Fausto Carmona - After starting the season with a 3-0 record and 2.96 ERA (despite a 13/12 K/BB mark), Fausto Carmona struggled against the Twins on Friday by allowing 6 ER in 6 innings of work. While he didn’t get much help from his defense (Cleveland failed to turn a routine double play in the 2nd inning that led to 3 additional ER), Carmona didn’t help himself by allowing 8 Hits and walking another 2 batters. For his career, Carmona has posted the following H/9 marks : 10.6, 8.3, 9.4 and 10.8. Entering yesterday’s start, the right hander’s H/9 was an unsustainable 6.3 so don’t expect the ERA and WHIP to stay this low. Overall, Carmona is the type of SP that I’d never want on my fantasy team. With guys like Rich Harden or Scott Kazmir, even if they have a bad outing, they’ll still provide some value by tallying high strikeout totals. If Carmona isn’t on his ‘A’ game, he provides your team with absolutely nothing – no strikeouts and no Wins, thanks to playing for a bad team. Even if Carmona bounces back in his next start, a high risk/low reward player is not a good addition to your fantasy team.
Cliff Lee - The left hander returned from the DL on Friday to make his Mariners’ debut against the Rangers. Lee was exceptionally sharp, allowing 0 ER on 3 Hits while striking out 8 in 7 innings of work, although he didn’t get the win. Pitching in spacious Safeco and with an outstanding defense behind him, Lee should be primed to post outstanding numbers in 2010. On Friday, Lee’s command of the strike zone was excellent as he worked both sides of the plate with the fastball and curveball and didn’t walk a batter. During the past two seasons (at which time Lee emerged as one of baseball’s best pitchers), the left hander learned how to control the free passes and dropped his BB/9 rates from 3.33 in 2007 to just 1.37 and 1.67 in 2008 and 2009, respectively. As long as he continues to pitch with excellent command, Lee will pile up around 7 Ks per game and keep his ERA around 3.00.
Jason Kubel - After tallying 277 Total Bases and a .300/.369/.539 slash line in 2009, Jason Kubel has started slow in 2010 and entered Friday’s game with just a .206 BA and anemic .324 SLG%. On Friday, Kubel finished 2-for-5 against the Tribe with 1 Run and 1 RBI. Despite struggling, Kubel has been a bit unlucky by posting a BABIP of just .255 (after enjoying a .327 mark in ’09) to go along with a .118 ISO. While the numbers look ugly now, Kubel is a great buy-low candidate for a number of reasons. Turning 28 in May, he’s in the middle of his prime as a power hitter. In 2008 and 2009, he posted back-to-back 20+ HR seasons with.199 and .239 ISO marks, respectively, so there’s no reason to think the power suddenly disappeared. And he’s still showing solid plate discipline by walking in 18% of his ABs compared to 9% in ’09. Sure, there are plenty of outfielders on your league's waiver wire, but give Kubel a shot and you should be rewarded with some cheap power numbers by season’s end.
Colby Lewis - If you’ve read any of my posts this season (thanks, if you have), you know that I am a big fan of Colby Lewis. The Cheese Man entered Friday’s start against the Mariners with 28 strikeouts in just 22 innings, which included two 10-strikeout games. He had ridiculously good numbers in Japan – 369 Ks in 354 IP and an ERA well under 3.00 – in his two seasons with Hiroshima. After sputtering with the Rangers, Tigers and A’s early in his career, Lewis pitched in Japan for two years and gained confidence in pitches other than his fastball. He’s now transformed into a strikeout machine and posted a respectable 3.80 ERA in his first four starts. That brings us to Friday’s start. Lewis mowed down Seattle’s offense by allowing 0 ER on 3 Hits, striking out 10 (again!) and walking just 1 batter in 9 innings of work. If you haven’t picked up Lewis by now, it’s likely too late. The Cheese Man is here to stay.
Paul Konerko - Another game, another HR for ol’ Paul Konerko. The White Sox first baseman slugged his league-leading 11th HR of the young season on Friday and is now hitting .297 with 11 HRs, 21 RBI and a .413 OBP. Aside from all the HRs, Konerko is posting some odd stats through the first few weeks of 2010. He’s overcoming an absurdly low BABIP of .182 while also enjoying an incredibly high ISO of .458 and .750 SLG%. Once regression occurs, you should still expect Konerko to tally 25-30 HRs with around 90 RBI hitting in the middle of the White Sox lineup.
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