Roto Roundup: Jose Bautista Goes Yard Twice, Michael Pineda Dominates the Padres

Daily Scoring Drought Scorecard:  15 games

Teams Shutout: 4

Teams w/1 run scored: 1

Teams w/2 runs scored: 5

Teams w/ 3 runs scored: 7

Teams w/ > 3 runs scored: 13

Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista went 3-4 with 2 more home runs on Saturday and is Fake Teams Fantasy Player of the Day.

Well, Hanley Ramirez seems to be getting hot finally after struggling for the month and a half, after going 2-4 with a HR, 2 runs and an RBI yesterday. He has raised his triple slash line to .224-.301-.333 with 4 HRs, 16 RBIs, 9 SBs and a 29-16 K/BB rate of late. In his last 10 games, he is 12-43 with a couple home runs. I wonder if this is the start of a hot streak.

More Roto Roundup after the jump:

Astros third baseman Chris Johnson went 2-3 with 3 RBIs yesterday. Johnson has struggled this season after a solid rookie season which saw him hit .308-.337-.481 with 11 HRs and 52 RBIs. But, his 91-15 K/BB rate was a sign that he could struggle in his first full season in the majors, and that is what he has done this season. He is hitting just .225-.270.-.394 with 5 HRs and 22 RBIs with a horrible 38-5 K/BB rate. He could have a hot second half like he did last year, so we will watch to see if he can improve his plate discipline this season.

Cardinals starter Jake Westbrook turned in his best start of the season yesterday afternoon, shutting out the Royals for 8 innings. He gave up just 4 hits, 3 walks and struck out 3 and is now 4-3 with a 5.17 ERA and 1.57 WHIP. He has given up just one run in his last two starts, where he has given up just 8 hits and 6 walks in 15 IP.

Dodgers rookie outfielder Jerry Sands hit his first major league HR yesterday and what was surprising for me is that he hit it to left field. I have never seen a young hitter hit to the opposite field as much as Sands. He has plenty of power, but he appears to favor hitting to right field all the time. Fantasy owners would like to see him hit to left field a bit more if the ball is going to leave the ballpark.

Who the heck is Josh Tomlin. Raise your hand if you drafted Tomlin in your fantasy drafts this year. Tomlin held the Reds to one run in 7 innings on Saturday. He gave up 3 hits, a walk and struck out 3 in winning his 6th game of the season. He lowered his ERA to 2.41 and owns a WHIP of 0.82 and a K/BB rate of 30-10. He has given up 2 runs or less in 7 of his 9 starts this season.

Rays starter David Price has struggled of late, as he gave up 5 runs on 6 hits, a walk and 4 strikeouts in his 6 2/3rd innings on Saturday. He raised his ERA to 3.89 and his WHIP sits at 1.08.

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen went 3-4 with 2 runs scored on Saturday night, and is 15 for his last 42 with 3 HRs and 7 RBIs. He got on base 3 times on Saturday, and I wonder why he didn't attempt a SB.

If I were Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez, I would Johnny Venter closing games for me. Venters threw 2 innings last night, giving up just a walk while lowering his ERA to 0.64. And I am a Craig Kimbrel owner in the UBA league. Venters has given up just 2 earned runs in 29+ innings this year. He has given up just 9 hits, walked 8 and struck out 26 in those 29+ IP. 

I ranked Tigers shortstop Jhonny Peralta as my 12th best shortstop in 2011 in the pre-season, and here is what I said about him:

12. Jhonny Peralta, DET-Peralta has averaged 18 HRs and 76 RBIs over the past 6 seasons, although with a low BA. Then again, what SS hits for a high BA? Peralta has hit 20+ HRs and driven in 80+ runs in 3 of the last 6 seasons, so it is possible he could reach those levels in 2011, as he is hitting in a better lineup in Detroit than he did in Cleveland.

Thus far this year, he is hitting .289-.348-.486 with 6 HRs, 23 RBIs and 23-13 K/BB rate. In his last 10 games, he is 11-32 with 4 HRs and 8 RBIs. Not bad in a year where scoring is down.

I recently traded for starter Shaun Marcum in the UBA NL-only league, and he has continued to pitch well this season. Marcum held the Rockies to one run in 8 innings, giving up 4 hits, walking 2 and striking out 8. He is now 6-1 on the season with a 2.37 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and an excellent 62-15 K/BB rate. 

Phillies starter Cliff Lee shutout his former team for 8 innings on Saturday, giving up 5 hits, two walks and striking out 10. He is now 3-4 with a 3.38 ERA, a 1.20 WHIP and a 78-20 K/BB rate. He is now 2nd in the majors in strikeouts, behind teammate Roy Halladay.

Mariners starter Michael Pineda made the Padres look silly on Saturday night. I watch some of this game, and he threw 3 ptiches to Brad Hawpe in the 6th inning, 2 of which Hawpe had no idea where the ball was. He swung like he was guessing where the ball was. Pineda shutout the Padres for 7 innings, giving up just 2 hits, a walk and striking out 9. He is now 6-2 with a 2.16 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, and a 61-14 K/BB rate. They can start carving his name in for AL Rookie of the Year.

Braves backup outfielder Joe Mather is making the most of his playing time, as he went 4-6 with a HR and 6 RBI. Mather was filling in for outfielder Jason Heyward who was scratched with a shoulder injury. 

Giants ace Tim Lincecum bounced back after getting lit up in Colorado by shutting out the Athletics on 3 hits, no walks and 6 strikeouts. Of concern to Giants manager Bruce Bochy and fantasy owners is his decision to let Lincecum throw 133 pitches in the complete game shutout.