Clay Buchholz (SP—Red Sox) It was another great outing for Clay Buchholz as he collected his 14th win of the season with seven scoreless innings against the Angels on Tuesday. Buchholz lowered his league leading ERA to 2.36 with opponents batting under .225 against him. He's been inducing ground balls at a rate of 51.3% which has aided him in keeping away from home runs. He has allowed just seven homers all year for a HR/9 of 0.50. His component stats are not all that impressive (K/9 of 6.13, BB/9 of 3.42) so his FIP is inflated above his ERA at 3.69. But he is certainly pitching effectively, relying heavily on his fielders and has been able to keep his BHIP low at .264. Keep him active in all leagues as he has put together five quality starts in a row.
Bobby Jenks (RP—White Sox) For now, Bobby Jenks will avoid the DL as he continues to struggle with back spasms. But the news is that Jenks will be available to pitch on Wednesday. Owners should be cautious here as Jenks will more than likely not be used as a closer and his usage will be minimal until he is able to prove to Ozzie Guillen that he completely healthy. Jenks has pitched much better than his 4.97 ERA would suggest as he has a FIP of 2.88 and he has been getting killed with a 64.6% LOB%. But on the flip side he is giving up line drives at a rate of 23.2% and has a BHIP of .370. If healthy, Jenks should reestablish himself as the closer. But owner should be cautious of lingering back problems as he will be a risky option in the short term.
Matt Garza (SP—Rays) Matt Garza collected his first win since his no-no on July 26th, beating the Rangers on Tuesday. He pitched seven scoreless innings, allowed just 5 hits, two walks and struck out 10. Ironically, Garza had been 0-2 in his last three outings after the no-hitter. But he had still pitched well over those three starts with a 3.05 ERA and opponents hitting just .208 off of him. Garza has pitched very solidly with a season ERA of 3.74. The one area that Garza needs to improve upon is his home run rate as he has allowed 21 homers this season. Still, he has a potent offense behind him that is able to provide him with the run support to earn victories. Keep him starting in all formats.
Paul Konerko (1B—White Sox) On Tuesday, Paul Konerko hit his 30th home run of the season as it was the first time in three years that Konerko had reached that 30 home run plateau. Konerko has been putting together a great year, not only with power but with a .301 batting average and 81 RBI. Konerko also has a wOBA of .404 and an OPS of .955 to punctuate what a force he has been. He has been able to get an extra base hit 11.1% of the time which is more than 3% above the MLB average. Keep him active in all formats as he is having himself a top notch season where he is singling himself out in a position that has great depth.
Dustin Pedroia (2B—Red Sox) Dustin Pedroia owners have had to be patient for almost two months while they awaited his return to the Red Sox lineup. Tuesday, Pedroia was activated off the DL and unfortunately went 0-for-4 against the Angels. It may take Pedroia a little while to shake off the rust but his AB/HR of 24.6 prior to his injury, is the best home run pace of his career with 43% of his base hits going for extra basis. As a result of this extra power burst, his strikeout percentage has gone up this year to 10.5% but this is still 7% below the MLB average and who wouldn't want the extra power trade off for a few more K's? To date he has a nice chunky wOBA of .380. Be patient has he gets acclimated again, but Pedroia is a top tier infielder and his return should help many teams make a playoff run.
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