Francisco Liriano (SP—Twins) Francisco Liriano completely dominated the Tigers on Tuesday night probably making them wish they had just stayed home. He came away with his 4th win of the year while pitching 8 innings of shutout ball, allowing 4 hits, 1 BB and striking out 10. Liriano lowered his ERA to a league leading 0.93 and an equally impressive WHIP of 0.96. It appears that Liriano has recaptured the form that made him such a success back in 2006 before he developed arm problems. It also appears that he has developed a lot of confidence in his change up throwing it often then in the past and it has been effective in given him a K/9 of 8.3. Not to put a damper on this party, but Liriano will obviously regress to some numbers that look a little more realistic than what he is currently producing. His LOB% is high at 87% and his BHIP is low at .249. But despite some regression, he has done solidly as his FIP of 2.75 indicates. If you have been wary of playing Liriano because of past injuries, you should feel pretty good right about now and feel very secure that he is a must-start in all formats.
Wade Davis (SP—Rays) Going into Tuesday’s game, Wade Davis was carrying a 1-1 record in 3 starts and a 2.65 ERA. That low ERA is the beneficiary of a very low BHIP of .205 and a very high LOB% of 88.5%. Hitters have been making good contact off of Davis at a rate of 87%. He’s been fortunate that his LD% is under control at 19% and it just seems that he has been getting a lot of defensive help that have been covering his deficiency in pitching. This is most evident by his 5.02 FIP. Tuesday night he pulled off another victory, albeit a bit of a sketchy one. The Tampa Bay offense came to his rescue. He allowed 4 earned runs in 5 innings and his ERA raised to 3.68. Davis needs to improve on his pitching because at the moment he is getting lucky and staying on his current course is risky as he will no doubt regress. Davis is a talented pitcher but the best move is to sit him for now until his numbers even out and he’s not tiptoeing through danger. Otherwise you better hope the Rays offense to come through for Davis.
Shawn Marcum (SP—Blue Jays) Despite going into Tuesday's game with a an ERA of 4.00 and an 0-1 record, Marcum has had 3 out of 4 quality starts this season and racked up another one with his 5th outing of the season against the Red Sox. After Monday's slugfest, Marcum was able restore order, pitching 7 innings, allowing 1 ER on 3 hits, and 5 strikeouts. He managed to lower his ERA to 3.44. Unfortunately, despite the strong performance, Marcum walked away with a no decision. Marcum's FIP on the season has been 3.38, indicating that he has been pitching better than his ERA would suggest. His WHIP of 1.00 is outstanding and has a K/BB ratio of 5.75:1. Pretty snazzy. If for some reason Marcum is going unnoticed in your league, he's become a nice sleeper pickup and should start to accumulate some wins based upon the way he has been pitching. Go grab him now if he is still available.
Justin Morneau (1B—Twins) It's never a good sign when an All-Star player and former MVP leaves the game due to back pain. But that's what happened to Justin Morneau as he exited early in the 5th inning Tuesday night. Despite his 3 strikeouts in that game, Morneau has been sensational batting .352 on the season. He's been squaring up on the ball nicely with a 28% LD rate and has been showing great plate disciple with an excellent EYE at 1.43. He's also been a force with his extra base hits as he has an ISO of .279 and a wOBA of 492 which is through the roof. Yes, he has been doing it all. The back issues are concerning since it was his back that cut Morneau's season short last year and kept him from participating in the playoffs. While this looks right now as a precautionary move, monitor the situation closely as any extending absence would a tremendous loss.
Johnny Damon (OF—TIgers) OK, now we're cooking. After a slow start of the season where he batted just .130, Johnny Damon has picked up the pace and through Tuesday is batting .328. He has shown a very good EYE at 1.17 and is walking at a rate of over 16% of the time. But if you are looking for Damon to pound out the home runs like he did last season, you should probably temper your expectations because Damon feasted in the new Yankee Stadium and he will probably not perform up to that level. That doesn't mean he still won't hit a few but Damon is longer about power and for that matter, he really is much about speed either, although he will swipe a few bases here and there. But look for Damon to be a strong source of runs scored and should produce a high OBP which currently stands at .440. Oh, and did I mention that he is currently in the midst of a 14-game hitting steak? If some owner out there felt Damon was all washed up and he happens to available on your waiver wire, grab him while you can.
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.
Also, you can follow Richard on Twitter all season long @rsgross
