Wade Miley, SP, Arizona Diamondbacks: Drop Player
Miley lost his fourth straight start yesterday at Wrigley Field, giving up a home run to Alfonso Soriano in the first inning and then serving up two in the third to Scott Hairston and Cody Ransom for a total of seven earned runs on the day. He did settle in nicely, tossing four scoreless innings after that, but it marked the third of Miley's last four starts in which he gave up at least six earned, raising a very big flag for owners. In 2012, Miley was as consistent as it gets, winning 16 games and striking out 144 batters in 194 IP. His ERA was 3.33 for the year in '12, but after yesterday, Miley's 2013 ERA has ballooned to a 5.01, making him very hard to hang on to in most leagues. If this was a guy who struck out more than one per inning or had a lot pedigree in the league, I would be more inclined to hang on to him and hope he can right the ship himself. But Miley has only one full MLB season under his belt, so it could be time to kick this guy to the curb.
Matt Garza, SP, Chicago Cubs: Stats
The veteran righty earned his first win of the season in his third start since returning from an elbow injury. Garza surrendered two runs on six hits and no walks, striking out four. His ERA through three starts is at 3.38 and he has struck out exactly one batter per his 16 innings pitched this season. Regardless of where he has pitched, whether it be Minnesota, Tampa or Chicago, Garza has put up solid numbers everywhere. He has good velocity on his pitches, even though he has been sitting out since last July because of the injury. Garza is owned in 66 percent of Yahoo! leagues, so he isn't readily available, but he is definitely a guy you should grab if he happens to be up for grabs in your league. In his last seven seasons, Garza hasn't sported an ERA of above 3.95 and if that doesn't breed confidence and prove consistency, I don't know what does.
Cole Hamels, SP, Philadelphia Phillies: Struggles Continue
To the appeasement of Mets fans everywhere, Hamels, whose only win this year came against the Mets, lost his ninth start of the season in an 8-5 loss to Milwaukee last night. Earlier in the season, the problem for the left-hander was control, but yesterday, Hamels walked zero. However, he allowed twelve hits and seven runs (six earned) over five innings, fanning just three in the process. After posting an ERA no higher than 3.06 in the past three seasons (3.05 and 2.79 as well), the 29-year old now holds just one win and a 4.86 ERA. Hamels seemed to flip flop roles with Cliff Lee from last year, who didn't even record his first win of 2012 until July 4th. It's obviously still to early to do anything drastic here, but it wouldn't hurt to throw him on the trading block for now, see if you can salvage any value because right now, he's really not giving you much of anything besides strikeouts (66 K in 74 IP).
Jonathan Lucroy, C, Milwaukee Brewers: Under the Radar
Hamels biggest nightmare in his start last night had to have been Lucroy. The 26-year old backstop was 3-for-3 with an RBI double, RBI single and solo home run off of Hamels, helping chase the pitcher by the end of five frames. Lucroy finished the game a perfect 5-for-5, adding another solo shot in the ninth to give him four RBI on the night, and 24 on the year. The pair of long balls marked his first since April 20th and he now has five, putting him about on his normal power pace (he hit 12 in 2011 and 2012 respectively). The .320 batting average in 2012 gave him a lot of value going into the season, and he does make his presence felt most games, but he doesn't have any fantasy wow factor. He isn't going to drive in 80-100 or hit 25-30 HR, but for a fantasy catcher, he is definitely consistent enough to have as a backup at the very least. With 24 RBI this early in the season, Lucroy is on pace for a career high in PAs, so it's fair to say he can finish with about 60-70 runs batted in if he stays healthy and continues to swing the bat decently.
Johnny Cueto, SP, Cincinnati Reds: Continuing to Shine
Cueto flat out dominated the Pittsburgh Pirates yesterday, striking out six in eight innings of one-hit baseball. He remains undefeated on the year (3-0 record) in six starts and owns a handsome 2.17 ERA and a microscopic 0.88 WHIP. And with the Pirates and Reds battling the Cardinals for tops in the NL Central, it's wins like this versus division rivals that can carry a team for a week at a time. Cueto has average control which affects how long he pitches into games sometimes, but he has elite stuff and floats around a one to one K:BB ratio. The Reds won the Central last year and normally save their best baseball for later in the year, so expect the runs to come in droves and Cueto to rack up the wins this year as long as he is healthy.
