Welcome to the long weekend all of you hard workers, as it looks like it will be a great few days to be outside here in the Northeast.
Time to BBQ some burgers and dogs, drink some beers, and do some yard work outside. But of course don’t forget about your fantasy baseball!
Hard to believe that we are nearly two months into the season, but that is where we are. Tonight we talk about one of the better outfielders back in the lineups, some pitchers that can’t figure it out, and some hitters that are on fire.
We will start things off with a very special birthday wish. Things in baseball change all the time, and that is why it is important never to miss a day of Rounding The Bases.
I would be a horrible Dad (and in serious trouble) if I didn’t start the night with a very special Happy Birthday to my baby girl, Morgan.
Those of you who have been following this site since its beginning might remember when she was born, but Little Morgan turns two years old today. I’m glad you had a great day little one, Daddy loves you very much!
After a two-start hiccup on his way to world domination, Phil Hughes is back on track again as he had his way with the Cleveland Indians.
I know that isn’t exactly saying much, but it is good to see a young pitcher like Hughes not let a couple of bad outings into an avalanche of earned runs allowed.
He allowed just two earned runs over seven innings and struck out eight.
So, not only is he not allowing many runs, but Hughes is striking out a batter an inning. You all know that I am far from a Yankee fan, but there is no denying that this kid is going to be one of the best for a long, long time.
Nick Swisher is on a nice little streak right now as he has five hits in the last three games, and his homer on Friday was his second in those games.
He is never going to give you a reliable batting average, but Swisher can be a very streaky hitter, and he should be a lock for 25 home runs on the year. As long as he can stay healthy, he seems like a solid option to be the third outfielder on your fantasy squad.
Dontrelle Willis continues to struggle and I think at this point you have to be in a pretty desperate situation in order to even give him a shot.
I know many of you will recognize his name from his first couple of seasons in the majors, but I truly believe that D-Train isn’t coming back, and what we are left with is just a shell of that pitcher.
He now has 29 walks against 33 strikeouts and you just can’t put that many men on base and be successful in the American League. He only allowed three runs in just over five innings, but there just isn’t enough there to warrant fantasy consideration.
Aaron Hill was one of the more discussed fantasy players coming into the season as his breakthrough 2009 season was up for debate whether he could repeat it. He did miss a decent chunk of the month of April, but it is Hill’s batting average that is killing those who had faith in him.
Going into tonight, Hill was hitting just .154, but all of a sudden the power seems to be coming back.
With his tater on Friday night, Hill has now popped four out of the park in the last ten games, but the only bad news is that he doesn’t have too many other hits besides those over that span.
He does have seven homers on the season, so there is some value there considering he plays second base, but if he is going to be worth his lofty draft position, he is going to have to start hitting for a better average.
Shaun Marcum's great season continues. Only once so far in 2010 has Marcum given up more than three earned runs in a game, and Friday was no different.
He threw six shutout innings against the Baltimore Orioles and struck out seven while walking just two. As good as he has been, I just can’t see Marcum finishing the season with an ERA of around 2.50, so you have to think that a correction in his stats is coming.
Perhaps if you own Marcum, you might want to try to include him in some sort of trade. Alone he isn’t going to net you much of anything in a deal, but packaging him with something more valuable could be the difference of making a deal or not.
Curtis Granderson was activated by the New York Yankees on Friday and was back in their lineup, batting second.
Granderson had a double, walked, and was hit by a pitch in five plate appearances, and you should have him back in your fantasy outfield as well. Grandy was struggling to start the season, but he is far too good not to turn things around and have a very successful 2010.
Freddy Garcia bounced back after a really tough start the last time out to keep on this little career resurgence he has been enjoying in 2010.
Garcia has been bouncing around the majors and the minors over the past few seasons, but this year in Chicago has been really good for him. He gave up just two runs over seven innings and struck out seven.
Garcia has never been a big strikeout pitcher, so that was an added bonus for those riding his hot streak right now. If Garcia is available in your league, I would just leave him there.
He has almost already thrown as many innings so far this season as he did in the majors last year, and I just don’t see his 33 year old arm holding up to the rigors of a whole season. If he sees a favorable matchup over the next week or two, maybe give him a try, other than that I believe he belongs as waiver wire fodder.
Mike Aviles’ dream month of May appears that it isn’t going to stop, as he had another two hit game on Friday.
He has gotten at least one hit in every game but three during May, and has ten multi-hit games in the month. Unfortunately it hasn’t translated to him driving in many runs as he drove in just five runs this month, but in the middle infielder you aren’t necessarily always going to get a big run producer.
At this point this isn’t just a quick hot streak, and if you need a little assistance in the middle, Aviles is at least worth an add even if it doesn’t turn out to be long term.
Hunter Pence is on a nice streak now and is digging himself out of the doldrums he seemed to be in the entire first two months of the year.
Pence had his fourth multi-hit game in his last five contests, and hit his second home run over that span. He has raised his batting average nearly 40 points over the last week, and I can see Pence taking this hot streak and turning it into a lengthy time where he gets his numbers back where they should be.
Keep Pence in your starting lineup on a daily basis and you should see a 25/15 season from him with an average near .300.
Wandy Rodriguez just can’t seem to figure it out this season. Every time he puts a couple of decent starts together, he goes out the next time and gets lit up like a Christmas tree.
He had his worst start of the season on Friday as he gave up eight runs and didn’t even get out of the fourth inning. Rodriguez walked two and struck out five over 3.1 innings and his ERA now sits at 5.37 on the year.
This is a major disappointment as he was drafted fairly early in leagues across the board after winning 14 games last year, but he will be lucky to sniff .500 this season. I am not saying drop him by any means, but perhaps be a little careful of who you start him against.
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