MLB Fantasy Baseball: Tuesday News and Notes

With only five games on the docket last night, much of the story surrounded pitching. In Seattle's case, that was both on the mound and at the plate. Let's get to it.

• Johan Santana continues to be baffled by the Mariners bats. Only one run was earned over his seven innings of work, due to a two-out error. Santana then couldn't get himself out of the inning. The stats show a decent outing, with the seven hits, four strikeouts, and only one earned, but the bats show a different tale.
• Felix Hernandez hit the first grand slam by an American League pitcher since 1971. Despite pitching well, he did not get the win. He was forced to leave the game in the fifth with a sprained right ankle. X-rays on the ankle were negative, and Hernandez expects to make his next start.
• Ben Sheets continues to roll. The Brewers pitcher went all nine innings, giving up four hits and one run while striking out seven. Sheets has been incredibly effective on the road, lowering his road ERA and BAA to 2.41 and .209 respectively. In June, batters are hitting just .190 against Sheets. He's proving that, when healthy, he's one of the better pitchers in the game.
• The Red Sox left their bats in Philly. Dan Haren looked much more confident than his 0-3 record against Boston would have suggested. This is a different Haren than I've watched before. Haren has a solid fastball, but when he got into trouble last night, he immediately went to the slider. It worked all night long and kept the Red Sox hitters off-balance.
• Bad news for Boston. The day Sean Casey drops the appeal of his suspension and will sit for three games, Kevin Youkilis takes a warm-up throw from Mike Lowell off his eye and will likely be out for two or three games. It swelled up immediately, and Youkilis was sent for a precautionary CT scan. Plan your next few days without him in the lineup.
• Dustin Pedroia is hitting .500 in his last seven games. He's a streak hitter. As bad as he was for the three weeks prior to this mini-streak, he will be just as good now.
• We'll call Brian Bannister "effectively wild" last night. He walked a career-high six hitters, but still managed to get the win, allowing just three runs over seven innings. Most of his success comes at home, where he's 5-2 with a 2.48 ERA and .211 BAA. He makes a solid play at home almost every time out.
• Mike Aviles recorded two more hits for the Royals. Grab him while you can.
• Ian Snell has elbow soreness and may miss his next start for Pittsburgh. Not that it's a huge deal, just sayin'.
• Jeff Francis, however, should be going the way of Brad Penny and being dropped from the rosters he is on. He's 30 percent owned. Why? Scott Baker, Greg Smith, Brian Bannister, and Andrew Miller have been FAR more effective. Francis has posted a road ERA over six and an ERA for June of 4.60. His ERA at HOME is 5.25, and his WHIP on the season is 1.51. There are many more pitchers on waivers that will give you better stats than this.
• John Lackey continues to prove why I feel he'll be the best pitcher the rest of the way. Lackey went eight innings, giving up one earned run. He walked two and allowed six hits, good for a WHIP of 1.00. He even struck out six and only threw 82 pitches. He was economical and dominant.
• Jason Bergmann wasn't bad either, giving up just one run over seven innings before watching his team blow the lead. Bergmann is proving his worth as a spot starter in most leagues, and he's worth owning in deep, mixed leagues with at least 12 teams.

Notes for today's games:

• Justin Masterson has done most of his damage against right-handed hitters. In his six starts, righties have hit .136. That could spell a long night for Chris Young and Mark Reynolds in particular, who both have a tendency to strikeout a fair amount. Eric Byrnes is just getting back, so he could fall victim here too.
• Start Eric Chavez against Jamie Moyer tonight. Start all your A's, but Chavez is the leader in the clubhouse, going .323/6/16 in 65 at-bats against Moyer. Moyer is better on the road than at home, and this is a pitcher-friendly park, but he's 1-4 with a 5.70 ERA in his last seven outings against Oakland (going back to 2005). At McAfee Coliseum, he's 0-3 with an 8.85 ERA in his last four outings.
• I'm not a fan of Dave Bush on the road. Bush's road ERA is 8.10, and his last three rough outings have all come away from Miller Park. He's allowed more than four earned runs in each of those starts.
• Darrell Rasner's damage has primarily come at Yankee Stadium. The Pirates are better offensively than we all might think, and it looks like Xavier Nady will be back in the lineup to help that cause. Rasner's 5.57 ERA and .302 BAA on the road would make me want to steer clear and make sure all my Pirates are in the lineup.
• The Angels have a decent offense and Garland has been good on the road, going 4-1 with a 2.93 ERA in six games this season. He's held the Nationals to a .239 BAA on top of it. There are worse options if you need a guy for a cheap win.
• Derek Lowe spent time in the American League, and held the White Sox hitters down while he was there. I'd start Joe Crede (.385/1/4), but the team as a whole hits .198 against Lowe. Big bats Jermaine Dye and Jim Thome both are under .200 against Lowe. Add to that, batters hit just .230 against Lowe at home and only .218 for June.
• Mark Buehrle, on the other hand, has been dominated on the road. Opposing hitters have posted a .323 average against him and he has a WHIP of 1.53. Stay away from this one, but keep all your Dodgers in the lineup.
• Most of Jeremy Guthrie's problems are as a result of control. He's settled down his last several starts and has allowed batters to hit just .240 in June, while posting a 1.19 WHIP and 3.12 ERA. He's a high-risk start against the Cubs, but I like the numbers enough to make that call.
• Andy Sonnanstine isn't walking many batters, but he also isn't missing many bats. On the road, batters hit .292 against him, and in June that number has jumped to .326. A hot-hitting Marlins team probably isn't the answer.
• Spot start calls? Let's go with Braden Looper, Jeremy Guthrie, Justin Masterson, and Kevin Slowey.

Notes for Wednesday:

• It seems since I jumped on the Jorge Campillo bandwagon, the guy has had nothing but bad luck. He's struggled all of June, but most of those problems have been on the road. I'd take another shot on him at home against the Brewers.
• Jeff Suppan might be good at home, but not so much on the road. Batters hit .303 against him and his ERA jumps to well over five away from Miller Park. Keep your Braves hitters in the lineup.
• Joba Chamberlain continues to get stronger. He's an ace in the hole against the Pirates on Wednesday. Probably one of the best potential starts of the day.
• Greg Maddux pitches at home. Yup, start him. I'd even start his opponent, Glen Perkins. Perkins has pitched well at home, and now he gets a true pitcher's park to do some damage.
• Tim Redding's numbers at home are worse than on the road. At home, he has posted a 4.72 ERA. For June, his ERA is over five. Not a good start, or matchup, as he goes against Ervin Santana.
• Barry Zito on the road is like Greg Maddux at home, only the exact opposite. Zito has a 5.25 road ERA and batters hit .309 against him. Start all your Indians in this one.
• Early spot-start calls: Luke Hochevar, Gavin Floyd, Perkins, and Armando Galarraga.

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