Chad Gaudin - Gaudin's BB:K ratio may not be stellar (3:2 last night despite allowing only one unearned run, and merely 23:46 for the year), but you can look no further than the 0 homers allowed in his last ten starts to find the main reason for his continued success. A bit of backsliding is to be expected going forward...he's been quite lucky on balls in play thus far, but he's not a complete fluke by any stretch. You could certainly make a case for selling high on him, but solid pitching is so difficult to come by that you might be better off just hanging onto him unless you have quite a bit of depth in your rotation.
Alan Embree - Well, against nearly everyone's better judgment, Alan Embree is currently the A's closer. Who knows how long this will last, but Embree nailed down his third save in three chances last night, and since most people can keep their ERA under 9.00, it stands to reason that most people can close a game out with a two or three run lead. Kiko Calero has been so bad that I can't envision him coming anywhere near the closer's role right now, so Embree is worth the pickup in all formats until, at the very least, Duchscherer comes back. Embree's continued effectiveness is constantly in question, but as I mentioned above he shouldn't have any trouble protecting the majority of leads just because of the nature of the job.
Adrian Beltre - Adrian Beltre has put on a tremendous display the last four games, ging 11-17 with four doubles and three homers to bring his season totals up to 275/321/495. In less than a week Beltre has gone from being a horrible disappointment to having his best season as a Mariner thus far. That might not justify the huge contract, but it does lend some hope that he can sustain an ISO of around .200. If he can do that, he has plenty of value, and at age 28 I'd be inclined to bet on him.
Bartolo Colon - Colon has allowed 30 hits in his last three starts, he's allowed four homers in his last two, and he came out of last night's outing complaining of arm tightness. Nothing about that makes me feel comfortable with him, and while the Angels have been trying to baby him through the first few months of the season (one outing over 100 pitches thus far), these are definitely indications that he isn't anywhere near 100%. The high HR rate and the low (for him, anyway) K rate would have me looking elsewhere for a rotation member, that's for sure.
Dustin McGowan - Dustin McGowan may be turning the corner of late, as his performance last night against the Yankees finally matched the quality of his raw stuff. Throwing 93-95 mph all night long, McGowan limited the Yanks to five hits, a walk, and two runs over 7 2/3 innings, striking out seven. I don't have a problem with the 117 pitches that he threw, as the Jays were comfortably ahead, his control never wavered, and his velocity remained intact the whole way. This is the kind of thing that McGowan is eminently capable of, but his control has always held him back. If yesterday is any indication, the Jays may finally be developing their first starter since Roy Halladay.
