Yesterday we heard that the Twins had made a change at the closer role, as Matt Capps has taken over for Joe Nathan after Nathan blew another save on Saturday. Capps closed for the Twins last year while Nathan was on the DL, so he should be picked up, if available, in all leagues.
Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen broke out of his season long slump by going 3-3 with a HR, walks, 2 RBIs and one run scored. McCutchen lead off the game with a HR off of Reds starter Edison Volquez, and is now hitting .250-.381-.462 with 3 HRs, 8 RBIs and 1 SB. As a McCutchen owner in several leagues, i hope this is the start of a hitting streak.
Reds outfielder Jay Bruce went 4-5 with a HR, 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs, and is now hitting .278-.322-.426 on the season. Bruce had an excellent second half last season, and fantasy owners are looking for him to build upon that in 2011.
More Roto Roundup after the jump:
Indians outfielder Grady Sizemore returned from the DL with a bang, as he went 2-4 with a HR and a double The indians, and fantasy owners, hope Sizemore can stay healthy this season.
Red Sox starter Jon Lester pitched 6 strong innings giving up just 1 run on 6 hits, 3 walks and 5 strikeouts to win his first game of the season. He lowered his ERA to 3.20 and should be good for 15+ wins, assuming the Red Sox start playing like they should.
Mets shortstop Jose Reyes went 2-4 with a walk, 2 runs scored and his 6th SB of the season in the Mets 3-2 win over the Braves. Reyes has started the year nicely, as he his hitting .315-.351-.493 with a HR, 6 RBI, 6 SBs and 11 runs scored. At the beginning of the season, i projected Reyes with 35 SBs, but if he stays healthy, he could easily steal 40+ bases this year, his contract year.
In a game which saw the Marlins steal 3 bases, one has to wonder when SS Hanley Ramirez will start running, as he was on base twice in the game but did not attempt a SB. He has just one SB so far in two attempts.
Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa went 2-7 with 6 RBIs in the Nationals doubleheader sweep of the Brewers on Sunday. Espinosa was recently moved to the leadoff spot in the Nationals lineup, and is now hitting .256-.364-.512 with 3 HRs and 14 RBIs. I own him in a keeper league and am hoping he can meet my projection of 15 HRs-70 RBIs and 15 SBs this year, but with a below average BA.
Nationals reliever Drew Storen earned his first save of the season as he pitched 2 innings of scoreless ball in the second game of the Sunday doubleheader. He gave up one hit and struck out one as he lowered his ERA to 0.87. Storen should start seeing more save opportunities in the near future.
On the day that Joe Nathan lost the closer job in Minnesota, his replacement, Matt Capps earned his first save of the season. Capps pitched a clean 9th for the save vs the Rays.
Astros outfielder Carlos Lee went 2-4 with 2 RBIs and a run scored. I was not high on Lee coming into the season because of his slow start last year, and he is off to another slow start this year as well. He is off to a .234-.269-.375 with 1 HR and 9 RBIs on the season. An owner in my big money NL-only league asked if I had interest in Lee and I quickly answered no.
Astros backup outfielder Jason Bourgeois has started just a couple games this season, accumulating just 16 at bats, but in those 16 at bats, he has stolen 5 bases in 6 attempts. Considering he has reached base just 5 times via hits, he appears to be running every time he gets on base. And why not? The Astros don't have much to play for.
Is Nick Hundley the best hitter on the Padres? Hundley went 2-5 with 2 runs scored, a HR and an RBI. He is hitting .348-.415-.630 with 3 HRs and 9 RBIs so far.
Speaking of the Padres, how soon before Ryan Ludwick starts seeing more time on the bench? He is hitting just .125-.263-.208 with a HR and 6 RBIs. He started the season hitting cleanup, but hit 6th yesterday. Soon 8th, then the bench maybe when Kyle Blanks is called up.
Angels starter Dan Haren won his 4th game of the season, but this time not as dominant as his complete game one hitter earlier this week. Haren went 6+ innings, giving up just 2 runs on 7 hits and 6 Ks. Haren is the ace that we saw two years ago once again.
Angels first baseman Mark Trumbo went 2-4 with a HR, run scored and an RBI on Sunday. Trumbo is holding his own so far, hitting .278-.304-.463 with 2 HRs and 5 RBIs.
Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley pitched a gem on Sunday, but did not figure in the decision. He pitched 8 shutout innings, giving up just 4 baserunners and striking out 11 Cardinals. I mention Billz in an article that will post later today as a pitcher to buy, and he was considered for the Fake Teams Fantasy Player of the Day for Sunday. Billz threw first pitch strikes to 17 of 28 batters, and got 13 swinging strikes.
Cardinals closer Ryan Franklin blew his 4th save of the season as he gave up a game winning HR to Fake Teams Fantasy Player of the Day Matt Kemp. Franklin's hold on the Cardinals closer job is getting looser and looser, and the real question is: who replaces him? It appears Mitchell Boggs will be the first to get a shot at closing, but Jason Motte and prospect Fernando Salas could be in the mix as well.
Mariners pitching prospect Michael Pineda won his second game of the season, going 6 innings, giving up just one run on 3 hits, 4 walks and 5 strikeouts. Pineda threw first pitch strikes to 15 of the 23 batters he faced and got 12 swinging strikes.
Mariners first baseman Justin Smoak went 2-4 with a run scored on Sunday, and is now hitting .300-.419-.460 with 1 HR, 6 RBIs and an excellent 10-11 K/BB rate. Smoak is quieting his naysayers so far this season.
Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro just keeps hitting, huh? He went 3-4 with 2 runs scored, a walk and an RBI increasing his average to .418-.443-.582. If he adds some power and can steal 20 bases, he could be a Top 5 shortstop in 2012.
Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez went 4-5 with a run scored, 2 RBIs and a SB. Cargo is off to a slow start in 2011, and Jack wrote about it yesterday. Cargo is hitting .288-.328-.390 with a HR and 12 RBIs. He has only 4 extra base hits so far this season.
Athletics starter Trevor Hill pitched another gem, going 8 innings, giving up just one run on 4 hits and 9 strikeouts. After striking out only 226 batters in 393 career innings, Cahill has struck out 27 batters in 25+ innings this season, and is holding batters to a .177 BAA.
Diamondbacks outfielder Justin Upton went 2-4 with a HR, 2 walks, 3 runs scored and an RBI on Sunday upping his average to .304-.400-.571. Upton is known to be a strikeout machine, but so far this season, he has a 10-9 K/BB rate. A new trend? Fangraphs Dave Cameron mentioned power hitters aren't striking out as much this season, and Upton is one of them.