Jered Weaver – Weaver has posted two straight dominant starts. His last time out he did not allow a hit while walking three batters and striking out six. He unkindly ended up with the loss, though, as he allowed one unearned run. Last night his strong pitching was rewarded with a victory; Weaver went 7.3 IP, giving up 6 hits, a walk, and 2 ER while striking out 6. I think if you have Weaver now might be the time to pawn him off on another owner who thinks he is turning a corner. Remember that those past two starts came against the Dodgers and the Blue Jays who rank 26th and 27th in scoring respectively. The 4.30 ERA and 1.266 WHIP that Weaver sported entering the game is indicative of his skill set, and you should not expect him to improve upon it much in the second half just because two good starts in a row. Weaver did post a sub-4 ERA last season, but his WHIP was 1.385 and his expected ERA was 4.48.
Brett Gardner – You might want to pick up Gardner in AL – only leagues and spot start him the next couple of the days because he will most likely be leading off for the Yankees the rest of this weekend. If he is able to get on base, Gardner can fly. He already has 2 steals in just 10 at bats this season, and in the minor leagues he had 34 steals this season before being called up. Also, consider that on Sunday the Yankees will face knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, who should not do much to prevent Gardner from terrorizing the Red Sox on the base paths.
Joe Blanton – Blanton had a solid 2007 season (3.95 ERA, 1.217 WHIP), but has had a very inconsistent ’08 campaign. I picked him up for his last home start versus a bad Giants team, and he got lit up. Last night, he went on the road versus the White Sox and allowed just 1 run over 7 innings. Go figure. The reason for Blanton’s inconsistency this season is obvious, though. His K/BB ratio has been cut almost in half, from 3.50 last season to 1.71 this season. Really, it is as simple as that in identifying Blanton’s problems. His BABIP is identical (.306 last season and this season), and his distribution of balls in play is essentially the same as last season as well. The only other thing that is different than last season is that Blanton is giving up homers at a slightly higher rate. So, look for Blanton to improve his K/BB ratio over a few starts in a row before using him as a spot starter, since that is obviously the key to his success or lack thereof.
AJ Burnett – Last week I wrote that Burnett’s control will prevent him from being a consistent top level fantasy pitcher, and while that remains true, I still think now might be a good time to trade for Burnett. His BABIP and LOB% indicate that he is in store for a marked improvement over the season’s second half. Right now, Burnett’s BABIP is .339, 48 points higher than his career mark of .291. Also, his LOB% is just 65.9%; his career mark is 71%. Once these two numbers normalize, Burnett will see his ERA and WHIP drop and probably by quite a bit.
There are over 100 player news blurbs posted in the member area each morning. Members can read the rest of today's player news by clicking here. Not a member? Join today.
