Taking a look around the league, here’s a recap of last night’s action and suggestions for your fantasy baseball team.
Mr. Clutch (pitcher) – Felix Hernandez continues to dominate. He went eight innings, allowing zero earned runs and striking out seven. His 9.06 K/9 and 1.48 BB/9 are career bests thus far. I think Felix Hernandez will be featured many times in this spot and is a shoe-in for the AL Cy Young award at this point.
Mr. Clutch (hitter) – Matt Holliday carried the load last night, going 3-for-4 with one home run, two RBIs, three runs and a walk. Holliday is the model of consistency and looks to be on a similar pace this season. He often gets overlooked because he is not one of the flashy young studs everyone wants, but he is money in the bank for 25 plus home runs, 90 plus runs and 100 plus RBIs.
Surprise, surprise! – Going a complete game is a huge accomplishment. When it comes from an irrevelant pitcher like Jason Vargas, you are just blown away. Vargas went nine innings, allowing three hits, two walks, zero runs and three strikeouts. While this game was impressive, I’m not buying it long term.
Here comes the heat – Drew Stubbs had a big game last night, going 4-for-5 with an RBI and a run. His batting average is now all the way up to .284 after going on a little tear these past three games. He is 9-for-13 with a home run, four RBIs, three runs and a steal. Stubbs is a very streaky player who will net you some home runs and some steals. If he is one of his streaks, he is a good player to ride while he is hot.
Left out in the breeze – Aroldis Chapman got touched up last night in the ninth inning. He gave up four hits, three earned runs and two walks, while stoking out one. While I do not think he can be as good as he was last season (because he was crazy good last season), I still think he is one of the premier closers and a must start.
Who’s trending? – Nate McClouth, two weeks ago, literally was not owned in any leagues. Now, he is at 100% owned. When you have a .333/.431/.517 slash line with three home runs, 23 RBIs, 10 runs and eight steals you are going to get picked up. While I definitely do not think McClouth can keep up that slash line (career .253 batting average), I think you have to buy him a little bit. He has put up numbers in the past, but if things start going south do not hesitate to drop him.
Bench me, please? – Come on, I hope you did not think Vernon Wells could continue being some elite fantasy stud right? I expect to see a lot more 0-for-4 with one strikeout performances like last night than the gaudy numbers he was putting up when he first got to New York. Wells is a guy you were just enjoying the ride with, but the ride has come to an end, the restraint has unlocked, and it is time to get out and head to the next ride.
The Streamer – While I really like Bartolo Colon for this spot, I am going to dig deep and pick Scott Kazmir here. The fastball velocity, for whatever reason, is up this season, and he is facing the Minnesota Twins, who don’t really strike fear in the hearts of men. Kazmir was a trendy sleeper this season, but that was derailed a bit once he went on the DL. I think the trendy sleeper status returns after this matchup. Deploy with confidence.
