By Dalton Del Don
Hong-Chih Kuo is quietly having one of the best seasons as a reliever in major league baseball. Since April ended, he has a 35:3 K:BB ratio over 27 innings. Versus left-handers, he’s posted a 23:0 K:BB ratio. Kuo’s always had dominant stuff, but health and command issues have held him back. A role in middle relief has seemingly kept him off the DL, and a huge step in the control department has left him with a tidy 1.76 ERA on the year. He has a 10.4 K 9/IP mark for his career.
At 9-2 with a 3.63 ERA and 1.22 WHIP, Kyle Lohse is having a fine season. He’s hardly the first guy to move to St. Louis and exceed expectations, but Lohse’s component numbers suggest a major regression is soon in store. A 4.2 K 9/IP mark rarely leads to success, and the same is true with his 1.91:1 K:BB ratio. The Cardinals’ defense really helps, but it’s best to proceed with caution.
Matt Cain has a 6.19 ERA during the first inning of games this season. It’s at 3.96 after that. Over the past three starts, he has a 25:3 K:BB ratio, which is a big deal for someone who typically struggles with command. Cain has lost a few mph off his fastball, but his changeup and curveball have improved, and he has a 1.18 WHIP in May and June. More wins should follow.
Randy Johnson gave up seven earned runs during a complete game Friday. Now that’s not easy to do.
Brett Myers is a human launching pad. After going four starts without allowing a home run, he’s served up eight gopher balls over the past three starts, leaving him with a major league high 23 for the season. Despite inducing more groundballs than flyballs, Myers has allowed a staggering 2.08 HR 9/IP.
Billy Butler now has a .382/.455/.640 line at Triple-A this season. He should be recalled within the week and will be worth adding in all but the shallowest of leagues.
Whatever it means, Edgar Renteria has hit .273 as an American Leaguer versus .293 when playing in the Senior Circuit. His home runs have also dropped from one every 55 ABs to one every 67 ABs. And after Renteria recorded a career-low in SBs in Boston in 2005, he’s on pace to finish with even fewer this season in Detroit. It’s safe to say the Braves got the better end of the Jair Jurrjens deal.
This is an interesting article, and one worth discussing.
In a Sports Illustrated survey of 495 Major League Baseball players in its June 23 issue, Derek Jeter was voted the most overrated player with 10 percent of the vote. I’ve heard numerous members of the media question the sanity of this verdict, but really, it seems about right to me. The main argument is calling him a “winner,” since he’s been a part of four World Series titles. Umm, baseball is about as much of a team sport as there is, and he was consistently on the one with the highest payroll. Don’t get me wrong, Jeter’s one of the best hitting shortstops ever. But he’s also been one of the game’s two-to-three worst fielders at his position over his career, and since he’s now lost most of his power (.712 OPS this year), for someone making $21.6 million, he’s a pretty big liability right now.
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