Clay Buchholz (BOS - SP) - Living in Boston, I've heard Buchholz get lambasted (and rightfully so) given his dreadful start. An ERA over 4.50 will get you killed in this market, never mind the 6.51 that he sported coming into yesterday. Still, last night he was quite effective over 7 innings, allowing just 2 ER with 6 Ks and 2 walks. Despite the solid start, I'm avoiding Buchholz in all formats. Whereas last year he showed quite a bit of promise, that seems to be gone. His FIP before yesterday was 5.19 with a 5.08 SIERA. To boot, his SwStr% is down to 8.6% from 10.6% last year. Without the strikeout upside, he becomes middle of the pack pitching in a hitter's ballpark. My opinion would change if we see him limit walks going forward (he's giving 4.23 BB/9, uncharacteristically), but given his tendency to break down as the season progresses, I'm not confident that will happen.
Brian Dozier (MIN - 2B) - The Bulldozier connected with just his fourth home run of the season last night, a 3-run shot that fantasy owners were happy to see. It's been a slow start for Dozier, but I'm taking this as an opportunity to buy low. Prior to yesterday, his HR rate was only 7.5%, well below last year's 13.1%. He's hitting more fly balls and striking out 4.3% less than last year. His .217 average should certainly improve given the peripheral improvement, though he'll never wow you with average. Buy low since power in the MI is difficult to come by.
Felix Hernandez (SEA - SP) - Regression caught up to King Felix yesterday in a bad way, as he allowed 8 ER (9 total) over 4 innings. He struck out just one and allowed nine hits. If you've been reading my blurbs (hint: you should!) you would know that I've been very bearish on Hernandez this year. Prior to yesterday, his 1.38 ERA was over 3 runs below his SIERA. His velocity is over 2 MPH down on his fastball and sinker. If you're a Hernandez owner, hopefully you weren't expecting ace results in 2016, but if you were, it's time to hit the panic button. I would definitely try to move Hernandez to an unsuspecting owner that would buy into his (now) 3.19 ERA. Hernandez is only 30, but he's been throwing 190+ innings since he was 20 years old. It was only a matter of time.
Nelson Cruz (SEA - OF) - It had been nine games, but Nelson Cruz hit another roundtripper yesterday, his fifth on the year. Cruz's numbers look good, but owners are certainly somewhat disappointed by the drop in his ISO from .264 last year to .189 before yesterday. The good news is that things should be turning around for Cruz - his K rate is down from last year, and his HR/FB rate is only 13.3% this year, vs. a career average of 18.6% and 30.3% last year. That should start to go up and the HRs should continue for Cruz moving forward. We haven't seen any deterioration to his stats at age 35.
Kris Medlen (KC - SP) - The struggles of Kris Medlen continued yesterday, as he gave up 9 runs (6 earned) in just 2 innings of work. Medlen came into yesterday with a 4.87 ERA, and believe it or not, that was about a run lower than his SIERA. His 7.08 K rate is acceptable, but it's matched up a 7.08 BB/9 (not a typo). His performance so far makes 2012-2013 feel like a distant memory. Obviously Medlen shouldn't be rostered in any format at this point, not until he can find the strike zone a bit better.
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