Kevin Millwood- TEX- Caution- Millwood put in a pleasantly uncharacteristic performance for a Texas pitcher last night, but he needed 113 pitches to get through his complete game. That is a lot for a pitcher who has seen the DL multiple times this year. In his 5 previous outings of over 110 pitches, Millwood has only followed up with 1 quality start. This was only the second time back since his latest stay on the DL, so don’t count on anything similar the next time he takes the mound.
Franklin Gutierrez- CLE- Hot- Let’s hear it for regression to the mean! As of the last chart updates after Friday’s games, Gutierrez was battling a BHIPx of .192. That has probably changed a little bit as he has gone 6-for-12 since then. His average is August now stands at .346 and Gutierrez has hit 3 homers and knocked in 10 runs in 14 games.
Kam Mickolio - BAL- Rookie- The Orioles replaced one of their haul from the Erik Bedard trade with another as Kam Mickolio was promoted to fill the roster spot of the injured George Sherrill. Mickolio will not be filling Sherrill’s role also but will probably see some innings out of the bullpen. The 6 foot, 9 inch Mickolio has struck out (60) more than a batter per inning (56-1/3) between AA and AAA this season. A dramatic drop in ERA when he was promoted to AAA Norfolk is credited to some mechanical adjustments he made. Mickolio probably projects to a solid setup man in the not-too-distant future.
Clay Buchholz- BOS- Drop Value- Buchholz’s main problem this season has been control. He has walked 41 batters in 76 IP for Boston. His woes aren’t all his fault, however, as he has experienced horrendous luck. Before last night’s start, which ended up with him getting sent back to AAA Pawtucket, Buchholz had a .356 BHIP%. There is almost no way he could have succeeded with that kind of misfortune. Buchholz struck out almost a batter per inning (.95) but those he didn’t strike out too often got lucky. That may have impacted his control if he got afraid to put the ball where it might get hit. The key will be to watch him at Pawtucket and see if his confidence has been shaken. If he regains his control at AAA, then he has a good shot at recovering his prime prospect status.
Rajai Davis- OAK- Idea- If you need some stolen bases and nothing else, Davis could be your man. He has now swiped 20 in only 134 plate appearances, two in the past 3 days. Davis has most often been used as a late inning defensive replacement and pinch runner so his opportunities to provide any other production have been limited. On the other hand, with a .214 batting average and .241 OBP maybe it’s better that he use the efforts of others to get him on base.
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