NL Roundup: April 7th, 2013

Dexter Fowler, OF, Colorado Rockies

Fowler continued his hot hitting today, going 2-for-4 with a run scored to raise his average to .364 on the season. Fowler's average has risen in each of the last three years prior, so with less competition for time in the outfield, expect the hits to come, and most likely in a consistent manner. The 27-year old outfielder also walks at a nice rate, so barring any injuries, the runs should be high, but considering last year's increase in power (13 HR, .474 SLG) and his ability to steal bases, he could be a darkhorse candidate for a 20/20 season. Fowler's slugging percentage is a mammoth .833 as of now, and although we know it won't hover anywhere near that number, it is promising to see the pop Fowler is hitting balls with compared to earlier in his career.

Ryan Vogelsong, SP, San Francisco Giants

The veteran righty got off to a rough start, surrendering nine hits in only 5 1/3 innings, along with five earned as the Giants fell to the Cardinals 6-3. Vogelsong did strike out six, but he also walked two batters, something he has been adept as a starter(123 walks in 370 IP the past two seasons). He has been very good in San Fran, but St. Louis is a good hitting team, so don't be alarmed by this outing, especially in April.

Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, Arizona Diamondbacks

Goldschmidt was overlooked a lot in leagues because of the small market in Arizona and his lack of pedigree in the league, but he performed in 2012 and he is on track to put together an All-Star caliber season in 2013. The Delaware native went 3-for-5 yesterday with a dinger and two RBI. He now has two home runs, five RBI and sports a .400 OBP. He hasn't stolen a base yet this year (18 in 2012), but they will come, and with every other aspect of his hitting on point right now, the opportunities will come.

Jon Niese, SP , New York Mets

Niese put together another strong outing with five strikeouts in six innings of work, giving up just two runs (one earned). Niese couldn't get the bat going like in his opening day start where he had two hits and an RBI, but he was effective. Early on he fell in love with change up a little and gave up a run, but he settled in nicely. Niese has a 2.14 ERA through two starts, which promising for a team who already has Matt Harvey to marvel at and Zach Wheeler to dream about. Niese's success will ease the sting of losing Johan Santana (yet again) to injury.

Bobby Parnell, CL, New York Mets

The Mets closer got his first full inning of work this season in a non-save situation yesterday against the Miami Marlins. Parnell got two groundball outs and struck out Chris Coughlan in a perfect ninth to secure a 7-3 Mets victory. Parnell only appeared for a third of an inning during the San Diego series, retiring the only batter that faced him. The good news for Parnell owners is that the Mets look like fighters early on this season, meaning more opportunities could be on the horizon for saves. The bad news is that the Mets have been winning by large margins early on (all three wins by 4 or more), providing no opportunity for a save to be had.

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