Posts Tagged ‘Mat Latos’

Cincinnati Reds Acquire Latos From Padres

Posted by Todd Lammi on December 19th, 2011

The Cincinnati Reds made a big move to upgrade the front of their rotation by acquiring starting pitcher Mat Latos from the San Diego Padres for first basemen Yonder Alonso, starting pitcher Edinson Volquez, minor league relief pitcher Brad Boxberger and minor league catcher Yasmani Grandal. The Reds picked up a proven starter for extra pieces that the team could afford to move because of the depth it had built up.

Alonso was blocked by Joey Votto in Cincinnati and now is the favorite to start the year at first base in San Diego. Alonso becomes a nice late round sleeper pick in mixed league formats now that he finally has a full-time job. Alonso should be in the .280 range with 17-20 home runs on the season in 2012. The move causes a ripple effect in San Diego as first base prospect Anthony Rizzo now could be on the trade block with the arrival of Alonso.

For Volquez, there is not going to be much change in his value with the move to PETCO Park unless he is able to fix his control issues. Since his breakout season in 2008, Volquez has posted a walk rate of 5.8, 5.0 and 5.4 per nine innings over the last three seasons.

Boxberger gives the Padres a possible closer candidate in the wake of losing Heath Bell via free agency. Boxberger tallied 11 saves across two minor league levels in 2011 while striking out 93 hitters in 62 innings. Grandal will likely start the season at AA or AAA for the Padres. He played at two minor league levels in 2011 and for his minor league career of 402 at bats, he has a .303 batting average with 14 home runs and 69 RBI.

For the Padres, they need Volquez to pitch closer to his 2008 level and they need to be able to flip Rizzo for another solid piece in order for them to break even or come out ahead on this trade. For the Reds, they were dealing from a position of strength with the depth of their farm system and they upgraded their major league staff so for now, I think the Reds got the better end of the deal.

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2011 Two Start Pitchers – Week 3

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 9th, 2011

Several interesting decisions to make in week three for two start pitchers. Mat Latos returns from the disabled list to get two starts for the San Diego Padres. Assuming you are in a semi deep mixed fantasy baseball league, you are likely not going to have a better option on your bench so I would start him.

2 start pitchers week 3: the list below is focused on mixed leagues since in AL or NL only leagues in most cases you do not have the option to rotate starting pitchers with the smaller player pool. The pitchers below are listed in alphabetical order by team name per category.

American League:

Start them:

Justin Verlander (DET) ~ TEX (Ogando), @OAK (Braden)
Dan Haren (LAA) ~ CLE (Talbot), @CWS (Buehrle)
Trevor Cahill (OAK) ~ @CWS (Jackson), DET (Penny)
Felix Hernandez (SEA) ~ TOR (Litsch), @KC (Francis)
David Price (TB) ~ @BOS (Lester), MIN (Pavano)

Roll the Dice:

Mark Buehrle (CHW) ~ OAK (Braden), LAA (Haren)
Jeff Francis (KC) ~ @MIN (Pavano), SEA (Hernandez)
A.J. Burnett (NYY) ~ BAL (Tillman), TEX (Ogando)
Carl Pavano (MIN) ~ KC (Francis), @TB (Price)
Dallas Braden (OAK) ~ @CWS (Buehrle), DET (Verlander)
Michael Pineda (SEA) ~ TOR (Romero), @KC (Mazzaro)
Jeremy Hellickson (TB) ~ @BOS (Matsuzaka), MIN (Duensing)
Alexi Ogando (TEX) ~ @DET (Verlander), @NYY (Burnett)

I think that Buehrle is the biggest risk in this group. Batters are hitting .340 against him after two starts and he doesn’t strike out enough hitters, but he has always been good for wins in the past and he faces an Oakland offense that is in the bottom six teams for runs scored in 2011. Francis has been good for two starts in Kansas City with a 1.98 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP.

Sit Them:

Chris Tillman (BAL) ~ @NYY (Burnett), @CLE (Talbot)
Brad Penny (DET) ~ TEX (WIlson), @OAK (Cahill)
Daisuke Matsuzaka (BOS) ~ TB (Hellickson), TOR (Litsch)
Mitch Talbot (CLE) ~ @LAA (Haren), BAL (Tillman)
Jesse Litsch (TOR) ~ @SEA (Pineda), @BOS (Matsuzaka)

Penny has struggled in two starts this season and faces a powerful offense in his first start. Litsch was good in his first start of the season but faces two tough road starts.

National League:

Start them:

Tommy Hanson (ATL) ~ FLA (Volstad), NYM (Pelfrey)
Chad Billingsley (LAD) ~ @SF (Bumgarner), STL (McClellan)
Shaun Marcum (MIL) ~ @PIT (Correia), @WAS (Hernandez)
Roy Halladay (PHI) ~ @WAS (Hernandez), FLA (Volstad)
Mat Latos (SD) ~ CIN (Volquez), @HOU (Figueroa)
Chris Carpenter (STL) ~ @ARI (Galarraga), @LAD (TBD)

Roll the Dice:

Ryan Dempster (CHC) ~ @HOU (Figueroa), @COL (Rogers)
Esmil Rogers (COL) ~ @ NYM (Niese), CHC (Dempster)
Jason Hammel (COL) ~ @NYM (Pelfrey), CHC (Coleman)
Brett Myers (HOU) ~ CHC (Russell), SD (Richard)
Jonathon Niese (NYM) ~ COL (Rogers), @ATL (Lowe)
Kevin Correia (PIT) ~ MIL (Marcum), @CIN (Volquez)
Clayton Richard (SD) ~ CIN (LeCure), @HOU (Myers)
Madison Bumgarner (SF) ~ LAD (Billingsley), @ARI (Enright)
Kyle McClellan (STL) ~ @ARI (Enright), @LAD (Billingsley)
Livan Hernandez (WAS) ~ PHI (Halladay), MIL (Marcum)

Sit Them:

Barry Enright (AZ) ~ STL (McClellan), SF (Bumgarner)
Edinson Volquez (CIN) ~ @SD (Latos), PIT (Correia)
Chris Volstad (FLA) ~ @ATL (Hanson), @PHI (Halladay)
Nelson Figueroa (HOU) ~ CHC (Dempster), SD (Latos)
Mike Pelfrey (NYM) ~ COL (Hammel), @ATL (Hanson)

Volquez has struggled with his control early in the season, and has a 7.36 ERA and 1.73 WHIP after two starts. Pelfrey has had trouble duplicating his success from last season in the early going, and has a 15.63 ERA with a 2.68 WHIP and more walks that strikeouts.

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2011 Fantasy Baseball – Pitcher Updates v2

Posted by Todd Lammi on March 25th, 2011

It seems there is a daily rash of pitcher injuries and closer updates happening as the season draws near. Here is a look at the latest news regarding starting pitchers and closers and the impact to their fantasy status.

Starting Pitchers:

Mat Latos will miss his start on Saturday due to a sore shoulder. The one concern with young pitchers is when they see a good jump in innings pitched from the previous season and Latos threw 61 more innings last year than he did in 2009. Latos had a 9.00 ERA through 10 innings this spring with 16 hits allowed and nine walks. If he is out for an extended period of time, the San Diego Padres will likely turn to Wade LeBlanc or Dustin Moseley.

Tommy Hunter is going to miss the first month and a half of the season with a strained groin. Not good news for the Texas Rangers the day after they announced Neftali Feliz was going to stay in the bullpen. The couple of options they have, Dave Bush who couldn’t cut it in the National League and Michael Kirkman, one of the Rangers top prospects who still has work to do on his control with a 4.18 ERA and 1.52 WHIP in his minor league career, aren’t guys you want to roster.

The Cincinnati Reds lost their second starting pitcher sending Homer Bailey to the disabled list with a shoulder issue. Assuming all is well when he starts to throw again, he will miss likely two starts. In the meantime, Sam LeCure will take Bailey’s spot in the rotation. Bailey had a 5.93 ERA through 13 2/3 innings this spring with 22 hits allowed.

Closers:

Jose Contreras picked up a save today while Ryan Madson worked the 8th inning in the first game for the Philadelphia Phillies with Brad Lidge out of action. Lidge will begin the season on the disabled list with pain in his shoulder and there has been timetable set yet for his return.

It looks like Drew Storen and Sean Burnett could start the year as co-closers for Washington based on matchups. To me that is really just coach speak as Jim Riggleman has talked about a committee I think to relieve some of the pressure off of Drew Storen when he was getting hammered early on in spring. I still expect Storen to end up with the majority of saves for the Nationals.

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2010 Final Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Starting Pitchers

Posted by Todd Lammi on October 27th, 2010

Here is a look at my 2010 final fantasy baseball rankings for starting pitchers. These rankings base ERA and WHIP on innings pitched and not just a round number so player A who pitchers more or less innings with the same ratio as player B will be ranked differently.

1. Roy Halladay – Halladay was so good in the American League that the move to the NL did not impact his stats too much like it would for most pitchers. Dropped his ERA by a quarter of a run and won 20 games for the third time in his career. Tossed nine complete games for the third straight season.

2. Adam Wainwright - showed no effects from the jump in innings pitched from 2008 to 2009 as he put up pretty much the same numbers with a little bit lower whip as he was harder to hit in 2010. Won 20 games for the first time in his career.

3. Felix Hernandez - Hernandez was even better in 2010 outside of his win total. That was suppressed because he received the worst run support of any starting pitcher in baseball at 3.8 runs per game. Had ridiculous numbers after the All-Star break with a 1.53 ERA and a .94 WHIP.

4. Ubaldo Jimenez - it was a breakout season for Jimenez who saw a jump in runs and strikeouts while his ERA and WHIP dropped for a second consecutive season. Came back down to earth the second part of the year with a 4-7 record, a 3.80 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP.

5. CC Sabathia - finished the season as the only 20 game winner in the Amercian League. Stats from 2010 were right in line with his 2009 season.

6. Jered Weaver – Weaver took his game to another level in 2010, striking out more than one batter per inning and finishing with a 3.01 ERA and 1.07 WHIP. Was much more dominant in home starts with a 1.86 ERA vs. 4.14 on the road, mainly due to only six home runs allowed at Angel Stadium vs. 17 at away games.

7. David Price – another pitcher who enjoyed great success at home, with a 1.96 ERA and 1.05 WHIP vs. 3.64 and 1.37 on the road. Wins might be a little harder to come by in 2010 in the Tampa Bay rays slot him in as the first starter.

8. Roy Oswalt – Oswalt battled back from his injuries of 2009 and turned in a solid season, racking up 193 strikeouts, his highest total since 2004. Thrived after being traded to Philadelphia where he went 7-1 with a 1.74 ERA and a .90 WHIP.

9. Jon Lester – just missed out on 20 wins and struck out 225 hitters for the second straight season. Was harder to hit but then he walked for hitters so the WHIP gains were not as big as they could have been. Second half was not as strong as the first with a 3.89 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP.

10. Justin Verlander – ERA and WHIP was nearly identical in 2010 to 2009. Won close to 20 games again and he was harder to hit as well with a 15 point drop in batting average. Strikeouts were down from 2009, but he still punched out 219 batters.

11. Cliff Lee – impeccable control helped him improve his WHIP ratio as he walked just 18 batters in 212 1/3 innings. ERA was up 1.5 runs after moving to Texas and he actually won more games per start with Seattle than with the Rangers.

12. Mat Latos – as much as the San Diego Padres talked of him not making the team or being the 5th starter in spring, by the end of the season he was the team’s best pitcher. Struck out a batter per inning and was tough to hit, allowing only a .217 batting average against him.

13. Tim Hudson – it was quite a come back year for Hudson after making only seven starts in 2009. Doesn’t rack up quite the strikeouts you would like to see from a fantasy baseball perspective, but his 17 wins, 2.83 ERA and 1.15 WHIP made up for that.

14. Josh Johnson – missed a month worth of starts, but still managed to finish this high in the rankings because he was dominant when did pitch. If he is able to carry over his performance from the first half of the season1.70 ERA and .96 WHIP for an entire year, he will be close to the top of the list at the end of 2011.

15. Clayton Kershaw – showed good strides in his third season, cutting his walks which allowed him to go deeper in games. Has just one complete game in 83 career starts so there is still improvement to be made.

16. Matt Cain – dropped his walk rate for a second straight season as well as his batting average against. Control took a big step forward the second half of the year with just 19 walks in 102 innings, helping him to a 2.91 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP.

17. Chris Carpenter - ERA jumped almost a full run in 2010 as home runs allowed tripled, going from seven in 2009 to 21 this season. Good sign though at age 35 he held up for the entire year.

18. Trevor Cahill – started off most fantasy baseball leagues as a free agent that rewarded his owners that grabbed him early in the season. Still walks a lot of batters and his strikeout numbers are not too pretty, but he was very hard to hit, allowing a .220 average against. Was much better pitching at home with a 2.18 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP.

19. Tim Lincecum – had a decent year, but not good enough for a guy that went as the number one pitcher in most fantasy baseball drafts. Strikeout rate dropped due to losing a mile or two off of his fastball. Home runs jumped from 10 to 18 and his batting average against was 36 points higher.

20. Cole Hamels - his 2009 season looks like an outlier as 2010 was much the same as 2008 with a few more strikeouts thrown in. Was dynamite after the All-Star break with a 2.23 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP with more than a strikeout per inning.

21. Clay Buchholz
22. Jonathan Sanchez
23. Brett Myers
24. C.J. Wilson
25. Francisco Liriano
26. Shaun Marcum
27. Colby Lewis
28. Gio Gonzalez
29. Bronson Arroyo
30. John Danks
31. Johan Santana
32. Ted Lilly
33. Ryan Dempster
34. Tommy Hanson
35. Hiroki Kuroda
36. Carl Pavano
37. Max Scherzer
38. Phil Hughes
39. Dan Haren
40. Ervin Santana

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Second Half Preview – Players Losing Value

Posted by Todd Lammi on July 11th, 2010

With the first half of the season now complete after today’s games, now is the time to assess where your team is in the standings in your fantasy baseball league and make the necessary adjustments either through pickups or trades to help your team move up in the standings.

As the season goes on it becomes easy to lose focus sometimes on forward thinking if you have a player that is performing well or if you have multiple teams to focus on. One of the ways to separate yourself from the competition and improve as a fantasy baseball owner is having the foresight to know when a player is going to lose value. That way you are not counting on stats for the second half of the season that you are truly not going to get.

Just as those owners that had the foresight to reserve Daniel Hudson and Chris Davis early before they were called up so they did not get stuck in a bidding war for leagues that have FAAB, you need to have those same kinds of thoughts when looking at the players that are already on your roster.

Here is a look at some of the players that may be currently on your roster that you were not planning on replacing the second half of the season but at some point you may have to start considering other alternatives. In no particular order:

Hitters:

Jayson Nix / Jason Donald – Nix has been a source of power since being picked up by Cleveland with six home runs in 15 games. The power is not a surprise since he has flashed it in previous stops, but the average is always going to be in the .250 range or below. Donald as acquitted himself well at shortstop with a .274 average in 146 at bats. Starting shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera is expected to start his rehab assignment next week meaning he should be back by the end of July. Since Cabrera has played second base and shortstop before, the Indians will have the option of slotting him into the line up in place of either player.

Casey Kotchman / Michael Saunders – the trade addition of Justin Smoak from Texas plus the recent acquisition of Russell Branyan puts Kotchman on the bench for the time being. Saunders has been filling in for Milton Bradley out with injury, but the addition of two new hitters makes it harder for either player to get extra at bats from the designated hitter slot which Branyan now occupies.

Jeff Francoeur – the return of Carlos Beltran to the New York Mets line up coupled with the surprising play of Angel Pagan this season moves Francoeur into a reserve role after the All-Star Break.

Pitchers:

Vin Mazzaro – Mazzaro has stepped into the Oakland rotation thanks to injuries and has held his own with a 3.81 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP ratio. With Brett Anderson and Dallas Braden soon to be back from the disabled list, he then becomes the odd man out in the rotation until / if the A’s trade Ben Sheets.

Jhoulys Chacin – Chacin turned in some nice numbers as a fill in for the Colorado Rockies staff when the team faced injuries but now with a healthy staff in place, he has already been shifted to the bullpen which leaves him with little value for the second half of the season barring an injury in the rotation.

The Cincinnati Reds Rotation – the Reds have been able to patchwork their rotation because the depth of their starting pitching that when healthy will have seven starting pitchers available to choose from in Johnny Cueto, Bronson Arroyo, Mike Leake, Travis Wood and three pitchers currently on the disabled list in Aaron Harang, Edison Volquez and Homer Bailey. Volquez and Harang are both supposed to be ready after the All-Star break and Bailey by the end of the month. Next season the logjam will be cleared with Harang and Arroyo free agents but for now, it has fantasy baseball ramifications. With youngsters Wood and Leake possibly on an innings limit and Volquez coming back from Tommy John surgery, the Reds could feature a six-man rotation at some point that would have an immediate impact on pitchers losing out on two-start weeks at some points of the remainder of the season.

Young Pitchers: As teams focus on limiting the innings on young pitchers, it will have a fantasy baseball impact as you juggle the roster over the remaining weeks of the season. Some players are knowingly going to get such down early such as Stephen Strasburg of Washington while others might have a start or two skipped depending on how well their team is doing in the playoff race. Other young pitchers to keep an eye on:

Mat Latos - San Diego – currently sits at 106 2/3 innings and is on an innings limit with a high of possibly 180, is being pushed back in the rotation to start the second half and will likely not start until the middle to end of the week in the week after next. Currently averaging 6.3 innings per start, if he matches that in the second half, that would leave him with roughly 12 more starts the rest of the way although the Padres are going to be in a dilemma if they stay in the playoff race the entire second half.

Phil Hughes - New York – already had one start skipped at the end of June to limit his innings which currently sit at 101. The team has not announced a rough number for innings for him but you can bet they are monitoring it closely. If they team remains in the playoff chase and clinches a spot early, he may miss a start or two at the end of the year as well.

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Spring Training News & Notes – Final Weekend

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 1st, 2010

As we head into the final weekend of fantasy baseball league drafts and auction, here are the latest news and notes impacting position rankings.

Injuries:

Joe Blanton will start the year on the disabled list and miss 3-6 weeks with an oblique injury. The move opens a spot for Kyle Kendrick in the rotation.  Kendrick has a 1.66 ERA with eight strikeouts in 21 2/3 innings thus far in spring.

Huston Street stopped his throwing program after experiencing some issues on Wednesday which likely puts him out until sometime in May. Franklin Morales is the favorite for saves while Street is out of action.

Marc Rzepczynski fractured a finger on his pitching hand and will possibly miss up to six weeks. Rzepczynski had a 6.10 ERA in 20 2/3 innings with 14 strikeouts.

Brandon Webb still looks to be on track for a return in May after meeting with the team doctor and receiving no bad news in regards to his recent MRI.

Daniel Murphy will miss 2-6 weeks after spraining his knee. Mike Jacobs will fill in at first base with top prospect Ike Davis lurking in the wings. Davis will present an interesting challenge for those in FAAB leagues if he is recalled the first week of the season.

Ian Kinsler is still recovering from his sprained ankle and could begin the season on the disabled list, returning around the middle of April.

Lance Berkman, recovering from recent knee surgery, will begin the season on the disabled list and likely miss the first two weeks of the season.

Brad Lidge will begin the season on the disabled list since his elbow has not responded well from surgery. Ryan Madson will take over as closer in his absence.

Hitters:

It looks like Chris Johnson will see some time at third base against left-handed pitching while Lance Berkman is on the disabled list with Pedro Feliz sliding over to first base. Johnson is hitting .383 in spring with six home runs and 17 RBI in 53 at bats

Willy Taveras looks set to begin the year in a platoon role, hitting against left-handed pitching. That gives him some value in N.L. only leagues with the potential for 200+ at bats and 15-20 stolen bases.

I have a sneaky suspicion that Jim Edmonds ends the season with close to 400 at bats. I originally thought he might split time with Carlos Gomez, but the the way Corey Hart is hitting (.158 batting average), or should I say not hitting, it looks like Edmonds might platoon with him and as the left-handed hitter, he would see the majority of at bats. Edmonds is hitting .360 with 12 RBI in 44 at bats.

The injury to Russell Branyan makes Michael Brantley the starting left fielder for the Cleveland Indians. Brantley should have a solid batting average and could steal anywhere from 15-30 bases depending on how many at bats he gets this season.

Starting Rotations:

The Toronto Blue Jays have awarded the final two spots in their rotation to Dana Eveland and Brian Tallet. Brett Cecil was sent to Triple-A. Eveland has a 1.23 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 22 innings, while Tallet has a 5.06 ERA and 11 K’s in 16 innings.

The Cincinnati Reds won’t need a 5th starter until April 11th but it looks like Mike Leake might have pulled into the lead after his most recent outing. Leake has worked 18 innings with a 3.00 ERA and 10 strikeouts. Travis Wood meanwhile has a 3.50 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 18 innings but with 12 walks. Aroldis Chapman has a 1.69 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 10 2/3 innings, but has allowed seven walks.

Mat Latos won the 5th starter job with the San Diego Padres. No surprise there as he has the most talent of anyone on their staff. The only downside to him is the possible innings limitation in the 150-170 range. Latos currently has a 1.59 ERA with 14 strikeouts in 17 innings.

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2010 San Diego Padres Team Preview

Posted by Todd Lammi on March 19th, 2010

This is the fifth part our series of 2010 fantasy baseball team previews looking at the National League West. The team previews will include the projected batting order, projected rotation, rookies that could make an impact in 2010 as well as each players current ADP for a 15 team mixed fantasy baseball league.

2010 San Diego Padres Projected Batting Order:

1.  SS Everth Cabrera (ADP 212)
2.  2B David Eckstein  (ADP ND)
3.  1B Adrian Gonzalez (ADP 31)
4.  LF Kyle Blanks (ADP 276)
5.  3B Chase Headley (ADP 290)
6.  CF Scott Hairston (ADP 293)
7.  RF Will Venable (ADP 444)
8.  C Nick Hundley (ADP 408)

2010 San Diego Padres Projected Rotation & Bullpen:

1.  Jon Garland (ADP 446)
2.  Chris Young (ADP 338)
3.  Kevin Correia (ADP 280)
4.  Clayton Richard (ADP 382)
5.  Mat Latos / Sean Gallagher (ADP 327 / ND)

Closer – Heath Bell (ADP 97)
Handcuff – Mike Adams

2010 San Diego Padres prospects with potential impact this year:

1.  Aaron Poreda – SP


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The Daily Dirt for Friday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 13th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

The New York Yankees hit four home runs, but in the end, they needed a little luck to defeat the New York Mets 9-8. The Yankees rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning on a two-out dropped pop up by Luis Castillo. Mark Teixeira (20), Robinson Cano (10), Derek Jeter (9) and Hideki Matsui (9) all went deep for the Yankees. Gary Sheffield delivered his sixth home run of the season for the Mets. Joba Chamberlain needed 100 pitches to make it through four innings, allowing one hit with five walks. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Friday…

Hitters:

Joe Mauer went 2-for-4 with three RBI and hit his 13th home run of the season. Mauer has tied his career-high for home runs that he set back in 2006.

Mark Reynolds went 4-for-5 with 5 RBI, including his 16th home run of the season. Reynolds also picked up his 13th stolen base of the year.

Brian McCann went 4-for-4 with two RBI, raising his batting average to .331 on the year. McCann has driven in seven runs in his last six games.

Albert Pujols connected for his 2oth home run of the season and stole his ninth base of the year. Pujols is batting .321 for the year with 55 RBI.

Troy Tulowitzki hit his eighth home run of the season and swiped his six base in addition to scoring three runs. Tulowitzki has now homered three times in his last five games.

Kevin Kouzmanoff went 3-for-4 with three RBI and belted his sixth home run of the season. Kouzmanoff has been on fire his last five game with 11 RBI.

Pitchers:

San Diego Padres pitcher Jake Peavy will miss eight to 12 weeks with a partially torn tendon in his right ankle. Peavy had struggled since suffering the injury, with a 6.28 ERA in three starts. The Padres have several internal options to replace Peavy although none are very exciting from a fantasy baseball standpoint.  Top minor league prospect Mat Latos would probably be a long shot to get the call to replace Peavy. Latos is currently in Double-A with a 0.79 ERA through four starts.

Dan Haren picked up his fifth win of the year in a complete game seven strikeout performance. Haren has allowed one run in each of his last three outings with 19 strikeouts in 23 innings.

Tim Lincecum pitched a complete game shutout with eight strikeouts to notch his 6th win of the year. Lincecum lowered his ERA for his fifth straight start to its current mark of 2.66

Kevin Slowey allowed struck out a season-high 10 in six innings to pick up his ninth win of the season. Slowey has been getting hit at a much higher rate in 2009 vs. 2008, allowing batters to hit over .300 against him this season. Heading into Friday’s game, he has been much tougher out of the stretch and even harder to hit with men in scoring position.

No one on base: .351 avg.

Runners on: .271 avg.

In scoring position: .200 avg.

Tommy Hanson picked up his first major league win, although it was not pretty, allowing 14 base runners in 5 2/3 innings and two earned runs. The damage could have been worse as Hanson left the game with the bases loaded, but Peter Moylan struck out Adam Jones to end the inning.

Jon Lester allowed one run in seven innings with 11 strikeouts in a no decision. It was Lester’s third straight start with double digit strikeouts, giving him 34 strikeouts in his last 22 innings, with only seven hits and three runs allowed in that span.

Rick Porcello allowed one run in seven innings with two strikeouts to collect his seventh win of the season. The seven innings marked his longest outing since back on May 5th. The Detroit Tigers coaching staff has been limiting his pitch count for most of the year. The 99 pitches Porcello threw on Friday was a season high.

Ricky Nolasco turned in his best start of the season in a no decision, allowing two runs in six innings with nine strikeouts. It was his second straight effective start since being recalled from Triple-A. He should be safe to move back into fantasy baseball rotations in mixed leagues for the time being.

Vincente Padilla tossed five shutout innings with two strikeouts to earn his fifth win of the season. It was the second straight win for Padilla since the Texas Rangers requested waivers on him back on June 3rd.

Luke Hochevar hurled a complete game, allowing one win with three strikeouts, to even his record at 2-2. Hochevar has won both of his starts since being recalled from Triple-A on June 6th.

Recent Double-A call up Aaron Poreda of the Chicago White Sox threw 1 2/3 innings of relief, allowing one run with three strikeouts.

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Fantasy Baseball Minor League Report – week 8

Posted by Todd Lammi on May 30th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

With Brett Myers of the Philadelphia Phillies scheduled to have surgery on his right hip that will likely end his season, let’s take a look at some the internal options the Phillies have to fill that void either by call up or via trade.

Carlos Carrasco was the minor league pitcher closest to the majors when the season started, beginning the year in Triple-A. He has been off to a disappointing start so far this season at 0-6 with a 5.40 ERA. In 55 innings, he has allowed 63 hits with 58 strikeouts and opposing batters are hitting .281 against him. He has been better in his last three starts with 7 runs allowed in 19 2/3 innings with 21 strikeouts that the Phillies might be willing to give him a shot while he has momentum.

Antonio Bastardo was recently promoted to Triple-A where he has made two starts, allowing three runs in 13 innings with 12 strikeouts. In 34 2/3 innings at AA, he had a 1.82 with 39 strikeouts while holding batters to a .178 average.

Kyle Kendrick has done nothing to distinguish himself in Triple-A, with a 4.25 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 53 innings, but he could be an option because of his past big league experience.

The longest of long shots is Kyle Drabek in Advanced A ball. Drabek currently holds a 2.48 ERA with 74 strikeouts in 61 2/3 innings. If nothing else, the injury to Myers should have him bumped up to AA very shortly.

If the Phillies look to trade for a starter, they might move shortstop Jason Donald who is currently in AAA blocked by Jimmy Rollins. Donald has been off to a slow start with a .234 average with one home run and four steals. In AA in 2008, Donald hit .307 with 14 home runs and 11 stolen bases.

Outfielder Michael Taylor in AA could also be a trade target of other teams. Taylor is hitting .342 with 9 home runs, 37 RBI and 8 stolen bases with a low 19 strikeouts in 152 at bats.

In other minor league news from week 8…

Tommy Hanson continues to dominate in Triple-A, allowing one run in seven innings with nine strikeouts. Opposing hitters are batting a paltry .164 on the season against him.

Gordon Beckham was promoted to Triple-A and is seeing time at third base. It looks like the White Sox are intent to get his bat into the line up at any position they can. Beckham hit .299 with 4 home runs and 22 RBI in 38 games in AA before the promotion. He has gone 3 for 7 in two games with the Charlotte Knights.

Wade Davis should be next in line the next time the Tampa Bay Rays need a starting pitcher from the minors. Davis in Triple-A currently has a 3.40 ERA in 53 innings with 32 strikeouts. His AAA numbers were actually better in 2008 following his promotion from AA.

2008 ERA – 2.72 Innings – 53 Hits – 39 Strikeouts – 55
2009 ERA – 3.40 Innings – 53 Hits – 44 Strikeouts – 32

The Cleveland Indians have several promising arms they could turn to in AA in the second half of the season. Jeanmar Gomez has a 1.29 ERA in five starts with 0.57 whip ratio and 3o strikeouts in 35 innings.
Teammate Chuck Lofgren was just promoted to Triple-A after posting a 1.42 ERA with 31 strikeouts in 42 2/3 innings.

Mat Latos (Padres) tossed seven shutout innings with seven strikeouts and could see a promotion to Triple-A in another month or two. Latos has a 0.50 ERA with 38 strikeouts in 36 1/3 innings on the season.

Madison Bumgarner (Giants) is heating up in AA, running off four straight wins since his promotion. Between his two minor league stops, Bumgarner is 7-1 with a 1.14 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 47 1/3 innings with zero home runs allowed.

Brad Lincoln (Pirates) should be ready for a move up to Triple-A in the near future. Lincoln has a 2.05 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 52 2/3 innings of work. He has allowed only two home runs and 12 walks on the season.

Alcides Escobar (Brewers) has been working at second base since the injury to Rickie Weeks and his hitting has taken off. He has boosted his average to .290 with two home runs and 21 steals. It remains to be seen whether the Milwaukee Brewers promote him the second half of the season or use him as the main trade bait to try to get Jake Peavy from the San Diego Padres.

Catcher Carlos Santana is hitting .292 with 7 home runs and 29 RBI in AA. He also has a 31 to 22 walk to strikeout ratio. If the Cleveland Indians go into fire sale mode and trade Victor Martinez or Kelly Shoppach, Santana could see time in the second half of the season.

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