Daisuke Matsuzaka - In his first start in more than 2 months, Dice-K faced the Royals on Monday and pitched well, giving up 1 run (0 ER) on just 5 hits to go along with 2 walks and 6 strikeouts in 7 innings. He has now made 6 starts in 2012 and owns a 5.10 ERA and 4.38 xFIP. The best news regarding Dice-K is that he's improved his control this season after posting walk rates above 4.33 in each of the past 3 seasons. He's got a 3.00 BB/9 in 30 innings of work in 2012. He's also got a solid strikeout rate of 7.80. The problem has been that his strand rate is low (65%) and he relies an awful lot on grounders (36% GB rate) which has led to too many HRs allowed (1.20 HR/9). He's only recorded an xFIP under 4.50 in one season during his career in the majors, so even though there are some improvements here, Dice-K isn't a good option.
Brett Anderson - In his second start since returning from Tommy John surgery, Oakland's Brett Anderson pitched a gem and allowed 0 ER on 2 hits over 7 innings to pick up the win against the Indians. Anderson has now yielded 1 ER in 14 innings to go along with 11 strikeouts in his 2 starts in 2012. He also owns an incredible 74% GB rate. Prior to the injury, Anderson had posted xFIP marks of 3.59, 3.62 and 3.66 in 2009, 2010 and 2011, so he had been a very solid SP. He also averaged between 6.50 and 7.00 strikeouts per game and WHIP rates of 1.20-1.30. Based on those numbers, Anderson is a No. 5 SP in most deep mixed and AL leagues. I expected him to struggle in his initial outings back this year, but so far, he's been brilliant so keep plugging him in.
Felix Hernandez - For the 5th time in his past 12 starts, Felix Hernandez tossed a complete game shutout, this time stifling the Twins. He struck out 5, walked 1 and allowed 5 hits. He also tallied 19 GB outs. Hernandez now owns a 2.43 ERA, 3.28 xFIP and has struck out 184 in 196 innings this season. He's got a strikeout-to-walk rate around 4.00 and is allowing just 0.50 HRs per game to go along with a swinging strike percentage over 10%. He's also on track to record an ERA under 2.50 for the 3rd time in the past 4 seasons. What else can you say about Hernandez at this point? He's one of the truly elite pitchers in fantasy yet again.
Cody Ross - Hitting in the cleanup spot, Boston's Cody Ross had a solid game on Monday against the Royals by going 2-for-4 with 3 RBI and a run scored. Ross is quietly having a very nice year, batting .281 with a .522 SLG% to go along with 19 HRs and 67 RBI. He's posting a career-high .242 ISO and should record his 3rd ever 20+ HR season when it's all said and done. Now that Adrian Gonzalez is off to LA, Ross may find himself in the cleanup spot more often, which should translate to a bump in value as long as Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury are hitting in the No. 2 and No. 3 slots, as they were today. Ross is a solid No. 3/4 OF in deeper leagues.
Robinson Cano - Robinson Cano had a huge game on Monday against the Blue Jays by smacking 2 HRs and finishing 2-for-4 with a walk. Cano is having the best season of his career as evidenced by his .243 ISO, .553 SLG% and 27 HRs in just 127 games. The second baseman is also posting the highest LD rate (26%) and the highest HR/FB rate (24%) of his career. On top of those impressive numbers, Cano is chasing 7% fewer pitches outside the strike zone compared to his 2011 campaign. At 29-years old, Cano is putting up some ridiculous numbers at a tough-to-fill position. He's one of the top 5 players in fantasy this season.
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