Moose's record dropped to 3-5 with another loss on Sunday. His ERA has ballooned to 5.12 and WHIP to 1.35. The Giants hit him up for 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 BB, and 5 H. Mike Mussina had a string of 3 QS in a row before this outing and 4-for-6 dating back to the end of May, but it has still been a disappointing season for his fantasy owners. Opposing hitters are batting .289 against him this season and he has yet to really find his groove. His fastball velocity is down, but he has had a few effective outings where he has shown he can pitch with the slower fastball by changing speeds and featuring the knuckle-curve. Hang in there a little longer if you can.
Melvin Mora hit his 11th HR on Sunday and raised his average to .250. Mora's fantasy value certainly has dropped over the last few years. Back in 2005, Mora posted a 0.63 FPI and banged out 27 HR with an .813 OPS. 2006 was a disappointment with 0.55 FPI and 2007 is on the same track at 0.56. The one positive point is his HR total is way up this year. He averaged a HR for every 39.0 AB last year, but has improved to 25.1 this season. If you're looking for some power out of the corner, Mora may not be a bad option, but the rest of his production should remain mediocre for the rest of the year.
It has been a disappointing season for Vernon Wells, but he has shown some recent signs of getting it right. But first, the ugly: Coming off a 2006 season with a 0.76 FPI, Wells has collapsed to a 0.50 FPI. Other indicators of a drop in production include HR/AB from 19.1 to 34.8, OPS of .901 to .703, and average of .303 to .245. Ok, enough of that.... What's the good news? Wells had 3 HR in the last 8 games. Hopefully it's a sign that Wells will break out soon. A buy-low candidate if I've ever seen one.
Jose Contreras did his part on Sunday, holding his cross-town rivals to 2 ER in 7.0 IP on 3 K's and no BB's. Of course, the pitiful offense of the White Sox combined with a solid outing by Sean Marshall kept the White Sox hitters from ever crossing the plate. So, a shutout on the south side of Chicago helps Contreras' record drop to 5-8, but his ERA improved to 4.63 and WHIP to 1.44. He has 3 quality starts in 5 outings this month and has shown some signs of life, but his ugly games can get REALLY ugly so his value is mostly in AL-only leagues and for the spot-start in mixed leagues.
Ian Kinsler looks like he's getting back on another power-streak. Kinsler hit 9 HR in April, but just 1 in May. He hit another one last night to give him 4 this month, and a total of 14 on the season. All of that is good for a HR/AB of 17.9. Kinsler's FPI this season is 0.64 and despite a low average and some struggles in May, looks to be getting back on track. The youngster will get himself into slumps throughout the long season as pitchers refuse to pitch him inside (Kinsler's modus operandi is to look for the inside pitch and turn on it, producing lots of power and weak ground balls to the SS).
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