CC Sabathia (SP--Yankees) CC Sabathia came up big again on Thursday logging his eleventh victory of the season against four defeats. Sabathia tied his career high in strikeouts with thirteen and walked just two through 7.2 scoreless innings and lowered his ERA to 3.05 on the year. His strikeouts have been lower than usually with a K/9 of 6.86 going into Thursday's game, but his recent outing should help to bolster those numbers. Sabathia has also been particularly effective during day games with a 4-0 record and a 1.77 ERA on the year. He's going to be a two-game starter next week and as we know from past experiences, Sabathia usually gets better as the season progresses. Keep him active in all formats.
Derek Jeter (SS-Yankees) The last we saw of Derek Jeter he had 2994 hits in his pockets and was in a holding pattern recovering from a calf injury. The news out is that Jeter will be ready to join the club on Monday and begin his assault on 3000 hits once again. There's no denying Jeter's overall career achievements and his future HOF status, but at 37, Jeter is not the player he once was and his .260 batting average and .324 OBP speak volumes about some slippage in skills. No doubt Jeter will resume his position as the leadoff hitter in lineup, replace Brett Gardner's brief stay in that spot and the extra at-bats will contribute to getting his six hits much quicker. From a fantasy standpoint, Jeter is still a solid mix-league option, but his return on investment will continue to dwindle.
Jason Varitek (C--Red Sox) As only a "sometime" player, it's hard to endorse Jason Varitek as a solid fantasy option, even at a position as scarce as catcher. He splits time with Jarrod Saltalamacchia and therefore isn't a true viable option. But on Thursday, he certainly gave fantasy owners reason to pause and think twice. Varitek slugged two home runs against the Phillies for his fourth and fifth of the year and is now batting a very modest .248 on the season. The two home runs represented Varitek's 10th multi-home run game and his first since April 10th, 2010 against the Royals. Despite the offensive output on Thursday, Varitek is probably not worth consideration with his limited playing time.
Brian Matusz (SP--Orioles) It happened again. For the second straight start Brian Matusz gave up more than six runs and failed to reach the fifth inning. Matusz gave up eight earned runs through 3.1 innings of work, allowing nine hits, while walking two and striking two. Matusz ERA now rets at a hefty 8.44 on the season. Granted, Matusz has been recovering from a stint off the DL and the loss of velocity has been his primary downfall with pitches only reaching the high 80's. In six starts, Matusz has yet to deliver a quality outing and has he continues to essentially get back in shape and build up arm strength and velocity, fantasy owners would be most prudent to have him take a seat on the bench until he is able to put a run of consistent, productive outings together. Long-term, Matusz is still a young pitcher with tremendous upside. Fantasy owners will have to be patient in the interim.
Chris Davis (1B--Rangers) Chris Davis may be at a crossroads with the Texas Rangers as the team is considering calling up to take over leftfield with Josh Hamilton moving back to center. In this game of musical chairs, outfielder David Murphy would be the odd man out. Since being optioned to Round Rock, Davis has been tearing it up batting .374 with 19 home runs in just 33 games. Those are numbers that are making it tough for the Rangers to ignore. Davis is being given the opportunity to "stick" with the club on the major-league level, but it will also give the Rangers a chance to evaluate Davis' future with the club. However, his 34% strikeout rate is worrisome and owners may want to wait to see how he performs pre-All-Star break before going out there and grabbing. Owners willing to take a risk, could be rewarded with big power or be hurt with ineffectiveness at the big league level.
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