All posts under "Player Commentary" - Page 81

Phil Hughes - Hughes continued his solid start to the season on Wednesday, moving to 5-1 by scattering seven Padre singles over seven innings, fanning seven without walking a man. Hughes has taken his typically solid control to new levels...

Jeff Samardzija- Few pitchers in baseball have more tough luck no decisions than the Shark. Wednesday's match-up with the Yankees was yet another frustrating day for Samardzija. He pitched 7 shutout innings striking out 3 and allowing 7 base runners...

Latroy Hawkins, Colorado Rockies - Despite picking up the win after allowing the go ahead run in the ninth, Hawkins has strung together a couple of poor outings as he has allowed runs in each of his last three appearances....

Stephen Drew- The Boston Red Sox announced on Tuesday the re-signing of Stephen Drew for the remainder of the 2014 season. Drew is expected to spend 7-10 days in the minor leagues getting up to speed prior to making his...

Raul Ibanez- LAA- Cold- Ibanez was only hitting .148 and didn't start last night's game. His slow start can mostly be attributed to bad luck, with a BABIP of .181. He has had similar slow starts each of the previous...

Jason Heyward has strung together a five-game hitting streak and might finally be turning the corner after a slow start to the season. Heyward went three-for-four, with two runs and two stolen bases last night. Improving his five-game numbers to...

Yoenis Cespedes (OF- Oakland) Yoenis Cespedes had a monster game today going 2 of 5 with 2 doubles and 5 RBI's. This performance brought his BA up to .262 to go along with 7 HR, 23 runs and 27 RBI's....

Troy Tulowitzki (COL - SS) - The Rockies shortstop launched his NL-leading 13th homerun on Sunday, but finished the game just 1-for-5. On the year, Tulowitzki has had at least one hit in each of Colorado's home games except for...

Prince Fielder, Texas Rangers - The source of Prince Fielder's power issues this year may have been identified Saturday as the first baseman will miss a few games with a herniated disk in his neck. He received a nerve blocking...

Shelby Miller (SP-STL). Miller dominated the Braves on Saturday afternoon, pitching 7 innings of 1 run (zero earned) ball, striking out 7 while allowing only 5 hits and 2 walks. The solid performance improved Miller's season ERA to 2.79. This...

Yasiel Puig (OF-Dodgers) Yasiel Puig smacked his 8th HR of the year and knocked in his 33nd RBI going 3-5 in tonight's game. Puig continues to put on display the electric talent that made him a rookie sensation last year....

Alex Cobb (SP-TB). Cobb is scheduled to make what he hopes will be is only rehab start on Saturday night and, barring any setbacks, is hoping to return to the Rays' rotation on May 22. Cobb's return will be welcomed...

Zach Britton (RP-BAL): Zach Britton pitched a 1-2-3 9th on Thursday to pick up his first career save. Even though Tommy Hunter warmed in the pen, Buck Showalter let Britton finish the job against two right-handed batters, a significant sign...

A small sampling of our notes for our subscribers.... Billy Hamilton (OF-CIN) - Hamilton managed to go 2-for-5 with a pair of singles Thursday against the Padres and NOT steal a single base. Given that he's batting just .266/.302/.385, not...

I take a look at some players that are under performing and some that are over performing based upon their peripheral stats.

Domonic Brown (OF-PHI): Garrett Richards shut down Domonic Brown and the Phillies' bats. Brown has looked awful at the plate this year, and after the 0-for-4, 2 k performance last night, his season line now sits at .221/.282/.294. Interestingly, Brown...

A small sampling of this week's player notes for subscribers. Hitters 1 Byron Buxton MIN OF A Not a good year so far: 3-for-20 and back on the DL with a wrist injury. 2 Kris Bryant CHC 3B A 1.045...

Mike Minor, Atlanta Braves - Mike Minor finally had a 2013 Minor-esque performance with 6.2 shutout innings while striking out six with three hits allowed. It was Minor's first outing without allowing a homerun and he lowered his FIP in...

Clay Buchholz- After his first 7 starts of the season, fantasy owners are probably fairly frustrated with Clay Buchholz. His 6.44 ERA and 15.8% K Rate pale in comparison to his 2013 numbers, and he does not even seem like...

Aramis Ramirez- MIL- Stats- Ramirez turns 36 next month and this is the second time in 2 years that he has had left leg issues. His durability is definitely in question. Ramirez got off to a very good start due...

C.J. Wilson (SP-LAA). Wilson had a rocky outing against the Jays on Monday, giving up 5 ER on 6 hits and 3 walks over 6 innings. On the bright side, Wilson did fan 8 Toronto hitters. If there is one...

Seth Smith - The red-hot Smith only managed two hits Sunday after missing the cycle by a homer and a single respectively the past two days, and he's now hit in 8 straight with 7 doubles, 3 triples, and a...

C.C. Sabathia -- After complaining of knee soreness following Saturday's game, C.C. Sabathia underwent an MRI and was placed on the Disabled List on Sunday. The good news is that there's no structural damage, just fluid that needs to be...

The Early Season Fantasy Baseball MVP is awarded to ... Justin Morneau. An afterthought in most leagues the late-round pick or waiver wire pickup has produced among the league's best thus far. Morneau has eight bombs, 19 runs and 29...

John Axford / Cody Allen (RP - CLE) - Terry Francona indicated on Saturday that John Axford has been removed from the closer role. The Indians will supposedly go with a committee in the ninth but Cody Allen is only...

Yovani Gallardo (SP-Mil) Yovani Gallardo suffered his second loss of the year as he gave up 4 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks while striking out 7 in 5.2 innings. Even with this off outing, Gallardo sports a 2.92...

Garrett Richards (SP-LAA). Richards' strong start to the season continued Friday night against the Blue Jays. Richards went 7 innings, giving up only 2 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out 6 against a strong Toronto lineup,...

Mike Olt (3B-CHC) - The Cubs really want Olt to take the third base job and make it his alone, but whether he can do so has yet to be determined. Olt took a positive step Thursday in a blowout...

Daniel Nava- BOS- Cold- Jackie Bradley, Jr. might not be tearing things up for the Red Sox but Nava's performance at AAA Pawtucket recently hasn't warranted serious contemplation of making a switch between the majors and minors. He went 1-for-3...

Desmond Jennings (OF-Tampa Bay) Earlier in the year I had written that I expected Desmond Jennings to finally develop this year. Coming off a 2013 where he batted only .252, there was a lot of room for improvement. The promise...

Everth Cabrera- Everth Cabrera has been a cheap source of steals from a middle infield spot for each of the last two seasons. Cabrera is still running in 2014 as he has accumulated 5 SB through 33 games although his...

Colorado Rockies Outfield Platoon - With Michael Cuddyer on the disabled list the Rockies are using a platoon of Corey Dickerson, Brandon Barnes, and Drew Stubbs to divide up the at bats in his absence. All three are playing well,...

Trevor Plouffe- Trevor Plouffe has provided solid fantasy value out of the hot corner through the first six weeks of the season. Plouffe has provided fantasy owners with solid contributions in the counting categories as he has provided the third...

Adam Jones- BAL- Caution- Jones has had a very poor start, with an average of .252 (despite a .322 BABIP) and a single homer in 29 games. This from a guy who hit 30+ in each of the previous 2...

Nolan Arenado (COL-3B) - Nolan Arenado extended his hit streak to 25 games on Monday night by smashing a 2-run homerun in the second inning. Despite a brutal 0.19 batting EYE, Arenado's contact rate is actually above average at 83%....

Brandon McCarthy - McCarthy was #1 on my Buy Low list even before Saturday's excellent outing against the Padres, as the 30 year old is showing his typically excellent control to go along with the 2nd-highest swinging strike% of his...