Mets starter Johan Santana threw 3 shutout innings last week in his first rehab start since his shoulder surgery. Yesterday we learned he will have his shoulder checked out due to discomfort after his 3 inning start. First off, why did he throw 3 innings in his first rehab start. Second, did anyone think he would actually pitch in the big leagues this season? Third, a Santana owner in one of my non-keeper leagues sent out an email to all other owners offering Santana in a possible trade stating that he is a stud starting pitcher. My jaw hit the floor when I got the email.
Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez started his rehab last night and could return to the Rockies lineup on Saturday if all goes well. The Rockies certainly need his bat in their lineup .
Dodgers starter Rubby de la Rosa will miss the rest of this season as all of 2012 as he will have Tommy John surgery to repair a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
Nationals first baseman Michael Morse went 2-5 with a HR and an RBI last night. He is hitting .316-.366-.552 with 18 HRs and 60 RBIs this season. There will be many words written about the 29 year old first baseman in the offseason, and I am not sure if this is a fluke season or not, but I tend to lean toward fluke.
More Roundup after the jump:
There were 9 hone runs hit at PNC Park last night, and Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez hit one of them as he went 2-4 with 4 RBIs. ARam is hitting .288-.331-.505 with 20 HRs an 67 RBIs thus far. ARam has proven he is a solid contributor when healthy.
Ramirez's teammate Alfonso Soriano hit two home runs last night and is now hitting just .246-.284-.470 with 19 HRs and 52 RBIs this season. He has walked just 16 times in his 321 at bats this season and one has to wonder how much longer Soriano will be an everyday player in Chicago. They should rebuild as soon as possible, and eat Soriano's contract to allow a younger outfielder to play everyday.
Mets outfielder Angel Pagan went 2-4 with a run and a SB last night and is hitting .243-.311-.346 with 4 HRs, 38 RBIs and 20 SBs this season. It appears his 2010 season was his career year. Last year, he hit .290-.340-.425 with 11 HRs, 69 RBIs, 80 runs and 37 SBs. One stat that jumps out to me is his excellent 34-31 K/BB rate in just under 300 at bats this season.
Blue Jays starter Ricky Romero held the Rays to one run on just one hit in 8 innings of work last night. The lone hit was a HR to Rays outfield prospect Desmond Jennings. Romero walked 4 and struck out 7 to earn his 9th win of the season. His ERA sits at 2.98 and WHIP at 1.20 and a 133-50 K/BB rate in 151 innings.
Ryan Howard's power has dropped in each of the last two seasons, but he went out and hit 2 HRs last night, and is now hitting .252-.340-.485 with 23 HRs and 83 RBIs now. Even still, his SLG has dropped from .659 in 2006 to just .485 this season, an is on pace for "just" 34 HRs this season.
Is it me or did the Rockies get shut out at home at the hands of Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick last night? Wow. Kendrick shut out the Rockies for 8 innings, giving up just 4 hits, 2 walks and struck out 7 to win his 6th game of the season. He lowered his ERA to 3.19 and his WHIP to 1.26. Is Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee rubbing off on Kendrick and Vance Worley or what?
Speaking of teams getting shutout at home, how bad are the White Sox? Yankees starter Phil Hughes shut out the Sox in a rain-shortened 6 inning game, giving up just 3 hits and striking out 4 in his best start of the season. Has he turned the corner? We will learn more this weekend vs the Red Sox awesome lineup. So much for Hughes moving to the bullpen.
Hughes teammate Mark Teixeira went 3-4 with 2 HRs and 3 RBIs last night and is now hitting .256-.352-.527 with 31 HRs and 82 RBIs and is on pace to hit 47 HRs and drive in 123. Could he hit 50 HRs this season?
Rangers DH/C Mike Napoli went 2-4 with a HR and 2 RBIs last night and is now hitting .294-.391-.607 with 16 HRs and 41 RBIs. As long as he has catcher eligibility, he will have plenty of value in all leagues.
Orioles third baseman Mark Reynolds went 3-5 with a HR and 5 RBIs last night. He is hitting just .224-.337-.486 with 24 HRs and 60 RBIs thus far in 2011. Gone are the days of double digit SBs, but the power is still there, and he could make for a solid platoon at 3B/DH down the road
Daimondbacks first base prospect Paul Goldschmidt took Tim Lincecum deep for his first major league home run last night and went 1-3 with a walk and 2 RBIs. He has hits in both of his first two major league games.
Indians second base prospect Jason Kipnis homered for the 3rd straight game last night but is only hitting .226-.273-.581 as 5 of his first 7 hits are for extra bases. Kipnis flashed some speed in the minors as well, so he could add a few SBs before the season is over.