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The Mariners promoted pitching prospect Danny Hultzen to AAA last night and it shouldn't be long before he gets the call to the big leagues. He thoroughly dominated AA hitters as he went 8-3 with a 1.19 ERA, 0.929 WHIP and a 79-32 strikeout to walk ratio in 75.1 innings this season.
Marlins outfielder Logan Morrison likes hitting against Clay Buchholz. Morrison went 3-4 with a HR, 2 doubles and 5 RBI last night, as he drove in all 5 Marlins runs. He has struggled this season and has dealt with a knee injury since spring training, and is hitting .240-.323-.398 with 6 HRs, 22 RBI and a solid 37-24 K-BB rate in 197 at bats this season. He's got the power to reach 20 HRs this season, even after the slow start, and he could be a decent target for the second half.
Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia aggravated his thumb injury last night and was removed after his third at bat. We will learn more about the severity of his injury later today. A DL stint is possible.
Most Red Sox hitters have performed below expectations this season, lead by Adrian Gonzalez and Dustin Pedroia, but one Red Sox hitter has continued to rake this season. His name David Ortiz. Ortiz went 2-4 with a HR and 2 RBI last night, lifting his triple slash line to .314-.397-.608 with 17 HRs, 46 runs, 45 RBI and an excellent 36-35 strikeout to walk ratio. Ortiz is on pace for 40+ HRs and 100+ runs scored and RBI thus far.
More Roto Roundup after the jump:
Brian McCann was one of the top 2-3 fantasy catchers coming into the season, and as catchers are wont to do, they disappoint. McCann has been one of the more consistent fantasy catchers over the years, but this season has been a disappointment. He went 1-4 with a run scored last night, but is hitting just .244-.319-.430 with 9 HRs, 23 runs and 31 RBI this season. His .234 BABIP is the lowest of his career, so he might be a very good trade candidate, as his BABIP should normalize to his .296 career BABIP.
Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen is having an MVP type year so far in 2012. McCutchen went 3-4 with a double, HR, 2 RBI and a stolen base last night, raising his triple slash line to .332-.390-.562 with 12 HRs, 36 runs, 39 RBI, and 14 stolen bases in 18 attempts. He is on pace to put up a 29-96-34 season, but I think he will fall short in the HR category, but should steal 30+ bases.
I was watching the Dodgers-A's game last night and the A's announcers were talking about Angels outfielder Mike Trout. One of them said that Trout will be an MVP candidate. Duh, right? He has a long career ahead of him. No, THIS year. I can see it. He went 4-4 with 4 runs scored last night and is now hitting .337-.397-.532 with 6 HRs, 40 runs, 27 RBI and a league leading 19 stolen bases. All in less than 200 at bats.
When hitters like Ian Desmond and Drew Stubbs have a better OBP than you, you know things aren't going well for you this season. But when your name is Ichiro Suzuki, the game might be catching up to you. Suzuki went 3-3 with 2 runs scored (at 11:30pm) last night, and is hitting .263-.289-.374 with 4 HRs, 34 runs, 23 RBI and 9 stolen bases this season. It might be time for Ichiro to hang them up, huh?
Had to work on my 2012 Top 20 shortstop prospects piece, so I will keep this one short today.