By Dalton Del Don
I took some heat for spending $30 on Corey Hart in LABR, but after three homers and seven RBI over the last two games, he’s now on pace to finish with a 25/25 season. And after Rickie Weeks’ latest injury, Hart seems to be enjoying the leadoff spot, a place that will only increase his fantasy value.
J.D. Drew’s .371 BABIP won’t be easy to sustain, but there’s a lot to like about his current situation. Since a David Ortiz injury moved him into the three-hole, Drew has clobbered four homers over 35 at-bats with a ridiculous 2:11 K:BB ratio. His on-base percentage is also more than .550. Whether he can stay healthy remains to be seen, but last year’s .796 OPS was more of an aberration than this year’s stellar campaign.
Make sure Joel Zumaya is owned in your league. Since he’s already approaching 100 mph during his rehab stint, he should be ready to contribute very soon. Todd Jones hasn’t pitched poorly enough to lose the closer’s role, but his 9:11 K:BB ratio is embarrassing and suggests major blowups are likely soon in store. Remember, Zumaya has a career 9.54 K/9 IP mark.
For those awaiting Rich Hill’s return to the majors, I wouldn’t hold my breath. The 31 strikeouts over 25.1 innings in Triple-A are nice, but he was sent down to work on his control, which has actually only gotten worse if you can believe it. He’s walked 24 batters, leaving him with an ugly 1.70 WHIP.
You get the feeling Jim Thome is going to go on a massive hot streak at some point.
Since I normally only complain about the Giants, I’ll go a different direction. Madison Bumgarner, the team’s first round pick last year, is 18 years old and has a 74:10 K:BB ratio with a 1.96 ERA and 0.98 WHIP over 64.1 innings in the minors right now. Tim Alderson has also impressed. And after getting the steal of the draft Buster Posey (he’s going to win the college Triple Crown and plays catcher!) and making the shrewd selection of Conor Gilaspie in this year’s draft, things are actually looking up. Four years from now but still.
About 40 percent into the season, the Mariners sit with the worst record in all of baseball. It also looks like they’ve lost J.J. Putz for a while. It’s unlikely Erik Bedard would fetch the same return the Orioles got for him right now, but it’s clear Seattle may have to shop him, since he’s a free agent after next season.
What a disappointment Curtis Granderson’s been. The home runs are there, and he’s actually improved his contact rate, so the fact his current BABIP (.250) is more than 100 points lower than last year (.362) might even qualify him as a decent buy-low option. Hopefully a higher on-base rate will also lead to more steals, as he’s already been caught more times this year than he did in all of 2007. One thing’s for sure, he’s brutal against lefties.
First Travis Hafner and now Victor Martinez, it’s safe to say the Indians season hasn’t gone quite as planned. VMart is going to enter August with zero home runs.
I’m happy for Kerry Wood. With a 2.48 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 44:8 K:BB ratio, he’s been one of baseball’s best relievers in 2008. When healthy, I always thought he had the best pure stuff in the game.
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