Jon Garland (SP - Padres) - Jon Garland's streak of quality starts was broken on Wednesday with one of his lesser performances of 2010. Leading up to yesterday's game, Garland had 5 consecutive quality starts before he went 5.0 IP and gave up 4 ER, 9 hits, and 2 BB while striking out 4. While it wasn't the best outing, Garland's ERA is still 2.38 with a 5-2 record, a 1.36 WHIP, and a GO/AO of 1.44 in one of the best pitcher's parks in the league. Even his K-rate is up, although don't expect a huge amount of K's out of Garland and perhaps even a drop over the next couple months. Over the last 3 seasons, Garland posted K/9 rates of 4.23, 4.12, and 4.81. He's currently sitting on 5.26. Garland will be a two start pitcher next week against the Cardinals and the Nationals. If someone is pulling the plug early, I'd hop on it. I'm not one of the believers that this is the beginning of the regression.
Ian Kennedy (SP - Diamondbacks) - Kennedy is rolling in May, going 4-for-4 in quality starts with another gem last night against the Giants. He gave up just 3 hits and 1 ER in 8.0 IP while earning his 3rd win of the season. He also struck out 9 to raise his season K total to 49 and his K/9 rate to 7.6. There's a reason why the Yankees were protective of Kennedy for so long before pulling the trigger on the "right" deal for them. Kennedy struggled in the Yankee organization, but seems to have settled-in nicely in Arizona. His K/BB is a solid 3.1 while mixing his GO's and AO's evenly with a rate of about 1.0. Kennedy will be on the road twice next week against Colorado and San Francisco, but his ownership numbers will continue to climb as he proves that Phil Hughes isn't the only former Yankee prospect coming into his own this season.
Adam LaRoche (1B - Diamondbacks) - Consider this the beginning of LaRoche's quest for 25+. He hit 2 HR last night, bringing his season total to 6 and ending a homerless drought that dated back to April 29th (about 60 AB ago). LaRoche has hit 25 HR in his last two seasons and has a career high of 32 when he was with the Braves. His career AB/HR is 21.5 which is now right on pace with this season's rate of 21.6 (last night's 2 HR put him right back on pace with his career average). If you're looking for cheap power, LaRoche looks to be back on pace to hit in the mid-20's once again.
Carlos Lee (OF - Astros) - This is the Carlos Lee we were waiting to see. He hit another HR last night to give him 3 in the last four games and 5 for the month of May. That raises his SLG from .232 to end April to .338 and his average is now "well" over the Mendoza line at .203. He certainly looks to be turning the corner now and if you haven't gotten him back in your lineups after the horrid 45-day slump, you need to start playing him once again. Aside from the 3 HR, he also has 2 multi-hit games in the last 4 days.
David Wright (3B - Mets) - Wright was given the day off on Wednesday to give him a little rest and hopefully turn things around. Wright has already stuck out 55 times this year, averaging a K for every 3.1 plate appearances. Even with his horrific K rate, he has still managed to rebound from a powerless 2009, averaging a HR for every 17.6 AB this season with 8 HR, an OPS of .885, and an ISO of .241. He has still managed to walk 28 times, keeping his OBP high at .385, but you have to wonder what kind of toll his K-rate will begin to take over the next few months if he continues to strikeout at this rate. Its been a tricky 18 months for fantasy owners who have taken the plunge with Wright. For the most part, this is a "rebound" season from a power perspective, but he is still largely underperforming what was anticipated as an overall return to his pre-2009 superstar status.
