Danny Duffy- KC- Rookie- Duffy looked worse in his second start than he did in his first. Control is still an issue for the 22-year-old. He threw the same 54 strikes in the same 96 pitches as he did in his previous start. This time Duffy walked 4 batters this time in 4 IP as well as giving up 8 hits that led to 5 runs, as opposed to giving up 3 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks in 5 IP last time. He is looking overmatched against major league hitters and probably should still be at AAA.
Jered Weaver- LAA- Caution- Weaver's usage is starting to get scary. Last season he threw 17 games of 110 or more pitches. He has already done that 10 times this season. Before 2010 he had never thrown 120 pitches in a game and he exceeded that level twice. This year Weaver has already gone past that level 3 times. Between the possible effects of such heavy usage and his .243 BABIP still ripe for more regression to the mean, Weaver is looking like a prime "sell high" candidate.
Ben Zobrist- TB- FYI- Zobrist's .115 ISO in 2010 is looking like an outlier. It has rebounded to .216 this season and with 9 homers he is only 1 short of his total for all of last year. His projected total of 17 homers might end up being surpassed.
AJ Burnett- NYA- Cold- Burnett's control issues hurt him against the Red Sox, as he walked 4 batters in his 5.2 innings of work. He has issued 15 walks in his last 4 starts, covering 24 IP. That's way too many. Regression to the mean may be happening as well. Burnett's BABIP is up to .242, but that still leaves room for further hurt as luck continues to even out. His walk rate has climbed to 3.81 BB/9 and shows no signs of stopping. Burnett looks like a starter to avoid.
Zach Britton- BAL- Hot- Britton picked up his first win since May 1 and it was done in impressive style. He allowed only 4 hits and 2 walks in his 6.1 IP of work while striking out 6. This is the kind of performance the Orioles have hoped for from Britton on a consistent basis. The increase in strikeouts while the walks stayed reasonable is the most notable part. If he can do it again against a team that isn't on a 9-game losing streak, then his stock will go up.
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