Jeremy Guthrie- BAL- Hot- Guthrie tossed 6 shutout innings against the Red Sox, but didn't factor in the decision, leaving his record at 1-3 while his ERA is a sparkling 2.53. Guthrie gave up 7 hits and 1 walk while striking out 6 batters. Can Guthrie maintain this ERA? His BABIP of .275 shows a bit of good luck but his LOB% of 85.4% is helping him out even more. Guthrie's 5.34 K/9 isn't great and he has reduced his BB/9 by almost half of what it was last year, to 1.13. Add it all together and regression to the mean will not be Guthrie's friend. Put him in the "sell high" category.
Bartolo Colon- NYY- Rise Value- With Phil Hughes off to see a specialist and the performance Colon put in last night, it's looking like Colon's spot in the rotation is getting firmer. He needed just 99 pitches to get through 8 IP against the White Sox, allowing just 1 run on 7 hits and a walk while striking out 6. The combination of a K/9 rate of 9.00 and keeping the ball down to the tune of a 45.7% GB% is working well for Colon.
Carlos Quentin- CHW- Stats- After going 3-for-3 last night Quentin's average stands at .304, which is nice. What didn't make sense was that his OBP was at .390 despite a BB% of only 5.7%, markedly less than his career average of 9.1%. Then I noticed that he had been hit by a pitch last night. And the night before. And 4 times in his last 7 games. And 7 times so far in the first month of the season in 105 PAs. Quentin was hit 20 times in 527 PAs last season, so this pace is far above that. Is Quentin the new Don Baylor? We will have to watch and see.
Alex Gordon- KC- Cold- Gordon's 19-game hitting streak came to an end with an 0-for-3 last night. With a .416 BABIP and a Batting EYE that has dropped from .55 last season to .37 in 2011, his .340 average has a lot farther to fall yet. Gordon has "sell high" written all over him. As a side note, he made his 4th appearance at 1B, putting him close to availability there in some leagues. That will give him an additional position in which to collapse.
Justin Smoak- SEA- Hot- Smoak hit his second homer in as many games since returning from the bereavement list. It is his third straight game overall with a homer and he is riding a 5-game hitting streak. His .302 batting average is getting a bit of a boost from luck (.326 BABIP) but Smoak's increase in his Batting EYE from .51 last season to .86 in 2011 is significant and a possible indicator that he will start to reach his potential in his second major league campaign.
Follow me on Twitter all season - @fantisticspaul
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.
