Brian McCann - One of the best hitting catchers in the league is in a little slump right now. He has just 1 hit in his last 11 AB and is hovering around the .250 mark for the month of June. He was in the lineup in yesterday's day-game following a night game, because the Braves have the day off on Thursday. That should keep him in the lineup for the entire weekend series, so a day off is probably not needed (and unfortunately, Chipper Jones will likely get the DH role in inter-league play, so that's not an option). McCann has proved he's one of the better fantasy catchers in the game with another solid offensive year. He already has 14 HR and is hitting over .300 with 44 RBI.
Aaron Cook - Just a couple of outs away from a quality start, but "no cigar." Cook hurled 5.1 IP and gave up 3 ER, 8 hits, and only struck out 2. He was handed the loss, bringing his record to a still impressive 10-5 for the season. Cook has gotten a little "lucky" with the W this year and really shouldn't be used as a proxy for his ability to post more W's going forward. He's 11-for-17 inQS with a 3.64 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, and 4.26 K/9. Certainly not bad numbers (except for maybe a low strikeout rate), but to earn 10 wins with 11 quality starts is pretty fortunate, especially when you give up 10 hits or more in 6 of your 17 starts for an overall H/9 of 9.7. Decent value, but not 10-win value for Aaron Cook.
Adam Dunn - A very boring 1-for-5 from Dunn keeps his performance extremely disappointing as of late. First, the power talk. His last homerun came on June 14th. Now that doesn't seem that long ago, but for Dunn, its an eternity. He hasn't hit a dinger in over 30 AB, which is way off his season HR/AB of 13.1. Not only that, but for a guy who typically hovers around the .400 OBP mark with his ability to draw walks, Dunn has a .326 OBP for June with a .143 average and a .683 OPS. Absolutely terrible. Just when you think he might put together a .250+ average season, Dunn falls into a deep slump and drops his average 30 points. Expect the power to come back soon, but the average may stay low given his career history.
Aaron Harang - Harang was awful again, going 5.2 IP and giving up 5 ER on 7 hits and 2 walks. It was the third time in the last four games where he has given up 5 ER or more. What is going on withHarang? First, a look at his previous season. In 2006 and 2007, Harang had a consistent K/I of 0.92 and 0.94. This season, that figure has dropped to 0.84. With a lower K rate has come more hits and moreHR's . First, his H/9 went from 8.3 last season to 10.2 this year. His HR/9 shows the same trend, from 1.09 to an astonishingly high 1.37. This all leads to an ERA jump from 3.73 to 4.51 and WHIP from 1.14 to 1.36. Logging over 790 innings since the beginning of 2005, you have to wonder if the three consecutive 200+ innings are taking its toll onHarang in '08. Despite the drop in his K rate, he is still posting a somewhat respectable 7.6 K/9, so he at least has that to offer. It just doesn't seem like he has much time left in the season to prove a turnaround story.
Jon Rauch - Not exactly what you would call a dramatic blown save. Rauch retired all five batters he faced with no walks, no hits, and 2 K's but because he gave up a sac fly that tied the game, he was handed the blown save. The good news is that he did get the W and has now pitched in 5 straight hitless, scoreless outings for the Nationals. Its easy to see his 3 saves for June and connect it was a terrible Nats team, but that's not how it works. Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain closers on poor teams like George Sherrill, Brian Wilson, and Joakim Soria who all rank in the top-7 in MLB in save opportunities. Stick with Rauch and the saves will come. His biggest threat is the eventual comeback of Chad Cordero, but we're still a ways away from that happening.
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