Fantasy Baseball Tonight 6/14

First I want to say that barring any major news, there will be no blog tomorrow.  There are only two games on the schedule and I haven’t taken a night off since April 7.

Matt Cain had one of his finest starts as a pro as he raised his record to 9-1.  He has always had a ton of talent, but this is by far his best season. 

I have always liked Cain, but this year I give up on him and now he is 9-1.  What the hell?  He still walks too many guys (until today), but overall he is a good pitcher.  He isn’t a strikeout an inning guy, but Cain is someone that can shut anyone down at any time. He also has a tendency to be prone to the big inning.

A.J. Burnett finally gave the Yankees the kind of start against a quality opponent that they were hoping for when they gave him that big contract.  Burnett shut the Mets out over seven innings, allowed just four hits, and struck out eight. 

Burnett did battle control problems again (he walked four guys), but this time it didn’t come back to bite him.  This was a nice rebound considering he couldn’t get out of the fourth inning against the Red Sox his last time out. 

Burnett is now 5-3 which is good, but the near 4.50 ERA and WHIP near 1.50 need to be improved.  But so far he has been healthy, which is always a concern with him.

Alex Rioshas finally started to heat up.  He homered for the second straight day, and in the last three days he has seven hits.  He continues to be a pest on the basepaths, too, as he has stolen five bases in the last six days. 

You figured he had to get hot eventually, and it took him longer than anyone would have predicted or been happy with.  He should certainly end the season with 20 homers and 30 steals, but if he can stay hot, 25/35 isn’t out of the question.

Brad Bergeson continues to pitch well this season for the Orioles, and surprisingly pitched a complete game against the Braves.  He allowed only two runs, walked only two, and struck out three.  He is now 4-2 on the season with an ERA of 3.79. 

I am still not firmly atop the Bergeson bandwagon, but I am starting to look to see if there are any seats available.  It looks like you can still sit wherever you want, but there are a few more taking the ride.  One more good start and I might advise giving him a look.

Freddy Sanchez is starting to look like he might have another season like 2007.  That year he hit .304 with 11 homers and 81 RBI. 

He is hitting in the third position in the Pirates lineup right now, and that should help his run production potential.  He hit a grand slam yesterday and drove in another run on Sunday with two more hits. 

I’m not sure that this is going to last long term, but he is definitely someone that I would pick up while he is hot, especially in leagues that require a middle infield position.

Jimmy Rollins hit another homer today, and although his average is still near the Mendoza Line, he is at least giving you something at this point. He’s still only hitting .217 but he has hit two homers and driven in seven runs in the last six days. 

Still a long way from what we were expecting, but hopefully these are signs of life.

J.A. Happ finally took the lumps that young pitchers always seem to take, but he did manage to not lose his first game.  Happ battled over 5.2 innings and allowed five runs. 

The one trend I have noticed with him that I am not liking is that his walks keep increasing.  He issued six free passes today, but hopefully it was just one of those days that a pitcher just didn’t have it. 

I am still a fan of Happ, and if you have him, use him again the next time he pitches.

Gordon Beckham hit another double and drove in two more runs on Sunday.   He now has three doubles and four RBI over the past two days. 

He still has a long way to go to prove that he will be a consistent hitter at this level, but at least the guy is starting to hit and drive in a few runs.  I would be playing him if you have him in deeper leagues or with leagues that have a big roster.

Corey Hart has caught fire after being benched earlier in the week. In the last five days, he has seven hits, two homers and six RBI.  

Hart has been a 20/20 the past couple of years, and I believe he will be again.  If, by some chance he was dropped in your league I would certainly pick him up.  I am going to show my confidence and choose him for my 56 Game Hit Streak player for Monday.

Andrew McCutchen continues to impress.  With his two hits on Sunday he has gotten a base hit in every game he has played in except two. He also stole his second base of the year and has seven RBI in 11 games. 

He has surpassed my expectations and seems that he will be a quality player.  It is still a matter of time whether he will stay consistent, but so far so good.  Keep him in your lineup if he is already there.

Brian Bannister had his second consecutive great start for the Royals, and his record is now 5-3.  However, he has an ERA over 4.00 and his WHIP is 1.40. 

Bannister has had small segments of good starts, but he has never been able to put together a good season or really even a good half.  Don’t pick him up.  He doesn’t play on a great team, he doesn’t strikeout too many, and he gives up too many hits.

Scott Baker pitched good enough to win on Sunday, but didn’t factor in the decision.  That is now four times in the last five starts that Baker has allowed three runs or less, and he has 33 strikeouts in his last 36 innings. 

If Baker is available, I would certainly consider picking him up.  He was 11-4 last year, and while he won’t reach that record, he should be much better going forward.

Rangers’ rookie Dexter Holland has had absolutely no success as a starter, and at this point shouldn’t be on your roster.  In his fourth start, Holland allowed four runs over five innings, walked four and struck out two. 

The kid has a world of talent, but it just doesn’t seem like it is going to happen for him right now.  Set him free until he shows any sort of consistency.  There has to be a better option on your waiver wire.

I spoke about Juan Rivera the other day and how he was starting to hit. 

Well, on Sunday he really hit. 

Rivera had two homers and now has eight on the season.  If I liked Rivera before, I like him even more now.  Rivera was always supposed to be good, but he has always had injury problems.  As long as he is in the lineup he is worth being your fourth outfielder or maybe a utility player.  Keep tabs on him going forward.

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