"August 2012" Monthly Archives

Daniel Murphy (2B/1B-NYM)- Murphy went 1-for-4 with a strikeout in the Mets loss to the Phillies on yesterday. He has not recorded an extra base hit in 19 straight games, as he has seen his slash line drop to...

Trayvon Robinson (OF-SEA) - As a Dodgers fan, I've followed Robinson's career closely and was always enamored with his tools. He made great strides the past couple minor league seasons, but he was just not able to translate that to...

C. C. Sabathia- NYA- Hot- Sabathia seems poised to finish strong as usual. Since 2005 he hasn't had a monthly ERA in September higher than 3.35. He has posted quality starts in each of his 2 games since coming off...

Adam Jones (BAL - OF): Alright I admit it. Now that Adam Jones has hit his 25th HR, I feel a little bit better about winning my "WhoYaGot" bet with Mike Leone about Jones eclipsing the 23.5 HR line...

Brett Jackson - Jackson homered again last night, extending his modest hitting streak to 4 games, during which he has a double and 3 homers to his credit. He's also walked five times in the past three games (and 8...

Daisuke Matsuzaka - In his first start in more than 2 months, Dice-K faced the Royals on Monday and pitched well, giving up 1 run (0 ER) on just 5 hits to go along with 2 walks and 6 strikeouts...

Manny Machado SS (BAL) - I know fellow analyst Joe Hettler was pretty adamant that fantasy owners should not overrate Machado based upon a few good games when he was initially called up. Time has proven Joe to be...

Edinson Volquez SP (SD) - You should know the drill by now. Volquez at home? Start. Volquez on the road? Sit. Volquez should be avoided today in most fantasy formats as he is away from spacious Petco Park. Volquez...

Jeremy Hellickson (SP-TB)- Hellickson earned his ninth loss of the season on Saturday afternoon after allowing four runs on six hits (two home runs) while striking out five without issuing a walk. His ERA increased to 3.42, but he...

Jose Altuve (2B - HOU): Houston isn't exactly a baseball team budding with fantasy value, but Jose Altuve's first full season in the big leagues deserves some attention. Altuve went 2-5 with 2 more RBI's on Thursday improving his...

JA Happ (SP-TOR)- Happ earned a no decision in yesterday's start against the Tigers despite allowing just one run on four hits and three walks in 7.1 innings of work. He struck out seven and lowered his ERA to 4.68,...

James Shields (SP-TB)- Shields improved his record to 12-7 on Wednesday afternoon after holding the Royals to three runs in 7.2 innings of work. He allowed five hits and one walk while striking out seven and lowered his ERA...

Brett Anderson (SP - OAK) - Anderson was about as good as he could be in his first start of the year, limiting the Twins to a run on four hits in five innings with no walks and three strikeouts....

Tim Lincecum- SF- FYI- When I saw the headline on mlb.com, "Giants stretch out lead behind stellar Lincecum" I had high expectations. "Stellar Lincecum" to me would mean something like 8 IP and double digit strikeouts. Instead, seeing 4 Ks...

Jon Lucroy - Lucroy smacked a pair of homers last night against the Cubs, giving him 8 for the season and bringing his line up to 328/379/554 for the year. The 26 year old has been steadily improving in just...

Ryan Dempster - After missing his start on Saturday against the Blue Jays due to personal reasons, Ryan Dempster faced the Orioles on Monday and allowed 1 ER on 4 hits over 8 innings. He also struck out 6....

Chad Billingsley (SP - LAD): Billingsley just kept on rolling on Sunday tossing 7 more shutout innings against the Braves. He's now allowed 1 ER or less in five of his last six starts and pushed his ERA from...

David Murphy- TEX- Hot- Murphy went 2-for-4 yesterday after going 3-for-5 on Thursday. That puts his August average at .345, driven by a .365 BABIP. Murphy has benefited from luck this year, with a .335 BABIP. That has been mostly...

Brian McCann - The Braves' catcher got a routine day off in hopes of helping him clear his mind. McCann has been in a prolonged slump, hitting just .114 over his past 15 games to go along with a .114...

Chipper Jones- ATL- Old Player- With the season he's been having you couldn't blame Jones for doing a Brett Favre and taking back his end-of-season retirement. He has 10 homers in 266 ABs. Jones' .315 average isn't hugely luck-based since...

Derek Holland (SP - TEX): A perplexing year for Derek Holland continued as he tossed 5 shutout innings against the Yankees before imploding in the 6th inning and allowing 4 ER's. He finished the start having allowed 5 hits...

Nick Blackburn- MIN- Cold- In the two months since we last discussed Blackburn's horrible season, things haven't gotten any better. His ERA of 7.33 has some bad luck built into it, with a BABIP of 3.26 and LOB% of 63.8%....

Mark Buehrle (SP-MIA)- Buehrle won his tenth game of the season on Wednesday afternoon against the Phillies. He allowed two runs on five hits, a home run and a walk while striking out three in seven innings of work....

Andy Dirks - Dirks singled, homered, and walked twice yesterday in the 8-4 win over Minnesota, and he's been playing every day since his return, hitting 378/442/568. Dirks has improved in every facet of his offensive game except speed the...

Michael Fiers - Fiers had his QS streak stopped at 9 last night in Colorado, as the 27 year old rookie allowed eight runs on nine hits in just two-plus innings. Fiers really has been brilliant since his promotion to...

Anibal Sanchez (SP - DET) - Sanchez was lit up for the third time in four starts as a Tiger, as the Twins pounded him for five runs on 12 hits (one home run) in five innings. He has had...

Matt Carpenter (3B-STL) - With David Freese in an 0-for-14 slump, Carpenter got the nod at third base on Sunday and he took advantage, going 4-for-6 with a double and three RBI to raise his impressive slash line to .312/.385/.505....

AJ Pierzynski (C - CHA): Back in April I wrote an extensive blurb about how AJ Pierzynski's hot-start simply could not be sustained. I recommended not only selling high if you owned Pierzynski but passing on him outright in...

Hisashi Iwakuma - I've been more and more impressed with Iwakuma lately, as the 31 year old "rookie" managed his fifth straight start allowing three earned runs or less last night against the Angels, as he held them to three...

Wade Miley (SP - ARZ): Hopefully you took my advice earlier in the week when I touched on Wade Miley's recent hot streak. I noted Miley's skills have been great, but a favorable schedule may be inflating some of...

Manny Machado - In his second career game, Manny Machado batted eighth and clubbed 2 HRs with 4 RBI. He's now 4-for-8 in his first two games at the major league level. With a .266/.352/.438 slash line at AA this...

Madison Bumgarner (SP - SF) - Bumgarner allowed just three hits in six innings in St. Louis while striking out seven against just one walk, but his home run problems continued as he served one up to Carlos Beltran. He's...

Salvador Perez (C - KC) - Perez hit his sixth home run in just over 120 at bats and is now hitting .317/.341/.512. The backstop never showed much power in the minors or in his call-up last season, but he...

The following is just a sampling of the 70+ prospect notes you'll see this week... Hitters 33 Carlos Correa HOU SS B .596 OPS in 35 games, so not much to be excited about here. 36 Byron Buxton MIN OF...

Cole Hamels (SP-PHI)- Hamels threw a complete game shutout on Tuesday night against the Braves. He allowed five hits without a walk and six strikeouts to improve his ERA to 3.14 and record to 12-6. With a 3.51 FIP...

Kyle Seager (3B - SEA) - Seager hit his 12th home run as part of a 2-7 night in Baltimore. He is now hitting .247/.311/.403. He is hurt badly by Safeco Field, as he hits a ton of fly balls...