Evan Meek (RP-PIT) – Meek struggled mightily in his last outing Friday, allowing four runs on five hits while recording just one out in Houston. The ugly outing took Meek’s ERA from 1.56 to 2.12, but at least now we have an explanation for the blowup. Sunday it was reported that Meek had been dealing with pain in his right calf during the outing. This doesn’t appear to be anything serious, and Meek insisted he was fine, but this should further establish Joel Hanrahan as the Pirates primary closer. Hanrahan though has had a couple ugly outings I recent days, so he’s far from a lock to keep this job for the balances of the year.
Vicente Padilla (SP-LAD) – Padilla entered Sunday’s start against the Braves with a 4.73 ERA during day games and a 2.70 ERA at night. Normally, 15 starts isn’t considered (at least by my) to be a big enough sample size to draw conclusions from, but Padilla struggled again in a 10:30 AM game Sunday, allowing eight runs in just 4.1 innings. This wasn’t a great Braves offense either – no Chipper Jones (DL), no Jason Heyward (sore knee), an outfield of Hinske/Ankiel/Cabrera, and a struggling Troy Glaus. That didn’t matter though, as Padilla saw his ERA climb from 3.32 to 3.96, his second straight subpar outing after a string of eight starts I which he surrendered two or fewer runs. Padilla sports a impressive 79:23 K:BB in 91 innings overall, so don’t panic just yet.
Kyle Lohse (SP-STL) – I admit I got a bit excited when I read that Lohse struck out nine while allowing just one run on three hits over seven innings in his last Triple-A rehab start before returning to the big leagues on Sunday. No surprisingly I guess, Lohse allowed seven run in three innings while allowing a pair of homers to Derrek Lee. He walked two while striking out three, but the crispness just wasn’t there. Lohse won 15 games with a 3.78 ERA just two years ago, but since 2008, he’s started 31 games and won just seven while posting a 5.07 ERA. Guys with his stuff and a 5.6 career K/9 are going to have runs like this. Lohse isn’t worth using in any format right now, though I’d gamble a buck and put him on my bench in NL-only leagues.
Homer Bailey (SP-CIN) – Bailey returned from a shoulder injury Sunday to make his first start since May 23, and it couldn’t have gone much better. Six shutout, three-hit innings against the Marlins with zero walks and four strikeouts. The Reds are facing a rotation crunch with Aaron Harang due back from a back injury soon, Travis Wood pitching well in Triple-A (and in his big league stint), and Mike Leake rebounding in his last start. Bailey has a decent 45:21 K:BB in 56.2 innings with the Reds this year, but it’s the seven homers that have resulted in a 4.92 ERA. Still, the upside is there, and another start for Bailey could be in the cards.
Casey Coleman (SP-CHC) – Sunday it was announced that Coleman would take over for Thomas Diamond as the Cubs No. 5 starter. While pondering what was once a deep Cubs rotation with Ted Lilly, and effective Rich Harden, and a less-angry Carlos Zambrano, I ventured to find out a bit more information on who exactly this guy was. Coleman is a 23 year-old right-hander who has made 20 starts for Triple-A Iowa this season, posting a 4.07 ERA and a 59:35 K:BB ratio in 117.1 innings. That translates to a 4.5 K/9 and leaves Coleman with little, if any, fantasy relevance. On the plus side, Coleman does generate a ton of groundballs (1.9 G/F) with a sinking fastball, so that should help somewhat in Wrigley Field. He’s a former 15th round pick, who if he could figure out how to get out left-handed batters (.298 BAA vs. LHP, .200 vs. RHP) could find himself with some NL-only relevance, but for now, he’s not worth a roster spot in most leagues.
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