Cliff Lee is incredible. I mean, I am seriously astounded by how knockout awesome this guy has been in his first 7 starts. I wish like hell I drafted him now. But enough of my wishes, let’s get to the numbers. Lee tossed a CG against the Jays, allowing 7 H and 2 BB while striking out 5. The game went to extras so Lee didn’t get the win but his ERA has now dropped to a mind-bogglingly low 0.67. The start marks the first time this year he hasn’t notched a W but he has shown no signs of slowing down. Lee threw strikes on 66% of his pitches and is throwing strikes on 68% for the season. It was the first time this season that Lee allowed more than 1 BB (He allowed 2) and just the third time he surrendered more than 5 hits. There is no pitcher in baseball hotter than Lee right now, including 8-0 Brandon Webb.
As good as Cliff Lee was in the nightcap between Cleveland and Toronto last night, Shawn Marcum was even better. As astonishing as that might seem, it’s true. Marcum tossed his fourth straight quality start as he tossed a 2-hitter in 8 IP with no BB and 5 K. The performance, although it didn’t get him a win, lowered Marcum’s ERA to 2.22 and has certainly solidified him as a very good fantasy option. We knew coming into the season that Marcum would be good but his last 4 starts have been great. He’s allowed just 12 H and 7 BB in 30.1 IP with 27 K’s (2-1 with 1 ND). One the season he has surrendered 30 hits in 56.2 IP while posting a 7.84 K/9 and a 2.56 BB/9.
Josh Hamilton had an amazing spring training and came in as one of the biggest potential mashers this season. He hasn’t disappointed. Hamilton went 2-5 last night with a HR and 4 RBI, bringing his BA to .305 and his RBI total to a staggering 43. The young Texas OF is red hot right now as he’s posted 4 straight multi-hit games with 1 HR, 7 RBI, 3 R, 3 doubles, a triple, and a .473 BA. The amazing thing to his .305 mark is that his BHIP is very low at .220 but his ISO is .245 (actually lower than last year‘s .262), meaning Hamilton is flat out locked in right now. His BB/K is a respectable .58 and he’s cut down on his K% by 6 percent. I don’t see any signs of Hamilton slowing down and I think he’s absolutely going to hit between .290 and .310 this year. If he can blast 30-35 HR, Hamilton will be among the elite OF this season.
Vlad Guerrero must have breathed a sigh of relief last night as he finally snapped out of his slump with a 2-5 performance, including a HR and 4 RBI. Vlad hit just .205 (8-39) since April 28th and had not homered since April 25th. He amassed just 4 RBI in that 15 game stretch, the same number he collected in last night’s game alone. His start has been surprisingly slow, particularly for a guy who drove in 72 first half runs last season and typically hits everything thrown at him. His BB/K has taken a noticeable drop from 1.15 in 2007 to .65. That’s very odd for a power hitter who has never struck out more than 93 times in a season. His BHIP is a little lower than normal and his ISO is just .155 compared to his .223 mark from last season. I fully expect those numbers to rebound but I’m not confident Vlad will reach the 110 RBI plateau this season and he certainly won’t reach 30 HR.
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