I have to admit, I was definitely wrong about Jermaine Dye. The All Star snub his his 20th HR last night in a 2-4 effort. I honestly believed early in the season that he was simply having a good first half, but Dye is killing the ball and he looks healthy. The last time he was healthy for a full season was in 2006 when he launched 44 HR, drove in 120 runs and his .315. I don't think he'll get to either of those numbers again this year but he's a lock for 100+ RBI and anywhere between 35 and 40 HR. I still think he's a good sell high candidate if you need pitching or can combo him in a deal for someone like Ryan Braun, but if you can't trade him he should still provide you with great production.
Jeremy Guthrie pitched extremely well against Toronto last night as he allowed just 1 ER on 4 H in 6 IP with 3 K. Guthrie rebounded nicely from from a bit of a rough start against TEX last time out and lowered his season ERA to 3.49. I certainly think Guthrie has the stuff to keep this up over the course of the season and let's not forget he posted a 3.70 ERA last year with 17 Quality Starts. He already has 14 QS this year and is a great option in most deeper leagues because if you have him, it's most likely because you claimed him off of the waiver wire. I'd try and shop him if you think you can get an ace in some sort of combo deal, but if not, keep him and he should do well.
Howie Kendrick is red hot in his last 9 games and it continued last night as he blasted his first two HR of the year in Texas. Kendrick finished 3-5 with the 2 bombs, 3 R and 3 RBI. During his 9-game hitting streak, Kendrick is batting .451 (14-31) with 2 HR, 7 RBI, 9 R and 2 SB. Kendrick is out of the same mold as Robinson Cano and possibly better. The kid may be batting title material one day if he can just stay healthy. Right now, though, he looks very healthy and is providing you with solid stats across the board.
Greg Sherrill took his 4th loss of the season last night while blowing his 6th save and the Baltimore closer is looking mighty vulnerable since mid-June. In his last 9.2 innings, Sherrill has surrendered a massive 16 H, 8 BB and 7 ER. His ERA has ballooned from 3.23 to 4.12 and this is about what I expected come time for the All Star break. Sherrill is showing noticeable signs of wear and tear in his poor control and you have to wonder if this will keep cropping up as the second half gets under way after the break. I'd sell Sherrill as fast as possible if you can risk letting go of a CL and if you can't, just hope that he doesn't melt down in the next 80 games.
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