Before I get into the Roto Roundup, I wanted to let you know that if you ever have questions, feel free to post them in the comments section of the daily Roto Roundup or any other article posted by the other Fake Teams writers. Someone will answer your question, so please do not hesitate to ask any question you may have.
Giancarlo Stanton hits long home runs
Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton has a tendency to start the season slowly, and this season is no different. Last night he hit his first home run of the season, and it was gone as soon as he swung the bat. Take a look. Stanton owners should take solice in the fact that he only hit one home run in April last season, and followed that up with 12 in May. He should be fine going forward even though he is hitting just .209-.329-.299 on the season.
Matt Moore: Ace
One thing keeping Rays starter Matt Moore from becoming an ace is his control. It is something plenty of young starting pitchers deal with once they reach the majors. A couple guys come to mind: Sandy Koufax, Randy Johnson and Clayton Kershaw. All three overcame their wildness and became Cy Young award winners, and Moore will eventually win one as well. If he keeps pitching like he did on Saturday night, that could happen this season. Moore held the Indians to just one run on 3 hits, ONE walk and 9 strikeouts to win his 5th game of the season. Moore is 5-0 with a 1.13 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 38-15 strikeout to walk ratio in 32 innings on the mound. He has yet to give up more than 2 runs in any of his five starts this season, and batters are having difficulty making contact against him, as he has limited batters to a .121 batting average thus far.
Bryce Harper: Best Hitter in the National League?
Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper is having one heck of an April, hitting for average and hitting for power. He went 2-3 with a HR, 2 runs and 2 RBI, raising his triple slash line to .373-.453-.783 with 9 HRs, 17 runs, 18 RBI and a very impressive 13-12 strikeout to walk rate in 83 at bats this season. He is currently second in the NL in batting average and home runs, and is tied for sixth in RBI. Including the 22 home runs he hit last season, he has hit 31 home runs in 613 at bats in his career, giving you an idea of what he can do in a full season of at bats. Actually, he should easily surpass 31 home runs this season, as he will need to average just just over 4 home runs per month to reach 31 this season. His plate discipline is the one stat that stands out for me, as he struck out 120 times last season, and is on pace to strike out less than 90 times this season.
Here is what else happened on Saturday:
The Royals made a few trades in the offseason to improve their starting rotation. One deal which was panned by everyone was the Wil Myers for James Shields trade. The other was trading for Angels starter Ervin Santana. Santana has made GM Dayton Moore look very smart thus far in April, as he has been the Royals best starter. Santana shut out the Indians on 6 hits, no walks and 5 strikeouts in 7 innings last night in the Royals 3-2 win. He is now 3-1 with a 2.00 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and an excellent 31-5 strikeout to walk ratio in 36 innings of work. He has raised his strikeout rate from 6.72 to 8.07 and cut his walk rate in half, from 3.08 to 1.55 so far this season.
A's third baseman Josh Donaldson was a popular sleeper in the preseason, and he is making his backers look smart thus far in 2013. Donaldson went 4-4 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI yesterday, and is now hitting .318-.384-.511 with 2 HRs, 13 runs, 16 RBI and an excellent 12-10 strikeout to walk rate. He has hit in 7 of his last 10 games, with five multi-hit games among the seven.
Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen was a popular top 5-6 pick in mixed league drafts this season, and he is not living up to his early first round value at this point. McCutchen went 0-4 with a walk and an RBI in the Pirates 5-3 win over the Cardinals yesterday. McCutchen is hitting just .216-.286-.375 with 2 HRs, 15 runs, 13 RBI, 6 stolen bases and a 13-8 strikeout to walk rate in 88 at bats. His numbers are down across the board, including drops in walks, strikeouts and BABIP, so his average should start to rise in the short term.
Red Sox DH David Ortiz is hitting like he is in midseason form after missing the first few weeks of the season due to injury. Ortiz went 2-3 with a double and 3 RBI, and raised his triple slash line to .519-.533-.889 with 2 HRs, 4 doubles, 7 runs, and 9 RBI in just 7 games. He has hit in each of his 7 games, and has driven in a run in all but one game thus far.
What could a full season of Evan Longoria look like? I am not sure, but Longoria is healthy right now, and is having a great start to the 2013 season. Longoria went 4-6 with 2 runs and an RBI in the Ray 10-4 win over the White Sox last night. He is now hitting .303-.364-.539 with 6 HRs, 15 runs and 13 RBI this season as the Rays cleanup hitter. He hasn't played 150 games since 2010, where he hit 22 HRs and drove in 104, but I think he has a 35 HR/110 RBI season in him if he can play 150 games again.
Closer News
Well, it is looking more and more like Kevin Gregg will be closing games for the Cubs going forward, as he notched his third save in as many attempts last night. He pitched a clean 9th inning, needing just 13 pitches to close out the Marlins. I kick myself for not picking him up when the Cubs called him up, as I had a hunch he would get a chance to close.
Royals closer Greg Holland entered the ninth inning to protect a 3-0 lead and struggled a bit to earn his 6th save of the season. He gave up 2 unearned runs on 2 hits, and should continue earning save opportunities as long as he doesn't blow anymore saves.