Juan Pierre - We're getting to the end of Juan Pierre's fantasy baseball career. Pierre is hitting .284 this season to go along with 20 steals but it's becoming obvious that age is catching up to the speedy outfielder. At 33-years old in 2010, Pierre stole 68 bases and was caught 18 times, good for a 79% success rate. This season, at 34-years old, Pierre has swiped just 20 bags but, more alarming, has been gunned down 13 times for a poor 61% success rate. If Pierre can't provide your fantasy team with consistent steals, he's got little value even as a bench player. As an everyday major leaguer, Pierre has never stolen fewer than 45 bases so the drop off this season is a very bad sign that points toward the outfielder losing a step. He didn't have a great success rate in 2009 with the Dodgers (70%) and then bounced back with a huge 2010 year. However, that type of improvement from Pierre seems unlikely to happen in 2012.
Wade Davis - Like many pitchers with a low strikeout rate (4.47) Wade Davis' success has been closely tied to a widely fluctuating BABIP. In April, Davis posted a sparkling 2.73 ERA despite just a 4.1 strikeout rate and thanks to a .266 BABIP. As his BABIP rose to .310 in May, so did his ERA - all the way up to 6.34 in part because of a measly 0.89 strikeout-to-walk rate. He managed to keep his ERA under 4.00 in June and, again, that improvement was mostly due to an unsustainable .253 BABIP. He improved his strikeout rate to 5.0 in July but his BABIP jumped to .357 which pushed his ERA to 5.79 for the month. So far in August, Davis has pitched 2 games and allowed 7 ER in 14 innings to go along with 8 strikeouts. Davis always posted strong strikeout rates in the minors but as he's struggled to miss bats in the big leagues, he still hasn't figured out how to be successful by pitching to contact. He owns just a 33% GB rate which is terrifying for someone who strikes out fewer than 4.5 batters per game. Until he induces more whiffs or improves his GB rate, Davis is an extremely volatile pitcher to start against any opponent. Considering he faces the Red Sox today, you'd be crazy to put him in your lineup.
Nick Blackburn - Nick Blackburn faces the Tigers later today and the game is away from Target Field, meaning the southpaw is a very risky start. In 12 road starts this season, Blackburn owns a 5.32 ERA and 1.64 WHIP compared to a 3.50 ERA and 1.45 WHIP in 12 home starts. Blackburn has improved his GB rate for the 4th straight season, inducing grounders at a 52% clip in 2011. Unfortunately, he still strikes out just 4.74 batters per game while posting a 3.00+ walk rate and 1.20 HR rate. Blackburn's capable of putting together a string of good games (see May/June 2011), but he's been struggling of late by yielding 4 ER or more in 5 of his past 8 starts. I'd only consider Blackburn when he's pitching at home and you're a bit desperate for a starter.
Guillermo Moscoso - Twenty-seven year old Guillermo Moscoso, who faces the Orioles today, has always posted excellent strikeout numbers in the minors as evidenced by his 8.8 career K/9 at all levels. So far, in the big leagues, he hasn't been able to figure out how to increase his whiffs as the right hander is striking out just under 5 batters per game this season. He's managed to post a 3.52 ERA in 13 starts but that's been mostly due to an unsustainable .235 BABIP. His FIP is in the upper 4.00s, so don't expect Moscoso to maintain his current performance. Despite being a bit old for a prospect, Moscoso's got a 1.21 WHIP, 2.5 walk rate and 0.7 HR rate in 542 minor league innings. If he can improve his strikeouts just a bit, Moscoso could definitely be worth a roster spot in deeper league formats next season.
Delmon Young - Delmon Young got traded on Monday but, lucky for him, he only had to walk across the diamond to find his new team. The Twins dumped the disappointing outfielder to the Tigers for a minor league pitcher and a player to be named later. Since Minnesota was in Detroit to face the Tigers, Young suited up in his new uniform and promptly smacked 2 hits, including his 5th HR of the season, in a 9-6 Twins victory. After hitting 21 HRs and driving in 112 last season, Young has been a bust in 2011. He owns just a .269/.309/.369 slash line with 5 HRs and 33 RBI. His ISO has also dropped from .195 to just .092. However, the Tigers put him in the 3-hole Monday so he should see plenty of ABs and RBI opportunities. It's probably worth making a speculative pickup if Young's available since you never know if a fresh start is just what he needs to turnaround his season.
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