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Sorry I missed the Roto Roundup yesterday. I went down to Atlantic City with my brother for the evening and took the night off from writing.
Reds outfielder Drew Stubbs went 3-5 with a double, 3 RBI and 2 stolen bases yesterday afternoon. I am not a fan of Stubbs, as I think his propensity to strike out may lead to less starts for Stubbs. If he can stay in the lineup every day, he is capable of double digit home runs and 30+ stolen bases.
Nationals starter Ross Detwiler shut out the Marlins for 6 innings, giving up 3 hits and a walk for 7 innings on Friday to earn his second win of the season. He struck out 7 and now has a 15-4 K/BB rate in 16 innings of work this season. He is the National's 5th starter, who at one point was a Top 100 prospect back in 2008, and shouild be a waiver wire add in NL-only leagues.
Cardinals starter Lance Lynn was a pre-season target of mine, but unfortunately, I did not draft him in my 3 NL-only leagues. I wish I had, as he has pitched well in each of his 3 starts this season. Last night, he held the Pirates to just one run in 7 innings, giving up 4 hits, walking 1 and striking out 4. He is now 3-0 with a 1.42 ERA, a 0.74 WHIP, and a 17-4 strikeout to walk rate in 19 innings pitched. What's amazing is that he has given up a total of 10 hits in his 19 innings pitched this season.
More Roto Roundup after the jump:
The Pirates have done all they can with third baseman Pedro Alvarez, including moving his down to 7th in the batting order. Last night, he went 0-3 with 2 more strikeouts, and is now hitting .067-.097-.267 on the season with 15 strikeouts in 30 at bats. I imagine he will be given a few more weeks to prove himself at the big league level, but wonder if a trip to AAA may be just what the Pirates, and Alvarez, need. Casey McGehee would be the full time third baseman should he be sent down.
Nearly as disappointing, at this point in the season, is Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer, as he is hitting just .172-.271-.327 with 2 home runs and 7 RBI. I just traded for Hosmer in my AL-only keeper league, and have no worries at this point in the season.
Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp went 3-3 with a HR and 2 RBI on Fridy night and is now hitting .481-.525-1.000 with 8 home runs and 20 RBI thus far this season. He is proving that his 2011 season was no fluke, but I don't see him going 50-50 this season.
Blue Jays closer Sergio Santos struggled a bit as he earned his 2nd save of the season last night. He gave up a run on 2 hits, and it took him 23 pitches to get 3 outs last night. He is certainly not in mid-season form right now, but there is no reason to panic. He probably has a long leash in Toronto.
Blue Jays starter Kyle Drabek struggled with his control in his 3rd start of the season, giving up just 2 runs on 4 hits, but he walked 6 in 5.1 innings of work last night. He still walked away from this start with a 2-0 record, a 2.00 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. I think he will improve upon is 2011 season and start to reach the potential Toronto saw when they asked for him in the deal that sent Roy Halladay to Philadelphia.
White Sox starter Chris Sale won his second game of the season last night, holding the Mariners to 3 runs in 6.1 innings, giving up 7 hits, walking 3 and striking out 11. Of his 69 strikes thrown, 19 were swinging strikes, and he induced 5 ground ball outs as well. He now has a 21-7 strikeout to walk ratio in his 18 innings pitched this season.
Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman is seeing things well at the plate over the last few games. He went 3-4 with 2 doubles, 2 runs scored and 2 RBI last night. This after going 3-5 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI on Thursday night. He is now hitting .296-.328-.574 with 5 HRs and 13 RBI this season.
Before the season started, I thought the Reds would platoon catching prospect Devin Mesoraco with Ryan Hanigan for the first few months, before handing over the starting role to Mesoraco in June. Well, Mesoraco is doing his best to push the Reds to hand him the starting job sooner, as he went 2-3 with 2 walks and 2 runs scored yesterday, and is now hitting .350-.435-.400 in his 20 at bats this season.
White Sox DH Adam Dunn had a big night last night, as he went 3-5 with 2 HRs and 5 RBI, and is now hitting .265-368-.571 with 3 HRs and 12 RBIs thus far this season. He is doing his best to prove that 2011 was a fluke. He has struck out 22 times in his 49 at bats thus far, so that hasn't changed either.
Yoenis Cespedes went 3-4 with a walk, strikeout and 2 RBI last night, and is now hitting .265-.379-.551 with 4 HRs, 14 RBI and 18 strikeouts in 49 at bats this season.
Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz had a rough day yesterday, giving up 6 runs, 5 of which were earned, 0n 9 hits, 2 walks and just 2 strikeouts. Of the 9 hits he gave up, 5 were home runs. The Yankees batters were seeing his pitches well, as of the 9 hits he gave up, 5 were home runs, and he induced only 3 swinging strikes all day. Buchholz now owns an ERA of 9.00, a WHIP of 1.76 and has given up 6 home runs in his 17 innings pitched.