CC Sabathia- C.C. Sabathia had a strange opening night start. He routinely sat in the high 80's to 90 mph with his fastball, but he has yet to determine how to fool hitters consistently at this speed. He managed to limit his walks (1) while striking out a reasonably number (6), but the main problem from 2012 and 2013 came back to haunt Sabathia. This would be an tremendous HR/FB Rate, which tipped the scales in excess of 12% in both of those seasons. In 6 innings of work, Sabathia managed to allow 2 home runs. A string of other hits and some questionable defense behind him turned a mediocre performance into a bad one for Sabathia. I like seeing Sabathia limit the walks, but it won't matter for fantasy purposes if he can't get teams to keep the ball in the yard. He doesn't have the big K numbers anymore so until we see the ball down in the zone instead of in the seats, Sabathia probably belongs on your bench especially as he moves from the Astros to the more powerful AL East line-ups.
Alex Cobb- Certainly Alex Cobb did little to reinforce my belief that he would assume the mantle of Rays' ace as soon as late 2014 on Tuesday night. Cobb allowed 9 base runners including 4 walks through 5 innings pitched. The good news is that Cobb managed to keep the ball on the ground, which is where he will be successful in 2014. With 8 groundouts, Cobb continued with the trend that makes him such a palatable option moving forward. The concern moving forward will be monitoring his command as a 3:4 K/BB ratio just isn't going to get it done at a high level for fantasy owners. This is almost assuredly an early season blip against a good Toronto offense, but it is worth noting and watching the numbers moving forward.
Adam Lind- Adam Lind ended 2013 posting the highest walk rate of his big league career at 9.8% and his second highest ISO as well at .209. Both indicate that Lind had returned as a legitimate fantasy option after an injury ridden 2012. On Tuesday night, Lind reinforced his 2013 success with a home run in his first at bat and drawing a walk later on in the game. It is fair to assume that Lind's batting average will suffer from a negative regression due to a slightly inflated BABIP, but his other offensive traits seem very real and very valuable to fantasy owners in 2014.
Martin Perez- In the pre-season, I wrote a blurb criticizing Perez's value to fantasy owners due to his inability to consistently strike out opposing batters. On Tuesday night, Perez, at least for one night, made me eat my words. Through 5.2 IP, Perez managed 7 strike outs to 0 walks while giving up only 2 earned runs. Perez has a strong enough fastball (avg. 93 MPH) with two solid secondary pitches to be dangerous. Given that Perez will turn just 23 on Thursday, it is worth watching his development. The young left hander may have me admitting to a fairly large miscall if he continues to strike batters out the way he did on Tuesday.
Sergio Santos- After being named at least the temporary closer by the Blue Jays on Monday, Sergio Santos was called on Tuesday to close out the game. Santos certainly made it interesting as he gave up two doubles, a walk, an earned run and struck out the side on his way to a save. Santos looked more similar to his 2011 form than 2013. He was a good pitcher back then, but his walk rate of 11.2% and a slightly increased Fly Ball Rate led to a bumpier ride than some might want in the 9th inning. I think the Blue Jays were hoping for a bit more of the 2013 Santos, who managed a 4.4% walk rate and 50% Ground Ball Rate while maintaining a 30+% K Rate. Either version of Santos should hold the job if healthy, but the second version is a far more reliable and, perhaps even top tier, closer. Only time will tell the quality of the asset you are currently holding in Santos, but certainly, you should hold for the time being until that sorts itself out.
By Nicholas Rossoletti- @NRoss56 on Twitter
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