Kyle Lohse - Yesterday's outing makes three straight quality starts for Lohse (and 8 of 10, if you're counting), as the right-hander extended his winning streak to eight with seven innings of shutout ball against the Pirates. As easy as it is to be skeptical of Lohse after what we've seen the past few years, I think there is some real growth here this year. His K rate is down to 4.45, which is a concern, but one out of every ten balls hit against him that used to be a flyball is now a groundball, giving credence to his comments that he's been working almost exclusively with a sinker now. He's gone from a flyball pitcher to a groundball pitcher seemingly overnight, although if you check the percentage of flyballs that went for homers against him you'll see a steady progression downward over the past five years. This looks more like a guy who is gradually figuring things out than a complete flash in the pan, although the low K rate does likely mean a bit of regression. I see no reason that Lohse cannot continue to be at least serviceable in all formats.
Ryan Howard - Howard has been on a tear lately, adding another homer last night to give him nine homers in his last 13 games. Howard's BABIP of .277 is a bit lower than you'd expect with his LD% of 20.2, so there's a bit of upside here, but anyone expecting to see a line like 2006 again is asking too much. His K's are up a bit the past two seasons, his walks are down this year, and his power has decreased ever so slightly since that monster 2006. He'll likely remain a very good player for another few years, but his career is eerily similar to Mo Vaughn's thus far. That oughtn't concern us too much for another 3-5 years, but it's something to keep in mind: players who break in late usually leave a bit early.
Chris Young - Young is in a horrible funk of late, and that continued last night as the Arizona CF went 0-5 with two more strikeouts, giving him 91 already this year. The interesting thing is that his contact% is up over 80 this year...he just isn't swinging at anything. His power is probably the most beneficial aspect of his game (in fantasy, anyway), but he only has one homer since June 1st. All in all, he's been nearly useless for a month and a half now, but there's nothing in his statistical profile to indicate that this won't turn around. Particularly in keeper leagues, I'd be looking to see what value his owner places on him right now.
Jaime Garcia - Last night's mop-up man is definitely someone to watch for going forward, as Jaime Garcia has been the Cards' best pitching prospect almost since being drafted three years ago. He's going to pitch in relief at least until Randy Flores returns, but it is easily possible that he will slide into the rotation after that. Garcia is a sinker/curveball pitcher who has a surprising problem with home runs given his minor league GB%. His control has been a bit iffy at the higher levels, but the K rates have remained solid throughout. He looked solid in his debut last night, allowing a single and a walk with two K's in two innings. He merits a pickup in deeper leagues and close scrutiny in shallow formats.
Chris Volstad - Volstad had a tremendous starting debut last night, getting one batter away from a complete-game shutout before yielding to closer Kevin Gregg. He ended up allowing five singles and a walk (along with the one run), striking out six. Volstad's best attribute is illustrated by the 0 homers allowed in 91 innings in the minors this year: he keeps the ball down. His pedestrian BB and K rates are going to limit his ceiling, but he could be reasonable back-end starter for quite some time, as he appears to be reasonably durable (26 and 27 starts in the minors the past two years). A solid prospect, but not a elite one.
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