Chad Qualls (RP-ARI) – Another appearance, another blown save for Qualls on Sunday, this time against the Cardinals. Qualls allowed three runs in the ninth to allow St. Louis to tie the game, but that now leaves Qualls with an 8.46 ERA and 2.16 WHIP. Qualls has a 23:10 K:BB in 22.1 innings, not an awful ratio by any means, but an 8+ ERA is an 8+ ERA. Qualls has to be on the hot seat, even before this one, but in his favor, the only pitcher doing well in the Arizona bullpen right now is Aaron Heilman, and he doesn’t exactly invoke visions of Goose Gossage. Regardless, look for Qualls to get pulled from the ninth after this one, so go ahead and grab Heilman now.
Miguel Montero (C-ARI) – It was fun to watch Montero on a minor league rehab assignment in my hometown of Reno, but it’s even better to now see him back in the Arizona lineup. Montero went 2-for-4 with a walk and double Sunday against St. Louis while batting sixth. He’s now 7-for-16 in his limited 2010 at-bats, but the talent is there for him to be a top-five catcher the rest of the way. Montero has 20 homer power, and I’d venture to postulate that given more experience, he’ll improve on his 0.47 EYE. I’d expect him to get around 70% of the catcher at-bats the rest of the way with Snyder picking up the rest.
Stephen Strasburg (SP-WAS) – Strasburg followed up his 14-strikeout debut by allowing one run on two hits over 5.1 innings to improve to 2-0. He struck out eight Indians while walking five. The five walks are obviously high, but if you saw the game, you can explain those away. Strasburg had to twice call out the grounds crew to fix the dirt around the mound. He slipped on several pitches and just didn’t seem comfortable out there. Despite all that, Strasburg now has 22 strikeouts in 12.1 innings. That’s a 16.1 K/9 if you were wondering. There really isn’t much more to say here other than I’ll put money on Strasburg being the next to strike out 300 in a season. If he’s given 200 innings next year, he’d need a 13.5 K/9 to reach that mark, and while that is an astronomical number, we are talking about Stephen Strasburg here. From a fantasy perspective right now, an innings limit is the only thing keeping Strasburg from #1 on my SP cheat sheet.
Jeff Francis (SP-COL) – Francis spun his second consecutive solid seven-inning effort Sunday, holding the Blue Jays to two earned runs over seven innings to improve to 2-0 in six starts. He walked two and struck out four while lowing his ERA to 2.57. Any pitcher on the same staff with Ubaldo Jimenez is going to be overlooked, but Francis has returned from his shoulder injury to do quite well. His 19:8 K:BB in 38.2 innings is just so-so, with a sub 4.5 K/9 leaving the lefty susceptible to poor outings. Fortunately the command is good and he’s allowed just two homers on the year. Francis is a former top-10 overall draft pick, and while he’s been relatively disappointing in his career to date, he does have enough to be a fantasy asset going forward.
Ryan Spilborghs (OF-COL) – Spilborghs entered the season as no better than fifth on the COL OF depth chart, but he may now be third. With Dexter Fowler sitting in Triple-A and Seth Smith batting a solid but not spectacular .262/.321/.517, Spilborghs is getting plenty of playing time. Sunday he may have made a move for even more time, going 3-for-5 with a double and a pair of home runs. “Spilly” is now battign a solid .291/.387/.544 in 103 at-bats with six homers and a 26:15 K:BB (0.58 EYE). The average and OBP aren’t too out of line with his .281/.354/.443 line, but the .253 ISO is nearly 100 points higher than his career mark. Spilborghs has historically been little more than a platoon guy for his ability to hit LH pitching, but he’s pushing for everyday at-bats now.
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