Mark Hendrickson- FLA- Hot- Hendrickson ran his record to 4-1 by allowing 3 earned runs on 8 hits and a walk in 8 IP against the Pirates. Cinderella has staved off midnight once again. A lot of factors point towards a drop in production for Hendrickson. Last night was only his second quality start out of 5 so far this season. He hit a season high for strikeouts…with 5. That’s not a number to be proud of as a season high. Hendrickson allowed an unearned run in addition to the 3 earned runs, giving him 4 unearned runs out of 11 total runs allowed this season. That ratio is not liable to hold up. Heading into last night’s start, Hendrickson was a beneficiary of luck, posting a low .253 BHIP%. Expect Hendrickson’s value to take a nosedive as things even out.
Matt Chico- WAS- Cold- Chico got pounded for the second straight start, giving up 6 runs on 8 hits and 3 walks in 4 IP. He has only thrown one quality start this season and that was the only game where it seemed he had some control. Yesterday 38 of his 79 pitches were outside the strike zone. In Chico’s 4 non-quality starts he has thrown 387 pitches with 227 for strikes. Throwing balls 41% of the time is not a recipe for success. Chico needs to reacquaint himself with the strike zone to recapture the modest success he enjoyed at the end of last season.
Russell Martin- LAN- Hot- Martin finally busted out, going 3-for-3 with a run, RBI, walk, and double. The effort added 37 points to his batting average, getting him from under the Mendoza line to .234. Martin had been saddled with horrible luck this season, shown by a BHIPx of .190. He has a solid Batting EYE of .71, so a turnaround is expected.
Jerry Hairston- CIN- Rise Value- Hairston, leading the AAA International League in hitting with a .421 average, was called up to the Reds yesterday. He takes the roster spot of Juan Castro, who was designated for assignment. The reds have had some problems facing lefthanded pitching and wanted a righthanded bat with some pop. Hairston had 3 homers in 14 games for Louisville, so has the potential to add a little power, although the 31-year-old has not translated it to the major league level in 2500+ at bats. Hairston will probably get some playing time, especially considering his versatility. He played 5 positions in his time at Louisville. At one time Hairston was a stolen base threat, swiping 29 in 2001, but those days are passed. He will probably add some value to the Reds’ lineup but it is unlikely to translate to significant fantasy value.
Tim Hudson- ATL- FYI- Hudson gave up just 1 run (2 overall) in 6-2/3 IP yesterday, but those sighs of relief in Atlanta may be a bit premature. There had been concern that Hudson had some physical problems after getting knocked out early in his previous start. He may have run his record to 3-1 yesterday but he allowed 10 hits and 2 walks in the appearance while only striking out 3. This was to the Nationals, who had a pitiful .219 team batting average heading into the game. Watch Hudson’s next start to see if he gets his game back to where it was before his shortened outing.
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