Carlos Quentin (LF-SD)- Quentin went 3-for-4 with a double and a home run in the Padres loss to the Cubs on Tuesday in his second game back from the disabled list. Analysts have speculated that Quentin will have a hard time replicating his home run rate playing half of his games in Petco Park, but he is still available in over 60 percent of leagues in Yahoo fantasy and he should be able to provide at least 13-16 home runs the rest of the way with a decent amount of RBI's if he can stay healthy. Quentin's HR/FB ratio (14 percent in 2011) might decrease but only three of his home runs in 2011 would not have cleared the fence in Petco. Quentin has the type of power that cannot be replicated. I still think Petco will keep his average below .240, but that home run rate should remain pretty steady for the season.
Frank Francisco (RP-NYM)- Francisco earned his fourteenth save of the season last night against the Phillies after pitching a scoreless ninth in which he allowed a hit and struck out two. Francisco has been erratic for most of the season, but his fourteen saves continue to help owners. A .371 BABIP and a 62.1 percent strand rate have hurt his ERA, and I expect his ERA to continue to drop over the coming weeks. His 10.6 percent strand rate indicates that he should continue to strikeout more than a hitter per inning. His increased walk rate (4.38 BB/9), can be improved if he is able to improve his first pitch strike percentage. His 48.9 percent rate first pitch percentage is the lowest of his career, but the fact his chase rate and zone rate are almost identical to his career rates indicate that an adjustment can be made.
Hanley Ramirez (3B-MIA)- Ramirez went 2-for-3 with a walk, a double and a home run to lead the Marlins to a 3-1 victory over the Nationals. The home run was his eight of the season, and he improved his slash line to .265/.336/.459 for the season. Ramirez has seen an improvement in his power numbers in 2012 (.194 ISO), as he has increased his fly ball rate from 33.2 percent (in 2011) to 42.7 percent (a career high). His 11.9 percent HR/FB ratio is a little below average his career rate, but he should be able to reach 25 home runs if he cans stay healthy this season. The Marlins new park hasn't hurt Ramirez's home run numbers considering his 12.8 percent HR/FB ratio is higher at home than on the road (10.7 percent). Ramirez's propensity to chase pitches out of the zone now will keep him from producing the same slash lines he did before 2011, but this season should produce his best ISO and home run numbers since 2008.
Charlie Morton (SP-PIT)- Morton recorded his sixth loss of the season on Tuesday night against the Reds. He allowed four runs on six hits and one walk in four innings of work without recording a strikeout. Morton now has a 4.65 ERA in 50.1 innings pitched despite improving his walk rate from 4.04 BB/9 in 2012 to 1.94 BB/9. While he is still generating an above average amount of ground balls (56.2 percent), Morton's strikeout rate has dropped to a career low 4.47 K/9. His swinging strike rate has dropped below 7 percent for the first time in his career, and his average fastball velocity has dropped from 91.4 to 90 mph. The Pirates poor infield defense only hurts his overall numbers, and his ERA has also been affected by a below average strand rate of 66.2 percent. Either way, the owners who have Morton in their deep leagues could find pitchers with the same WHIP and ERA with more strikeouts on the waiver wire.
Michael Fiers (SP-MIL)- Fiers earned his first career win in his first major league start on Tuesday night against the Dodgers. He allowed one run on five hits and zero walks while striking out three in seven innings of work. Fiers took Marco Estrada's spot in the rotation with Estrada on the disabled list because of a strained quad. He features a fastball that averages 88 mph to go along with a cutter, slow curveball and change-up, but that repertoire will not translate into strikeouts at the major league level despite averaging more than 9 K/9 for his minor league career. His above average command is worth noting, but he produced only a 3.4 percent swinging strike rate in last night's start. He is worth a look in certain matchups for daily leagues, but owners in standard leagues should hold off for now.
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