Will Venable (OF-SD) – The Padres are giving Venable an extended look as a starting outfielder as they look towards 2010, and as of now, he’s probably done enough to be considered a favorite to start on Opening Day 2010. Venable was 2-for-5 with his 11th homer of the season on Sunday, leaving him with a solid .276/.337/.477 line in 239 at-bats and more impressively, 10 homers and a .291 AVG since the All-Star break (179 at-bats). I don’t see the 26 year-old ever becoming a star given his 0.26 EYE and modest .792 minor league OPS, but a solid everyday player is his ceiling, and that ceiling is looking more and more reachable by the game. A .280 AVG with 20 HR and 15 SB could be in line for next year, making Venable highly desirable in NL-only formats.
Jason Marquis (SP-COL) – Marquis’ struggles continued Sunday, as the righty allowed five runs on eight hits over 5.2 innings against the Padres to drop to 15-11. Marquis has allowed five runs in three of his last four starts as his ERA has risen from 3.47 to 3.78 after Sunday’s game. In those four outings, Marquis has put up a 14:10 K:BB in 24 innings with a 6.00 ERA. Some regression was expected however, as Marquis doesn’t have the type of stuff that allows him to blow guys away on a consistent basis. For the year, Marquis has put up his typical peripherals – 4.5 K/9, 1.58 BB/K, and a .258 BAA. What’s been huge for Marquis this year has been his ability to keep the ball in the park, as Marquis’ G/F has jumped from 1.26 last year to 2.03 in 2009 and he’s allowed just 13 home runs this year after surrendering a whopping 35 in 2006.
Pedro Martinez (SP-PHI) – Martinez’s incredible run continued Sunday, as he spun eight shutout innings to beat the Mets. Pedro is 5-0 with a 2.87 ERA and impressive 34:6 K:BB in 37.2 innings. Sure, he’s no longer the blow-‘em away Pedro, but he’s clearly learned how to pitch with diminished stuff. Yeah it was the Mets, but the Mets have actually shown some signs of life lately and can no longer be considered a Triple-A level offense. You have to think that despite his rumored $5 million asking price this spring, that there are several teams kicking themselves (Dodgers anybody?) for not going down the Pedro path. There is simply no team in baseball as deep in the rotation as the Phillies right now, and Pedro should be in line for a strong finish despite a fastball averaging 88.7 mph this season.
Brad Lidge (RP-PHI) – To show you yet again how meaningless the save statistic really is, Brad Lidge entered Sunday’s game in the ninth inning with the Phillies up 5-2 over the Mets but ended up with the save despite allowing two runs. One thing I’ll never get is a team allowing the “defensive indifference”/stolen base in the ninth unless a team is up by something in the range of eight runs. That happened twice Sunday, as Lidge allowed just three singles, but the pair of “stolen bases” led two a pair of two-run singles. Ryan Madson also recorded a save (a clean one) on Sunday as the team played a doubleheader, so expect Madson to get the next save for the Phillies.
Josh Thole (C-NYM) – The Mets don’t have an obvious solution for the catcher position in 2010, but they are open to considering Josh Thole for the job. Thole is up now, and on Sunday, he was 4-for-4 (all singles) in one of the two game of the doubleheader against the Phillies, leaving him at an interesting .421/.400/.474 in 19 at-bats. Just one of Thole’s eight hits has gone for extra bases, and he’s yet to either strike out or walk this year oddly. The 22 year-old batted .328/.395/.422 for Double-A Binghamton this season. One the downside, he managed just one home run and for his minor league career (1300+ at-bats), Thole has just a 165 AB/HR rate. I suppose it’s possible he’ll eventually develop average power for a catcher, but should Thole win the job in 2010, figure he’s a #2 catcher in deeper leagues.
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