C.C. Sabathia (SP-NYY): C.C. Sabathia turned in his strongest performance of the season last night to lead the Yankees over Jon Lester and the Red Sox. Sabathia tossed 7 and 1/3 innings of 1 earned run, 6 hit, 0 walk, and 10 strikeout baseball. This was a much-needed effort for Sabathia and his fantasy owners, as the lefty had allowed 11 earned runs in his previous 13 and 1/3 innings. According to Brooks, Sabathia averaged 92.5 MPH on his fastball last night, a 1.7 MPH improvement over his season average (he even touched 94). His slider looked very sharp, prompting 7 whiffs, in what Sabathia described as a "nasty" pitch for him last night. I'm not ready to proclaim that he's back, but with his work ethic and approach I see him being a very solid #2 fantasy starter the rest of the way. His xFIP sits at 3.48 and his K-rate has risen to 21%, and I see these as reasonable expectations in moving forward.
Mark Teixeira (1B-NYY): Mark Teixeira (wrist) returned to action last night, going 0 for 3 with a walk and a run scored, striking out twice. How he responds to playing in back-to-back games is going to be crucial, so fantasy owners are going to want to monitor the situation and his response over the weekend before deciding on his usage for Week 10. The switch-hitter did mash 24 homers and drive in 84 runs in only 451 ABS, so he could definitely emerge as a viable corner option in mixed leagues. However, I'd exercise extreme caution, as this type of injury (tendon sheath), the same type that ended Jose Bautista's season in 2012, could flare up at any time and require surgery.
Max Scherzer (SP-DET): Max Scherzer continued his Cy Young quest last night, allowing 3 earned runs on 3 hits and 2 walks with 10 strikeouts in 8 innings. Unfortunately for Scherzer, he took the no-decision, as Jose Valverde blew the save in spectacular fashion. Scherzer has been especially strong as of late, allowing only 5 earned runs in his last 22 innings with a 23:6 K:BB ratio. Overall, Scherzer has improved his K-rate (from 29.4% to 31.4%) and his BB-rate (from 7.6% to 6.2%) from 2012. Additionally, he has given up fewer line drives and induced more ground balls this season. The changeup has been a big reason for such improvement, as batters are hitting .216 against it this year (vs. 303 last year). His ERA/xFIP of 3.42/2.77 indicates that we should expect such dominance to continue.
Jose Valverde (RP-DET): Papa Grande blew his second save of the season in spectacular fashion last night, allowing 4 earned runs in 2/3 of an inning. The Orioles touched him up for 2 home runs to push his ERA to 3.55, and many in the fantasy community were waiting for such a blow up as he was outperforming his peripherals. While his velocity is near last year's level, he has thrown the 4-seam fastball 88% of the time, and such reliance is going to make him susceptible to homers and the big innings. However, Valverde still has some leash from the Tigers, and he has shown some modest improvements in his swinging strike and chase rates. He is a low-end option in mixed leagues, but I see him as being serviceable in moving forward. I'd hold onto him for now.
Bartolo Colon (SP-OAK): Bartolo Colon tossed a complete game shutout last night against the White Sox, allowing 5 hits, walking 0, and striking out 3 in the 106 pitch effort to pick up his 6th win of the season. He has now allowed only 5 earned runs in his last 29 innings with a 15:3 K:BB ratio. For the season, he holds a 3.33 ERA/3.76 xFIP. While he maintains a well-below average 15.4% K-rate for the season, his 1.5% BB-rate will continue to make him a safe streaming option in moving forward. However, keep in mind his left/right splits for this season: .810 OPS against vs. lefties compared to a .516 mark against righties and stream appropriately.
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