Scott Kazmir (SP—Angels) The Angels seem to have acquired Scott Kazmir at the right time. He’s been on a fairly good roll of late and seems to have found some consistency that he was lacking prior to his visit to the DL. Kazmir has been able to lower his ERA from a season high of 7.69 down to its current 5.92. He has tremendous strikeout potential as he has averaged 9.4 strikeouts per 9 innings for his career but with that great strikeout rate comes other not so great tendencies. Kazmir has always allowed a large amount of hits (H/9 for 2009 of 9.8) and a good amount of walks (BB/9 for 2009 of 4.1) which has obviously bolstered his WHIP this season to a poor 1.541. The other red flag with Kazmir is his inability to pitch deep into games. Kazmir has averaged a little less then 5.2 innings per start in 2009 and also averages about 101 pitches for each one of those starts. Obviously, these numbers show that Kazmir, while talented, is certainly not efficient. He’s fastball had dipped to just above 90 mph, compared to his usually 92 mph area, but of late he has been reaching the mid 90 level which should bring a smile to the faces of Angel management. The change to the AL West may help Kazmir to some degree. He will face less tough lineups on a general basis compared to the AL East and perhaps under the Angels guidance, he may be able to make some adjustments to his mechanics.
Nate Robertson (SP--Tigers) What a generous team the Tigers are. Nate Robertson who had just come of the DL and had not pitched in a Major League game since June 26th, was thrown right into the rotation and given an opportunity to show what he could do against Tampa Bay. On Saturday, Robertson went 4 innings throwing 70 pitches. He did give up 2 runs but only 1 of them was earned and struck out 4. Overall pretty good. However, the Tigers have more confidence in Robertson throwing into the fray then you should have right now as prior to that Robertson has pitched 21 innings this season, all in relief and had allowed 18 home runs in 21 innings and was averaging 6 walks per 9 innings. So let's assume that his elbow was the main problem this season as had to have surgery and take care of his ailment. That would be all well and good but the other issue is that Robertson has been on the decline the past two previous seasons, with a combined 16-24 record, a 5.54 ERA and a 1.565 WHIP. The Tigers may have big hopes for Robertson but he will have to show a considerable amount of consistency to make him a viable fantasy option at this point.
Alex Rios (OF--White Sox) In the 14 games that Rios has played as a White Sox, he has a slash line of .192/.212/.327. These are hardly the numbers that the White Sox had hoped for when they claimed Rios off of waivers and inherited his contact from Toronto. Rios hasn't been able to give Chicago the offensive spark they needed as the team has gone 5-9 since Rios has come to town. What's puzzling is that Rios has quite a bit of upside as he has speed and the ability to hit for both good power and a high average. His CT% of 77% is noticeable down this year over last which represents a 5% slip. His BHIP this is season is at .285, compared to a career BHIP of .322 suggest that there is an upswing on the horizon. But when? That's the big question as the season enters its last month and the White Sox and fantasy owners wait anxiously for that time to come. Perhaps it's an adjustment period getting used to a new town, new team and new teammates. If that's the case, Rios better figure it out...and quick. If you have other options that you can use while Rios struggles, now may be a good time to use them. However, watch Rios carefully for any indications that he might be stepping up and ready to hit because you don't want to have him sitting when he does.
Akinori Iwamura (2B—Rays) With the departure of Scott Kazmir to the Angels, the Rays had a roster spot vacant that was filled by Akinori Iwamura who was activated off the DL. It was Iwamura’s first game since May 25th and he jumped right back into the swing of things going 1-2 with 2 walks and 2 runs scored. Iwamura’s return presents Rays’ manager Joe Maddon with a pleasant problem as he has too many infielders who have been doing well in Iwamura’s absence. Aybar, Zobrist and Bartlett have all made stepped with Aki on the DL. Imamura had been doing well prior to getting injured batting .310, but his OBP has been excellent at .406. With a pretty good EYE of 0.63, Iwamura doesn’t expand his strike zone so he has the ability to keep the OBP high. But with some many Ray’s infielders doing well, Iwamura’s plate appearance may be sporadic. He may get opportunities to play but he may not get enough consistent at bats to make it worthwhile to pick him up
Gil Meche (SP--Royals) Appears that Gil Meche has taken a step back this year compared to his pre-season projections and his past his performances over the past two seasons. Partially due to injury, Meche has regressed in almost all pitching categories: wins, ERA, strikeout ratio, WHIP and his BB/9 has increased as well. On Saturday, he was off his game allowing 7 ER in 4 innings on 8 hits. Meche has been particularly hurt by an increase in his GB% which has gone up by almost 10% over last and is currently at 49.6%. This combined with a decrease in FB% by almost 5% has allowed opposing hitters to bat .276 against him with a SLG of .446 which are both near career highs for him. Meche has had some terrific outings this season but in 41% of his starts he has allowed 4 or more ER which doesn't inspire confidence in fantasy owners looking to start him. However, Meche will be pitching on the road returning to his old stomping grounds in Seattle in the upcoming week and it’s a ballpark that he is comfortable with and has had reasonable good success. He might be worth a shot and hopefully it will produce a start that falls into the 59% range of when he gives up 3 ER or less.
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