The bats remained in hibernation during Thursday’s abbreviated schedule. The games continue to be low scoring and tight with 7 games decided by one run and only the Phillies and Nationals combining to post double digit runs. Fantasy owners were given a glimpse of several future pitching studs while the closers got the job done including a few big name guys out for redemption.
Bat Of The Night: Jeff Keppinger – 2/3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB
Cincinnati’s latest reclamation project and yet another Met farmhand flourishing in a new uniform. He has gotten out of the gate hot and is a decent fantasy option until Alex Gonzalez returns from injury. It’s possible we might have a little SS controversy brewing in Cincy if Keppinger keeps this up…
Arm Of The Night: Johnny Cueto – 7 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 10 K (W)
Pretty decent debut by Cueto I’d say. The kid was perfect through the first 6 innings before surrendering his lone hit, a solo homer by Justin Upton, to lead off the 7th. Every year one young pitcher busts onto the scene and has a strong season. In 2006 it was Francisco Liriano. 2007 gave us Fausto Carmona. Here in 2008, Johnny Cueto is the next big thing.
Bottom Line: Chris B. Young – 0/4, 4 K, 2 LOB
Ladies and gentleman, your first golden sombrero of the 2008 season!
Honorable Mentions
The Good
I use the word “good” loosely in describing the following hitting lines. Do yourself a favor and focus on some of the brilliant pitching lines put up by John Danks, Dustin McGowan, Phil Hughes and Zack Greinke - the next wave of stud pitchers is beginning to take shape.
Bats
Alex Gordon - 2/5, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Kevin Kouzmanoff – 2/4, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Scott Hairston – 3/3, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 BB
Ronnie Belliard – 1/3, 2 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 BB
Aramis Ramirez – 1/3, 2 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB
Rickie Weeks – 2/3, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 SB
Arms
John Danks – 6.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K (W)
Zack Greinke – 7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K (W)
Phil Hughes – 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Dustin McGowan – 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
Randy Wolf – 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K (W)
Ryan Dempster – 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K (W)
Brad Thompson – 6.2 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 2BB, 6 K (W)
Jake Westbrook – 7.1 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K (L)
The Bad
The list of batters is long given that only 10 games were played last night.
Bats
Paul Konerko – 0/4, 3 LOB
Grady Sizemore – 0/4, 1 K, 1 LOB
Alex Rodriguez – 0/4, 2 K, 5 LOB
Robinson Cano – 0/4, 5 LOB
Lyle Overbay – 0/4, 1 K, 1 LOB
Ivan Rodriguez – 0/4, 1 K, 3 LOB
Michael Cuddyer – 0/5, 1 K, 6 LOB
Eric Byrnes – 0/4, 3 K
Adrian Gonzalez – 0/4, 5 LOB
Troy Tulowitzki – 0/4, 2 K
Ryan Braun – 0/4, 1 K, 1 LOB
Derrek Lee – 0/5, 1 K, 3 LOB
Arms
Kevin Slowey – 3.1 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K (L)
Doug Davis – 3.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 6 BB, 4 K (L)
Jamie Moyer – 3.2 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
Jason Bergman– 5.1 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Jesus Colome – 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 0 K (L)
Dave Bush – 5.1 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 5 BB, 4 K (L)
Making A Case...
Ervin Santana – 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3K (W)
Allow me to first point out that Santana put up these numbers in an ROAD game at Minnesota. This is significant because last season Santana was 6-4 with a 3.27 ERA at home and 1-10 with a dreadful 8.38 ERA on the road. This outing is a great sign for fantasy owners that weren’t scared off by the 25 year old’s tumultuous 2007 season. The Angels will be relying heavily on Santana with Lackey and Escobar out and I think he is in line for a solid season.
- Nine saves recorded in the 10 games played last night. Trevor Hoffman, Matt Capps and Kerry Wood bounced back from poor outings while Joakim Soria, Mo Rivera and Francisco Rodriguez each locked down their second saves and continue to look dominant. Veterans Bobby Jenks, Jason Isringhausen and Francisco Cordero each notched their first saves of the season as well.
- Gary Sheffield injured his finger and had to leave Thursday's game against the Royals. Fortunately, the latest reports suggest Sheff will not have to go on the DL. We discussed the fantasy impact here last night.
- Miguel Cabrera missed yesterday’s game with a quad injury, but started at DH in today’s game. He should be fine.
- Diamondbacks’ phenom Justin Upton hit his first homer yesterday, the team’s only hit of the day. Hold on to this kid, he will struggle at times but has great upside.
- Mike Hampton is headed back to the DL. It’s always fun to think about how things would have turned out differently for Hampton had he not become enamored with the school system in Colorado back in 2001.
- The game between Tampa Bay and Baltimore was postponed due to rain. A makeup date has not yet been scheduled.
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