Josh Beckett (SP—Red Sox) It had been a very long time since Josh Beckett had delivered an outing like the one he had against the Indians on Tuesday. Unquestionably, the best start since his return from the DL, Beckett pitched 8 innings of 3 hit ball, allowing just 1 earned run. He struck out eight batters and walked one. You had to figure that Beckett was due for an outing like this. All of his key indicators have been so dismal that he had nowhere to go but up. His strand rate was 58% before Tuesday game. His BHIP was .348 and his FIP was far, far lower at 4.13 than his ERA of 6.33 indicating that he just wasn't as bad as he had been doing. Hopefully, for fantasy owners who have been very patient waiting for the “old” Beckett to show up, this marks the changing of the tide. Finally appearing healthy, Beckett needs to be back in the starting lineup, active in all formats.
Ricky Romero (SP—Blue Jays) We saw shades of excellence last season, but Ricky Romero has really emerged this year as a very good pitcher and a borderline top tier candidate. I'm not willing to put him in the same class as the Halladay's and Lincecum's of the world, but I will say that if he manhandles the rest of the league as he manhandled the Yankees on Tuesday, he could well be on his way. Romero stymied the Yankees offense, pitching a complete game, allowing 2 ER on just 2 hits and a walk. He faced just 30 batters and was able to dispose of the mighty Yankees on just 118 pitches. Rather efficient. Romero has been a great source of strikeouts (K/9 of 8.1) and his FIP of 3.31 is right in line with his ERA of 3.37. He has been particularly effective avoiding the long ball as he has allowed only nine on the season and continues to throw a high percentage of ground balls at 54.7%. Keep him active and for keeper leagues, he may be a worthwhile hold over for next season as he probably came fairly cheap and he appears to be improving from season to season.
Alex Rodriguez (3B—Yankees) There this huge elephant in the room and I'm just going to go ahead and say it and put it out there. Alex Rodriguez is STILL stuck on 599 home runs. It's been 45 AB's since his last home run on July 22nd and Rodriguez may be feeling the pressure a little. As if pressure was something new to this guy. In fact for a guy who has averaged a home run every 14.5 AB's, this is a major home run drought. Since his last home run he is batting just .178 and his average for the year has slipped to .264. Rodriguez is currently on pace this season for 24 home runs which would represent his lowest output since 1997. His slugging this year is .471 which is 100 points below his career average. No, this is not the A-Rod of old. Rodriguez will obviously get his 600th home run soon enough, but the 2010 season has been a struggle for him as he may have slipped from his elite status.
Aaron Hill (2B—Blue Jays) Last season, fantasy owners had to have felt like they hit the jackpot with Aaron Hill, He has a breakout, injury-free year where he hit 36 home runs and knocked in 108 runs while scoring 103. Seemed logical that similar numbers could have been expected for 2010. But Hill has been one of the biggest disappointments in fantasy. It’s not so much the home runs either. He does have 15 on the year and while it’s not 36 like last year, he could be in the 20-25 area once all is said in done. That’s not awful. But it’s the poor hitting and the lack of RBI that has just killed his season. He has fought to get his average to .200 all season long. His failure to hit for average and drive in runs is solely due to a LD% of 10.2% and a FB rate of 51.9%, Seems that Hill fancies himself as the next Babe Ruth and is not only trying to launch every ball out of the stadium but also trying to hit it to the U.S./Canada border. Last year, Hill had far more success hitting home runs with a FB% of 41%. Hill has obviously become enamored with the long ball. But here’s something for Hill owner’s to feel better about. Over the past two weeks, his LD rate is up to 16.2% and his FB’s are down to 40.5%. The line drive rate is still not great but it’s significantly better than what we have seen and he obviously isn’t trying to hit a home run on every swing. This different approach at the plate has seen Hill’s average rise to .209 and has him hitting .298 over the past 14 days. Perhaps, this is a good sign that Hill can somewhat salvage what has been a disappointing season at the plate. If you’ve been playing him all along, you don’t want to stop now. He’s looking the best he has been all season.
Chris Sale (SP—White Sox) Taking a page out of Mike Leake’s manual of “How to Get to the Big Leagues in 60 Days or Less”, the White Sox are ready to promote their 2010 #1 draft pick Chris Sale. Sale was the #13 overall pick in June and apparently the ChiSox feel that after 10.1 innings split between A level and Triple-A, Sale is good to go. Yes, in his eleven appearances, all in relief, Sale has been impressive. He’s put together a 2.61 ERA and despite having allowed two home runs in those ten innings, he has shown decent control and a knack for the strikeout. He has a K/9 of 16.5 and a WHIP of 1.16. Sale was reported to have good enough stuff to break the top ten in the amateur draft, so it was a real gift that he dropped into the White Sox’s lap. His fastball usually clocks in at around 90-92 mph and has good sinking action. His curve ball is said to have a sweeping, slurvy break to it that can be especially tough on left-handed batters and has a change up that could use some work. He’s got poise and usually controls the strike zone. All of this is well and good, but what can we expect on the Major League level from the Florida Gulf Coast junior? Sale is certainly worth grabbing in keeper leagues and stashing away, but as he will more than likely be working out of the bullpen for the Sox, his fantasy value at this point will be limited. He’s a promising talent though and worth watching as he has solid upside and promise.
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 at @rsgross
