All posts under "Player Commentary" - Page 129

Jordan Zimmerman- WAS- Rookie- Zimmerman has a nice repertoire of off speed pitches to go with his mid-90s fastball. Despite being forced by the Nationals to throw at least 15 changeups per start last year in order to develop the...

Coco Crisp - Despite batting only .200, Crisp is off to a solid start with the Royals, posting an OPS of .923 in the first few weeks. A breakout from Crisp wouldn't be all that surprising if you look at...

James McDonald (LAD) - In just his second start of the season Sunday, McDonald held the Rockies scoreless. That’s the good news. The bad? McDonald was able to record just 13 outs on 95 pitches, as he continually missed with...

Scott Downs: Even as BJ Ryan strengthens his hold on the closer’s role, Scott Downs seems to be improving his value each day. I’ve been a big proponent of the effective use of middle relievers in Roto formats in the...

Kevin Millwood – Millwood threw a complete game last night, allowing just 2 runs, but he was outdueled by Zack Greinke. Millwood has been spectacular in three starts for the Rangers so far this season, allowing just 3 earned runs...

Jordan Schafer: Schafer is mired in a 1 for 21 slump. The rookie is making the jump from Double-A, where he showed great plate patience, 14% BB%, moderate power, 10 home runs in 297 AB, and poor contact skills, 70%...

Anthony Reyes (SP – Indians) Anthony Reyes struck out only 1 batter through 5 innings on Friday, leaving him with 3 K and 6 BB in 11 IP this season. Reyes’ declining K rate is very concerning. Through five seasons...

Nyjer Morgan: A year after a big breakout in the Pittsburgh OF buoyed fantasy owners to a number of titles, the Pirates have another OF posting impressive early season numbers in Nyjer Morgan. The question is: is this one for...

Ervin Santana: Santana, who is rehabbing from an elbow injury, threw his first bullpen session on Wednesday and reported no problems. The Angels are targeting an early May return for Santana. He made big strides across the board last year,...

Elvis Andrus- TEX- Hot- Andrus is yet another Texas hitter who made mince meat of Baltimore pitching last night. He went 2-for-3 with a triple, 4 runs scored and 1 knocked in. most significantly, though, may have been the 2...

Jason Kubel - Kubel singled and homered last night against the Jays as he continues to provide some sorely needed offense for the purposely punchless Twins. I still contend that Kubel is finally catching up from the lost year of...

Justin Upton- ARI- Cold- The potential is there, but it has certainly not been realized this season. Upton was lifted for a pinch hitter yesterday, after remaining hitless for 2009 in an 0-for-3 game. The strikeouts have been plaguing him,...

David Purcey - The good and the bad of David Purcey was on full display yesterday, as the young left-hander allowed ten baserunners and five runs in just 4 2/3 innings to the Indians while striking out ten. Purcey did...

Jason Motte Motte has grabbed the attention of the fantasy world by not just making the Cardinals roster this spring, but starting the year as the team's de facto, if not officially named, closer. More interesting perhaps is the fact...

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Doug Brocail: After a disastrous performance in which he allowed a home run and 3 walks in one inning, Brocail had his shoulder examined by team doctors. He said he couldn’t find an arm slot to throw from which he...

Miguel Cabrera (1B – Tigers) Miguel Cabrera continued to build upon his hot start by going 3 for 5 with a HR and 6 RBI on Friday. After a somewhat painfully slow start to last season (10 HR in his...

Kevin Gregg: The fantasy community was outraged by manager Lou Pineilla’s decision to utilize his best reliever as a middle man and insert Kevin Gregg into the closer’s role this spring, and that community is likely to get louder about...

Clayton Kershaw: Typically 5 innings of 2 hit ball, allowing just 1 ER would be something we’d be rejoicing about, but with young Clayton Kershaw the bar is set pretty high. Last year Kershaw was able to post strong numbers...

Dana Eveland- OAK- Hot- Eveland had very similar numbers to his counterpart on the Angels last night, Nick Adenhart. He gave up 8 hits and 2 walks while striking out 4 in 6 IP. The difference was that Eveland’s Oakland...

Jimmy Rollins – Rollins is off to a cold start, going just 1 for his 14 at bats, with that one hit being a single. That can’t be comforting to owners, especially since his ’08 season was a disappointment. Still,...

National League 2 Pedro Alvarez PIT 3B A Some think he could be PIT 3B by this summer. May even open the season in Double-A. 3 Cameron Maybin FLA OF A Bonifacio's Opening Day probably keeps Maybin in the eight-hole....

Freddy Sanchez (2B - Pirates) Freddy Sanchez has kicked off the season by going 4 for his first 9 with a home run and a double. Please do not get overly excited about this early display of unusual power. Over...

Travis Snider - Snider is definitely one of the favorites for ROY in the AL, and he got off to a solid start yesterday with a double and a homer in four trips against Detroit. Snider hit 25 homers across...

John Lannan- WAS- Cold- Lannan was a pleasant surprise for the Nats in 2008, posting a 3.91 ERA. If he had been given more support, his 9-15 record would have at least turned around as his Deserved Wins was 7...

Shawn Hill (SD) – Hill had his contract purchased by the Padres on Sunday and is slated to be the team’s No. 5 starter. Hill battled forearm stiffness this spring before the Nationals finally got fed up and cut him...

Jeff Niemann: With Hammel out of town, Niemann was officially announced as the 5th starter in the Rays rotation this season. Last year in AAA, Niemann posted a 3.59 ERA and 1.14 WHIP with a 8.7 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9...

John Danks – Expect Danks to see a slight jump in his ERA as the 76% LOB% he posted last season is likely not sustainable. Other than that, though, Danks’ numbers are legitimate. He showed good control last season (2.79...

Felipe Lopez: The D’Backs have installed Lopez at second base and the top of the order. Leaving Washington will help his power, but the 23 home runs he hit in 2005 looks to be a fluke, 2006/2007/2008 home run of...

Over the weekend the Twins signed Joe Crede to a one-year, $2.5M contract with incentives that could pay him more than $4.5M more if he can stay healthy throughout the upcoming season. He gets additional money at 250 ABs and...

New Page 1 Welcome to another season of Prospect Central! Here is where you find breakdowns of Insiderbaseball.com’s Top 100 Prospects. Each week you can also check out our Prospect Central Spreadsheet Hitters / Pitchers (which is handled by...

Jim Edmonds Edmonds continues to be a surprisingly-valuable asset for the playoff-bound Cubs, going 1-for-4 with a double on Saturday. He’s batting a so-so .236/. 345/.479 in 330 at-bats and while the average is a bit of a liability, Edmonds...

Robinson Cano- NYA- Hot- Cano went 1-for-4 with a homer last night to make him 6-for-10 in his last 3 games, raising his September batting average to .226. Still, this month Cano has only drawn a single walk while striking...

Derek Jeter: Jeter can celebrate for getting the unbreakable record of most hits in Yankee Stadium history, but his skills appear to be declining. His approach at the plate has remained consistent, 2006/2007/2008 BB%’s of 10%/8%/8% and Ct%’s of 84%/84%/85%,...

I really haven’t paid too much attention to Aubrey Huff in the second half but oh my LORD has this guy had a GREAT season. Huff went 2-5 last night with a HR and 2 RBI, bringing his season totals...

Cameron Maybin: The Marlins called up Maybin from Double-A where he had a good, but not great, season, 13/49/.277 with 21 steals in 390 AB. He showed a nice ability to work counts, 13% BB%, but is swinging and missing...