Jason Hammel (SP-BAL)- Hammel earned his second win of the season and lowered his ERA to 2.37 on Thursday against the White Sox. He allowed two runs on six hits and three walks while striking out a career high ten batters, in six innings of work. Hammel's stuff was excellent ( he averaged 93.7 mph on his fastball), and he recorded 16 swinging strikes (14.8 percent rate for game). Hammel has been throwing more two-seam fastballs this season, and as a result has a career best ground ball rate (59.4 percent) even while having his best average fastball velocity of his career (93.6 mph) Pitching in the AL east on a consistent basis will be tough, but he has become a relevant fantasy option with his hot start. He is definitely worth a pick up for owners in deep and AL-only leagues, and a match-up guy in standard leagues.
Curtis Granderson (CF-NYY)- Granderson went 5-for-5 with three home runs and five RBI to lead the Yankees to a 7-6 win over the Twins yesterday. The career day brought his slash line to .283/.377/.679 and his home run total to six. A game like this solidifies his standing as one of the top power hitters in baseball. I don't believe he will reach the 40 home run mark again, but he should reach 35 along with a line of .260/.350/.555. In terms of batting average, he has been somewhat unlucky this season. His BABIP is .273, but he has a line drive rate of 38.3 percent. He has yet to hit a home run against left-handed pitching, but he has still held his own against them with a .328 wOBA. One thing that worries me is that he has yet to a steal a base in 13 games this season. I wonder if this is the season where he consciously makes an effort not to steal as many bases.
Felix Hernandez (SP-SEA)- Hernandez turned in his best start of the season, shutting out the Indians for eight strong innings. While he did not earn the decision, he struck out a season high 12 hitters and only allowed five hits and one walk to lower his ERA to 2.76. While Felix's velocity is still down this season (averaging 91.2 mph on fastball), his power change-up is still his best weapon. He recorded seven swinging strikes with the pitch last night, and he is recoding the same amount of swinging strikes as he did last season. Hernandez's walk rate has improved to 1.53 BB/9 even though his chase rate has dropped from 31 percent to 25 percent. His 2.12 FIP ranks ninth in baseball at this point, and owners should not worry about the drop in his ground ball rate (41 percent). He won't be allowing line drives at a 28 percent clip for very much longer.
Grant Balfour (RP-OAK)- Balfour earned his fourth save of the season on Thursday to close out the A's 4-2 win over the Angels. He pitched a 1-2-3 inning and lowered his ERA to 1.00 for the season getting off to a very strong start to the season. It is very early to analyze relievers' stats because of small sample size, but I am a little worried about some of Balfour's performance. Balfour's average fastball velocity was 91.3 mph coming into last night's game (92.8 mph last season), and his swinging strike rate of 5.7 percent would be a career low. That metric has dropped in each of the last five seasons and he only has a 5.00 K/9 right now. On the other hand, Balfour has improved his ground ball rate to a career best 50 percent. At least if he is getting less strikeout, those balls in play are translating to ground balls and not flies and line drives. Just something to keep an eye out for as the season progresses.
Adam Jones (CF-BAL)- Jones continued his hot start to the season going 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, three RBI and a strikeout on Tuesday. The home run was his fifth of the season, and he improved his slash line to .321/.357/.679 for the season. Jones still has problems drawing walks (only one walk this season), but he has actually shown improved plate discipline. He has dropped his chase rate to 27 percent (his career best was 32 percent). Most importantly, Jones has shown a newfound ability to hit the ball in the air. His 45.2 percent fly ball rate would be a career best, and his 35.8 percent ground ball rate would be his lowest as a starter. He will continue to be a .270 to .280 hitter, but if his batted ball rates signify a change, he might reach the 30 home run plateau.
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