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Phillies starter Roy Halladay left his start vs the Cardinalsm after two innings yesterday with a shoulder injury. Here are a few tweets after the game from Jim Salisbury from Comcast Sports Network:
Halladay said he has soreness in back of shoulder. Developed late in last start. He does not anticipate it being serious. Will get checked
Pitching coach Rich Dubee indicated that Halladay's shoulder has been 'cranky' for a while.
If you own Halladay, you have to hope for the best. The Phillies official announcement said that they removed him as a precaution, but if his shoulder has been cranky for awhile, then a DL stint is a possibility.
Reds starter Mat Latos had a start he would love to forget, but he still got the win yesterday. He gave up 5 runs on 5 hits, no walks and 3 strikeouts. All five hits he gave up were home runs. He went all Clay Buchholz on us and still won the game. He is now 4-2 with a 4.58 ERA, a 4.86 FIP and 4.24 xFIP, a WHIP of 1.43 and a K/BB ratio of 2.18. He is walking almost an extra batter per nine-3.83 vs 2.87 - than in 2011. After giving up just 16 HRs in each of the last two years, he has already given up 11 in 59 innings pitched this season. Maybe the move from Petco will impact Latos' fantasy value.
Mets starter R.A. Dickey shut out the Padres for 7.1 innings yesterday, giving up just 3 hits, a walk and striking out 10 to win his 7th game of the season. Dickey lowered his ERA to 3.06, his WHIP to 1.10 and has struck out 61 and walked 17 in his 64.2 innings this season. In his last 3 starts, Dickey has a 29-2 strikeout to walk rate.
More Roto Roundup after the jump:
Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera continues to exceed expectations this season. Melky went 4-4 with a HR, 3 runs and 2 stolen bases yesterday and is now hitting .369-.412-.556 with 4 HRs, 36 runs, 25 RBI and 9 stolen bases thus far, and is almost a shoe-in to be the Giants representative at the All Star game this season. In his last 10 games, he is 22-42 with 2 HRs, 14 runs, 9 RBI and 4 stolen bases. If I owned him, I might be tempted to deal him to see what kind of offers I can get.
There was speculation on Twitter last night that Cubs first base prospect Anthony Rizzo is on his way up to the big leagues. He was pinch hit for in the 6th inning of his AAA game last evening, and was seen leaving the dugout. After the Cubs lost their 12th straight game yesterday, calling up Rizzo may be a move to inject some life into the team. Here is Al Yellon from Baseball Nation and Bleed Cubbie Blue on the possibility.
UPDATE: Rizzo was pulled as he apparently injured his wrist on a swing.
Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz had his best start of the season ruined by closer Alfredo Aceves who blew his third save of the season. Buchholz limited the Rays to 2 runs in 7 innings, giving up 8 hits, a walk and striking out 6. This start marks only the second time this season that Buchholz has given up 2 runs or less in his 10 starts.
Who would have thought that Dodgers starter Chris Capuano would have 7 wins before Memorial Day? Certainly not me. I was upset when the Dodgers did not sign Hiroki Kuroda this offseason, but Capuano has been not only the best pitcher on the Dodgers, but he has been one of the best pitchers in baseball thus far. He held the Astros to just one run on 2 hits, 2 walks and 8 strikeouts yesterday to earn his 7th win of the season, tying him for the MLB lead. He is now 7-1 with a 2.14 ERA, 3,24 FIP, 3.84 xFIP, 1.00 WHIP and a 58-21 strikeout to walk ratio in 63 innings pitched. He has given up two runs or less in 8 of his 10 starts this season. His 2.14 ERA ranks his tied for 4th in MLB.
It looks like sitting out several games last week has benefitted Dodgers shortstop Dee Gordon. Since returning to the lineup, he is 8-18 with 3 runs scored, 2 stolen bases, and no strike outs. Manager Don Mattingly has moved him down to the 8th spot in the lineup to take the pressure off of him, and he has responded. I imagine he could return to the leadoff spot once Matt Kemp returns from the DL on Tuesday.
White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko is trying to make everyone forget about how good a season both Matt Kemp and Josh Hamilton are having. Konerko went 2-4 with a HR and 4 RBI yesterday, and is now hitting .399-.476-.681 with 11 HRs, 31 runs and 33 RBI so far in 2012. Konerko might be another guy I would look to trade right now. He won't hit .400 this season.
It's safe to say that the Indians didn't get the pitcher they thought they were getting when they traded prospects Drew Pomeranz and Alex White to the Rockies for Ubaldo Jimenez. Ubaldo's first half of 2010 appears to be an aberration at this point. Yesterday, he lasted just 4 innings vs the White Sox, giving up 7 runs on 7 hits, 4 walks and just 3 strikeouts. He is now 5-4 with an ERA of 5.79, an FIP of 6.03 and an xFIP of 5.90. You know what makes it worse? His K/9-5.30. His BB/9-6.75. Yes, he is droppable.
With all the talent on the Rangers, it is easy to forget they have the best defensive third baseman in baseball, and probably a top 3 fantasy third baseman in Adrian Beltre. Beltre is quietly putting up another solid season at the plate. After going 1-4 with a HR and 2 RBI on Sunday, Beltre is hitting .318-.337-.553 with 10 HRs, 26 runs, 33 RBI and 10 doubles in 170 at bats thus far.
Yankee fans finally got to see the Hiroki Kuroda Dodger fans saw the past 4 years. Kuroda shut out the A's for 8 innings yesterday, giving up just 4 hits, a walk and 3 strikeouts. He is now 4-6 with a 3.96 ERA, a 4.99 FIP and 4.30 xFIP, with a WHIP of 1.37. Part of the reason for his bad start is the increase in HR/9 from 1.07 to 1.47, a drop in his K rate from 7.17 to 5.43 and an increase in his walk rate from 2.18 to 3.38.
Bryce Harper is just 19 years old, but he looks like he belongs in the big leagues. He went 2-4 with a walk and a HR last night, and is now hitting .287-.376-.525 with 4 HRs, 20 runs, 11 RBI and 2 stolen bases. More importantly is his 19-14 strikeout to walk ratio in his 101 at bats. In his last 10 games, he is 13-37 with a 7-7 strikeout to walk ratio. He was actually walked on Saturday by the Braves so they could pitch to Ryan Zimmerman.
Speaking of young outfielders, Angels outfielder Mike Trout is hitting well since his call up. He went 1-3 with a walk, a run scored and 2 stolen bases on Sunday, and is now hitting .302-.367-.491 with 4 HRs, 18 runs, 12 RBI and 8 stolen bases with a 28-12 strikeout to walk ratio.