Brett Anderson - Anderson was great again last night, limiting the Rangers to two runs over 7 2/3 innings. Over the past seven starts, Anderson is pitching to under a 2.00 ERA and is fanning more than a batter per inning. Even without taking into consideration that Anderson has had some bad luck on balls in play (14% LD rate vs. a BABIP over .300) he's been one of the best pitchers in baseball for the last six weeks, and the relatively poor luck gives you reason to hope for even more. I am tremendously impressed with him.
Willy Aybar - Aybar blasted two solo homers yesterday to give him ten for the year in just 177 AB's, and I will stand by my contention that the 26 year old is one of the more underutilized players in the game. Aybar has hit everywhere he has played in his career, and now appears to be adding a bit of power (as you'd expect) as he enters his mid-20's. He deserves better than to be cast as a Willie Bloomquist-type player that gives you positional flexibility....he could be a solid starter if given the opportunity.
Chris Tillman - Chris Tillman was a bit better in his second start than his first, but he still allowed five runs in six innings against Detroit. The three walks and three wild pitches, along with the homer, illustrate my concerns with Tillman. There isn't much doubting his stuff, as his K rates have always been outstanding. The walks and homers, however, look like they are going to plague him for quite some time. Aside from his performance this year at sea-level New Orleans, Tillman allowed 22 homers in 238 innings to A and AA hitters. It stands to reason big leaguers are going to hit a few more than that, which is going to make for some gaudy big fly totals. At age 21 he has plenty of time to improve, but I'm not so sure he's rotation-ready just yet.
Tommy Everidge - Everidge is the A's new starting 1B in the wake of their deadline deals, and the 26 year old comes up fresh from hitting 51 XBH in just 98 games between AA and AAA, so there's a bit of pop there. This is really the first year that he's performed at a level that would make you think he might have a big league future, so I wouldn't warrant him a solid pickup in most formats unless you're desperate for a corner guy, especially when you take into consideration the poor hitting environment (both physical and lineup-based) that he deals with.
Ian Snell - Snell's first AL start was a tough draw, facing the Rangers in Texas. Snell did manage a quality start, but he also allowed a pair of homers and walked three. He is likely to get four home starts this month (although two are against the Rays and Yankees), which ought to help the long ball totals. All told, Ian Snell has a ton of upside pitching in Seattle...I think that the park effects probably outweigh the increase in schedule difficulty. He's a nice speculative buy down the stretch.
