Mike Redmond- CLE- FYI- Redmond has turned into Fausto Carmona’s personal catcher. That predictability can be good in a backup catcher, since you can figure out when to insert him in the lineup if you own him. But, is Redmond worth owning? The answer to that looks to be a negative. His .234 average does have a luck factor included (.207 BHIPx). However, his Batting EYE has dropped to .25 this season due to the double whammy of a drop in BB% and a rise in K%. Redmond is on pace to get more PAs than in either of the past two years, but the odds are they are not going to be productive ones from a fantasy perspective.
Dontrelle Willis- DET- Cold- Yes, Willis has a BHIP of .314. Unfortunately, his poor season cannot be blamed on bad luck. Once again, Willis failed to register a quality start, needing 107 pitches to get through 5.1 IP in which he gave up 3 runs on 9 hits and 4 walks while striking out 5. His command is just practically nonexistent. Willis was a victim of overuse when he was young and that is not going to be fixed.
Alex Gonzalez- TOR- Cold- Gonzalez is 0-for-11 in his last 3 games and hasn’t hit a homer since 5/8. His FB% has dropped to 50.0% and his HR% has fallen to 13.2%. These are both above his career norms so expect continued decline. This means Gonzalez will hit fewer fly balls and the ones he does hit won’t go as far. Normalcy will return.
David Price- TB- Caution- Arrrgh! Joe Maddon is doing it again. Price, who doesn’t turn 25 until August, threw 113 pitches yesterday, the 4th time in 10 starts this year he has thrown over 110 and 3rd time in his last 5 starts. Didn’t Maddon learn anything from what happened to Scott Kazmir? Don’t overuse extremely talented young arms. During this stretch of 5 starts, Price has walked a minimum of 3 batters in each, for a total of 17 in 32 IP. I’m getting a sense of deja vu thinking back to Kazmir’s control struggles as he was left out there for too many pitches. If Maddon isn’t actually managing his starters, then whoever is should be fired. If he is, then that responsibility should be taken from him before he ruins another potentially great young arm.
Orlando Hudson- MIN- Hot- Hudson’s BHIPx usually runs higher than the major league average, but not this high, at .293. Still, not all of his .303 average can be attributed to luck. He has dramatically cut down his K%. If Hudson ends the season with his current 12.8% it would be the lowest of his career. A .300+ average is not out of the question. Hudson is also due for some more homers, based on the fact that his HR/FB % is at 4.2% and he has never finished a season below 7.0% in that category.
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