Paul Sauberer - Page 17

Chan Ho Park- LAN- Rise Value- Park’s shift in role to setup man and second closer option boosts his value, particularly in leagues that count holds. Maybe I am still bitter about his Texas years, being a Rangers’ fan, but...

Nick Markakis- BAL- Hot- Markakis may have ended his 17-game hitting streak last night, but that didn’t keep him off the bases, as he walked 3 times, raising his OBP to an even .400. It also brought his Batting EYE...

Mark Grudzielanek- KC- Hot- Grudzielanek seems to like to collect his hits in bunches. In his last 10 games he has recorded 3 or more hits 3 times, including last night’s 3-for-4 effort and has raised his average to .319....

Ricky Nolasco- FLA- Hot- Nolasco’s strikeout and walk rates are close to his 2006 numbers. His K/IP number is .74 this season and was .71 then. His BB/IP rate is .26 now and was .29 then. Does the slight improvement...

Joe Borowski- CLE- Drop Value- Indications are that Borowski will no longer be the anointed closer after manager Eric Wedge and his coaching staff emerge from a scheduled meeting today in which they will discuss personnel matters. The big question...

Prince Fielder- MIL- Cold- Fielder was 1-for-3 last night, but that made him still just 2-for-27 on the Brewers’ current road trip. Overall, Fielder has some severe home/road splits, hitting .311 with 13 homers in 135 ABs in Milwaukee and...

George Sherrill- BAL- Caution- Sherrill is entering uncharted territory as far as his usage is concerned. Last season he pitched in 73 games but accumulated only 45-2/3 IP. Sherrill threw only 724 pitches all year, only throwing 20 or more...

Ervin Santana- LAA- Injury- Santana had only walked 23 batters in 102-1/3 IP before last night’s start against the Nationals in Washington. He was uncharacteristically wild in the Nation’s Capital, allowing a season-high 5 free passes. There may be an...

San Diego- SD- Idea- Here is one of those marginal situations that comes up every so often that you keep in the back of your mind to try to get just a little edge when needed. The Padres have allowed...

Jeremy Guthrie- BAL- Hot- Guthrie bounced back from his worst start of the year the last time out to record his best start of the year last night. He held the Astros to 1 run over 8 innings, allowing 3...

Miguel Tejada- HOU- Cold- Since May 24th, Tejada has lost 38 points off his batting average and is now hitting an even .300 for the season. In that span he has gone 14-for-73 with 4 homers, 6 RBI and 10...

Mike Aviles- KC- Idea- Mike Aviles hit the double digit mark in steals in 3 of his 5 minor league seasons before 2008. After watching the Royals against the Rangers the last couple of nights, it looks like he might...

Edinson Volquez- CIN- Hot- Volquez was uncharacteristically wild, throwing 44 of his 101 pitches for balls and walking 5 in 6 IP. In a measure of how good his season has been so far, his 3 earned runs allowed is...

B. J. Upton- TB- Cold- Upton said something naughty to umpire Paul Emmel in the 8th inning and was given the rest of the game off to think about what he had said. Having struck out for the third time...

Jay Bruce- CIN- Hot- Although Bruce is a Red, he has become the New Black. The hottest player in baseball added another homer to his total and went 2-for-4 last night. When 2-for-4 lowers your batting average to .577, you...

Alexi Casilla- MIN- Hot- Casilla has been on fire since being inserted in the lineup to fill injury holes. He is hitting .340 with 12 RBI and 7 runs in 12 games. A major factor in Casilla’s success has been...

Jamey Carroll- CLE- Hot- Carroll went 2-for-3 yesterday to extend his current hitting streak to 6 games. In that span he has gone 8-for-20 and raised his batting average from .172 to .231. Carroll’s Batting EYE has declined during the...

Michael Bourn- HOU- Hot- Despite going 0-for-4 on Sunday, Bourn has to be considered on a roll. Even without benefit of a base hit, he scored, collected an RBI and stole a base. Over his last 5 games Bourn has...

Jack Cust- OAK- Hot- The pendulum has swung wildly in Cust’s favor. His .212 BHIPx at the end of April was probably not going to last, but it has soared to .286 over the last 3 weeks, meaning that it...

Bronson Arroyo- CIN- Cold- After two solid starts, Arroyo regressed in a big way, allowing 9 hits and 3 walks in 5 IP that led to 5 runs (3 earned). It could be a matter of fatigue as he had...

Josh Hamilton- TEX- Hot- Hamilton led the way for a Texas offensive onslaught last night, going 5-for-5 with 2 homers, a triple, a walk, 5 RBI, and 4 runs scored. The 13 total bases was one short of a franchise...

Daniel Cabrera- BAL- Hot- Is Cabrera finally for real? He pitched his 7th straight quality start, raising his record to 4-1, allowing 3 runs on 10 hit in 7 IP while striking out 3 and walking NONE. Of his 103...

Nelson Figueroa- NYN- Cold- Figueroa was pounded by the Nationals yesterday, allowing 6 runs (4 earned) on 5 this and 5 walks in 5 IP while striking out 4. The walks continue a pattern of control problems for Figueroa, who...

Nick Markakis- BAL- Hot- Since his last multi-hit game on May 2nd, Markakis had been in a 1-for-15 slump that had shaved 28 points from his batting average, dropping it from .284 to .256. He got half of that back...

Scott Podsednik- COL- Hot- Sure, he went 0-for-4 last night and lost 35 points off his batting average to go from .343 to .308, but Podsednik is showing signs of bouncing back from an essentially lost 2007 season. His average...

Alex Rios- TOR- Cold- Rios, after an 0-for-3 game yesterday, still has some solid leadoff hitter numbers (.306 average, .386 OBP). Lurking below the surface, though, is a BHIPx of .339 (through Sunday) propping that number up. Rios has gone...

Gregor Blanco- ATL- Rise Value- Blanco has been getting increased playing time as a result of his hot bat. However, his .364 average is getting some major assistance from a huge .478 BHIPx. His .78 Batting EYE is very close...

Justin Masterson- BOS- Rookie- Last season, Masterson had an interesting stat line. He split the season between Class A Lancaster, tossing 96 innings, and AA Portland, where he threw 58. Masterson’s raw totals of both walks and strikeouts were very...

Mark Hendrickson- FLA- Hot- Hendrickson ran his record to 4-1 by allowing 3 earned runs on 8 hits and a walk in 8 IP against the Pirates. Cinderella has staved off midnight once again. A lot of factors point towards...

Jim Thome- CHW- Hot-Those in Chicago who have been calling for Thome’s head need to subscribe to Fantistics (heck, for that matter everybody needs to subscribe to Fantistics- tell your friends, relatives and neighbors!). If they did, they could look...

Mark Teixeira- ATL- Stats- A good part of Teixeira’s slow start can be placed at the foot of an uncharacteristically horrid .136 batting average against lefties. Normally, the switch hitter does far better against them than against righties (splits of...

Jason Bulger- LAA- Rise Value- With KRod nursing a sprained ankle, someone else will have to handle the save situations for the Angels until he is ready to return. Manager Mike Scioscia has said he would use the dreaded “closer...

Pat Burrell- PHI- Hot- Burrell smacked 2 of the 4 Philadelphia homers yesterday, giving him a total of 3 in this young season. His overall 2-for-4 at the plate raised his average to .435. Burrell tends to be a fast...

Kosuke Fukodome- CHN- Hot- The optimist would look at Fukodome’s Major League debut and go, “Wow! What a great game!” The pessimist would see the 3-for-3 with a walk effort (that was a triple short of a cycle) and say,...

Luis Mendoza- TEX- Although he won’t make his first major league start of the year until April 12th, when the Rangers first need a fifth starter, but he has pretty much sewed up that role. Yesterday he held the A’s...

Kyle McClellan- STL- McClellan seemed to benefit from the Tommy John surgery he underwent in 2005. His fastball went from the upper 80s to 94 mph heat with movement. Last year the Cardinals converted him from a starter to a...