Ron Mahay- TEX- Trade- Although his 2.77 ERA and K/9 of 7.38 look nice, Mahay has little fantasy value even after being traded to the Braves. His WHIP of 1.38 and BB/9 ratio of 4.85 are mediocre. Combine that with the fact that Mahay's innings are going to be limited as his role should not change much from the LOOGY/long relief status he had in Texas and even under the best scenario he will contribute little to a fantasy team.
Mark Teixeira- TEX- Trade- The trigger was finally pulled on the deal that sent Tex to Atlanta. The main concern with a Texas hitter moving out of Rangers Ballpark is whether his numbers were inflated by the hitter-friendly surroundings. While Teixeira has certainly enjoyed the effects of the park in Arlington at times, and his batting average there this season is 67 points higher (.331 to .264), he is not consistently a better performer there. He has shown he can put up numbers without the boost given by the park. Teixeira's slugging percentage in 2007 is .514 on the road and .535 at home, not a huge gap. Last season he actually had a better average away (.298) than home (.266). Teixeira should continue to have success in Atlanta close to that he had in Texas. This makes him a worthwhile pickup in NL leagues.
Kyle Lohse- CIN- Trade- Lohse has been extremely inconsistent, or perhaps you could say he has been consistently extreme. In games he has won, Lohse has posted an ERA of 0.77. In his losses, his ERA has been 7.97. (In case you are wondering his ERA in his 3 no decisions has been 2.66, but all of those games came within his first 3 starts of the season.) The big question about Lohse's performance is similar to the classic chicken and egg question. Does Lohse perform badly which then leads to losses or does he start to blow up when he gets little support and looks likely to lose? With a 6-12 record, this is a key question. In looking at his starts this season, it does look like there are trends. Lohse's wins come when he gets some early run support. His losses also show a connection with how the Reds' offense has performed. Early on, there wasn't as much connection. Two of Lohse's first 3 losses were quality starts. Then things started to go south. If the Reds did not give him run support he collapsed. The deterioration seems to be most pronounced in the 4th or 5th innings. Lohse's opponents batting average against is .278 in his first 60 pitches. Then it soars to .338 between pitches 61-75. This indicates that there may be a mental component involved. With the Phillies scoring the 3rd most runs in the NL, there should be fewer times Lohse has little support. If he thrives on that, his record and production could make a sharp turnaround in his new surroundings.
Cincinnati Reds- CIN- Trade- Matt Maloney, acquired yesterday for Kyle Lohse, is on a fast track to the majors. The Phillies skipped him over high-Class A ball this year and sent him directly to AA Reading. The main question about Maloney was if, since he is a finesse pitcher rather than a power thrower, he could improve on his BB/9 ratio of 3.89 that eh posted in the South Atlantic League in 2006. The answer was affirmative, as Maloney will be taking a 3.28 mark with him to AA Chattanooga in the Reds' system. How long he will stay there is unknown. Maloney still looks like a solid back-of the-rotation guy at this point. Nothing to really focus on now, but he might be a blip on the radar before too long.
Jose Reyes- NYN- Rise Value- It may be hard to believe, with Reyes already owning 49 steals this season, but the acquisition of Luis Castillo may actually lead to Reyes' stolen base rates rising. Castillo will be batting behind Reyes and his Batting EYE of 1.04 means that Reyes will probably be watching a lot of pitches, more than previous #2 men for the Mets. That will give Reyes more opportunities to attempt steals and he will undoubtedly take them.
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