Yan Gomes- TOR- Rookie- Gomes is back with Toronto and might get some playing time. He was hitting .349 at AAA when called up. Manager John Farrell has been making noise about using Gomes as a super sub player since he can first, third and catcher already and is practicing in the outfield. Gomes has been very lucky in AAA this year, with a .408 BABIP, but that is about as unlucky as he has been in his brief time in the majors this year, when he has had a .167 BABIP. Gomes has a little pop, hitting 13 homers at AA in 2011. Depending on how Farrell uses him, Gomes could be a sleeper in deep leagues.
Michael Saunders- SEA- Stats- Saunders' big jump in performance may not be as esoteric as a change in batting approach. It may be as simple as luck going his way. When Saunders batted .149 in 179 major league PAs in 2011 his BABIP was .212. This year, with a .348 BABIP his average is .277. Saunders increase in fortune is against both types of pitching. His BABIP against right-handers has gone from .206 to .356 and against southpaws from .222 to .324. More balls are falling in for Saunders.
Evan Scribner- OAK- Rise Value- Scribner was claimed off waivers from the Padres in the offseason. He had horrible luck in his brief major league debut with San Diego. His BABIP of .347 and LOB% of 53.4% explains the difference between his ERA of 7.07 and FIP of 3.38. Scribner has struck out more than a batter per inning in his minor league career and walked only 83 batters in 312 IP. He has been viewed as a AAAA pitcher but has never gotten a lengthy look at the major league level. If the A's give him some innings, he could surprise.
Ervin Santana- LAA- Caution- Santana can't blame his performance on bad luck. In fact his ERA of 5.33 is lower than his FIP of 5.93. He has lost all control, walking 14 in his last 3 starts, covering 14.2 IP and has also continued to serve up the long ball, yielding 4 homers in that span. For the season, Santana's K/9 has dipped to 6.42, the lowest since 2006. His GB% is the highest it's ever been at 51.9% but with putting men on base with walks and allowing homers, it doesn't help him. Santana has competition with Garrett Richards excelling in a spot start. If Richards does well again, Santana could be out of the rotation if he doesn't turn it around immediately.
David Price- TB- Caution- Price's usage really has me concerned (if you haven't been aware from the other pieces I've written about him so far this season.) his velocity has been up recently, which seems like a good thing. However, he has thrown at least 110 pitches in 7 of his last 8 starts. Price has also thrown 40 or mall balls in each of his last 5 starts and has 6 games overall of 40 or more balls. He only had 8 before the All Star break last year. Harder pitches thrown more often and more often outside the strike zone aren't good signs.
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.
