One of the main products of the last big Adrian Gonzalez trade debuted for the Padres last night. Though he didn’t allow a run to the Braves in six innings, Casey Kelly’s first start was — much like the rest of his professional career to date — uneven with a chance of sunshine.
On Saturday, Brandon Morrow made his return to the Blue Jays rotation. He allowed 4 runs (2 earned) to go with 7 Ks and 1 BB over 4 2/3 innings. It was Morrow’s first start since June 11th when he strained his left oblique. All signs are positive and I see only a couple of possible future problems for him.
Morrow was having a good season before landing on the DL, but it is a little tough to gauge his true talent level. He has a near 3 ERA which is a career best for him (4.37 average for his previous seasons). His strikeout rate is down to a career low of 8 K/9. The drop in strikeouts is offset by his BB/9 going down to 2.7, which is also a career low.
September is right around the corner, which means it’s time to really start preparing for the fantasy playoffs. Here are a pair of AL East youngsters who can boost your roster for the stretch drive…
Pedro Ciriaco | 2B, SS, 3B | Red Sox | Owned: 21% Yahoo! and 29.9% ESPN
Ciriaco, 26, got his shot with the Red Sox early last month due to various injuries and has quickly established himself as a pesky, “this guy shouldn’t be killing us” type of player for whoever happens to be playing Boston on a given day. The infielder is hitting .360/.374/.500 (145 wRC+) with two homers and nine steals (in nine chances) in 141 plate appearances for the Red Sox, and now he’s playing third base pretty much everyday with Will Middlebrooks on the shelf. He managed to pick up both second base and shortstop eligibility along the way.
Josh Beckett has hardly lived up to expectations this season. While it had become apparent that he had drawn the ire of Boston fans, Beckett was beginning to have the same effect on his fantasy owners. With the trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Beckett’s fortunes should be on the rise. As our own Eno Sarris pointed out, there are many reasons to think Beckett will improve out West. With the playoffs quickly approaching, Beckett could become a useful fantasy asset again.
The trade, as it stands now, is Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett and Nick Punto to the Dodgers for Jerry Sands, James Loney, Ivan DeJesus, Allen Webster and Rubby De La Rosa. We’ll have plenty of in-depth analysis over the coming days, but fantasy is often about speed, so let’s try to break down the “blink” style fantasy implications.
Over the last two seasons, Johnny Cueto’s ERA (2.38) has been lower than any other pitcher in the majors. His ERA is about one full point lower than his FIP (3.24) and xFIP (3.75). I will look at how he achieved the low ERA and if it can be maintained.
It’s that day of the week when it’s time to get caught up with all the happenings among American League starting pitchers.
Last night, Jeremy Guthrie flirted with a no-hitter for 7 innings until he gave up a infield single to “speedy” Paul Korerko. Besides flirting with a no-hitter, he had gone 22 straight innings without giving up a run which ended a few batters later. This performance was from a pitcher who was traded away basically as a salary dump. Are there any signs that can lead a fantasy owner to believe that Guthrie has changed in his approach over the last month and the improvement can continue?
Let’s say that despite some evidence that Yu Darvish is being squeezed at the plate, you don’t have much hope for him to improve his control over the last six weeks of the season. That’s okay — at this point, we’re in the crucible. If you still have some time left before your deadline, it might be time to check the schedule closely. It might just change your mind about him.
The fantasy season is starting to reach crunch time, so let’s begin the week with two players who have recently taken on more prominent roles…
David Murphy | OF | Rangers | Owned: 12% Yahoo! and 13.3% ESPN
From 2008-2011, his first four full seasons as a big leaguer, the 30-year-old Murphy posted a 115 wRC+ against right-handed pitchers with a 62 mark against southpaws. His split this year is 129/145 thanks to some serious BABIP (.529) love in a very small sample (53 PA) against left-handers. It’s not the most sustainable performance, as you can tell.