Around the Majors (April 11)

Let’s take a look at yesterday’s games and the stories I felt were most important, including Billy Butler’s struggles, Carlos Marmol collecting a save, Kenshin Kawakami’s debut, and much more:

Texas vs. Detroit

• Chris Davis went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts and is now hitting .056 on the season with nine Ks.  Certainly not what fantasy owners had been hoping for, to say the least.  He still has tremendous power potential, and hopefully he rights the ship sooner rather than later.
• Justin Verlander was significantly improved from Opening Day, giving up three runs (one earned) on two hits and four walks, striking out eight over five innings.  The walks definitely put a slight damper on the performance, as does the fact that it took him 97 pitches to get through this performance.  Still, the strikeouts are promising, as is the fact that he shut down a strong Rangers line-up.  His next start is scheduled against Seattle, a match-up that should be favorable.

Toronto vs. Cleveland

• Two starts for Cliff Lee, two subpar performances.  In 2008 he didn’t lose his second game until July 6, but he’s 0-2 this season after giving up four runs on seven hits and four walks, striking out five over five innings.  Hopefully, you heeded my warning prior to the season, though this is worse then even I anticipated.  An improvement is likely, at some point, but he’s far from a pitcher I’d recommend using.
• Aaron Hill has had a strong start to his season, going 2-4 to raise his season to .308.  He also has eight RBI, making him a middle infielder definitely worth using at this point.  He was one of my sleepers prior to the season and seems to have put his concussion problems behind him.

Seattle vs. Oakland

• Felix Hernandez did not follow up a strong start to the season well.  He gave up 5 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks, striking out 8, over 5 innings.  It’s a little discouraging, considering it came against the A’s…
• Jack Cust is hitting .467 on the season.  How many people believe he’s going to be hitting half that number by season’s end?

Minnesota vs. Chicago (AL)

• Bartolo Colon went 6 shutout innings, giving up 3 hits and 2 walks, striking out 2.  His next start will be a lot more telling to me, coming in Tampa Bay, so I would still keep my distance.

Boston vs. Los Angeles (AL)

• Jason Bay had the big game for the Red Sox, going 2-for-3 with 2 HR, 3 RBI and 3 R.  Those were his first two long balls of the season.
• Mike Napoli, playing in just his second game of the season, went 3-3 with 2 HR, 2 RBI and 2 R.  He has plenty of pop, but the playing time certainly is an issue.  Jeff Mathis continues to get significant playing time, limiting Napoli’s value.

Tampa Bay vs. Baltimore

• How long do people expect Jeff Niemann to remain the Rays’ fifth starter?  He got bombed for 6 runs on 6 hits and 4 walks, striking out 3, over just 5.1 innings.  With a 10.13 ERA, the David Price watch is going to be upon us quickly.
• Nick Markakis already has 3 multi-hit games after going 2-5 with 1 RBI and 1 R.
• Jeremy Guthrie has opened the season looking like an ace, improving to 2-0 yesterday.  He tossed 6 shutout innings giving up 5 hits and 0 walks, striking out 2.  Do not get overly excited about him; sooner or later I’d expect the bottom to fall out.

New York (AL) vs. Kansas City

• Let the CC Sabathia panic subside, having tossed 7.2 shutout innings.  He allowed 6 hits and 0 walks, striking out 6.  Did anyone really expect him to be as bad as he was on Opening Day?  He’s one of the best pitchers in the game.
• Will Billy Butler ever get another hit?  After going 0-for-4, he’s hitting .059 thus far.  Sooner or later, he’s going to get going, so just be patient with him.

Pittsburgh vs. Cincinnati

• Nyjer Morgan has been on fire at the top of the Pirates line-up.  He went 3-for-4 with 1 RBI and 2 R, leaving him at .391 with 5 RBI and 5 R in the teams’ first five games.
• Adam Laroche may have hit a HR, but he’s hitting just .158 in the early going.  Maybe this won’t be the season he finally gets things going in the early going, but I wouldn’t give up yet.  Just leave him stashed away on your bench.
• Johnny Cueto had 9 Ks in his 6 innings of work, but he gave up 4 runs on 8 hits and 1 walk.  Not the best start to his season, but it certainly could’ve been worse.  The strikeout potential makes him an intriguing option in deeper leagues.

Houston vs. St. Louis

• Albert Pujols went 2-for-4 with 2 HR, 7 RBI and 2 R.  Yes, that is not a typo…  The guy is an absolute monster and clearly is among the elite in the game.
• The Cardinals used Jason Motte in the sixth inning in this one.  It makes sense to try to get him his confidence back a bit, but I’d still hold onto him.  If he proves effective he should get another chance to close soon enough.

New York (NL) vs. Florida

• Luis Castillo went 4-for-4…  Really?  Yea, I wouldn’t get too excited.
• Livan Hernandez was impressive, but he’s another one that I wouldn’t quite buy into.  He did allow 6 hits and 3 walks over 6.2 innings, so things easily could go the other way for him.
• He didn’t score, but Emilio Bonifacio went 3-5 with 1 RBI.  Is anyone going to be able to keep him off the base paths?

Chicago (NL) vs. Milwaukee

• Kosuke Fukudome went 2-for-5 with 1 HR, 2 RBI and 1 R.  He’s hitting .421 with 2 HR on the season and is looking more like the player fans expected to see.  He easily has value in 5 OFer formats.
• Carlos Marmol was given the chance to close, giving up 1 hit and striking out 2 in picking up his first save of the season.  This should’ve been the decision to begin with.
• Carlos Villanueva blew the save for Milwaukee.  He’s just a stop gap anyways.

Washington vs. Atlanta

• Kenshin Kawakami was solid in his debut, picking up the victory while allowing 3 runs on 4 hits and 4 walks, striking out 8, over 6 innings.  The strikeouts are encouraging, but the walks are not.  If he gives up that many base runners against the upper-echelon teams things could get ugly.
• Jordan Schafer went 3-4 with 2 runs.  It’s a significantly better start than anyone could’ve expected in the #8 hole.
• John Lannan continued to struggle, giving up 4 runs on 9 hits and 3 walks over 6 innings.  He is now carrying an ERA of an even 10.00.  Obviously it has to get better, right?  Yea, probably, but I certainly wouldn’t touch him.

Philadelphia vs. Colorado

• Brett Myers got the victory, but gave up 4 runs on 4 hits and 1 walk, striking out 6, over 7 innings.  The problem was the long ball, allowing 3 home runs.  I’ve said it before, but he’s a pitcher I tend to avoid.  The consistency just isn’t there.
• Seth Smith went 0-for-4 and is batting .083 on the season.  Could Dexter Fowler’s playing time increase?  It wouldn’t be surprising.

Los Angeles (NL) vs. Arizona

• I still don’t understand why Matt Kemp continues to bat seventh, does anyone?
• Yusmeiro Petit was not awful filling in for Brandon Webb, giving up 3 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks, striking out 6, over 5 innings.  Fantasy owners are certainly hoping he doesn’t get another start in the near future, that’s for sure.

San Francisco vs. San Diego

• Jonathan Sanchez is one of those enigmatic pitchers I always recommend against, and last night proved why.  With a start in San Diego, thought to be a perfect match-up, he yielded 5 runs on 4 hits and 5 walks, striking out 7, over 4.2 innings.  The strikeouts are nice, but the rest significantly hurts your team.  I would not recommend touching him, due to the constant concern of these types of blowups.
• Heath Bell has been great thus far, having picked up 3 saves without giving up an earned run.  He also has 4 Ks and a 1.12 WHIP, certainly making him a solid option in all formats.

What does everyone else think of these?  Any other performances you feel are worth mentioning?

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