By Dalton Del Don
After another brilliant performance Sunday, Kevin Slowey has to be considered a major asset in even the shallowest of mixed leagues. His current 3.47 ERA will likely never be better because of his tendency to give up home runs, but his control is outstanding (1.12 BB/9 IP), so most of the long balls are solo shots, leaving him with an exemplary WHIP (1.04). His last four starts have all come against NL teams, which has certainly helped, but his 6:1 K:BB ratio on the year is elite. Teammate Scott Baker has been similarly impressive.
If a fantasy draft were held today, I’d have no problem whatsoever with C.C. Sabathia being the first pitcher taken. How about a 36:4 K:BB ratio over the past four starts? On May 3, he had a 7.51 ERA – 10 starts later that number is all the way down to 3.78. Sabathia gave up six more runs over the first 18 innings this season than he’s allowed during 96.1 innings since. Last season’s big workload is still a concern, but there’s certainly nothing to worry about the way Sabathia is currently throwing.
There’s not much to like about Pedro Martinez’s 7.12 ERA and 1.75 WHIP, but consider his last three starts came against the Rangers, Rockies (in Coors Field) and Yankees, so I’m not ready to write him off just yet.
It’s safe to say Billy Beane is kicking himself for not dealing Joe Blanton during the offseason. After getting pounded by the Giants on Sunday, Blanton’s ERA is now an ugly 4.97. His BABIP is similar to last season, but he’s walking more batters while striking fewer out. His true skill level is probably somewhere in between last year and this year.
Even though I own him in zero leagues, I hated to see Jacob McGee go down. The Rays are still in place for a big run this decade, but that was a major blow.
Over his last four starts, Rocky Nolasco has posted a 27:4 K:BB ratio with a 0.91 WHIP, so he can no longer be ignored. His BABIP and strand rate aren’t flukish, and last year’s awful campaign can be directly related to injury. The former fourth round pick once posted a 2.95 ERA and 1.21 WHIP with a 9.63 K/9 IP mark in Double-A as a 22-year-old, so this isn’t coming completely out of nowhere. Nolasco has also increased his velocity this year. With three upcoming starts against the Nationals, Padres and Dodgers before the All-Star break, he needs to be owned in fantasy leagues.
Gil Meche endured a rough April, but he has a 1.13 WHIP with a 3.1:1 K:BB ratio since then. His terrible first month is still bringing down his overall numbers, but a 7.8 K/9 IP mark over the last two months suggests he’s well worth owning. Contracts like Barry Zito’s and Carlos Silva’s are going to look far worse than the one Meche signed.
So far, my preseason advice to avoid Javier Vazquez at all costs has looked good. He hasn’t allowed fewer than four runs in any of his starts during the month of June. Like the rest of his career (other than last year’s aberration), his fantastic K rate and K:BB ratio don’t match up to his ERA. Vazquez has been unlucky (.345 BABIP), so expect his WHIP to drop, but he still allows too many homers and struggles from the stretch to be a help in the ERA department. And in all fairness, I was also high on Brett Myers entering the year.
Hopefully David DeJesus’ recent rib injury isn’t too bad, because he’s been a nice surprise in 2008, thanks in no small part to a major league leading .463 batting average with runners in scoring position. Don’t mess with the DeJesus.
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