Carlos Marmol
Entering the ninth inning in a save situation, Marmol converted, but not before allowing Scott Podsednik’s first homer of the year and sixth since 2004. It was Marmol’s third save of the season to go with his major league leading 16 holds. Marmol remains on pace to throw more than 100 innings, but so far he’s holding up well – 1.75 ERA and a 56:12 K:BB In 37 innings. That’s a 13.6 K/9 in case you were wondering. With Kerry Wood firmly entrenched as the Cubs’ closer, Marmol continues to bide his time, but there may not be a more valuable reliever in the game right now considering his ability to get more than three outs a night. You just have to worry about burnout here.
Jay Bruce
I’m starting to run out of superlatives to describe Jay Bruce. Outstanding, stupendous, stupifyingly good… He’s all that and more. Bruce was 3-for-5 on Saturday with his first major league homer (he’s just 598 back of Ken Griffey Jr.), a walk-off shot against the Braves’ Manny Acosta. Bruce is now batting a robust .579/.680/.895. Ok, it’s just 19 at-bats, but still, four extra-base hits, two steals, and a 1:5 K:BB. Meet this year’s Ryan Braun. Bruce isn’t quite this good of course and at age 21, the struggles will come a la Justin Upton in May. It’s hard to quibble with a 1.023 Triple-A OPS, but his 45:12 K:BB is an indicator that once the league adjusts and starts throwing up fewer meatballs, Bruce himself will need to adjust. Of course he has the potential to do so. Imagine what nearly two months of Bruce instead of the .200/.240/.352 hitting Corey Patterson could have done for the Reds’ offense.
Jonathan Broxton
After pitching seven scoreless innings Saturday against the Mets, Chad Billingsley watched in horror as Jonathan Broxton and allowed this sequence: double, HR, single, SAC, int. BB, single. Just like that, the Dodgers 2-0 lead had evaporated and they went on to lose 3-2. The ugly outing dropped Broxton’s ERA to 4.94 on the year, though if you look closely, he hasn’t been nearly that bad. Nine of Broxton’s 13 runs allowed came in two games and in his other 23 innings, he gave up just four. Broxton’s 11.8 K/9 is a notch above his career mark. Maybe he’s just not a day person – 10 of Broxton’s 13 runs allowed have come during the day. Nothing to worry about here, as even the best of them aren’t automatic 100% of the time.
Josh Banks
We have to discount it coming against the Giants, but Josh Banks’ effort Saturday was still highly impressive – nine innings, a single unearned run on six hits. He didn’t walk a batter while striking out five in a lineup that featured such household names as Steve Holm, John Bowker, Travis Denker, and others. That’s now 17 innings without allowing an earned run this year for Banks, who’s pretty much guaranteed of sticking in the rotation once Jake Peavy (elbow) returns in a week or so. Banks won’t maintain this pace of course, but then again, he’s also not just some bump the Padres dragged off the street. Banks is known primarily for his pinpoint control, having walked just 1.17 per nine innings in the minor leagues, including one season (2005) in which he had a 145.11 K:BB. His main problem has been his fringy stuff, leaving him very hittable at times including last year in Triple-A for the Blue Jays in which he cranked out a 10.2 H/9. The Padres aren’t asking him to front their rotation, so Banks could have some success as a No. 5 starter, leaving him with a smidge of NL-only value.
Ricky Nolasco
Nolasco say his renaissance continue Saturday as he beat the Phillies for his fourth consecutive him, allowing just two runs on four hits over 6 2/3 innings, striking out five and walking two. In his last five starts, Nolasco has a 2.76 ERA and 24:11 (it had previously been 15:11). Nolasco was once one of baseball’s better pitching prospects circa 2004 in the Cubs organization, striking out more than a hitter an inning as recently as 2005, but a rash of arm injuries has resulted in a years-long delay in his development. Healthy now, he’s pushing 12-team mixed league value, though the home run rate (nine in 60 1/3 innings) bears some watching.
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