So Taguchi: Taguchi should be the regular center fielder while Jim Edmonds is out. He has been on fire, going 18 for his last 40, raising his average to .310. The soon to be 38 year old is making the best contact of his major league career, 89% up from 85% last year and has a respectable batting eye of .64. It is hard to believe that at his age that he has suddenly become a better contact hitter, so expect a decline in that area and combined with a .292 BHIP%, a batting average correction should be coming. He has never hit for much power and his speed could be in decline, 2 caught steals in 6 attempts vs. 3 caught steals in 14 attempts last year. Even with regular playing time there is not much upside here.
Chad Billingsley: Billingsley will replace the injured Jason Schmidt in the Dodgers starting rotation. He has been great in relief this year, 4-0 with a 3.09 ERA, 10.3 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, and a 45% GB%. The combination of a high K/9 and GB% gives him a chance to be a special pitcher. Although he has improved his BB/9, 5.8 in 90 innings last year, it is still on the high side. If he is still available in your league, pick him up now because if he can keep the walks in check, he may not be coming out of that rotation for a long time.
Barry Zito: Zito's underlying numbers has fallen to below average, 5.5 K/9, 4.3 BB/9, and a 42% GB% and it is reflecting in his overall numbers, 6-7 record with a 4.41 ERA. Currently two key underlying numbers are in four-year trends that are going the wrong way, 2004/2005/2006/2007 K/9's of 6.9/6.7/6.2/5.5 and BB/9's of 3.4/3.5/4.0/4.3. It doesn't look like it will get better anytime soon, so if you can convince someone in your league that he is still an elite pitcher, do not hesitate to trade him.
Jake Peavy: Peavy continued his success by allowing 2 ER in 6 innings against the Orioles last night to improve to 9-1 with a stingy 1.98 ERA. It would be very hard to find a better skill set, 9.9 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, and a 48% GB%. It doesn't hurt that he throws his home games in pitcher-friendly Petco Park. A Cy Young award could be coming this year.
Homer Bailey: Bailey had his best start since being called up to the major, going 7 innings and allowing 1 ER. After three starts, his ERA stands at 4.00. The 11/7 BB/K could lead to some serious trouble down the road. Use him with caution until that ratio shows some improvement.
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