Joba Chamberlain - Joba continued his string of strong road performances, posting his most efficient outing of the year against the Indians last night. Joba made it through eight innings before yielding to the Sandman, allowing only four hits, two runs, and two walks with five K's. Better yet, his velocity seemed to be back yesterday, as he was still pumping 96-98 mph fastballs in the seventh inning. I'd be surprised if this didn't indicate a bit of a bump-up in performance in the near future, as he is usually fairly velocity-dependent.
Derek Jeter - The Captain picked up a pair of singles and a pair of walks yesterday to help boost the Yankees, and he looks to be well on the way to batting .300 for the sixth straight season. His power has been lifted a bit by the new stadium and his contact rate is at its career peak, the combination of which is giving Jeter a shot at one of the best seasons of his career. As the SS position has gotten weaker over the past five years or so, Jeter continues to be one of the best options available.
Gavin Floyd - Floyd put together his third straight quality start last night, holding the A's to two runs and seven baserunners over seven innings in the 6-2 win. He has fanned eight in each of the quality starts, but before we get carried away let's look at the opponents: PIT, LAA, and OAK. Three of the lesser offenses in the league, without question. He has CLE, DET, and the Cubs upcoming, so the slate doesn't get too much more difficult. I think he is more likely to pitch to a 3.50-4.00 ERA the rest of the way than the 6.00 or so that he entered this string with.
Paul Konerko - Konerko is definitely aging, but the 33 year old is experiencing a nice resurgence in batting average this year with just a return to normal luck. His power keeps dissipating gradually, but the .303 AVG makes him valuable enough for a mid-tier 1B, and there's no reason to expect it to vanish either: his K rate is at its lowest point in six years, and his LD% could support a BABIP 10-15 points higher than it is now. Konerko has gone from overrated to underrated in the space of just a few years, so he might be a worthwhile acquisition as a throw-in on a bigger trade.
Jarrod Washburn - Washburn continued his stellar 2009 with seven innings of one-run ball against the O's last night, but despite the 3.22 ERA he's only 3-4 because the Mariners, well, they're not good. The 34 year old lefty is posting the best K rate of his career, the 2nd best walk rate, and the best HR rate. His BABIP is much lower than you'd expect, but that and the fact that he's Jarrod Washburn are the only reasons to expect regression at present. I think he's actually likely to keep up a level close to this for the time being, but since the team can't score he really isn't worth much more than a back-end spot.
