Tim Lincecum (SP--Giants) It was prime Tim Lincecum on Saturday as the Giants beat up on their cross-the-bay rivals, the Oakland A's lead by the fine pitching of Lincecum. He pitched a complete game, three-hit shutout and didn't walk a single batter while striking out six, throwing 133 pitches. He was able to even his record at four wins and losses and he bounced back after an uneven performance against Colorado his last time out. He was uncharacteristically out of synch lasting just 5.2 innings and giving six walks and seven runs although only three were earned. Lincecum continues to have outstanding K/BB rate of 2.88 and a WHIP of just 1.18. The Giants have been pretty unsupportive in helping Lincecum's cause, hence the mediocre record, but he is still a must-start in any format as he is one of the best around.
Cliff Lee (SP--Phillies) As if the Rangers weren't disappointed enough that they lost out on Cliff Lee to the Phillies, Lee and the Phillies kicked a little more sand in their faces as Lee was dominant Saturday against his old team. Once again the Phillies supplied Lee with no offensive help but fortunately he was at the top of his game as he pitched eight shutout innings, scattering five hits and two walks while striking out ten. Lee lowered his ERA to 3.38 which is still much higher than his 2.53 FIP. Lee is still upside-down on his record with just three wins and four losses but that should right itself soon enough as Lee has pitched eight quality starts out of a possible ten.
Jason Heyward (OF--Braves) Jason Heyward was scratched Saturday from the game against the Angels. Heyward continues to nurse a sore shoulder that saw him miss a week's worth of play before returning on Tuesday. It appears that more rest may be required for Heyward and one has to be concerned that a possible DL visit might be looming in his near future. The shoulder is obviously affecting his play as he has mustered just an .098 batting average for May and has not been able to hit a home run. In fact, he has just one extra base hit (a double) this month. We will see how the Braves chose to treat Heyward but my guess is that they will take a cautious approach with their young star. Heyward should be sat in all formats for the upcoming week until it's determined the severity of his shoulder injury and whether he is able to be productive.
Chris Johnson (3B--Astros) Chris Johnson is starting to show some life in his bat. He went 2-for-3 on Saturday with three RBI and is now batting .225. Yeah, that's not good but when you consider that that's the highest his average has been since April 8th, he's on the right track. Johnson is batting .300 for the month of May having knocked three home runs over the fence with eleven RBI over the span of 14 games. This was to be expected as Johnson has been pretty decent hitting line drives 20.8% of the time but his batted balls have been hitting a lot of gloves. His BHIP is at a very low .260 compared to his current .341 norm. Looks as though Johnson is turning around and could be picking up the pace now. He's worth picking up in N.L. formats and deeper leagues.
Jake Westbrook (SP--Cardinals) Jake Westbrook pitched his best game of the season on Saturday against the Royals. He logged eight shutout innings, allowing four hits and three walks and striking out three. He lowered his ERA to a season best 5.17. In fact, after struggling his first four starts of the season, Westbrook has pitched five quality starts out of his last six outings. He's looking more like the guy who came over to the Cardinals late last year who posted pretty decent numbers of 4-4 and 3.48 ERA. Westbrook has been hurt by a poor strand rate at 60.2% and his 4.28 FIP indicates that he has been pitching far better than his ERA would suggest. He might be worth a pick up about now as he seems to have straightened himself out and looks like a viable pitching option now.
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