Drew Sutton (OF-CIN) – With his normal leadoff man, Willy Taveras unavailable due to a wrist injury, Dusty Baker managed to find about the only guy with a worse OBP than Taveras’ .279 in Drew Sutton. Sutton entered Sunday’s action 2-for-18 with no walks, but managed somehow to get two hits in five at-bats to raise his line to a stellar .174/.208/.261. To be fair, Sutton did have a .381 OBP in Triple-A, so you could argue sample size, and he did also hit .317/.408/.523 for the Astros in Double-A a year ago, but leadoff? I suppose with Chris Dickerson also sidelined Dusty didn’t feel he had much of a choice, but don’t expect Sutton in there too often. He’s still not worthy of a roster spot outside the deepest of fantasy leagues. With Jerry Hairston Jr. having been traded, Sutton will be the Reds’ top utilityman, so at least monitor him in NL-only leagues.
Cole Hamels (SP-PHI) – If there were ever a time to buy low on Hamels, it is probably now. Sunday facing the Giants, Hamels was hit for seven runs (six earned) on 10 hits over five innings to drop to 7-6 with a 4.68 ERA. Pitch counts are often overrated, but if you believe in them here, Hamels had thrown a total of 226 over his previous two starts. Again, just a data point there, but perhaps he was tired. His fastball was in the 87-91 range for most of the day, and considering his average velocity is right at 90, there appears to be no shoulder/elbow concerns. Hamels had allowed just five runs over his previous three starts, but lines like Sunday have been far too common this season. A huge finish isn’t out of the question, but it’s obvious Hamels’ final numbers are going to leave him as a 2009 disappointment.
Carlos Villanueva (SP-MIL) – Villanueva blanked the Padres on just two hits over five innings on Sunday, but was denied the win after leaving with a 0-0 score on the board. Villanueva had entered the game 2-8 with a 6.61 ERA after having allowed five runs in four innings in his last start (his first of the year) against the lowly Nationals. Leave it to the Padres to turn a guy around. I always thought he had decent stuff and indeed, Villanueva’s 41:17 K:BB in 47 2/3 innings is solid, so at least keep an eye on him in NL-only leagues. For me though, I want to see a quality start against a team whose cleanup hitter doesn’t have a .707 OPS (Kevin Kouzmanoff).
Bud Norris (SP-HOU) – Remember Bud Smith? The soft-tossing Cardinals lefty a few years ago who, out of nowhere, tossed a no-hitter? Well, this Bud wasn’t so bad himself in his first major league start (one relief appearance). Facing a red-hot Cardinals team who had seen its new acquisition, Matt Holliday, go 20-for-33 to begin his St. Louis career, Norris allowed just two hits over seven shutout innings to win his debut. He did walk four, and the Cardinals’ first hit did not come until the sixth innings when, leading off, Adam Wainwright of all guys singled to break up the no-no. Norris struck out five and should certainly stick around after this one. For Triple-A Round Rock, Norris had a 2.63 ERA and 112:53 K:BB in 120 innings. He’s a nice NL-only speculation right now.
Lastings Milledge (OF-PIT) – Maybe I’d feel differently if I were a Pirates fan, but I really like the moves they’ve made over the past month, especially the acquisition of Lastings Milledge. Sure, Nyjer Morgan was a decent player, but for a team like the Pirates to make headway in the standings, they need to grab as many high-upside guys as possible, both in the trade and amateur markets. Milledge is one of those guys and now he’s going to get a chance to play every day. Sunday, Milledge hit second between Andrew McCutcheon and Garrett Jones, going 2-for-4 with a caught stealing. Milledge is just 9-for-36 on the season, but as he settles in, I wouldn’t be surprised to see his average creep towards .290 by the end of the year. Factor in 20/20 type potential and you have a high-risk (somewhat) / high reward pickup.
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