John Maine
Maine was fantastic again on Sunday shutting out the Nationals for 7 innings. He allowed 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out a season high 8. Maine's now 4-5 in quality starts and pitching for the Mets has plenty of value attached to him strictly because of the W potential. However early on in the 2007 season Maine has bumped up his K Rate significantly to the point where he's gone from spot-starter to a mainstay on fantasy rosters. Owners should beware though, while Maine's made improvements in his K Rate, his BB Rate has also jumped significantly. Maine's also currently the beneficiary of a Strand Rate of .89 and a BHIP% against of .140. Those two statistics are unlikely to be maintained and while Maine has made improvements he likely holds more value as a sell high candidate right now than going forward.
Jason Bergmann
After last week's bashing of the Nationals in my player blurbs, I got some feedback from Nationals fans asking me to lay off a bit. So this week I'm going to focus on a guy with the Nationals that looks to be absolutely for real and should be someone on fantasy owners' radars. Jason Bergmann has yet to Win a game this season, but he can hardly be blamed. Bergmann improved to 4-5 in quality starts with another strong 7 innings on Sunday against the Mets. Bergmann allowed only 2 hits (1 solo HR) and 3 walks in his 7 innings while striking out 6. Bergmann possesses a very solid K Rate of .89 which is in line with his minor league totals and while his current BB Rate of .55 is a little high for my liking right now, Bergmann is proving worthy of fantasy owners' attention. Right now due to his limited W potential he's likely on the cusp of ownership in traditional mixed leagues, he should be considered a solid matchups option going forward.
Freddy Sanchez
Last year's batting champ is going through an atrocious slump right now. Another 0-4 day on Sunday makes Sanchez just 1 for his last 19. Even more concerning is the 2 more strikeouts that now put his season total up to 14. Sanchez has been a tremendous contact hitter throughout his major and minor league career and has been a consistent 2B's machine. So far this season Sanchez is striking out at a rate 3 times last season's rate and has only mustered 2 2B's on the season. The startling increase in strikeouts is very concerning for a player that derives the majority of his value from the batting average department.
Claudio Vargas
Just when I was really starting to buy into Claudio Vargas he's given me two shaky outings this week to think twice about him. As a precursor I should let you know that there's a few pitching coaches that I believe truly can unlock hidden potential in their pitchers and Mike Maddux is one of them. He's in the Mazzone/Duncan category and doesn't get enough credit. Getting back to Vargas, he went 5 innings on Sunday walking 5 batters and allowing 4 hits but escaping without any ER's allowed. He did strike out 5 and continues to post an excellent K Rate early in the season of 1.32, but I still remain a bit skeptical of Vargas who's always had the unappealing combination of high BB and HR's allowed rates. However if the high K Rate continues it's going to be hard to keep ignoring him. In deeper leagues, Vargas should be owned and if he's not should be snatched up immediately and even in shallower mixed leagues he deserves some serious attention.
Chris Young
Young went 2-4 with a 2B and another SB on Sunday. Young's still only hitting .208 on the season but his K Rate (the biggest concern heading into the season) is a modest 12.6 and his BHIP% is currently sitting at .155 right now which suggests with a little bit of luck Chris Young will be a tremendous fantasy option this year. His 2 HR's and 3 SB's in the first month of the season are just a peak at how much this young OF can impact fantasy circles.
