Chris Sampson
Sampson turned in another solid effort on Saturday, going 6 1/3 innings and allowing just one run while striking out eight. This coming off a seven-run 14-hit pounding in his previous start was certainly needed from Sampson. The outing lowered his ERA to 3.55 on the season and most impressively, his K/BB stands at a solid 19/6 over 25 1/3 innings. Sampson had a career minor league ERA of an impressive 2.94 and he struck out more than four batters for each guy he walked, so his solid start isn't a huge surprise. Sampson turns 29 this month and he certainly doesn't have elite pitcher type stuff, but if you temper your expectations, Sampson is better than a lot of other team's #5 or even #4 starters.
Adam Wainwright
With yet another poor outing (4 1/3 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 2 K) on Saturday, that marks three consecutive poor outings for Wainwright, this after he opened the year with back-to-back quality starts. He certainly has the raw stuff to be a quality starter, but with a 21/16 K/BB in 29 1/3 innings (including at least three walks in each of his five starts), it may take some time for him to develop into a solid #3 starter - which probably is his ceiling. Jason Isringhausen is off to a solid start in the closer role, so there's currently no discussion about moving Wainwright back to the bullpen where he excelled last season (3.12 ERA, 0.96 K/I), but don't be surprised if that talk heats up should Wainwright's struggles as a starter continue. The Cardinals really don't have much in Triple-A that could replace Wainwright now, but don't be shocked if something happens after the All-Star break if Wainwright is still scuffling in the rotation.
Carlos Zambrano
Not that there was much doubt (unless you're a Zambrano owner in any fantasy leagues), but it's apparent that the Cubs' ace is "back". Saturday's effort: 7 innings, 7 hits, 1 earned run, no walks and just two strikeouts. That's back-to-back solid outings for Zambrano, who had a 7.77 ERA through his first four starts. Zambrano's K/BB stands at an ugly 25/19 and though he's probably "good"for 80-90 walks this year, that ratio will improve along with his ERA. If you traded for Zambrano in any fantasy leagues at a discount based on his slow start, you got a steal.
Ryan Langerhans
The fantasy and real-world value of Matt Diaz seemingly increases with each Langerhans at-bat this year. Langerhans was 0-for-3 with a walk (and two runs scored) on Saturday to lower his measly line to .049/.188/.049. That translates to 2-for-41 (both singles) in 19 games. Now I know Langerhans brings a very good love to left field, but no team can afford his bat in the lineup right now. At .264 with a 10/1 K/BB in 53 at-bats, Diaz isn't doing a whole lot better, so look for guys like Craig Wilson or perhaps even sleeper prospect, outfielder Brandon Jones, currently hitting .338 with 11 extra-base hits in 20 games in the Double-A Southern League.
Troy Tulowitzki
Moved to the #2 spot in the order ahead of the red-hot Todd Helton (.383) about a week ago, Tulowitzki might be finally ready to break out and fulfill his enormous expectations. Tulowitzki, after hitting his first home run of the year on Friday, went 2-for-5 with another home run on Saturday to raise his meager average above the Mendoza line to .203. Tulowitzki is still striking out too much (20 times in 20 games), but as he's also walking in about 10% of his at-bats and considering he was known for having solid plate discipline as a minor leaguer, Tulowitzki will be fine. At age 22, he's probably still a couple years away from being an offensive force, but expect steady improvement on his .203/.289/.338.
Miguel Cabrera
Well, it looks like Cabrera's sore oblique isn't exactly hindering him at the plate. Cabrera went 5-for-5 on Saturday with three runs scored and his seventh home run of the season. The game was Cabrera's third multi-hit effort in his last four games and brought his line up to .364/.438/.688. His 0.83 EYE is right in line with last year's 0.80 and with seven homers in the first month of the year, Cabrera appears poised to post a career high in that area (currently 33 in 2004 and 2005). We don't need to tell you that Cabrera is a very good player, it's just that he's looking better than ever.
There are over 100 player news blurbs posted in the member area each morning, members can read the rest of today's player news by clicking here link:www.fantistics.com/baseball00/. Not a member? Join today link:www.fantistics.com/join/join.php3
