Jake Peavy (SP—White Sox) Wow! This one came out of the blue. Jake Peavy apparently does think that Chicago is his kinda town as he waived his no trade clause and has decided to pitch for the White Sox. Still recovering from a hurt ankle, Peavy has not seen any action since June 8th but is expected to return late August, early September. Presuming the White Sox are in contention for the division, they will certainly have an ace up their sleeve in Peavy. Peavy’s season so far has been a bit of a struggle as he has an elevated ERA, for him, of 3.97. He still has been an effective power pitcher with better than 10 strikeouts per 9 innings but has been unlucky as his BHIP is high at .302 compared to a career BHIP .288. But along with a lower BHIP, another positive indicator is that Peavy’s xERA is at 3.00 which means he has pitched significantly better than his ERA would indicate. Fantasy should obviously hold onto Peavy and wait until there is some word as to his expected return time. If he is on schedule, he may be able to be able to be the difference maker to get your team to the playoffs. But keep in mind that Peavy is now moving from pitcher-friendly Petco to hitter-friendly US Cellular Field and its not known whether he will be 100% healthy. Keep this in mind as you decide to keep Peavy the rest of the season or perhaps trade him for some good return value.
Victor Martinez (C—Red Sox) Apparently, Indians GM Mark Sharpiro doesn’t consult with the promotional director when making a trade. The Indians sent Victor Martinez to the Red Sox the day before Victor Martinez Bobblehead day in Cleveland. It will be a bittersweet bobblehead day for Indian fans. The Red Sox acquisition of Victor Martinez is not only a good deal for the Red Sox but should also be a plus for fantasy owners who have seen Martinez struggle of late. After an explosive start, the last two months Martinez has only managed a BA of .211, OBP of .303 and poor OPS of .681. Since Martinez plays first base and sometimes is a DH, it will be interesting to see all of the moving pieces that manager Terry Francona has to work with between first base, third base, DH and catcher. But Martinez who has seen his BHIP drop down to .291, has an xBHIP of .322 so there should be an improvement especially when Martinez bats right handed at Fenway. He has a career .331 BA in Boston with a .963 OPS. With Martinez eligible at the catcher position, he already is a must start player, but fantasy owners should see a boost in Martinez’s offense being integrated into the potent Boston lineup. Look for good numbers the second half.
Bobby Jenks (RP—White Sox) Talk about a tough 10 days. Not only did Bobby Jenks blow two saves, but to add insult to injury, he had to pass a kidney stone. The good news is that Jenks has a KSP of 100% (kidney stone passing percentage—always wanted to make up my own stat), but Jenks has struggled this season with a 4.33 ERA and inflated WHIP of 1.33. Jenks’ velocity has been dipping his last few starts and has been getting tagged by the hitters. He is allowing 9.4 hits per game and giving up better than a home run per 9 innings. This is un-Jenks like as traditionally he is usually lights out. But many of the hits are being hit with power as he has an XBH of 8.4% and batters are slugging .423 against him. His LD% is high at 20% so it’s obvious that his pitches are catching too much of the plate. However, when on, Jenks is a top-notch closer. He should be able to get back on track and produce more historically consistent results.
Jarrod Washburn (SP—Tigers) Jarrod Washburn has exchanged his sailor’s hat for stripes as he was traded to the Tigers on Friday. Washburn has been one of 2009 more surprising stories and he has opened a lot of eyes this year with improved, consistent performances. Washburn’s last 3 seasons with the Mariners have produced uninspiring results, but with Washburn pitching lower in the zone throwing a two-seamer, he is having a Renaissance of a season; his best since 2002. His XBH% is 5.8% which is a reduction from previous years (2008/2007/2006—9.6%/8.1%/ 9.5%) and he has also keep his HR% down at 2.1% compared to a 3.0% career average. Joining a rotation with Verlander and Jackson and a good hitting Tiger lineup, should provide Washburn with more opportunities to win. Also staying in the AL where he has been his entire career should eliminate any learning curve pitchers have when switching leagues. One red flag though is that Washburn has been enjoying a .245 BHIP which could mean a little less effectiveness moving forward. But at this point, Washburn continues to deliver quality starts (16) and his value should increase with the move to a contending team.
Orlando Cabrera (SS—Twins) It’s exciting when players get traded to new teams because it represents new opportunities for that player to be inserted into a lineup with a different dynamic that can perhaps translate to better offensive numbers and therefore greater fantasy value. Orlando Cabrera was traded to the Twins on Friday and he leaves behind a weak hitting Oakland lineup for greener pastures and a better offense that Cabrera should fit into nicely. Cabrera is a respectable hitter for a middle infielder with a .280 BA and a strong CT% of 87% but doesn’t offer much else. He has a week OBP of .318 and very poor OPS of .683. He has hit fairly well with runners in scoring position at .299 which has helped to produce a decent amount of RBI at 41. But with virtually no power in his bat, unless the runner is sitting at 3rd or second with 2 outs, he won’t typically be a run producer. His BHIP stands at .299 for the season and has an xBHIP of .307, so what you see right now in Cabrera is probably what you can expect for the second half. The acquisition of Cabrera is a solid move for the Twins but unless you are in deeper leagues, Cabrera inclusion in the Twins lineup probably won’t add a lot of fantasy value.
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