A.J. Griffin- OAK- Hot- Griffin tossed his second quality start in 3 outings. He is still gaining help from good fortune as his ERA for the game was 1.29 while his 1-game FIP was 3.05 Griffin's Season differential between the two grew to .76. He gave up his 34th homer of the season. We are at the time of the year when what's left is a small sample size so anything can happen still. Looking ahead to 2014, though, Griffin isn't a good bet to repeat his numbers from this year.
Scott Diamond- MIN- Cold- Diamond looked pretty much like the same pitcher who got farmed out in July. The one possible bright spot was that he didn't give up any homers and is now at 16 allowed in 112.1 major league IP this year. Diamond only managed to strike out 1 of the 22 batters he faced in 4.2 IP so his K/9 dropped to 3.69. His K/9 was only at 4.68 last year. He has showed that he needs to miss more bats in order to be effective in the majors. That will be his key to whether he can bounce back in 2014. Right now the odds look against it.
Jake Peavy- BOS- Stats- Peavy got a quality start yesterday, allowing 3 runs on 4 hits in 6 IP while striking out 4. He had even more pronounced control issues than he did in his previous start, when he walked 3 in 6 IP. This time he walked 5 and only 60 of his 107 pitches were strikes. Peavy's WHIP jumped up a little from just this one start, from 1.10 to 1.12.This was due to the increase in his BB/9 from 1.86 to 2.12. Peavy needs to have exceptional command to produce consistent results. If he continues to struggle in his last few starts, keep a watch on him next spring to see if it is just a matter of fatigue.
Charlie Leesman- CHA- Cold- Leesman saw his ERA jump from 1.59 to 7.15 after he failed to retire any of the 7 batters he faced and all of them eventually scored. He had no sense of the strike zone yesterday as only 14 of his 35 pitches were strikes. In his 3 appearances with the White Sox before last night only 123 of his 221 pitches were strikes and he had walked 9 in 11.1 IP so control has been a distinct issue in his brief major league career. At AAA Leesman had a BB/9 of 4.18 so that is going to be a challenge. Watch his control numbers next spring to evaluate his status as a sleeper.
Jose Reyes- TOR- Hot- Reyes has been beset by injuries in his first season with Toronto but he is showing that he produces when he is physically able. Reyes went 4-for-4 with a homer, 2 doubles and a walk. That brought his average back up over .300. It was a continuation of a hot streak that took a 2-game pause. In his last 8 games Reyes has gone 14-for-36 with a homer, 8 RBI, 5 runs and 2 steals. He looks like he will be a solid contributor next season, provided he can stay healthy.
Follow me on Twitter all season - @fantisticspaul
There are over 100 player news blurbs posted in the member area each morning. Members can read the rest of today's player news by clicking here. Not a member? Join today.
