Around the Majors (April 21)

Ryan Braun (pictured) finally broke out. Clayton Kershaw struggled. Ian Kinsler continued to rake. Let’s take a look at these stories and all the rest from yesterday’s games.

Kansas City vs. Cleveland

• David DeJesus went 2-5 with 1 HR, 3 RBI and 2 R last night, putting him at 5-9 with 2 HR, 5 RBI and 3 R over his past two games.  He’s a good endgame option for those in formats that require five outfielders, but not much past that.  He just doesn’t offer enough power upside, even with this mini-outburst.
• Victor Martinez went 4-5 with 1 HR, 2 RBI and 1 R, his fifth home run on the season.  He certainly is the early favorite for Comeback Player of the Year, no?

Oakland vs. New York (AL)

• Kurt Suzuki went 4-4 with an RBI, his first of the season. Yeah, he’s now hitting .327 but he offers little else at this point. Leave him for those in the deepest of formats.
• Andy Pettitte gave up 2 runs on 9 hits and 0 walks over 7 innings to pick up the victory. However, he did not register a strikeout. The 2.53 ERA is nice for now, but he hasn’t posted an ERA under 4 since 2005. A regression is likely to come sooner or later.

Chicago (AL) vs. Baltimore

• It was a solid debut for Brad Bergesen, getting the win after giving up 3 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits and 2 walks, striking out 4, over 5.2 innings. As I said yesterday (click here for the article), I wouldn’t put too much stock into him, but it certainly was a nice start.

Texas vs. Toronto

• This game featured two of the hottest second basemen in baseball, and both continued to hit. Ian Kinsler went 1-3 with 1 HR, 2 RBI and 1 R. The guy just continues to hit, now at .453 with 5 HR and 16 RBI on the season.
• How about Aaron Hill, who clearly has put the concussion concerns behind him. He went 2-5 with 1 HR, 1 RBI and 1 R, putting him at .368 with 5 HR and 15 RBI on the season. Maybe Victor Martinez shouldn’t polish the Comeback Player of the Year Award quite yet.

Detroit vs. Los Angeles (AL)

• The Angels continue to insist on using Maicer Izturis not only as the DH, but as the team’s No. 3 hitter, even after Brandon Wood was recalled. Does anyone actually understand this, because I’m just not getting it.
• Curtis Granderson extended his hitting streak to five games, but over the past three he hadn’t had an RBI or run. He finally got things going yesterday, with a 2-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R game. We all know he’s better then his current .232 average, so I’m looking for an extended hot streak to be coming sooner or later.

Tampa Bay vs. Seattle

• Jarrod Washburn just continues to pitch well, improving to 3-0 with a 1.71 ERA. He went 7 innings giving up 2 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks, striking out 9. Is this the same pitcher who posted an ERA of 4.70 last season en route to a 5-14 campaign? I’m skeptical that he can continue pitching this well for long, so I’d proceed carefully. That doesn’t mean to not use him while he’s hot, but be prepared to cut bait quickly. Personally, I’m not taking the risk.

Milwaukee vs. Philadelphia

• The owners who have been waiting for Ryan Braun to break out finally got something last night. He went 5-5 with 2 HR, 4 RBI and 2 R, though he still has just 9 RBI on the season. Rest assured, soon enough he’ll be right where he’s supposed to be.

Atlanta vs. Washington

• Joel Hanrahan is wasting no time in trying to prove me wrong, huh?  He gave up a hit and a walk, but that was it en route to locking down his second consecutive save. I can’t say that putting two base runners on is promising, but it happens and he got the job done. Time will tell how this plays out.
• It was a middle of the road outing for Kenshin Kawakami, giving up 4 runs (2 earned) on 7 hits and 3 walks, striking out 2. You obviously do not want to see that many base runners against him, nor do you like the strikeout total. With it being his second start against the Nationals, you have to wonder if he will struggle once teams have seen him more then once, though it is not like he was lights out in his first outing against them. Next on the schedule for him is a start in Cincinnati, which really could go either way. I’d probably leave him on the bench unless you are in a deeper format.

Florida vs. Pittsburgh

• Despite being collared with the loss, Anibal Sanchez pitched well. He went 7 innings giving up 3 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks, striking out 6.  Like most of the Marlins rotation, he’s a high upside pitcher, though he has struggled with his control early on this season. Eight walks over 18 innings is a bit much, which has helped him to a 1.50 WHIP early on. With the Phillies next on the schedule, I’d probably leave him on your bench for now.

Cincinnati vs. Chicago (NL)

• Brandon Phillips is now hitless in six straight games, spanning 19 AB.  He’s one of the best offensive second baseman in baseball, at this point all we can do is wait for him to show it. Having dealt with the problems, here’s no way to bench him and miss out on the potential rebound. You just don’t know when it is going to come.
• Micah Hoffpauir went 1-1 with 1 HR, 2 RBI and 1 R. If he were to get regular AB he’d have value, but he’s likely to return to the bench as soon as Milton Bradley returns. He’s waiver-wire fodder at this point unless something significant changes.

Los Angeles (NL) vs. Houston

• No pitcher is going to be great all the time, so it should not shock anyone that Clayton Kershaw had a shaky outing. It was going to happen, don’t lose any sleep over it.
• Ivan Rodriguez went 2-3 with 3 R. It’s a nice line, but I wouldn’t too much into it. Batting seventh is not going to lead to many runs scored long-term (and that’s where he’s spent the majority of his time).

New York (NL) vs. St. Louis

• It doesn’t show up in the box score, but Daniel Murphy owners have got to be concerned right now. His play in the outfield has been disastrous, so it would not be surprising to see him finding his way on the bench in favor of Gary Sheffield instead of Ryan Church. The Mets can sell us on Murphy all they want, but if his defense is costing the team games, something is going to give. I’d watch this situation closely.
• Could this be Rick Ankiel’s coming out party? He went 3-5 with 1 RBI and 2 R, raising his average to .227. Now all he needs to do is start showing power, since that’s his real purpose on any fantasy roster.
• I’d discuss Oliver Perez, but is there really a point? The Mets invested a lot of money in an enigma, and he just continues to show it. Handed a 4 run lead he gave up 6 hits and 5 walks over 4.2 innings. Defensive lapses or not, that’s unacceptable. If I owned him he’d be riding the pine for now.

Colorado vs. Arizona

• Dexter Fowler has started the past five games, going 4-20 with 1 RBI, 1 R and 2 SB over that stretch. Yes, it is not the most impressive line, but if he’s playing everyday he has value, especially in five outfielder formats. I wouldn’t expect much power, but the speed is there and already prevalent.
• Eric Byrnes went 1-3 with 1 HR, 1 RBI and 1 R while Justin Upton went 0-3, dropping his average to .167.  I know, Byrnes’ average is still just .138.  It’s not hard to figure out why Arizona is off to a 5-9 start.

San Diego vs. San Francisco

• The Giants scored 8 runs when Matt Cain was on the mound?! Stop the presses! He improved to 2-0 after giving up 2 runs on 9 hits and 0 walks, striking out 5, over 6 innings. Yes, it was a few too many hits, but still. The fact that the Giants are scoring for him is a great sign in the early going.

What does everyone think?  Anything you want to add?

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