Wednesday's action was highlighted by the Braves acquiring Nate McLouth from the Pirates for 3 minor leaguers. Will Frank Wren trade for another OFer?
SP, Jeff Neimann, TB-Neimann threw a complete game 2 hit shutout over the Royals on Wednesday, striking out 9 along the way. He now has a 3.77 ERA and a 39/24 K/BB rate.
INF, Ben Zobrist, TB-Zobrist hit his 10th HR of the season, a grand slam. He is hiting .303 with 10 HRs and 32 RBI-is he the next Chase Utley??
OF, Nate McLouth, ATL-McLouth's value has to increase going to the Braves lineup. The question is can he repeat his 2008 season, or was that a career year for him?
OF, Andrew McCutchen, PIT-as Eric stated in his post last night, McCutchen gets to play everyday without any pressure to prove himself. He already proved himself in AAA this year, as he was hitting .303-.361-.493 with 4 HRs, 20 RBI, and 10 SBs in 12 attempts, after stealing 34 in 53 attempts last year. McCutchen should be a solid SB threat from the get-go.
OF, Hunter Pence, HOU-Pence was moved up to 3rd in the Astros lineup recently, and I wonder what took manager Cecil Cooper this long to move him up? He has been the Astros best hitter with a .342 AVG so far. Oh, he had 4 hits and 3 RBI vs the Rockies last night also. I can only hope Joe Torre does the same with Matt Kemp soon.
SP, Jered Weaver, LAA-Weaver returned the favor to the Blue Jays by dominating them a night after Roy Halladay struck out 14 Angels. Weaver struck out 10 in 7 innings to win his 5th game of the season.
OF, Corey Hart, MIL-on a night where the Brewers scored 9 runs, Hart went 0 for 5 with a walk and 2 K's in the leadoff spot. Could Hart be headed to Atlanta also? Jody Gerut did have 2 SBs a few nights ago.
SP, Ted Lilly, CHI-Lilly has quietly had a very good season for the Cubs. He threw 7 innings, giving up 1 run on 6 hits, and struck out 7 Braves. He lowered his ERA to 3.28 and has thrown a quality start in 6 of his last 7 starts, and now has a 59/18 K/BB rate.
MR, Manny Corpas, COL-is Corpas the leading candidate to close for the Rockies once Huston Street is traded? He has struck out 5 in his last two innings of relief. I would be remiss if I didn't mention he has also given up 4 hits and a run in those two innings of work as well.
SP, Johnny Cueto, CIN-who thought Cueto would be pitching this well this year after all the walks last year? Cueto held the Cardinals to 1 run in 6 1/3 innings, striking out 3 and walking none. He now has a 2.43 ERA and a 53/20 K/BB rate.
SP, Cliff Lee, CLE-Lee held the Twins to one run on 7 hits in 8 innings of work to earn his 3rd win of the season against 6 losses. He has thrown 10 quality starts in a row after getting shelled in his first two starts of the season. In those 10 starts, he has given up only 16 earned runs. His ERA now sits at 2.96. Cleveland will get alot in return should they deal Lee at the trade deadline.