Michael Saunders - Another pair of singles to go along with two runs scored and his 3rd steal of the season for Michael Saunders on Monday, as he continues his excellent performance from the WBC into the beginning of the MLB season. He's hit in six straight after an 0-4 with 2 K's on Opening Day, and the most impressive thing for me is that he's only fanned once in those six games. That's a really small sample size, but if he can manage something like this for another week I'd be inclined to believe that he really has found a new level of contact, which would increase his ceiling tremendously. I'm watching closely here.....with an AVG of .280-.300 instead of .240-.260 he could be a star. I would be willing to gamble on the upside here.
Aaron Hicks - The odds that Hicks ends up back in the minors before Memorial Day are increasing daily, as another pair of K's yesterday give him 13 in 30 ABs to start the year, with only two singles and two walks on the positive side of the ledger. He just simply appears to be unready for this level, and since the one guy that has any reasonable potential as a replacement is also struggling down in Rochester (Joe Benson), it wouldn't be a shock to see Darin Mastrioanni back in CF for the twins come May. A sobering thought to be sure, since the Twins are already desperately short on "upside". Hicks remains a reserve option at best, and is likely still a year or two away from making a fantasy impact.
Alexi Ogando - Disclaimer: I am a HUGE Ogando fan. He has solid control, great stuff, and with the early GB returns this year, likely due to the increased use of his changeup, he could put everything together to have a gigantic year in the rotation. Ogando is only in his 4th major league season at age 29 because of his involvement in a human trafficking ring as an OF with Oakland back in 2005, resulting in a five-year stretch during which he was denied a work visa in the US. Texas reinvented him as a pitcher in 2010, and the results are evident. His upside is enormous, and while there is risk from both an injury and a performance standpoint greater than the average, the potential results are well worth it for me.
Jered Weaver - I too am concerned with Jered Weaver, and would be more inclined to look to deal him than keep him, but playing devil's advocate for a moment....thus far Weaver has had a cold outing against a great offense in Cincy where he escaped with a solid line, and an outing in Texas where even great pitchers struggle from time to time. Yes, the velocity is down once again, and he isn't missing bats very much at all anymore, but let's give him a few more starts before we place the fork in his back. I'm not saying I'd run out and pay an ace-level price for him, as I think his days of being a top-10 pitcher are done, but could he provide #2 or #3 starter value? Of course. Not that I disagree with Drew at all here, but with articles all over the web about the demise of Weaver the past few weeks, perhaps a bit more perspective is necessary.
Hiroki Kuroda - A quick look at his line won't show anything special, but Kuroda was very solid after the first six batters yesterday, allowing only a single, double, and a pair of walks over those 5 innings. I expect that Kuroda's finger, which is still not completely healed, hampered his control a bit, but he managed to strike out 6 and earn his first win of the year anyway. He should be good to go for his second start of the week against the O's back at Yankee Stadium.
