Ervin Santana: Santana, who is rehabbing from an elbow injury, threw his first bullpen session on Wednesday and reported no problems. The Angels are targeting an early May return for Santana. He made big strides across the board last year, 2006/2007/2008 ERA’s of 4.28/5.76/3.49, K/9’s of 6.2/7.6/8.8, and BB/9’s of 3.1/3.5/1.9. Santana pulled off the rare feat of improving his strike outs and control, as usually if one improves the other suffers. If healthy, he is still only 26-years-old, so there is still room for more growth, which could put Santana in line for a big season.
Dustin Nippert: Nippert, who has been out with shoulder soreness, suffered a strained muscle in his rib cage during a rehab assignment, which should set him back a week or two. He was expected back in two weeks, but now the time frame could be up to a month. The Rangers are planning on giving Nippert a shot in the starting rotation. His strike outs, 2007/2008 K/9’s of 7.5/6.9, make him intriguing, but he will need to cut back on the free passes, BB/9’s 3.2/4.7, especially at home, where a couple of walks and a fly ball over the short wall can lead to big problems in a hurry.
Joel Zumaya: Zumaya had a rocky rehab outing on Wednesday, 2 ER and 3 walks in just 1.1 innings, which pretty much guarantees he will need at least 2 to 3 more appearances before the Tigers consider bringing him up. After bursting on the scene in 2006; 6-3, 1.94 ERA, 10.5 K/9, and a 4.5 BB/9, Zumaya has been plagued by injuries and control issues over the last two seasons, 2007/2008 innings of 33.2/23.1 and BB/9’s of 4.5/8.5. The Zumaya of 2006 would have been an excellent choice as a closer, but the Zumaya of 2009 is a much riskier proposition.
David Robertson: The Yankess recalled Robertson from Triple-A. He flashed some good skills during his 2008 rookie season, 10.7 K/9 in 30.1 innings, but control issues, 4.5 BB/9, and some bad luck, .338 BHIP%, led to an ugly 5.34 ERA. He fanned 3 batters in 2 scoreless innings yesterday. His high strike out totals makes him worth using in AL-only leagues.
Victor Martinez: With 3 home runs and 3 doubles in his first 42 AB, Martinez is showing no ill effects from the elbow injury that shelved him for more than half of the 2008 season and drained his power when he did play, 2 home runs in 266 AB. At 30 years of age, Martinez is still in his prime power years, so a return to 20+ home runs and a .300+ batting average is very possible.
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