Ryan Doumit (C – Pirates)
Ryan Doumit was dropped down into the 5 spot in the Pirates order on Tuesday night, and has yet to put anything together since returning from injury. Doumit is very clearly pressing at the moment, as is evidenced by his 2.5% BB rate on the season, which has led to an EYE of just .17. In addition to losing control of the strike zone, Doumit has posted an equally troubling 12.4% LD rate. His struggles seem to be emanating from his swinging at 4% more of pitches outside the strike zone. Obviously, this would cause him to walk less often, and to not make great contact when putting the bat on the ball. The most important fact to take away from Doumit’s performance this year is that his struggles do not appear to be something physical, as is evidenced by his 82.3% contact rate, which is actually slightly higher than last year’s. This number tells me that once Doumit stops swinging at so many bad pitches, production will no doubt follow. In a season that is bereft of decent hitting catchers, Doumit could be quite a valuable piece down the stretch.
Carlos Gonzalez (OF – Rockies)
Just three short weeks after recommending Seth Smith as an everyday play for the rest of the season, Carlos Gonzalez goes and just blows him up. Gonzalez found himself in the lead-off spot on Tuesday night, and has started in all but 3 games during the month of August. Since the all-star break, Gonzalez has posted a very amusing .388 / .419 / .746 line to go along with 5 HR and 3 SB in 67 AB. At first glance, you might think that his BA is inflated due to a .349 BABIP, but I would disagree and cite his 25.9% LD rate as reason for it to continue. Additionally, we all know that Gonzalez has the prospect pedigree to back up his recent play. He should be owned in all leagues by today.
Yorman Bazardo (SP – Astros)
With news of Mike Hampton hitting the DL, Yorman Bazardo will make his first start of the season on Wednesday. Bazardo has been very unspectacular (5.3 K/9), but very effective (3.20 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 2.1 BB/9) at Triple-A this season. Within the last 4 years, Bazardo has been released once, and has twice been designated for assignment. Upon hearing that information, the immediate inclination is to dismiss Bazardo as many other teams have done. However, the cause for his bouncing around may not be performance-based. Firstly, I have heard rumblings that he is not actually 24 years of age, which immediately makes some teams sour on him. Secondly, he has had attitude issues in the past, and many teams would rather not deal with the headache. Both of these rationales are speculative, but they certainly make Bazardo an interesting and under-the-radar case. His solid command coupled with his ability to induce ground balls (1.75 GO/AO in minors this year) makes him an intriguing option in NL-only leagues. I feel that he is the type of player whose production at the major league level could vastly out-pace his minor league pedigree and prospect status.
Ross Ohlendorf (SP – Pirates)
Ross Ohlendorf is another Pirates pitcher who will be affected by the newly imposed innings limit. Ohlendorf is on pace to throw 188 innings, but will be capped at just 157 innings. Seeing as how Ohlendorf has already thrown 143 innings on the season, it appears as though he will only make 2-3 more starts on the season. Ohlendorf has been an overall solid contributor in NL-only leagues this year with a 4.30 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, and 10 victories. However, the innings cap may actually be a positive for Ohlendorf and his owners, as he likely had some regression to the mean coming down the pike. He has skated by with an unimpressive 1.70 K/BB ratio this year thanks to a .275 BABIP and a 74.8% BABIP. The large discrepancy between his ERA (4.30) and FIP (4.94) tells me that this innings limit may turn out to be a blessing in disguise for fantasy owners.
Pedro Martinez (SP – Phillies)
Pedro had his 2nd start of the season halted by a rain delay on Tuesday night. He was able to toss 3 innings before the rains came and struck out 3 and walked none. The very early results are in on Pedro, and they are positive. Through his first 8 innings, he has a 8/1 K/BB ratio. Pedro is about 4 years removed from an sustained success and is clearly well past his prime, but I think we all need to go back and look and just marvel at the years that he put up during this prime. One year he had a 1.74 ERA and a 0.74 WHIP, another year he had a 13.20 K/9, another year he had a 1.33 BB/9. Before I get too nostalgic on you here, I feel it is definitely worth noting that Pedro’s fastball has been clocking at 89.1 MPH since his return this year. The last time he threw this hard was back in ’04 when he had a 3.90 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 9.41 K/9, and 2.53 BB/9. In fact, he is actually throwing harder than he did back in ’05 when he had a 2.82 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 8.63 K/9, and 1.95 BB/9. Obviously velocity doesn’t tell the whole story, and Pedro isn’t likely to miraculously turn the clock back 4-5 years; however, what I have seen thus far has me very optimistic that Pedro will be a solid mixed league producer down the stretch.
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