Beyond the Boxscore–Fantasy MLB News and Notes 6/28/08
I just want to start out with a situation that really made me mad! Ok, so it is safe to assume that Justin Verlander is back. He has had now five straight starts where he allowed three runs or less, and his ERA is down almost two full runs in the past two months. So tonight he throws six quality innings against the Rockies only to see closer Todd Jones blow the save in the 9th. Ok, that makes me mad, but at least I also have Rockies closer Brian Fuentes, so if I lose the win with Verlander, at least I’ll pick up a save with Fuentes, right??? WRONG!!!! Fuentes blows his save in the bottom of the 9th and the Tigers win. So, now the Tigers win, I don’t get a win with Verlander, and get a blown save with Fuentes. That’s enough to drive you to drink, love that fantasy baseball!
Welcome back to the Bigs, Billy Butler! The Royals top hitting prospect was recalled to the majors on Saturday after hitting .337 with five homers after being sent down when struggling in May. Butler has the potential to one day hit 30 homers with a .310-.325 average. Keeper leagues and deeper leagues, grab Butler now, he’s too good to not be effective.
Johan Santana has been the victim of some bad offense in his first year with the Mets. For just the second time in his career, the team Santana plays for lost five consecutive starts. Now, it isn’t Santana’s fault. He has a 2.93 ERA, his strikeouts are still close to one an inning, but he is still allowing a lot of homers. I think the Mets will eventually pull out of this funk that they are in, and the wins should start coming in for Santana, you might be able to get him a little cheaper after he gave up three runs over six innings, but in my opinion, you don’t mess with the Johan!
Dustin Pedroia is completely engulfed in flames. In his past ten games, he has 26 hits, including two homers and four RBI. His average went from .269 to .302. He doesn’t hit a bunch of homers or steal too many bases, but after the top tier is gone at 2B, Pedroia is a pretty good option at second. If someone dropped him during his slump, he’s not a bad guy to have on your team.
Although his other numbers aren’t anything to write home about, Milwaukee’s Manny Parra keeps winning games. Parra raised his record to 8-2 on Saturday after throwing seven shutout innings and snapping the Twins 10 game winning streak. In his last eight starts the Brewers have scored at least five runs in support of Parra. Not too many pitchers who are 8-2 have an ERA of 4.00 or walking as many guys as Parra does. If you own him, keep throwing him out there, but I think I would try to sell high. Keeper leagues, I would probably try to hold him, unless you could trade him for another pitcher of a similar age.
The St. Louis Cardinals continue to get great pitching from unforeseen sources. On Saturday, Mitchell Boggs improved to 3-0 by allowing just one run over six innings with six strikeouts. Boggs was a solid, but unspectacular pitcher in the minors, so if he sticks with the Cards for a while, he could be an option in deep leagues or in case of injury. He doesn’t strike out a ton, but he should be solid.
I know it seems we write about Johnny Cueto every time he starts, but he has been such a roller coaster pitcher this year. Well, Saturday Cueto threw 6.2 shutout innings and struck out two. Only twice since the beginning of May has Cueto allowed more than three runs, although his strikeouts are down some from the beginning of the year. He still does have 83 Ks in just under 100 innings, which is still pretty good. His record is disappointing at 6-8, but I think he deserves a roster spot in all leagues, depending on your roster of course.
Justin Duchscherer continues to be amazing, even though he was a hard luck loser on Saturday. Duch threw eight innings of two-hit, one-run ball, and lowered his ERA to a ungodly 1.91. His strikeouts are average at best, but when you don’t allow many runs, it makes it easier to swallow not getting a lot of Ks. If he was only on a team that scored runs, he would be 13-1 instead of 8-5. I continue to suggest against this career reliever, as he is approaching his career high in innings pitched as we approach July, and I’m not stepping back from that recommendation. I see a drop off in the second half in his future.
The reason that Duch took the loss was because Tim Lincecum was just about unhittable tonight. 
Lincecum threw seven shutout innings while striking out 11. He has turned himself in just his second year into a viable Cy Young candidate. Lincecum is now 9-1 with a 2.38 ERA. He also has 114 Ks in 109 innings. Consider Lincecum one of the five to eight best pitchers in all of baseball and he just turned 24 two weeks ago.
Dodgers SP Chad Billingsley is a guy that I have really high hopes for in the second half, and for years to come. Billingsley threw another great game on Saturday as he threw seven shutout innings against the Angels and allowed only three hits. Billingsley also has a great strikeout ratio, as he gets more than one an inning. If you are looking for someone to trade for in the second half, I recommend Billingsley as a guy who could give great rewards without costing a fortune.
Another amazing situation is happening in Los Angeles. Angels pitcher Jered Weaver had a no hitter going through six innings, and after a questionable error call, he was losing 1-0. Even more crazy is that Weaver was pinch hit for in the 7th. Weaver will not get the chance to make history. Nevertheless, a great start for Weaver, six no-hit innings with six strikeouts.
Injury News
Marlins 2B Dan Uggla left the game tonight after spraining his ankle. Uggla looked to turn a single into a double, and his ankle appeared to buckle a little as he tried to retreat back to first. X-rays have come back negative, and he is listed as day-to-day. I wouldn’t be shocked to see him sit on Sunday as the Marlins play at 1 pm EST.
Magglio Ordonez left the game on Saturday with spasms in his obliques. Ordonez came up lame chasing down a fly ball hit by Troy Tulowitzki and exited the game. No word really on the extent of his injury, but expect the Tigers to be a little cautious with their aging star outfielder.
Nats OF Lastings Milledge is heading to the DL after injuring his right groin. Milledge was retrieving a ball under the wall hit by Alex Cintron when it appeared his cleat got stuck in the wall. He injured his groin while getting up to throw the ball in. He was immediately placed on the DL. No word yet on how long he will be out. Milledge has been a little disappointing, but he is still a young guy and has a lot of potential.
A Happy One Month to my younger daughter Morgan. Thanks to all of you who have been asking about her, we are all doing very well. And the crying has definitely gotten MUCH better since that first week.
As always, your questions (adds, drops, trades) and comments are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Don’t forget to check me out at mlbfrontoffice.com on Tuesdays under In The News. Also go to fantasybaseballsearch.com to find me in the Gurus Blog, and listen to The True Gurus Show every Wednesday night at 9 pm. I am a frequent guest on that show.
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