Robinson Cano still is on fire and is having his best season to date. Cano connected on his sixth home run of the season and is currently batting .390.
Of course he can’t continue at this pace, especially on the batting average front, but Cano has hit well over .300 multiple times in his career, so this is not coming out of nowhere. He might not quite reach the 25 home runs he did in 2009, but I do think he will be close.
Hold on to Cano tightly if you own him, and don’t think of taking any lowball offers from someone if he starts to slide a little,because he will be fine.
Russell Martin may have had his second home run of the season, and he might be batting over .300 at a very weak position, but I am still not behind the thought of him being productive throughout 2010. Martin still only has five RBI, and he still has just one stolen base on the year.
I completely expect his average to dip to somewhere in the .270 range, and if he gets to 10 homers and 10 steals on the year, I will be surprised.
For the first time in 2010 John Maine had what you could describe as a pretty good start. Maine pitched six innings, gave up just two earned runs, and struck out nine Dodgers.
Maine has been dealing with injuries, inconsistency, and control problems for the better part of two seasons now, and although this is a glimmer of hope, unless you are in an NL-only league or perhaps a regular league with at least 16 teams in it, I wouldn’t be giving Maine a second look.
A day after blowing a save by allowing five runs, Trevor Hoffman blew his fourth save of the season by allowing a home run to Ryan Doumit. Is this the beginning of the end for Hoffman? It is hard to say, but I will give you these two points.
First, Hoffman is 42 years old, and Mother Nature gets everyone eventually. The second point of concern is that most of the time closers fall off the cliff or quit producing well very quickly. They go from All-Stars to scrap heap very quickly. So while Hoffman may have a couple of seasons left in him, the warning signs are out there that you should at least be worried.
Can someone please explain to me how Matt Capps has 10 saves already this year? Not only is it so early to have reached that number, but the Nationals also only have 12 wins. Capps has also only given up one run and has 14 strikeouts in just 12 innings. He isn’t a bad closer, but there is no chance that he can keep this pace up. If you can parlay him into a quality closer on a good team, you have to pull a deal.
Chris Young continues to tattoo pitching in 2010 and is even hitting for a good batting average. Young hit his fourth homer of the year on Wednesday and drove in five runs to bring his season total to 21. Young also has a couple of stolen bases and is hitting .298.
I still am a little skeptical that he will keep it going the entire season, but the kid has a ton of talent and definitely has what it takes to be an All-Star. My concern is the amount of times he strikes out and his low batting average throughout his career. I have always liked Young, so I am going to advise you to ride the wave and hope that he can continue it.
Cole Hamels continues to have a very unpredictable year. He has allowed two earned runs twice and four earned runs three times after Wednesday’s start in which he gave up those four runs in six innings. The good news is that the strikeouts are still there, as he struck out 10 today and has over a strikeout an inning on the season.
I know that a lot of you Hamels owners are very unhappy and want to trade him, but he will be fine when it is all said and done. If he can continue to strike out guys at this rate and gets his ERA down a run, everything will be okay. Hamels is a quality starter and should be on the mound regardless of the competition.
Ryan Madson might have gotten the win, but he also blew a save, and it might have been just in time. Brad Lidge appears to be very close to returning, perhaps as soon as this weekend, which will put Madson back in the eighth inning. He was able to save four games in the first month, but he also owns a 7.00 ERA.
I might hold on to Madson for a week or so after Lidge comes back just in case they try to ease him back into his role or if Lidge falters early or gets hurt again.
Jon Lester is now turning it around and was absolutely dominant on Wednesday. Lester allowed just one hit over seven innings against the Blue Jays and struck out 11. Lester is one of the premier pitchers in the American League and in fantasy baseball, and you can pretty much forget his first three or four starts because the kid is a stud. Expect plenty more outings like today.
Mike Leake ran his record to 2-0 in his rookie season as he kept the Astros in check over seven innings. Leake allowed just one earned run and struck out five and bounced back nicely from his first rough outing last time out. As a rookie pitcher he is sure to have some rough outings, but Leake is a guy that I really like and think will be good much more often than he is bad.
Jake Peavy had a rough first inning for the White Sox and then settled in pretty nicely after that. Unfortunately, Peavy gave up five runs in that first inning, and his record dropped to 0-2. He also had some control issues, as he walked five batters in 6.1 innings, but on the flip side he also struck out seven.
Now, I don’t see Peavy being the Cy Young-caliber guy that he was on the Padres for all of those years, but I also don’t see him turning into nothing but an average pitcher. He has had a few solid outings this season, and he is another guy that I think you need to stay patient with over a longer period of time to reap the rewards.
Rich Harden was wild again on Thursday, but this time he was able to stay in the game long enough to qualify for a win for just the second time this season. Harden lasted six innings and allowed just three earned runs but walked five and struck out two. This is still far from the dominating guy we have thought that Harden was, and where that guy went to is beyond me.
I still think that you need to hold on to Harden and keep pitching him and hoping that he finds his groove and home plate. The guy is still very talented and has a CHANCE to be dominant any time he takes the mound. Unfortunately, it has been a while since we have seen that.
Josh Hamilton homered for the second time in three games and now has eight hits in the last four games. Is this the sign we have been waiting for? Is it possible that Hamilton is about to wake up again?
For you Hamilton owners out there, I will say I hope so, but I am far from buying into that fairy tale just yet. When healthy, Hamilton can be one of the more feared hitters in the American League, but waiting for him to be healthy is a risky proposition.
If you had benched Hamilton, I would say it is time to get him back into your lineups. Like I said earlier, if this is the start of something good, be prepared to go on a nice ride with him up your league standings. Just don’t go counting on that just yet.
Another often injured potential star, Carlos Quentin , had two hits, including his fourth home run of the season. Quentin drove in three runs, and he has now had at least one RBI in three straight games.
Quentin has proven when he has been healthy that he is a very accomplished power hitter, and I actually have a good deal of faith that he will have a successful fantasy season in 2010. If he is able to stay off the DL, Quentin is a definite candidate to hit 35 home runs or better and drive in 100 runs. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to stay off the DL in recent past.
I know he is batting .183, but keep Quentin in your lineups and you will be happy. Remember, behind every cold streak is a hot stretch, and Quentin’s can be very impressive.
Jaime Garcia was lights out again for the Cardinals, as he scattered four hits over seven innings and struck out five. He kept the Braves' hitters off balance and guessing all night long, and he has been one of the more impressive rookie pitchers so far in 2010. Garcia now owns a 1.04 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP, which is a testament to his control, as he has just eight walks in four starts.
I am not ready to declare him a guy that you absolutely have to have, but I think at this point you should really be analyzing your rosters to see if he has a place on your team, as he was always supposed to be very good, but Tommy John surgery derailed his success for a while.
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