Fantasy Baseball Around the Majors, June 9: Kershaw, Wainwright and More

Clayton Kershaw defeated Adam Wainwright.  The Pirates’ Jose Tabata and Brad Lincoln made their major league debuts to mixed results.  Is Delmon Young actually living up to the promise?  Let’s look at these stories and all the rest from yesterday’s games:

Hitters:

Sean Rodriguez (3-4, 3 RBI, 1 R) -  He’s playing almost regularly with Jason Bartlett on the DL, but that is ending soon.  It’ll be interesting to see how the Rays work things out, as he’s currently on a 10-game hitting streak going 14-34 with 1 HR, 9 RBI, and 8 R.  He’s usable in deeper formats, but don’t get too dependent on him as his playing time could slow down considerably.

Jose Tabata (2-4, 1 R, 1 SB) -  He brings stolen base potential to the lineup, as he showed immediately in his major league debut.  The Pirates actually put him atop the order, making things even more intriguing.  He doesn’t have the best walk rate and he does strike out a fair share. 

Still, if you need speed he’s worth the gamble in five-outfielder formats.  I’ll take a closer look at him in the coming days.  Of course, he hurt his hamstring in the process, so we’ll have to see how serious that one is.

Buster Posey (2-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 R) -  He’s hitting .450 with 1 HR and 6 RBI since being recalled.  Needless to say, thus far he’s provided the middle-of-the-order boost the Giants sorely needed.

Scott Rolen (3-3, 2 RBI, 1 R) -  He’s hitting .304 with 14 HR, 42 RBI, and 35 R on the year.  Who saw this type of resurgence coming?  Since May 27 he’s gone 20-47 with 4 HR, 15 RBI, and 12 R.

Robinson Cano (3-4, 1 RBI, 1 R) -  Cano is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down.  His average is sitting at .376 to go with 12 HR, 46 RBI, and 44 R.  He hit .400 in April, “dipped” to .336 in May and has it back up to .455 in June.  He’s got to hit an actual slump sooner or later, doesn’t he?

Delmon Young (1-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R) -  He’s actually scorching hot right now, riding a six-game hitting streak.  Over that stretch he’s gone 8-24 with 2 HR, 8 RBI, and 4 R.  We all know about the potential, so it’s hard to say that this is the “turn” and he’s a must-use option.  Still, in five-outfielder formats, ride him while he’s hot and then hope for the best.

Josh Hamilton (2-4, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 R) -  He’s starting to look like he did in 2008.  Over his last nine games he’s gone 15-35 with 3 HR, 12 RBI, and 8 R.  Do I trust him?  No, because there’s always the threat of an injury, so I wouldn’t give up a bounty to get him.  As good as he looks right now, that threat will always hang over him.

Erick Aybar (4-5, 2 RBI, 1 R) -  He was a home run short of the cycle.  He’s been a good source of runs as of late, scoring 7 R in his last seven games.  He’s not going to hit for power or drive in runs, so he’s a low-end option, especially considering he’s hitting just .264 (courtesy of a .316 BABIP).  Without much upside, he’s only usable in the deepest of formats.

Geovany Soto (2-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R) -  He wasn’t the only Cub to go deep twice, as Marlon Byrd (2-5, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R) matched the feat.  For Soto, the hope is there that this is the beginning of getting things back to how they were in 2008, before he started sharing time with Koyie Hill.  In his last six games he’s gone 7-21 with 2 HR, 6 RBI, and 3 R.  He’s usable in all formats.

Pitchers:

Justin Masterson (9.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 6 K, W) -  He has the skill set for success and finally we are beginning to get some results.  He out-pitched Clay Buchholz (7.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 4 BB, 1 K) to win his second straight start.  Of course, he allowed 5 H and 6 BB over 5.2 innings, so I wouldn’t get too excited.  He had a lot of motivation to show his old team what they let go and he certainly delivered.  When he can do it in back-to-back starts I’ll be more of a believer. 

Does he have great stuff?  Yes.  Is he worth owning?  Yes.  I’m just not necessarily using him every start until he proves fully capable of displaying it regularly.

Mike Lincoln (6.0 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 3 K) -  Certainly not a Stephen Strasburg-esque debut, huh?  For more on Lincoln, check out my scouting report that I posted yesterday (click here  to view).

Rick Porcello (3.1 IP, 8 ER, 8 H, 0 BB, 1 K) -  Ugly.  What else is there to say about this start?  It had started to appear that he had righted the ship, but his ERA ballooned back up to 6.09.  He also hasn’t had more then 2 Ks in a start over his last six starts.  In fact, he’s only struck out more than three once.  He’s just not worth using in any format right now.

Felipe Paulino (8.0 IP, 2 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 7 K) -  After allowing 7 ER over 4.2 innings on May 14, he was sporting a 5.72 ERA.  Since then he has allowed 7 ER over his last 36 innings (five starts), lowering his ERA to 3.82.  He has just one win over that span, but clearly that’s to no fault of his own.

There is fair concern, considering the HR/FB is just 2.4 percent, given his struggles there.  He has potential—especially in the strikeout department—so if you are in a deep format he’s worth considering, though I still wouldn’t trust him for every matchup.

Chad Qualls (1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 2 K, SV) -  Ian Kennedy was the star for the Diamondbacks (7.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 5 BB, 6 K), but he took a no decision.  Just as important is Qualls, who has now thrown four straight scoreless innings, picking up a win and three saves over that span.  While he may not be out of the woods quite yet, he certainly appears to strengthened his hold on his job for now.

Clayton Kershaw (7.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 10 K, W) -  It was supposed to be a great pitching matchup, pitting Kershaw against Adam Wainwright (6.0 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 5 BB, 6 K).  Clearly, Kershaw was the better pitcher on this night, as he’s now 5-1 since getting demolished by Milwaukee seven starts ago (7 ER over 1.1 innings).  Having not allowed more then 3 ER in a start since then, he clearly is pitching like one of the best in the league right now.

What are your thoughts from yesterday’s games?  Which ones caught your eye? And which ones did I miss?

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