Chris Heston- P- SF- FYI- Coming from a team that rode Tim Lincecum's arm very hard for too long, seeing Chris Heston toss a complete game made me take a look at his pitch count. Heston did throw 111 pitches but there are a couple of things that make this less worrisome for him than it might be for others. First, Heston is 27 years old, despite being a rookie. Pitchers that have problems with high pitch counts are usually under 25. Second, this is only the second time this season he has hit a pitch count of 110+. In addition, Heston didn't appear to struggle at all, allowing only 2 hits all game and none after the second inning. There is little cause for worry about any effect from overwork.
Elian Herrera- 2B- MIL- Hot- Herrera hit a homer for his 3rd consecutive game. This power display is an outlier for him. Last year he hit, let me check, exactly zero homers in 264 PAs between AAA Nashville and the Brewers. Herrera has hit more than 5 homers in a season once before, with 7 in 2013 at AAA Albuquerque as a Dodgers farmhand. Adding in the 2 he hit at AAA Colorado Springs this season before being called up and the one he slugged in his first game with Milwaukee he is knocking on the door of a career high. It's hard to try and think that this sudden outburst from the 30-year-old journeyman is more than a statistical anomaly. It does make some great stories for him to tell his grandchildren someday.
Buddy Carlyle- RP- NYN- Injury- Carlyle may end up on the DL due to a back injury suffered Monday. He had been on his way to building up value in leagues that count holds. Although his ERA is at 5.63 in his 8 IP of work, his FIP is 2.02 and he has accumulated 4 holds. Carlyle had a K/9 of 8.13 in 31 IP in 2014, a comeback year for him. That mark was down to 6.75 so far this season but his BB/9 had fallen from 1.45 to 1.13. Depending on how Carlyle does as he works his way back from injury, he could be a sleeper.
Raisel Iglesias- P- CIN- Rookie- Iglesias has been called up and will start today's game. It will be his second major league start, after going 5 IP last month. Iglesias was a reliever in Cuba and the Reds have been working to convert him to starter. In 4 AAA outings he has only pitched more than 5 innings once. Iglesias has also not exhibited strikeout power yet, with a 4.64 K/9. His ERA at Louisville is 3.80 but his FIP is 5.05. It looks like Iglesias needs at least a little more seasoning before he is ready to offer significant production at the major league level.
Kolten Wong- 2B- STL- Cold- Wong went 0-for-5 with 2 Ks yesterday. His average dropped 14 points. It's still at .322, but that is supported by a .340 BABIP, which tumbled from .351 yesterday. More regression to the mean could be headed Wong's way and that won't be good for his production.
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