Games against the Royals can boost a young pitcher's confidence. Fausto Carmona pitched a solid 7.0 IP, 2 ER game to earn his 11th win of the season. He struck out 4 and walked two in the outing as well. Carmona had that one blow-up game that really hurts his ERA and WHIP, posting 8 ER in just 1 IP on June 27th against Oakland. With that outing, he's posting a 3.77 ERA and 1.35 WHIP. Take that terrible outing away and he's at 3.17 ERA and 1.28 WHIP. Since the blow-up, he's 2-for-3 in quality starts with three straight wins. With the sinker ball working and the Indians one of the best teams in the AL, Carmona could make a bid at a 20-win season.
Chris Ray converted his 16th save of the season on Sunday. That gives him 2 saves and a win in the shortened fantasy week following the all-star break. Not bad, considering for the season, Ray only has 20 save opportunities. Its been a little disappointing for fantasy owners, especially with a 4.54 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. Some of that comes from the 7 ER in two blown saves back in April, but the save opportunities have been a disappointment too. I think he'll have a better 2nd half, but won't finish the season with the numbers we all expected out of the Orioles closer.
Perhaps a change of scenery would do Jose Contreras some good right now (although rumors of him being traded to Philadelphia would not be the right change for him - remember how he couldn't handle NY?) Anyway, Contreras lost his 4th straight decision and has posted L's in 7 of his last 9 outings without a win. He only has 1 quality start in his last 6 decisions and strikeouts, which you typically look for out of Contreras for spot-start purposes in mixed leagues, is only at a K/9 of 5.3. His next two starts will be tough ones too - Red Sox and the Tigers.
Boof Bonser had his work cut out for him on Sunday, facing Dan Haren and the A's. But Bonser held his own, hurling a quality start in 6.1 IP with 3 ER, 5 hits, 6 K's and 3 BB's. If you can afford the hit to WHIP and ERA, Bonser is a great source of K's. He's posting a 4.68 ERA and 1.48 WHIP for the season, but still has a K/9 of 8.3. His BB/9 is also high at 3.6, which helps drive that high WHIP. But if you need K's, Bonser should keep posting solid strikeout totals and will get some W's pitching for Minnesota.
Ryan Garko seems to be heating up again. After a rough June when he hit just .192 with 2 HR, he is hitting .414 in July with a 1.264 OPS, 5 RBI, and 7 extra base hits. Garko's power is key here, hitting a HR for every 23.0 AB despite his slumping month of June. He has the power potential to post a HR/AB in the high teens. If he can do that for the 2nd half, we'll see his 0.66 FPI climb to the 0.70+ range, which will make him a solid fantasy play from here on out.
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