Chris Young:
Be prepared for some injury reports coming out this morning on Chris Young because his start last night suggests he's just not right. Young walked 6 batters in his 4 1/3 innings of work, allowing 5 ER's. This gives Young 15 BB's in just over 21 August innings, for comparison's sake Young walked 3 in his previous 22 innings. The oblique/back issues he's been suffering from are obviously hindering him and he may not be right the rest of the season. A difficult potential loss for fantasy owners that had been enjoying a breakout season from the Princeton grad.
Orlando Hernandez:
El Duque finally turned in a poor start giving me a slight victory in my weekly battle with El Duque's 2007 statistics. At this point I'd say we're at El Duque up 6 rounds to 1 in our 11 round heavyweight match, but I'm still depending on the late knockout punch. Hernandez got roughed up for 5 ER's on 6 hits and 1 BB in his 3 innings. He struck out 2 and continues to show an excellent K Rate on the season. This outing got his ERA back up to 3.32 and I've suggested it should be closer to the high 3's or low 4's on the season, so we've still got a way to go for me to win this one.
Pat Burrell:
Think this will change how Philly fans feel about Burrell? Nah, probably not. Regardless he continued his torrid 2nd half on Thursday by belting out 2 more HR's, his 9th and 10th of the month. It was Burrell's 4th HR of the series and he continues to mash at home, where he's posting an OPS above 1.000. As mentioned earlier in the year Burrell's been pretty underrated for quite some time likely because of the potential batting average drain, but he's a proven power hitter and run producer who has made tremendous strides this year in his batting EYE. What's not to like?
Manny Parra:
Parra struggled in his first outing back into the rotation as he allowed 3 ER's on 3 hits and 3 BB's while striking out 3. Parra's an interesting prospect who's fought his way back from arm problems to become a force in the Brewers minor league system. Parra has some favorable matchups down the stretch and I actually like using him, but the Brewers bullpen is a mess behind him and there is some decent risk but I'd advise using him next week against Pit if you're in need of a spot start with upside.
Ted Lilly:
Earlier in the year I suggested Lilly's decreased BB totals were more of a result of the switch in competition going from the AL East to the NL Central, and while I still feel that way Lilly's doing everything he can to make me look like a fool. He struggled with his command again on Thursday walking 4 in just 5 innings of work, giving him 15 BB's in his last 36 innings. This makes it look more like a regression towards his career BB Rate than anything else, but I still feel the league switch is playing a role here. Regardless Lilly's spotty control of late makes him a less reliable option than his season numbers may indicate. Luckily his next start comes against the hapless Dodgers.
