Do you have some trade offers you are consider, but need to bounce them off of someone? Are you pondering a roster move and want a second opinion? Feel free to post your questions in the Fantasy Baseball Questions thread.
Fake Teams Podcast, Episode 14: Super Duper American
Andrew and Zack hosted their twice weekly Fake Teams podcast on Sunday night, and discussed Matt Adams, Brad Miller, Bartolo Colon and much more. You can listen to the podcast via MP3 or ITunes:
Homer Bailey no hits the Giants
Reds starter Homer Bailey tossed his second no-hitter in the last four months, going back to September of 2012 when he no hit the Pirates. Bailey needed 109 pitches to complete the no-no, and was one walk away from a perfect game. He struck out nine Giants, and is now 5-6 with a 3.57 ERA, 2.66 FIP, 1.06 WHIP and a 111-26 strikeout to walk rate in 111 innings this season. He owns a 9.00 K/9, a 2.21 BB/9 and an excellent 48.6% ground ball rate, and is approaching #HolyTrinity status.
In his no-hitter vs the Pirates on September 28, 2012, Bailey struck out 10 and walked one, so he was one strikeout away from duplicating that feat last night. I assume the Giants don't want to see Homer Bailey any time soon. Here is a tweet from MLB:
Giant among Giants? Homer Bailey’s last 2 starts vs @SFGiants: 16 IP, 19 Ks, 1 hit.
— MLB (@MLB) July 3, 2013
Bailey seems to be having his way with the Giants lately eh?
Jose Fernandez dominates the Padres
I realize Jose Fernandez pitched on Monday night, but he was so dominant that I had to post my thoughts. I watched some of this game and saw him throwing 95-97 mph into the 8th inning, and if I remember correctly, he reached 98 mph in the 8th inning as well. That is Justin Verlander-ish, right? And he is only 20 years old.
Fernandez needed only 100 pitches to shutout the Padres on 2 hits, a walk and struck out a season high 10 batters in 8 innings of work. Fernandez is now 5-4 with a 2.72 ERA, 3.00 FIP, 1.06 WHIP and a 94-33 strikeout to walk rate in 92.2 innings. He has made 16 starts this season, giving up two runs or less in twelve of them, and his 2.72 ERA ranks 13th in MLB, right behind a couple guys named Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee. If he's not an ace right now, I don't know what one looks like. 20 years old.
Round'em Up
Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg is back to his old self after some early season struggles and a DL stint. Strasburg shut out the Brewers on 3 hits, 4 walks and 8 strikeouts last night, but once again got zero run support. Strasburg has given up two runs or less in 10 of his last 11 starts, and is now 4-6 with a 2.24 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and a 98-31 strikeout to walk rate in 100.1 innings of work this season. The Nationals have scored two runs or less in seven of his last eleven starts.
Is John Lackey back to being the ace he was with the Angels a few years back? I think he is. Last night, Lackey limited the Padres to just one run on 6 hits, a walk and 6 strikeouts in the Red Sox 4-1 win. Lackey moved his record to 6-5 with a 2.81 ERA, 3.61 FIP, 1.17 WHIP and a 79-18 strikeout to walk rate in 86.1 innings this season. He has now given up two runs or less in 10 of his 14 starts this season.
Braves catcher Brian McCann will be a free agent at the end of the season, and I am wondering what the Braves will do with him. Will they resign him if they go far into the playoffs, or will they let him walk to allow Evan Gattis to catch every day? Last night, McCann went 3-5 with a run and 2 RBI, and is now hitting .262-.360-.489 with 9 HRs, 15 runs, 26 RBI and an excellent 26-20 K-BB rate in 141 at bats this season.
Marlins first baseman Logan Morrison recently returned from the DL and has been on fire ever since. Morrison went 204 with a run and 2 RBI and is now hitting .321-.387-.554 with 2 HRs, 10 runs, 7 RBI and a 8-6 K-BB rate in just 56 at bats this season. He is owned in just 4.8% of ESPN leagues for some reason, so go pick him up if you need a bat.
Yankees starter Phil Hughes had his second straight excellent start on Tuesday night, limiting the Twins to just one runs on 6 hits, 2 walks and 3 strikeouts in the Yankees win over the Twins. Hughes is now 4-7 with a 4.55 ERA and 1.34 WHIP. Hughes has been mentioned in trade rumors recently and I think he could benefit with a change of scenery.
Blue Jays outfielder Colby Rasmus is quietly having a pretty good season at the plate. He isn't hitting for average, but he is showing some power this season. Last night, Rasmus went 2-4 with a HR, 2 runs and 4 RBI, raising his triple slash line to .244-.316-.465 with 15 HRs, 36 runs and 42 RBI. He still strikes out way too much, but is on pace for 29 HRs and 80+ RBI so far.
Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig just keeps amazing me with his performance this season. I keep wondering when he will begin his regression, and he appears to be from another planet. Puig went 3-5 with a HR, double, 2 runs and an RBI, and is now hitting .443-.473-.745 with 8 HRs, 21 runs, 17 RBI, 4 stolen bases and a 22-4 K-BB rate in just 106 at bats thus far. He has to regress at some point, right? I mean, his BABIP is .513 right now.
Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw dominated the Rockies on Tuesday night, tossing a complete game 4 hit shutout in the Dodgers 8-0 win. Kershaw gave up 4 hits, walked none and struck out 8, and ended Michael Cuddyer's 27 game hitting streak to boot. Kershaw is now 7-5 with a 1.93 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, and a 126-33 strikeout to walk rate in 130.1 innings on the mound this season. He has given up two runs or less in 13 of his 18 starts this season.
More from Fake Teams
Don't Stop Believing: Nick Swisher and Adam LaRoche
Coming Soon to A Stadium Near You: Noah Syndergaard, RHP, New York Mets
Fantasy Baseball: Two-Start Pitchers for Week 14
Minor League Level Review (AAA): Singleton and Walker Debut, Middlebrooks and Wacha Back
Low Level Prospect Review: Miguel Almonte, RHP, Kansas City Royals