Shaun Marcum:
Marcum was fantastic yesterday striking out 11 batters in 7 innings of work against the Nationals. He allowed 3 walks and 3 hits which translated into 2 ER's and now lowered his ERA to 3.41 on the season. Marcum is averaging over a K/Inning and has held the high K Rate despite moving from the bullpen into the rotation. Marcum's an interesting case because the K Rate is very much real and something he's maintained at the minor league level while starting as well. However he's always had a problem keeping the ball in the park and this year his ERA is benefiting slightly from a low BHIP% (.238) and a Strand Rate of .78 that's still a bit high for a full time starting pitcher. I think Marcum's essentially a more advanced version of Boof Bonser who's going to offer great strikeout potential and ultimately an ERA closer to 4.00 than the 3.53 he's currently sporting as some of the luck evens out. He'll get burned by the long ball on occasion but should be a consideration in all formats. Marcum's very much for real and while some of his peripherals indicate a slight regression coming, the K Rate is great and he's not going to hurt you too much in the long run. He makes for a good back of the rotation option in traditional mixed formats and a solid AL Only or deeper league option. Go out and get him if he's available in your league and you have roster room.
Daisuke Matsuzaka:
Dice-K was dominant on Saturday as he shutout the Giants for 7 innings and picked up his 8th win of the season. He only surrendered 6 base-runners in his 7 innings of work while striking out 8. Matsuzaka hasn't lived up to the hype he came into the season with but most of it hasn't been his fault. Matsuzaka's still showing an elite K Rate and while his control hasn't been impeccable it's been above average. He's suffered from an unusually high BHIP% of .313 and a low Strand Rate of .66 which suggests his Actual ERA is higher than it should be. While I thought Matsuzaka would cruise through the league the first time as hitters tried to adjust to the plethora of pitches he throws at them, some bad luck has interfered and I actually think the 2nd half of the season will be an even stronger one for Dice-K.
Daniel Cabrera:
I don't even know what else to write about Daniel Cabrera, I think there should be an entire Fantasy Owners Anonymous club dedicated to owners of Daniel Cabrera. The funny thing is we've probably all been there. Cabrera's like that beautiful girl that everyone's warned you is a bit crazy but you just have to find out for yourself. Last night good Cabrera was out on the mound as he only allowed 7 base-runners in his 8 innings of work including only 1 walk and 5 strikeouts. However he gave up 3 HR's and as a result allowed 5 ER's in total while picking up his 8th loss on the season. Interestingly enough while Cabrera has been as unlucky as he's been at any point in his career with only a .66 Strand Rate that's elevated his actual ERA about half a run higher than his Actual ERA, Cabrera's becoming less dominant. His K Rate has dropped below 1 and the 3 HR's allowed on Saturday night bring his total to 14 on the season, which ties his career high despite having thrown 50 less innings. Before we knew Cabrera's dominating stuff just needed command before he became elite, but now it appears his stuff is deteriorating and it's pretty apparent he's very far away from becoming the dominant pitcher we all hoped for. In other words, she's still crazy and you're not changing her. Stay Away.
Esteban German:
I don't think enough has been made of the injury to Mark Grudzielanek and the door it opens for more consistent playing time for Esteban German. While German has already accumulated 150 AB's playing all over the diamond, the injury to Grudz "should"allow him to be the everyday 2B. I say "should"because for some reason the Royals started Fernando Cortez at 2B on Saturday night. Cortez has a .286 SLUGGING % in over 700 AB's at the AAA level, I have no idea why he's playing or how he went 2-3 last night, but this should be German's job. German's intriguing in fantasy because he comes with plenty of position eligibility but even more importantly he has great on base skills and fantastic speed to boot. For example, in over 440 games at the AAA level, German has posted a .394 OBP and averaged just under 50 SB's per 162 games. While his numbers are a bit down this season, the .259 BHIP% for a player of his speed is abnormal and should regress closer to the .280-.290 level. If he plays he'll get on base and steal some bags while being eligible all over the diamond, meaning for those in daily transaction leagues he should give your team the flexibility to take advantage of poor matchups at multiple positions. For now German only makes sense for those in deeper traditional leagues and certainly AL only leagues at least until the Royals wisen-up and give him more consistent playing time.
Brendan Harris:
The question is: at what point are you going to start believing in Brendan Harris? For those who haven't been paying attention Harris is the guy playing SS for the Devil Rays and hitting .320 with 20 extra base hits in over 205 AB's. He's a journeyman prospect who's never really been given a fair shot at playing in the major leagues everyday. At the age of 26 he seems to have caught on with the Devil Rays and while he's not your ideal option defensively at SS, it's hard to argue with the offensive production he's putting together. Harris' .320-.375-.485 line isn't that far off from his career AAA line of .289-.351-.461 which he put up in over 300 AAA games. In fact the main difference is just a bit of good luck that Harris has had so far with balls hit into play as he's sporting a .292 BHIP% vs. .262 AAA BHIP%. Harris is legitimate and while his line will come down a bit as his luck regresses with his BHIP%, it won't be a big drop-off and Harris' career .812 OPS in AAA can be expected to translate similarly at the major league level. An .800+ OPS SS makes for plenty of use in fantasy, take a look at what you're holding in the SS or MI position right now and think twice about Brendan Harris.
