1. Jonathan Sanchez (SP - Giants) - I guess you probably could blame some cobwebs for Sanchez getting blown up last night. Afterall, it was his first start since June 24th so you can't expect him to be too sharp coming straight off the DL. Sanchez allowed 7 hits and 5 ER in 4.2 IP while recording 4 K's and allowing 2 BB. However, Sanchez has been pitching this way for most of the year so being a little rusty isn't a good enough excuse this time around. He is 7-for-17 in quality starts and only has one in his last 6 starts. For Sanchez, the key is always the K's followed by the question of whether you can live with his 1.44 WHIP. He averages more than a K per inning (96 K's in 94.1 IP).
2. Hunter Pence (OF - Phillies) - I think its safe to say Hunter Pence is liking his new team. Since being traded to the Phillies, Pence has gone 11-for-30 with 2 HR, 6 RBI, and a .394 OBP. Its not like Pence was exactly struggling with the Astros either, hitting .308 with a .356 OBP and 11 HR. However, his HR rate has declined this year to 33.0 compared to his previous 4 seasons of 26.8, 23.8, 23.4, and 24.6 from 2007-2010. Perhaps the new environment will help kickstart the power and put his AB/HR rate back into his career-average territory. 2 HR in 30 AB is a nice start in that direction.
3. Michael Morse (OF - Nationals) - Morse is doing it all for the Nats and probably more importantly (unless you're a Nats fan), for his fantasy owners. In 5 games in August, 4 of them have come for multi-hit games for Morse. With a 3-for-5 last night including his 19th HR of the year, Morse is now hitting .320 for the year with 64 RBI and a .923 OPS. His July HR total took a step back slightly, but he's red-hot in August and looking to end the year on a high-note. Great work by those fantasy owners who took the early season gamble on Morse - it has paid off in dividends and more.
4. Corey Hart (OF - Brewers) - Hart has suffered through some injuries this year, making it impossible for him to duplicate his 31 HR effort from 2010. But when he plays, he has been putting up very similar numbers to last year's campaign that will probably make him slightly underrated heading into 2010. He has just about matched his AB/HR rate with a 19.4 this year versus an 18.0 from last year. His BB/K has improved in 2011 from 0.32 to 0.44 as has his OBP from .340 to .353. The average is comparable as well at .277 versus last year's .283. His XBH% has declined slightly from 11.2% to 9.0%, which appears in his decline in SLG, but I can chalk that up to his health issues from earlier in the year. Overall, his FPI of 0.67 in 2010 is just slightly higher than his 0.64 of 2011, yet the appearance of his total volume numbers will probably make him an underrated OF in 2012 drafts.
5. Chad Billingsley (SP - Dodgers) - Billingsley has been mostly inconsistent this year, only posting a high of 4 straight QS once the entire season. Adding a QS to his total from last night's 6.0 IP / 3 ER performance, he is now 13-for-23 in QS%. In total, this has probably been the worst year of Billingsley's career. He is posting career high's in ERA (4.17) and WHIP (1.40) and is close to a career high in BB/9 of 3.72. On the flip side, he is posting a career-low K/9 of 7.7 compared to his 4-year average from 2007-2010 of 8.5. His numbers aren't terrible if you're comparing him to the next best available pitcher on the wires, but fantasy owners had higher hopes for Billingsley in 2011. At just 27 years old, I would expect that next year he will be valued as a classic case of a pitcher who should trend back toward his overall career numbers.
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