Tim Lincecum
Sometimes what seems like a sure thing from a fantasy perspective turns out to anything but. That's the joy (sometimes) of "real"and fantasy baseball. On Saturday, Lincecum recorded his first loss since June 19, allowing six runs over six innings to...the Pirates? A five-run fourth inning did him in, but otherwise, Lincecum looked fine, particularly the one walk to eight strikeouts. Overall, his 121:51 K:BB in 111 1/3 innings suggests both dominance and a propensity for a loss in command, something that should reverse itself as he matures as a pitcher. Despite the walks, he has a solid 1.23 WHIP thanks to the inability of hitters to get his off of him, and despite the struggles Saturday, the bet here is that he's an easy top 10 NL pitcher the rest of the way.
Ryan Doumit
Doumit got the start behind the plate on Saturday for the first time since July 28 and went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and a triple to raise his average to .284. His BB/AB rate of 9.1 isn't awful, but you'd like to see it a little higher (EYE is .40), but he's certainly done enough to deserve a full-time job. With Ronny Paulino sporting a .665 OPS and providing (and this is being nice) subpar defense, Doumit could see significant playing time behind the plate down the stretch this year. Doumit even threw out a baserunner on Saturday, the first time a Pirates catcher has done that since July 4. There was a rumor this July that the Pirates were considering dealing Paulino to the Mets, so a trade this off-season wouldn't be completely unexpected. As long as Doumit's defense is at least average, he could stick behind the plate and be an underrated fantasy catcher in 2008 drafts.
Freddy Sanchez
Sanchez was 4-for-5 with his career-high seventh homer of the year on Saturday and five RBI. He's never going to be known as a power-hitter, but after sitting at one homer for the year on July 5, Sanchez has slugged six since. He's also hitting .486 with 10 RBI in nine games this month. Sanchez is still walking in less than 5% of his plate appearances, right in line with his career trend, but the power surge is certainly nice to see. Sanchez bashed 53 doubles last year (29 so far in 2008), so it's not surprising that a few balls are making it over the wall lately, and while this trend won't continue for too long, he'll still be a solid contributor in the average department.
Rick Ankiel
Homering in his first major league game as an outfielder while going 1-for-4 is one thing. Bashing two more homers in the very next game while going 3-for-5 is another. Hitting in front of Albert Pujols in the second spot certainly hasn't hurt Ankiel's chances and receiving good pitches to hit, but this is just an incredible, fairytale-like story. Will it continue? Sorry to say, it's doubtful. Ankiel did hit 32 homers in 103 Triple-A games this year, but beware the 0.28 EYE (90 K and 25 BB). Majors league pitchers are going to realize quickly that this is no publicity stunt and that Ankiel can actually hit. I can see Ankiel having a career as a major league outfielder, but it's doubtful, unfortunately, that it will be much more than a 4th outfielder type career.
Braden Looper
After back-to-back mediocre outings against the mediocre offenses of the Pirates and Padres, Looper was solid Saturday against the mediocre Dodgers lineup. He went a solid six innings, allowing just a run on four hits while walking one and striking out three. Looper recorded just three outs via the groundball and 12 flyouts, something that points to a little luck, but after allowing five homers total in his previous two starts, it was the key for Looper's success on Saturday. His 62:38 K:BB and 4.4 K/9 aren't the numbers you want to see from a starting pitcher, so Looper's 5.08 ERA seems about right. Expect it to hover in that area for the rest of the year.
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