The Scoop

By Dalton Del Don

Jay Bruce needs to be added in anything but the shallowest of leagues without a bench. He’s probably gone in the majority of formats already, but if not, pounce on him. He’s hitting .328 with six homers currently in Triple-A, but even more encouraging, he’s finally learned to translate his speed into baserunning, as he’s swiped seven bags without being caught. He entered the year just 33-of-57 on SB attempts for his career. With the Reds sitting in last place, without an answer in center field and shopping Ken Griffey, Bruce will get a chance in Cincinnati soon enough.

While Victor Martinez and Joe Mauer have a combined 228 at-bats with zero homers, Geovany Soto is punishing the baseball, slugging .581 while on pace to finish with 111 RBI. I worried about him entering the year since he was never a big prospect and seemingly came out of nowhere last season at age 24, but he’s been anything but a fluke during his second year in the bigs. The 23 walks are also quite impressive.

Fausto Carmona’s season just keeps getting weirder after a complete game shutout with a 3:4 K:BB ratio Monday. He’s struck out more batters than he’s walked in exactly one of his eight starts this season. All those groundballs mean opponents are going to struggle getting extra base hits, but his current ERA (2.40) and WHIP (1.64) are mutually exclusive.

Despite three walks, Jose Lopez’s average (.312) is currently higher than his on-base percentage (.311). That’s tough to do.

Carlos Zambrano has quietly been one of baseball’s most effective pitchers this season. Entering the year, Zambrano had a rising walk rate, sinking K rate, had accrued a ton of mileage on his right arm and had just signed a lucrative long-term contract; in other words, all signs pointed to the opposite coming true. His strikeout rate is actually continuing to decline, and his strand rate (.84) will regress to the mean, but his improved control is profound. His previous career-best BB/9 IP mark was 3.47. It’s at 2.32 this season.

There’s a zero percent chance I don’t see this movie opening weekend.

Despite facing lefties during just 24 percent of his at-bats last year, Ryan Braun hit 44 percent of his homers against southpaws. This year, he’s hit eight of his nine long balls versus right-handers, which is a good sign for his future. He still strikes out too often, walks too infrequently and the 1-of-4 SB success rate this season is disconcerting, but there’s little reason to worry about his “sophomore slump.” Of course, consecutive multiple homer games probably eased plenty of minds, but this kid is legit and will be a top-15 fantasy player for years to come.

The strikeout rate is great but all those walks make Clay Buchholz pretty much unusable right now. He still needs to be treated like an elite property in keeper-leagues, but there’s going to be some growing pains, especially with the AL East being so unforgiving. Keeper-leaguers might as well throw a low ball offer his owners’ way, because there’s a lot to be encouraged about behind the ugly ERA and WHIP. His BABIP of .376 is sure to drop significantly.

Lance Berkman is as hot as a pistol. How about a line of .393/.470/.800? Would that be something you’d be interested in? Now 32 years old, it’s safe to say I didn’t see this one coming. Here’s what he’s on pace to finish the 2008 season with: 54 HRs, 25 SBs, 174 runs, 158 RBI and a .393 BA. Good thing he ended up on none of my teams.

I randomly caught Buzz Bissinger on XM’s “baseball beat” last week, and let me tell you, this guy does not disappoint. He started the segment by saying he shouldn’t have said “shit” on HBO’s Costas Now and reiterated his distaste for blogs because of their profanity. He then proceeded to drop no less than 15 F-bombs live on the air, as a stunned Charlie Steiner helplessly listened in. The irony ran thick.

What’s up with Erik Bedard? He’s walking too many batters, serving up homers left and right and only has a 3.48 ERA thanks to a .236 BABIP. I was high on him entering the season and still am, but one has to wonder how he’s feeling physically. His 7.22 K/9 IP isn’t bad, but it’s not even in the same area code as last year’s 10.93 K/9 IP mark. And this means absolutely nothing, but except for maybe Barry Bonds, I’ve never heard anyone bashed by local media more than Bedard, who is apparently an asshole.

As a Giants fan, it’s great to see old favorite Armando Benitez back in the major leagues. And by that I mean I wish him nothing but the worst.

To all you Dusty Baker apologists, and I know you’re out there, I’m curious what your thoughts are on David Ross batting out of order Sunday. All the blame can’t totally fall on Baker, but it also doesn’t reflect too greatly on the manager. Moreover, tough break for owners of Corey Patterson, who recorded an out while sitting in the dugout.

Over his last 893 at-bats, Andruw Jones is hitting .217.

After three weeks into the season, Johnny Cueto qualified as a sell-high candidate. After six weeks into the season, he’s an option to buy-low. A 22-year-old rookie being inconsistent should surprise no one, but there’s still plenty to like with Cueto. Even Kevin Slowey thinks Cueto’s nine homers allowed are embarrassing, but 46 Ks over 45.1 innings and a 1.25 WHIP suggest he’s going to be just fine long-term. It’s only a matter of time before those flyballs start turning into outs and his terrible .56 strand rate improves. He should still be treated like a top-30 fantasy pitcher.

Ichiro Suzuki currently has the lowest average (.287), OBP (.335) and SLG (.389) of his career, despite sporting his best contact rate (.92) ever. Still, he’s maintained his fantasy value by running like crazy, swiping 16 of 17 stolen base attempts on the year. Ichiro established a career-high when he stole 56 bases his rookie year, but he’s on pace for 65 this season. It also appears he hits .350-plus on three-year cycles.

Cliff Lee is simply a man possessed right now. It’s silly to say he won’t maintain this pace – oh really, he’s not going to finish with a 0.67 ERA?! But he’s clearly proven himself not to be a fluke, flashing a brilliant 44:4 K:BB ratio in 53.2 innings. Monday’s nine shutout innings may not have gotten him a victory, and it was the first time he walked a batter in four starts, but what he’s doing so far this season is unprecedented. It’s one of the bigger out of nowhere campaigns I’ve ever witnessed.