All posts under "Player Commentary" - Page 108

Vin Mazzaro - I don't know much about Vin Mazzaro, but I'm pretty certain Monday was the worst pitching performance of his career, starting from tee-ball through the majors. Summoned into duty after Kyle Davies was injured in the...

Welcome to a special Florida Marlins addition of the NL Player Notes! Anibal Sanchez - It's safe to say Anibal Sanchez is on fire right now. At least against the Nationals, that is. Less than a week after shutting out...

Ryan Dempster (SP--Cubs) Usually one of the more consistent pitchers, Ryan Dempster has been struggling through his first eight starts with a 1-4 record and a 7.20 ERA going into Friday's game against the Giants. But Dempster seems to have...

1. Eric Hosmer (1B - Royals) - A ton has been written about Hosmer's fantasy value over the past week. Claims of overpaying for him and an attempt to rank him among the league's other first baseman moving forward...

Homer Bailey (SP - CIN): With two strong starts since being activated off of the DL it's time to change gears from "watching" to "investing" in Homer Bailey. I mentioned in this space a week ago that Bailey's strong...

Scott Baker- MIN- Cold- After 4 consecutive quality starts, Baker had his worst outing of the season so far. He allowed 5 runs on 6 hits and 5 walks while striking out 6 in 4.1 IP. Baker's control overall wasn't...

1. Edinson Volquez (SP - Reds) - Another shaky outing led to an early departure for Volquez on Wednesday. He lasted 4.0 IP and allowed 3 ER, 3 H, and 5 BB. He is now only 1-for-9 in QS for...

Josh Tomlin SP (CLE) - Tomlin posted yet another quality start last night - 6 IP, 6 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 2 ER. I'm still not sold, though. The fact of the matter is Tomlin has been REALLY...

Roy Halladay (SP--Phillies) In what amounted to baseball's version of Clash of the Titans, Roy Halladay and Josh Johnson locked horns in a battle that saw arguably the two best pitchers in the N.L. match up. With Johnson getting nicked...

Jeff Francoeur (OF - KC): I'm still waiting for the prolonged strikeout prone slump that obliterates the hot start from Jeff Francoeur but he keeps staving it off. Looking at Francoeur's peripherals the only significant improvement that stands out...

Ian Desmond SS (WAS) - Desmond is struggling in his sophomore season, hitting just .223/.256/.393. However, I think there's reason to be optimistic that things will be much better from here on out. For starters, Desmond's ISO has risen...

Ian Desmond SS (WAS) - Desmond is struggling in his sophomore season, hitting just .223/.256/.393. However, I think there's reason to be optimistic that things will be much better from here on out. For starters, Desmond's ISO has risen...

Jaime Garcia (SP--Cardinals) Jaime Garcia was practically perfect on Friday but going into the 8th inning with one out against the Brewers, he allowed a walk to Casey McGhee and then Yuniesky Betancourt followed with a single to left field...

Eduardo Sanchez (RP - STL): After Sanchez blew the save opportunity on Wednesday night, I figured Tony LaRussa would simply turn to the next man down the line and we'd be stuck in a closer-by-committee; but after the Cardinals...

Chone Figgins - The underperforming infielder was scratched from Thursday's lineup due to an illness. It didn't sound too serious so expect Figgins back in the lineup this weekend. Figgins continues to struggle in Seattle, posting just a .217/.260/.304 slash...

Ike Davis (1B - Mets) - It was the best of time, it was the worst of times. After reaching an average of .352 as of April 29th, Davis has gone into a slump, dropping to .312 by going just...

Note that this is just a sample of the 70+ prospect updates we provide every week here. In order to receive all 70 and more, we'd love to have you subscribe. Oh, and follow me on Twitter - @vtadave National...

Alex Avila C (DET) - Avila continued his hot hitting into May as he hit 2 homers off of Bartolo Colon the other night. What was so impressive about the two homers is that both cleared the fence in...

Mike Stanton - Stanton singled, homered, and tripled last night in the Marlins' 6-5 win in St. Louis. Stanton is still striking out at a prodigious rate, but the massive power that he offers could trump that. People said Ryan...

Mike Aviles (2B/3B - KC): After an extremely slow start to the season, Mike Aviles has gotten it going again. Aviles went 3-5 with a HR and 4 RBI's on Sunday improving his 2011 line to .250/.289/.539. Just from...

NL Quick Pitch: A pitching-heavy focus in today's NL notes. Ian Kennedy posted another quality start. Take out that one bad outing against the Cardinals and you're looking at ace-like numbers. Wandy Rodriguez has flip-flopped his way through the season...

AL Quick Pitch: A few rehab appearances have fantasy owners hopeful for the return of Jake Peavy, Andrew Bailey, and Aaron Hill, but I wouldn't hold your breath for fantasy week #5. The catchers had a big night on...

Jason Marquis (SP--Nationals) Not an easy feat to knock off the world champion Giants, much less shut them out altogether. And it's particularly noteworthy when your name is not Roy Halliday or Josh Johnson, but rather Jason Marquis. But that's...

Brett Wallace (1B - HOU): I've never been enamored with Brett Wallace as a fantasy option, but with his strong start to the season I figured it was time to pay a little respect to the early season improvements...

Jeremy Guthrie- BAL- Hot- Guthrie tossed 6 shutout innings against the Red Sox, but didn't factor in the decision, leaving his record at 1-3 while his ERA is a sparkling 2.53. Guthrie gave up 7 hits and 1 walk while...

NL Quick Pitch: Here's a quick look at today's National League daily notes. Ian Desmond returns to the lineup after paternity leave. He's good for stolen bases right now and nothing else, so he remains an upside candidate at...

* Please note that this isn't a comprehensive list of my top prospects - it's merely a sampling. For the complete lists, please don't hesitate to subscribe... We provide 70+ updates each week. Here is a sample of 20: American...

Delmon Young OF (MIN) - I haven't lost faith in Young despite his slow start. In fact, I'm encouraged last year was not a fluke. Young is getting loft on his swing (38.8FB%), which is very important for his...

AL Quick Pitch: Max Scherzer out-dueled John Danks on Sunday as the White Sox continued to spiral downward. Within the notes this morning we'll take a look at some alarming indicators surrounding Scherzer's early season success. We'll also dig...

Hanley Ramirez (SS-FLA) - Ramirez was passed this year in fantasy drafts by Troy Tulowitzki as fantasy's #1 shortstop (at least we did here at Fantistics), but the disparity is growing by the at-bat. Tulo leads the NL in slugging...

Cole Hamels SP (PHI) - Two nights ago Hamels dominated the Padres, and after a brutal first start of the season (6 ER, 2.2 IP) Hamels' ERA is all the way down to 2.92. For some reason, people tend...

AL Quick Pitch: Some old names return to today's quick pitch. Will 2011 be the breakout year for "old" names like Alex Gordon and Jeff Francoeur? Both have gotten off to hot starts in April and deserve ownership in all...

NL Quick Pitch: Daniel Hudson's early-season struggles continued in a tough matchup against the Reds. Hudson hasn't had problems generating K's at the same enormous rate he posted after moving to the NL last year, but has struggled with command....

Jeff Francoeur- KC- Hot- Francoeur raised his average to .333 by going 2-for-4 and hitting his 3rd homer of the season. His average is being boosted by a .345 BABIP so that may not hold. The power numbers have a...

National League 29 Jerry Sands LAD 1B B+ Gets the call to help desperate offense and doubles off Tim Hudson in AB #1. Nice start. 31 Yasmani Grandal CIN C B+ .276 in the early going with 6 of 8...

Roy Halladay- PHI- Cold- Halladay got lit up for the first time in 2011, allowing 6 runs on 10 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3 in 6.2 IP. He got hit hardest in the 7th inning and ended...