Vicente Padilla (RP-LAD) - Padilla recorded his second save Sunday in a 4-2 Dodgers win over the Mets. Padilla though allowed a run on two hits in the process, evoking memories of Jonathan Broxton and his high wire act. It was just the second run allowed in seven innings for Padilla this year, so his status as closer is safe for now. Padilla though is far from a sure thing, so continue to monitor the progress of Hong-Chih Kuo, who continues to work his way back from a back injury. As is pretty common, Padilla has dialed up his velocity as a reliever, averaging 93.1 mph with his fastball versus 92.1 and 92.4 the past two seasons.
Trayvon Robinson (OF-LAD) - With Jerry Sands now seemingly a fixture in LA despite a relatively slow start, Robinson is the hitting prospect to monitor now. Playing for Triple-A Albuquerque, Robinson entered Sunday's action batting a cool .340/.398/.592 with six homers and two steals in 102 at-bats. Robinson last week had a two-game stretch where he was 7-for-7 with a walk, double, triple, and two home runs. Robinson's natural tool-set is impressive, and over the past couple years, he's started to turn that into big-time numbers. He's a great athlete who would be an immediate LF upgrade defensively, and without Rafael Furcal, Robinson may also be the best leadoff option for the Dodgers NOW. Robinson had a total of 85 stolen bases the past two years, but no need to worry about this year's total as he's been hitting in the middle of the lineup rather than leadoff. His legs are fine. One scenario being talked about in the LA media is moving Sands to first base to replace the punchless Loney and putting Robinson in LF. Come June, that scenario wouldn't surprise me.
Anibal Sanchez (SP-FLA) - I admit I've been pretty skeptical that Sanchez's hot start was for real. Guys with his sort of shoulder injuries. In June of 2007, Sanchez underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum, and those sort of injuries often (more than Tommy John) results in the death of a career. Sunday, Sanchez held the Nationals to two hits over seven shutout innings, walking none and striking out 11 to lower his ERA to 3.46. After a complete game one-hitter (one unearned run) on April 22, Sanchez struggled in his last two starts before turning it around Sunday. He now sports an impressive 43:17 K:BB in 41.2 innings, but before I totally buy in, I'd prefer to see some consistency. Sanchez's velocity has increased slightly in each of his last four years from 90.0 to 91.8 mph this year.
Chris Denofia (OF-SD) - Denorfia currently slots as the Padres' No. 4 outfielder, but he did get a start in the leadoff slot on Sunday and went 2-for-4 with a run scored. Denorfia has just 44 at-bats on the season, with 50% of them coming against LHP, against whom he is batting ..364/.391/.682. Against right-handers, Denorfia drops down to a .633 OPS, but that still comes with a .360 OBP. Meanwhile, Will Venable is batting .214 and Ryan Ludwick .195, so Denorfia has a shot at increased playing time and deserves to b e owned in NL-only leagues. I don't have any idea why the Padres continue to give at-bats to Ryan Ludwick other than the fact he's getting paid a lot, but hopefully eventually they realize Denorfia deserves more time.
Miguel Tejada (3B-SF) - The Giants are already reportedly looking at options to replace Tejada, who after going 0-for-3 on Sunday, is now batting .195/.230/.263. Tejada has just one home run in 118 at-bats on the year. Tejada has struck out just nine times, but when he puts the ball in play, there's not really much juice (pun intended) in his bad these days. A 14.4% line drive rate is far below the 19-20% marks he's put up recently and he's chasing more balls out of the zone as well. Tejada turns 37 later this month, and at this point in his career, he's best-served as a bench guy. The Giants have been connected to Jose Reyes, but whether they have what it takes to get him or whether they set their sights lower remains to be seen.
