Zack Greinke (SP-LAD): Greinke broke his left collarbone during a benches clearing brawl Thursday night and is returning to LA for tests this morning. He could miss anywhere from two weeks to three months, depending on the nature and severity of the injury. The collarbone break came after Greinke hit Carlos Quentin with a 3-2 pitch in the 6th inning, prompting the Padres outfielder to charge the mound. Before the incident, Greinke pitched well yet again, and with an inherited runner scoring, his final line stood at 5 innings, 2 earned runs on 5 hits and 1 walk, with 4 strikeouts. While his fastball velocity has been down, he has looked solid and this could be a huge blow for fantasy owners. Owners should monitor the results of today's tests and stash him in all leagues with bench/dl spots.
Anthony Rizzo (1B-CHC): Rizzo hit his 3rd homer of the season yesterday in the Cubs loss to the Giants. While Rizzo is only hitting .188 on the young season, he's slugging .500 and has 4 walks to 10 strikeouts. What is troublesome, however, is his continued struggles against lefties: he put up a .208/.243/.356 triple slash line against them last year, and has only 1 hit off of lefties in the early going. While I see his overall numbers being solid by season's end, how he gets there could frustrate owners, especially those in H2H formats. He'll face Matt Cain and the Giants Friday afternoon.
Wellington Castillo (C-CHC): Castillo continued his hot start on Thursday, going 2 for 4 with a run scored against the Giants. The Cubs catcher has now collected hits in 6 of the 7 games he's played, posting a .400/.423/.600 triple slash line. The question remains: is Castillo for real? He is a .268 career hitter in the minor leagues with with a nearly 1:3 walk to strikeout ratio, numbers he posted last year with the Cubs. Moreover, he displayed a wicked platoon split in 2012: .476/.532/.667 against lefties and .195/.273/.336 against righties. While he could help you with some modest power, temper your expectations. If you have the capability in your league, play the platoon split to your advantage.
Ryan Vogelsong (SP-SF): Vogelsong picked up a very fortunate W for fantasy owners on Thursday night, as he allowed 4 earned runs on 8 hits and 1 walk in 6 innings of work, striking out 5. The righty was hit hard in the 4-run 3rd inning and was taken deep by Anthony Rizzo before settling down and allowing his offense to go to work. After two starts, Vogelsong has been torched for 17 hits in 11+ innings. During the past two seasons, Vogelsong's xFIP has been significantly higher than his ERA (+1.14 and +.78, respectively), so some regression was expected. However, the man knows how to pitch, especially with men on base (his numbers are better across the board with runners in scoring position). While a regression from 2011-12 is likely, I wouldn't bet on a significant one.
Sergio Romo (RP-SF): Romo picked up his league leading 6th save yesterday against the Cubs. For the year, Romo hasn't allowed a run, has permitted only 2 hits, and has 10 strikeouts to 0 walks in 6 innings. While he doesn't have "traditional" closer stuff, as Romo continues to average below 90 MPH on his fastball, he still boasts the devastating slider that helped propel the Giants to the World Series title. And through 6 games Romo appears to have changed his use of his repertoire: he's throwing the slider 25% less of the time, while mixing in more fastballs and changeups to set up his strikeout pitch. We liked Romo to have a big year in the pre-season. With these adjustments and the longest of leashes at his disposal for a team likely to provide him with plenty of save chances, Romo remains a high-end option moving forward. Don't sell high.
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