James McDonald- PIT- Hot- Facing the team with the worst record in the AL, McDonald dominated, allowing 1 run in a complete game. He continued the control he has shown this season, issuing no walks. McDonald's K/9 ratio has dropped from 4.11 in 2011 to 2.39 this year and his K/9 has gone up from 7.47 to 8.27. He has been helped by a favorable BABIP of .248, but even regression to the mean would leave him in a valuable place. McDonald threw a career-high 120 pitches. He has only hit the 110-pitch mark once before and that was earlier this season and he showed no effects in his next start. At age 27, McDonald is more likely to be able to have no issues with the occasional high-pitch game than if he were younger.
Tyler Moore- WAS- Rookie- After last night, Moore now has 5 games played at 1B as well as 10 in the outfield, which could make a difference in eligibility in some leagues. His .297 average is supported by a .346 BABIP, so don't expect the same level of contribution in that category. Moore has stolen 3 bases so far in his brief major league career and that is simply a bonus, not something to be counted on. He never stole that many in any of his minor league seasons. Power is Moore's greatest asset and his 2 homers in 37 ABs is a good sign.
Danny Espinosa- WAS- Stats- Last year Espinosa had a large split differential, hitting .223 as a lefty and .283 as a righty. But a lot of his peripherals were better lefthanded. His GB% was lower, FB% was higher, infield FB% lower. Espinosa had bad luck as a lefty. His BABIP was .281 instead of .337 as it was righthanded. This year Espinosa still has extreme splits, with a .192 average lefthanded and .364 righthanded. His BABIP has increased as a lefty to .272 but it is dwarfed by the .474 as a righty. If Espinosa's BABIP as a lefty has gone up why is his average lower? It looks like he might be pressing. His K% has gone up from 25.9% to 31.7%. His GB% and FB% are worse this year than his numbers as a righthander. If last night's clutch hit gives him some confidence then Espinosa could see a rise in his performance lefthanded offset regression to the mean as a righthander.
Carlos Zambrano- MIA- Cold- Zambrano walked 4 batters in his 5 IP yesterday. For good measure he hit another 2. That makes 13 walks in his last 3 starts covering 9.1 IP. Whatever is going on with Zambrano, fantasy owners should stay away until he gets a GPS and types "strike zone" into it.
Matt Adams- STL- Rookie- Adams had a .375 BABIP in May and has a .250 in June. That explains most of the difference between his hot start and current cold snap. The cold streak also seems to have panicked Adams as his BB% has dropped from 8.9% to 2.2% and his K% has gone up from 17.8% to 34.8%. As a result his Batting EYE has plunged from .50 to .06. It looks like there needs to be less mechanical tweaking of his swing and more mental adjustment to have him realize that he isn't as good as he was when he first came up but also isn't as bad as he has been recently. With some roster decisions coming up, Adams might be getting the chance to right himself in the minors.
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