Brian McCann- ATL- Hot- On a day that he was supposed to be taking off, McCann doubled his homer output of the season, slugging two after entering the game in the 9th as a pinch hitter. The appearance also broke a 3-game hitless streak. The slow start in the home run column is not that worrying. In each of the last 2 seasons McCann hit 21 homers and at this point of the year had only 3.
Ubaldo Jimenez- COL- Hot- Jimenez had his best start of the season, giving up 3 runs on 8 hits and a walk while striking out 7 in 7 IP. Of his 116 pitches, 72 were strikes so he finally had a semblance of control. For a pitcher who has had loud injury whispers that high pitch count is a concern, though. The only other time this season Jimenez cracked the 110 pitch barrier he followed up by allowing 5 runs in 3.2 IP. Don't expect that his season has turned around.
Edinson Volquez- CIN- Hot- Volquez turned in his best start of the season, allowing 3 runs on 3 hits and a walk while striking out 9 in 6 IP. This is the kind of production he is capable of but hasn't shown consistently. The most promising part was the lone walk. If he can keep up the K rate and hold down the walks Volquez could quickly become a premier starter. If you can get him at a low cost, he could give big rewards but there is still risk.
Kosuke Fukudome- CHN- Cold- Fukudome has gone 1-for-12 in his last 3 games and we may be seeing regression to the mean kick in. his .323 average is propped up by a .400 BABIP, even after the last three games. I believe that "Fukudome" translates from Japanese as "sell high."
Dan Hudson- ARI- Caution- Hudson turned in his 5th consecutive quality start, allowing just 1 run on 8 hits and 2 walks while striking out 6 in 7 IP against the Padres. He also hit the 110 pitch mark for the 3rd time in those 5 games. Prior to this season he had only thrown 2 high pitch games in his major league career. Hudson is still only 24 years old and is still in his developmental stage. If the Diamondbacks continue this workload, there is a strong possibility of negative impact.
Follow me on Twitter all season - @fantisticspaul
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