All posts under "Player Commentary" - Page 85

Chris Sale- CHA- Caution- Sale had a quality start last night but his usage pattern is worrisome. He ended up throwing 114 pitches, a dozen of them in the 8th inning after it looked like he was tiring. Extending pitchers...

Henderson Alvarez- MIA- Hot- Alvarez threw his first quality start in his last 5 outings, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and a walk while striking out 3 in 6 IP. Prior to his cold streak he had thrown 5...

Nick Castellanos -- The Tigers called up top prospect outfielder Nick Castellanos when rosters expanded yesterday. It's yet to be seen how he'll be used, but it's been rumored that he could supplant the Andy Dirks/Matt Tuiasosopo platoon in left...

Kyle Blanks, OF, San Diego Padres In his first action since July 11th, Blanks finished 2-for-4, batting 5th for Bud Black in the Padres order. Prior to getting injured, the 26-year old was batting .256 with 26 runs scored, eight...

Jason Kubel (OF/DH-CLE): Kubel was traded to the Indians for a PTBNL and cash considerations. It has been a dreadful season so far for Kubel, who after hitting 30 homers last season with an .833 OPS, has hit only 5...

Carlos Torres (SP-NYM): Torres allowed 1 earned run and struck out 6 across 6 and 2/3 innings in picking up the win. With the injuries to Jeremy Hefner and Matt Harvey and the struggles of Daisuke Matsuzaka, Torres is likely...

Jason Vargas- LAA- Hot- Vargas has now tossed two straight quality starts and appears over the blood clot issue that landed him on the DL earlier this season. He threw 7 shutout innings yesterday, allowing just 2 hits and 3...

Brandon Moss (1B/OF-OAK)- Moss had a monster day at the plate to help lead Oakland to 14-4 win over the Tigers on Wednesday. He went 4-for-6 with a double, two home runs, a strikeout, three runs scored and six RBI....

Marlon Byrd -- Byrd went 1-for-4 with a home run and 3 RBI in his Pirates debuted yesterday. Interestingly, he batted cleanup, pushing Pedro Alvarez to the fifth spot in the order. After poor performance and a PED suspension last...

Jonathon Niese (SP-NYM): Niese dominated the Phillies with a CGSO, allowing only 3 hits and 1 walk while striking out 5 in picking up his 6th win of the season. Niese has now given up only 6 earned runs in...

Roberto Hernandez - Roberto Hernandez faced the Angels and was tagged for 3 ER over six innings. He allowed eight hits, struck out six and walked three. Despite the 4.97 ERA, Hernandez actually owns a respectable 3.55 xFIP. He's...

Rey Fuentes - Rey Fuentes was called up and started yesterday in CF for the Padres, batting 7th and taking an 0-3 in his MLB debut. Fuentes is a burner with a great CF glove, but more importantly, he took...

Nate Freiman- OAK- Rookie- Frieman, possibly the tallest ever major league position player at 6' 8", reached base three times last night, singling as a pinch hitter and walking twice after staying in as the DH. Freiman has managed to...

Brett Anderson -- Reports out of Oakland yesterday indicated that Brett Anderson could be activated from the DL to rejoin Oakland's rotation as soon as tomorrow against Detroit. Anderson has been out since May with a stress fracture in his...

Jordan Zimmerman - Jordan Zimmerman faced the Royals and gave up 2 ER with seven strikeouts over 7 2/3 innings. Zimmerman has not been nearly as sharp in the second half (4.48 xFIP) as he was in the first half...

Torii Hunter (OF-DET): Hunter continued to swim in the fountain of youth, going 2-for-5 and hitting his 14th homer of the season. Hunter's .306/.341/.471 line with 66 RBI and 77 runs through 114 games puts him at 19th on ESPN's...

Daisuke Matsuzaka (SP-NYM): Matsuzaka, who signed with the Mets on Thursday, is scheduled to start today against the Tigers. Dice-K sported a 95:39 K:BB ratio and a 3.92 ERA through 103 and 1/3 innings at AAA this season. He displayed...

Ryan Doumit- MIN- Hot- Doumit is 10-for-31 with 2 homers in 7 games since coming back from the concussion DL. The time off didn't slow him down at all. In fact, he has picked up his game. In the first...

Starlin Castro -- Castro batted leadoff for the Cubs yesterday for the first time since July 8 and went 1-for-5 with a run scored. In the midst of a disappointing 2013 campaign, Castro has mostly been batting in the 5...

Felix Doubront - Felix Doubront took on the Giants on Wednesday and gave up 1 ER on five hits with three strikeouts. Doubront had struggled in his past two starts, allowing 9 ER over just eight innings. Despite those hiccups,...

Scooter Gennett - Gennett had a pair of singles yesterday and has now hit in 14 straight starts (he has had a few unsuccessful pinch-hitting appearances). He's shown a bit more power than expected to this point and has had...

Kyle Gibson (SP-MIN)- Gibson endured another tough outing on Monday, as the rookie right-hander saw his record fall to 2-4 for the year. He allowed four runs on ten hits and two walks while striking out two in 3.2 innings...

CC Sabathia (SP - NYY): Sabathia was good enough to get the Win on Sunday but struggled again in Fenway, allowing 6 ER's on 7 hits and 5 BB's over 5 1/3 innings. Sabathia's velocity has been building as the...

Jeff Locke, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates Similar to his teammate Francisco Liriano's start last week, Locke had a nightmarish outing against Arizona, yielding eight earned on 10 hits in just 2.2 innings of work. It's starts like this that can lose...

Kolten Wong - The Cardinals' Kolten Wong made his major league debut on Friday against the Cubs, batting in the six-hole and playing second base. He finished 0-for-3. Wong is just a really good hitter, posting batting averages of .335,...

Phil Hughes (SP-NYY)- Hughes earned another loss on Thursday, as the Angels were able to take an 8-4 win over the Yankees. The right-hander didn't pitch that poorly, allowing only three runs on six hits and one walk in six...

Steve Cishek, RP, Miami Marlins Cishek pitched a scoreless ninth to notch his 26th save of the year. He retired the first two batters, only to give up a double and a walk before closing the game out. After an...

Jason Giambi- CLE- Old Player- Giambi still has some pop in his bat on the rare occasion he gets to play. He went 2-for-3 with a homer, walk, 2 runs and 3 RBI. The homer was his 8th of the...

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...

Chris Archer - Chris Archer faced the Mariners on Tuesday and gave up 5 ER on nine hits while striking out five over just five innings. Archer entered Tuesday's start with a sparkling 2.71 ERA, but he has been outpitching...

Garrett Richards - Richards has been pretty impressive since returning to the Angel rotation, tossing 3 quality starts in 4 (he'd likely have 4 but he wasn't stretched out enough to go more than 5 in his first outing) after...

Andrew Lambo -- Lambo has had a rocky minor league career with suspensions and injuries, but he finally started making good on his promise this year for the Pirates, and he's now earned the call to the majors. I wouldn't...

RA Dickey - Looking to build off back-to-back good outings, RA Dickey faced the Athletics on Sunday and allowed 3 ER on six hits with six strikeouts and two walks over seven innings. Dickey's struggles this season (4.44 xFIP, 4.49...

Michael Wacha -- Wacha was solid last night in a 5-inning, 2-ER effort against the Cubs (with a less solid 4/3 K/BB), but St. Louis announced before the game that it would likely be his last start of the year....

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...