Fantasy Baseball Around the Majors: Justin Upton, A.J. Burnett and More

With just three games on the schedule, it was a very quiet evening, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty to talk about.  Just how bad has it been for A.J. Burnett?  Is Justin Upton catching fire?  What happened to the closers in Oakland?  Let’s look at these stories and all the rest from yesterday’s games:

Hitters:

• Mike Aviles (3-4)—Yes, he keeps hitting, but where are the rest of the statistics?  Just two home runs?  What about 11 RBI?  Only 27 runs scored, considering his ability to get on base?  I need more in the counting statistics in order to consider him an option I want to use outside of the deeper formats.

• Kevin Kouzmanoff (2-5, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 R)—It’s his second straight game with a home run, going 6-9 with 2 homers, 3 RBI, and 2 runs over that span.  He was white-hot before falling into a 1-15 skid, but he appears to be catching fire once again.  Third base is extremely shallow, so at .294 with 8 home runs and 38 RBI, Kouzmanoff is certainly proving to be a useful option in all formats.

• Justin Upton (3-3, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 4 R, 1 SB)—He led the way in what was a complete thrashing of A.J. Burnett and the Yankees.  He hasn’t quite been what owners were expecting, hitting .256 with 13 home runs, 38 RBI, 45 runs and 11 stolen bases.  Clearly, those are solid numbers, but people were hoping for him to take that next giant leap forward in 2010.  He’s been heating up a bit of late, with four multi-hit games in his last six and scoring 9 runs over that span.

Pitchers:

• Livan Hernandez (7.0 IP, 1 ER, 8 H, 1 BB, 5 K, W)—It was a nice bounce back after being shelled by the Tigers his last time out (6.2 IP, 8 ER, 7 H, 6 BB).  Then again, this came against the weaker-hitting Royals.  No one can expect him to be able to maintain his 2.82 ERA, so look for more rough times in the future, despite this solid start.

• Francisco Cordero (1.0 IP, 3 ER, 1 H, 3 BB, 1 K)—It wasn’t a good day to be a closer in Oakland, as both Cordero and Andrew Bailey (1.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K) got hit.  The only difference is that Cordero went back out for the tenth, when the game really got interesting.  It’s amazing that this was actually a 1-1 game heading into the ninth, only to finish 6-4 in 10 innings.  Cordero has just 2 saves in his last 10 outings, allowing at least one run in three of his last six.  He’s still among the better closers in the league, but it certainly is worth noting.

• A.J. Burnett (4.0 IP, 7 ER, 9 H, 2 BB, 4 K)—He got blasted for three home runs, as he got beat up for the fourth consecutive start and sixth time in his last nine starts.  You really have to wonder if there is something physically wrong with him at this point.  In his last four starts he’s allowed 24 runs in just 20 innings, with nine home runs doing a lot of the damage.  He’s not this bad—we all know that—and when he’s right, he is one of the better pitchers in the league.  At this point, he’s clearly just not right, however.  I wouldn’t get rid of him; just keep him stashed away and hope that he can work out his problems soon.

What are your thoughts from yesterday’s games?  Which ones caught your eye? And which ones did I miss?

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