Roto Roundup: Jose Bautista Hits His 20th, Chris Iannetta Homers Twice, Drives in 6

Daily Scoring Drought Scorecard:  14 games

Teams Shutout: 2

Teams w/1 run scored: 4

Teams w/2 runs scored: 4

Teams w/ 3 runs scored: 3

Teams w/ > 3 runs scored: 15

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen went 2-5 with a HR, 2 runs and 2 RBIs on Saturday afternoon and appears to be back on track after an early season slump. He is hitting .255-.355-.468 with 9 HRs, 27 RBIs and 9 SBs. In his last 10 games, he is 13-39 with 2 HRs, 7 RBIs and 4 SBs. What is impressive about McCutchen is that even with the increase in power, he has maintained his plae discipline, as his current K/BB rate is 34-27.

Who thought Paul Maholm had this in him on draft date? Maholm threw a complete game shutout on Saturday, holding the Cubs to 3 hits and striking out 4. For the season, he is just  2-7 with a 3.18 ERA and 1.17 WHIP. He has given up 3 runs or less in his last 5 starts, and in 8 of his 10 starts this season.

More Roto Roundup after the jump:

Padres starter Tim Stauffer held the Nationals to one run in 7 innings, giving up 4 hits, 4 walks and 4 strikeouts. The win was Stauffer's first of the year, and he lowered his ERA to a solid 3.60. Saturday's start was the 6th time Stauffer gave up 2 runs or less this season, and on a better team would have a few more wins, but as Felix Hernandez proved last year, wins are becoming less and less important in evaluating starting pitchers, and as a result probably should be removed as a category in fantasy baseball.

Jose Bautista had a big game on Saturday, but teammate Corey Patterson had a bigger game. Patterson hit the game winning HR in the bottom of the 14th inning yesterday, and went 5-7 with 4 runs scored and an RBI.For the season, he is hitting .287-.320-.450 with 3 HRs, 21 RBIs and 7 SBs. I remember when Patterson teased us with his 24 HR and 32 SB season in 2004 while playing with the Cubs. He hasn't eclipsed the 20 HR level snce, but has stolen 35+ bases twice since.

Jose Bautista went 3-4 with a HR, 2 walks, 3 runs and 3 RBIs. His HR was his 20th of the season, and we aren't even into June yet. Last year, Bautista had 20 HRs heading into July, so he is ahead of last year's 54 HR pace. He hit 34 HRs in the second half of last season.

Remember Brent Lillibridge? He was drafted by the Braves as a shortstop, and is now playing the outfield and third base with the White Sox. Well, if you can get past his photo on ESPN that looks like it was taken after a two day binge, Lillibridge has put up some solid stats in his limited action this year. He went 2-5 with a HR, triple, 2 runs and 2 RBIs on Saturday, and is hitting .294-.383-.647 with 5 HRs, 9 RBIs and 4 SBs in 51 at bats.

I am not sure what Rays manager Joe Maddon is thinking, but he batted Evan Longoria leadoff yesterday, and Longo responded with a 2-4 day with a HR, a run and an RBI. I guess he is trying to help Longoria out of his slump. After Saturday's game, he is hitting just .222-.330-.411 with 3 HRs and 10 RBIs. 

Diamondbacks catcher Miguel Montero went 3-5 with 3 runs and 2 RBIs on Saturday night. Montero is one of the better hitting catchers in baseball, and he is proving it thus far as he is hitting .277-.361-.447 with 5 HRs and 22 RBIs.

Diamondbacks starter Zach Duke shutout the Astros for 7 innings in his first start of the season yesterday. He was activated off the DL before the start, and looked like he was in mid-season form, giving up just 3 hits, a walk and 4 strikeouts. Well, mid-season form for most pitchers, as Duke is not one you want to roster. 

The Twins and Angels played a game where there was just one run and 7 hits in the 10 inning game yesterday. Angels starter Jered Weaver threw 9 shutout innings, giving up just 4 base runners and striking out 7. He has given up just one run on 8 hits in his last 16 innings pitched, covering his last two starts, and it appears he is over the 4 start slump that saw him give up 14 runs in 24 innings.

Rangers outfielder Nelson Cruz went 3-4 with a HR, 2 runs and 2 RBIs last night, and is hitting just .219-.289-.461 with 9 HRs, 23 RBIs and just one SB. Injuries have limited his base stealing this season, and I wonder if he will reach double digits this season.

Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre went 2-4 with a HR and 3 RBIs last night, and is hitting .255-.307-.485 with 11 HRs and 41 RBIs this season. He is on pace for a 34-128 season thus far.

I was watching the Dodgers-Marlins game last night, and watched Jerry Sands approach at the plate. He walked on 7 pitches in his first at bat, and struck out on 10 pitches in his second at bat. But, what I saw was Sands take a few balls that were on the outside corner. Some hitters would have been swinging at those pitches, but Sands eye at the plate is solid. The LA Times reported last night that GM Ned Colletti feels that Sands is the Dodgers long term answer in left field, so he should be seeing the majority of playing time there going forward. Here is an excerpt from the Kevin Baxter piece:

The Dodgers, meanwhile, think they finally may have found a left fielder in Sands, a 25th-round pick in the 2008 draft who had played just 68 games above Class A coming into the season. But Colletti was so high on the 23-year-old that the team stayed out of the high-priced free-agent market last winter because he did not want someone with a long-term contract slowing Sands' climb to the big leagues.

"It's a lot to ask somebody to come out of double A a year ago and come to the big leagues," Colletti says. Nonetheless, the GM says he knew "at some point in time Jerry Sands was going to be here. This year? April? Probably not. But at some point? Yes."

Rockies catcher Chris Iannetta went 4-5 with 2 HRs and 6 RBIs, and is Fake Teams Fantasy Player of the Day.

Rockies pitching prospect Juan Nicasio held the Cardinals to just one unearned run in his first major league start last night. He gave up just 6 hits, 2 walks and struck out two in his 7 innings of work. Nicascio was called up when Jorge de la Rosa was placed on the DL last week.

Braves catcher Brian McCann went 4-5 with 2 HRs and 2 RBIs last night. McCann is starting to flash the power of late, as he has 4 HRs in his last 10 games. For the season, he is hitting .295-.360-.449 with 6 HRs and 27 RBIs.

Phillies right field prospect Dominic Brown is having a better showing at the plate in this call-up than he did last year. He went 2-4 with a run scored, and is hitting .292-.357-.417 with 2 RBIs and a SB in his 24 at bats thus far.