Henderson Alvarez- MIA- Hot- Alvarez threw his first quality start in his last 5 outings, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and a walk while striking out 3 in 6 IP. Prior to his cold streak he had thrown 5 quality starts in a row. Alvarez has had some bad luck this season, with a FIP of 3.02 in 12 starts almost a run lower than his ERA of 3.95. He is still not showing much in the way of strikeout power, with a K/9 of 5.09 with Miami coming after posting 3.80 in 187.1 IP with Toronto last year. So while Alvarez has shown improvement it's still not enough to put him on the radar for the rest of this season or 2014 in all but deep leagues. He did hit his first career homer today but that doesn't help you in fantasy baseball.
Travis Wood- CHN- Cold- Some regression to the mean may have been kicking in for Wood. He has only thrown 1 quality start in his last 4 outings. Yesterday he gave up 4 runs in 7 IP on 9 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3. Wood has struck out 16 in 26 IP in that span, so he still isn't showing an improvement on K ratio. His ERA is now at 3.17 while his FIP is at 3.95 so there is still more room for negative regression in the last weeks of the season.
Burch Smith- SD- Rookie- Smith was called up and will possibly get a start on Friday. He was rushed to the Padres earlier this season and posted an 18.41 ERA in 3 starts in May without having pitched above AA. He was more successful in 3 relief appearances later, but still only has 12.2 IP of big league experience so far, making it impossible to extrapolate anything from it. Smith has maintained a K/9 of above 9.00 at every stop he has pitched and only has had control issues in his brief time with San Diego. He is likely to show improvement and will figure into competition for the San Diego rotation next year, particularly with a good showing in the last weeks of this season.
Stolmy Pimentel- PIT- Rookie- Pimentel was called up over the weekend and will likely make his major league debut in a long relief situation. A starter in the minors, Pimentel seemed to solve some control issues after he was promoted from AA to AAA. His BB/9 at AA was 4.07 in 77.1 IP while it dropped to 2.05 in 92 IP at AAA. Pimentel's K/9 only dropped from 7.10 to 6.07. Although a starter in the minors, Pimentel is more likely to end up as a setup man in the majors unless he can increase his strikeouts.
Tyler Thornburg- MIL- Hot- Thornburg continued his success as a starter, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks while striking out 4 in 6 IP. He is still not guaranteed a regular return in the rotation for the rest of the season. The Brewers have two off days coming up and may keep the other starters on regular rest. Thornburg will get at least one more start this year, though. His 2.08 ERA has been helped by good luck, as demonstrated by his 3.50 FIP. In order to maintain success and break out in 2014 he will have to improve on his 5.66 K/9 and 3.97 BB/9 in 47.2 major league IP this season. At AAA Nashville Thornburg posted a 10.49 K/9 and his mark in 22 IP with the Brewers last year (admittedly a small sample) was 8.18, so the potential is there.
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.
