a return to last year’s form entirely. Myers’ 4.03 xFIP shows that his 4.75 ERA is a bit inflated, so he should be able to become someone you can use in deep mixed leagues for favorable matchups.
Josh Tomlin (56%) ended his string of three straight six-run outings, limiting the Pirates to one run in 6.2 IP with five strikeouts and no walks. Tomlin dropped his ERA to 3.93 and has a sparkling 1.07 WHIP due in large part to his miniscule walk rate of 1.2 BB/9. As long as he can keep limiting the free passes, his 3.72 xFIP could hold up as long as the league doesn’t figure out how to square up all those strikes he throws. (more…)
StockWatch: Thursday, June 16
Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From games of Thursday, June 16.
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J.J. Hardy (40%) has been scalding hot since the calendar turned June, failing to record a hit in just one game this month. Hardy went 2-for-5 with his seventh homer on Thursday. He is 21-for-52 (.404) with five homers and nine RBIs in June to raise his season average to .299. Hardy has always been a binge hitter, so surely you’ve had him in this month if you own him.
C.J. Wilson (86%) bounced back from a one-strikeout start against the Twins last time out to record his fifth double-digit strikeout game of the season. Wilson held the Yankees to two runs and seven hits in eight innings with 10 strikeouts, giving him 93 Ks on the season. Wilson has been inconsistent with his strikeout totals, but the double-digit games make up for the five times he’s struck out three or less. (more…)
Spotlight: Josh Collmenter
Josh Collmenter is quickly becoming something of a rookie sensation, holding the Nationals to three hits in seven scoreless innings with one walk and five strikeouts.
Collmenter and his funky, over-the-top delivery now has a 1.25 ERA and a 0.67 WHIP. In 29.1 innings as a starter, he has allowed just four runs (1.23 ERA). (more…)
StockWatch: Wednesday, May 25
Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From games of Wednesday, May 25.
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Erik Bedard (36%) continued his hot tear, going six scoreless innings against the Twins with four strikeouts and one walk. Bedard began the season 0-4 with a 7.71 ERA, but he is 3-0 with a 1.09 ERA and a 28-7 K-BB ratio in 33 IP since then. Bedard should be owned and started in all leagues.
Franklin Gutierrez (6%) was 2-for-3 with a homer and has a modest four-game hitting streak after going 0-for-8 in his first two games off a long DL stint with stomach problems. It was good to see Gutierrez attempting a steal even though he was caught, as he can be a solid source of both SBs and HRs when he gets going. (more…)
StockWatch: Tuesday, May 24
Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses.
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Kelly Johnson (63%) is finally hitting after an April that saw him hit just .180 with three HRs. He 6-for-17 with 2 HRs and 8 RBIs in his past 5 games and is starting to look like a guy who has the potential to put up a 20/20 season at second base.
Matt Joyce (85%) has caught fire since the end of April, as he has hit all eight of his home runs since April 28 and has his average up to .367. He is doing all his damage against right-handed pitchers (.397, 7 HR, 24 RBIs) and his ridiculously high BABIP of .418 probably isn’t going to last long, so enjoy the ride while it lasts. (more…)
StockWatch: Tuesday, May 10
Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses.
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J.J. Hardy (10%) came off the DL with a bang, going 4-for-5 with a homer. We were high on Hardy going into the season before a strained oblique shelved him a week in, so now we’re getting back on his side. With a little health and the cozy confines of Camden Yards, Hardy should be worth owning in mixed leagues as a power option at shortstop.
Matt Joyce (30%) recorded his third straight multi-hit game by going 2-for-4 with a homer, raising his average to .356. Since starting the season 1-for-20, Joyce has hit a scalding .432 (35-for-81). Before you get too excited, remember that Joyce is basically a platoon player because he can’t hit lefties (2-for-15), so his counting totals will suffer a bit. If you own him, just be sure to bench him if he’s facing lefties. (more…)
Closer Report: Tuesday, May 3
A daily look at the fantasy baseball closers who threw in games. For a detailed look at the closing situation for all 30 teams, click here.
Kyle Farnsworth earned a win after throwing a scoreless ninth in a non-save situation.
Jon Rauch blew his first save, allowing a single and then two-run homer by B.J. Upton without recording an out. (more…)
StockWatch: Thursday, April 28
Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses.
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ADD OF THE DAY: JEFF NIEMANN (5%) took a no-hitter into the seventh inning against the Twins, settling for seven innings with two hits and one run allowed for his first win of the season. Niemann is coming around after beginning the season with two poor outings, having two quality starts in his last three times out to lower his ERA to 5.60. He’s worth picking up even in deeper mixed leagues for the chance he returns to his first-half form of last season (7-2, 2.77 ERA, 1.09 WHIP). (more…)
StockWatch: Tuesday, April 26
Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses.
Charlie Morton is our Stock Spotlight for today. Read about the Pirates starting pitcher here
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ADD OF THE DAY: WILSON RAMOS (6%) continues to assert himself as the Nationals catcher of the present over ancient Ivan Rodriguez, stroking two homers and going 3-for-4 to raise his average to .378. The 23-year-old is bound to cool off with the batting average, but it was good to see the solid power surfacing. Ramos should be starting in two-catcher mixed leagues and would make a great fill-in for injured stars like Joe Mauer or Victor Martinez in one-catcher leagues.
Melky Cabrera (14%) went 3-for-4 with a homer and a steal, raising his average to .301. Cabrera has made himself back into a solid AL-only outfielder after a lost season in the NL, but he has a low ceiling and is just a bench option for deeper mixed leagues. (more…)
