Troy Tulowitzksi - Its looking more and more likely that Troy Tulowitzski will be heading to the 15-day DL with left quad problems. He's had a rough April and hopefully a little rest and recovery will do him good for his return. For the month, Tulowitzski is hitting just .152 with 1 HR, 11 RBI, 17:9 K/BB rate, and a .226 OBP . While he doesn't have enough years under his belt to fully call him a "slow-starter," last year's April wasn't much better. In April 2007, Tulo finished the month hitting just .244 with 2 HR, 10 RBI, 21:10 K/BB, and a .340 OBP. And, as you know, you had quite the finish to the season. With the injury and the slow start, it might be tempting to sell low, but I highly recommend you stay the course for now.
John Smoltz - The rumors are already starting. With the 40-year-old Smoltz going on the DL with an injured right shoulder, the question is beginning to linger if he will return to the rotation when he is fully healed or take his old spot as the Braves' closer. What is it about the NL East over the last couple of years that has seen quality starters move from the rotation to the pen (Brett Myers, 2007). If Smoltz does move to the closer's role, it will be a familiar job. From 2001 to 2004, Smoltz earned 154 saves in 168 opportunities for a success rate of 92%. During that 4-year span as a closer, Smoltz posted a 2.65 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, K/I of 1.05, and K/BB of 5.5. While its difficult to draft a top starter and then adapt your roster to make him a closer (especially since it forces you to go find a replacement starter), if he does return to the 'pen, he will have a good chance of putting up big numbers again.
Ryan Dempster - The run support certainly didn't hurt Dempster last night as he earned his 4th win of the season and the Cubs went on to beat the Cubs 19-5 at Wrigley on Wednesday. Regardless of the 19 runs, Dempster hurled a quality start of 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 BB, 1 K, and 4 hits. That line closes an impressive April for Dempster: 4-0, 3.16 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, K/BB of 1.16, and GB/FB of 1.59. The walk totals are high at a BB/9 of 4.62, but it hasn't quite burned him yet, but if his walk rates stay high, it will likely catch-up with him throughout the season. Dempster is a 2-start pitcher next week with a decent match-up against the Reds at Cincy and then one of his tougher outings of the season scheduled for next Saturday against the red-hot D-Backs.
Scott Olsen - Didn't you just have a feeling that this game was going to be Olsen's correction? Leading up to yesterday's game, Olsen had posted 4quality -starts in a row and had only given up 1 ER in his previous 3 outings. Yesterday's outing was Olsen's return to normalcy, but it wasn't an atrocious outing by any means. He pitched 5.0IP and gave up 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K's, and 7 H. He's still worth the pickup at this point given his April success that yielded a 2.70 ERA and 1.13 WHIP. With that said, his anemic K/9 of 3.38 (or K/I of just .38) is not going to contribute anything to your K totals not to mention the W's may be few and far between pitching for the Marlins (who are also due for a standings correction at some point as the better Phillies and Mets teams play up to their abilities).
Josh Willingham has sat out the last two games with a back injury, but he is expected to be back in there on Thursday and is a safe-play against the Dodgers' starting pitcher, Hiroki Kuroda. If he can stay healthy, there will continue to be a big up-arrow for Willingham . With the exit of Miguel Cabrera, The Hammer has stepped-up in a big way to replace the production the Marlins lineup is missing from Cabrera. Willingham has had a great start to the season, hitting .341 with a .400 OBP, 1.037 OPS, HR/AB of 15.2, and FPI of 0.92. While that crushes any previous numbers Willingham has put up (not to mention the preseason projections), he certainly has the talent to maintain big numbers for the season (although a slight down-tick from a 0.92FPI is almost inevitable). As a reference, his 2007 season ended with a .265 avg, .810 OPS, and .63 FPI and 2006 was .277 avg, .347 OBP, and 0.65 FPI. The 29-year-old is breaking out big time and he should be back in your lineup for today's game.
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