Paul Sauberer is one of the original Fantistics Analysts. Paul is a diehard fantasy baseball fan with political aspirations. Paul's earliest baseball memories are of the expansion Senators in the 1960s and his father buying him an entire box of 1969 Topps baseball cards. The Senators are no longer and the cards are definitely no longer in mint condition, but Paul's love of baseball continues. He transferred allegiance to the Orioles after the Senators left town and enjoyed the glorious times of the Birds in the 1970s. During that time, he also discovered table top baseball games (before "Rotisserie" meant anything outside of something to do with food) and that has led to decades of crunching numbers and following major league performances. Paul reacquainted himself with the Senators, now the Texas Rangers, while going to college in Texas and remains a Rangers' fan today, even after living on Long Island for 14 years with his wife and two children. Paul knows his baseball!
Ethan Martin- PHI- Rookie- Martin gave up 3 runs in 5 IP and took the loss yesterday. He walked 2, his lowest total so far in 3 major league starts. Control will be the key to Martin's eventual success or...
Mark Reynolds- CLE- Drop Value- Reynolds was designated for assignment yesterday but there is a good chance he will catch on with another team soon. That team could be Baltimore. The Orioles' DHs have hit a collective .210 with 16...
Wilmer Flores- NYN- Rookie- It wasn't an auspicious debut for Flores, who went 0-for-4 and committed an error last night. He was hitting .321 with 15 homers in 463 ABs at AAA Las Vegas when he was called up. Flores...
Elvis Andrus- TEX- Hot- Andrus extended his hitting streak to 14 games by going 1-for-4. He is 17-for-51 in that span. This may e a continuation of some regression to the mean. Last month, Andrus hit .287 after a mark...
Brian Wilson- SF- FYI- Wilson had been working out in front of people connected with the Giants but ended up heading to southern California, but not to be one of the Beach Boys. He signed with the arch rival Dodgers....
Jake Peavy- CHA- Hot- In what could have been his last start as a White Sox (or is it White Sock?) Peavy allowed 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 7 in 7 IP to run his record to...
Tim Lincecum-SF-Cold- When Lincecum needed 148 pitches to throw a no hitter that was a sign that his stuff wasn't back to form yet. Although only 52 of those pitches were balls he still allowed 4 walks in his 9...
Wily Peralta- MIL- Hot- For someone who threw a 3-hit shutout last night, Peralta wasn't as impressive as his line looks. He threw 113 pitches, 71 of them for strikes. After the first 4 IP, though, Peralta had thrown 29...
Giancarlo Stanton- MIA- Cold- Stanton has cooled off since the calendar flipped to July. He is 2-for-18 in the early days of the month, with no extra base hits. Stanton has drawn 5 walks in 5 games already this month,...
Wily Peralta-MIL- Hot- Peralta had finally started coming around but had to leave last night's game with a hamstring injury. He had allowed 10 ER in 23.1 IP across his previous 4 starts but only struck out 9 batters. Last...
Chien-Ming Wang- TOR- Stats- Wang has a 2.18 ERA since signing with the Blue Jays earlier this month but it is built on good luck. His FIP is 4.07 and his K/9 is 4.35. During Wang's minor league time with...
Edwin Jackson- CHN- Cold- Jackson gave up 6 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out 1 in 4.2 IP. He was lucky to get as far as he did. For the first few innings his Strike/Ball ratio...
Matt Cain-SF- Hot- Cain tossed his third consecutive quality start. His control was superb as 74 of his 110 pitchers were strikes and he struck out 10 batters without issuing a walk. The only downside is that the 2 runs...
Anthony Rendon- WAS- Hot- Rendon went 3-for-4 yesterday to bring his average up to .361. Underlying that is a .447 BABIP, so expect some negative regression in that department. Power should increase, though. Rendon had 6 homers in 152 PAs...
Jeff Baker- TEX- FYI- For those of you in 1-game eligibility leagues, Baker added 2B to his list of positions that already included 1B, 3B and OF. He went 0-for-4 last night but is still batting .317 with 9 homers...
Chris Withrow- LAN- Rise Value- A move to the bullpen seems to have jumpstarted the 20th overall pick from 2007. Withrow had spent 3+ mediocre seasons at AA when the Dodgers' put him in the pen late last season. At...
Julio Teheran- ATL- Hot- Teheran continues to improve as the season progresses. His near no hitter is his 6th straight quality start and the 7th time in his last 8 games where he has walked no more than 2 batters....
Alex Rodriguez- NYA- Warning- ARod's season may be over before it even began. He is one of the names in the Biogenesis scandal and is reportedly facing a 100-game suspension. MLB is looking to hit him with the penalty for...
Jonathan Papelbon- PHI- Stats- Papelbon picked up his 11th save of the season and second against his old team, Boston, in as many days yesterday. He has yet to blow a save this year. Although the run Papelbon gave up...
Alejandro De Aza- CHA- Cold- De Aza has gone back to his whiffing ways, striking out 6 times in 15 ABs in his last five games. He had seemed to be making progress, only striking out 3 times in 22...
Vance Worley- MIN- Drop Value- Worley was sent to AAA right after getting pounded for 8 runs in 3.2 IP yesterday. That increased his ERA to 7.21. He has had some bad luck as he has an FIP of 5.52....
Zack Greinke- LAN- Cold- Greinke's control was suspect from the start last night. I went to the game, figuring I would write about him today. I made a note on my phone after 24 pitches that half of them were...
John Axford- MIL- Cold- Axford retired the only batter he faced yesterday, which is a distinct improvement for him over his recent appearances. He hasn't had a full inning facing the minimum number of batters since April 23rd. An inordinate...
Mitch Moreland- TEX- Hot- Moreland added two homers last night, giving him 6 in his last 9 games. His average is up to .296 for the year. Moreland has had some luck recently, but not of the outrageous kind. His...
Michael Cuddyer- COL- Hot- Cuddyer is on a 6-game hitting streak and has hit safely in 13 of his last 14 games. Luck plays a major part, as his BABIP is .365 this season, compared to .287 last year. However,...
Ian Kinsler- TEX- Cold- Kinsler went 0-for-4 to snap an 11-game hitting streak. He is 2-for-13 over his last 3 games. Although the sample size is small this might be the start of some regression to the mean. Kinsler's BABIP...
Jordan Schafer- ATL- Cold- Schafer is 5-for-21 since getting more playing time due to Jason Heyward's appendectomy. He is 2-for-14 in his last 5 games, 3 of them starts. There may be some regression to the mean happening as even...
Jordan Lyles- HOU- Rise Value- Lyles had a horrible spring, posting a 17.74 ERA in Grapefruit League play. He has settled down some at AAA. He has a 5.32 ERA in his first 6 games, 5 of them starts, but...
Brett Cecil- TOR- Hot- Manager John Gibbons might credit Cecil's increased velocity and mix of pitches for his early success, but there are other factors in play. Cecil has a BABIP of .200 and a LOB% of 93.8%. As a...
Martin Prado- ARI- Stats- Prado's versatility may become an asset once his luck turns around. His current .241 average is being driven by a .239 BABIP. Prado has been more selective, swinging at 22.1% of pitches out of the strike...
Cody Ross- ARI- Hot- Ross went 2-for-4 to give him a .333 average in 4 games since coming off the DL. In this micro sample size he has a .444 BABIP and hasn't walked yet, so don't get all excited...
Oswaldo Arcia- MIN- Rookie- Arcia was recalled a day after being sent down. With Darin Mastroianni on the DL Arcia could get a chance to show how close he is to being ready for a full time major league slot....
Robert LaFromboise- SEA- Rookie- LaFramboise came from nowhere to join the Mariners' bullpen yesterday. He isn't on anyone's top prospect list that I can find. LaFramboise did make a big jump last year in strikeout rate, fanning 87 in 79.1...
Tim Lincecum- SF- Cold- Last year Lincecum wasn't quite as bad at home (4.15 ERA as he was on the road (6.43 ERA.) However, a return to San Francisco didn't help him last night. Lincecum gave up 6 runs to...
Tim Lincecum- SF- Caution- To say that Lincecum had control issues last night would be an understatement. Not only did he walk 7 in his 5 IP, but the slimmest majority of his 91 pitches were strikes (46.) Lincecum gave...
Yu Darvish- TEX- Hot- The most impressive thing about Darvish's outing last night might not be the near perfect game. Ok, maybe that is the most impressive. Very close, though, is that he struck out 14 and didn't walk anyone....