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If you have any fantasy baseball questions, make sure you post your questions in the Fantasy Baseball Questions Thread on the front page. I will probably post another one in the next day or two. Ask away.
Fake Teams Podcast Episode 6: MLB Draft Preview
Folks, make sure you check out Episode 6 of the Fake Teams podcast where Andrew, Zack and Craig Goldstein break down the MLB draft and get into some of the guys you should focus on for fantasy purposes.
Domonic Brown: Good grief man!!
If there is a hotter hitter in the game than Phillies outfielder Domonic Brown, please yell his name out for all to hear. Brown is on an insane tear at the plate right now. On the day that he was named the NL Player of the Month for May, Brown went 3-4 with another home run last night, and drove in two runs in the Phillies win over the Marlins. He raised his triple slash line to .291-.329-.592 with 17 HRs and 42 RBI, and over his last 10 games, he is 17-38 with 9 HRs, 10 runs, 17 RBI and 2 stolen bases. He is on fire.
Yasiel Puig: Leadoff hitter
Dodgers outfield prospect Yasiel Puig batted leadoff last night, which was a complete shock for me. I assumed he would bat third of fifth in the decimated Dodgers lineup. Here is Don Mattingly with some pre-game comments, courtesy of Eric Stephen at True Blue LA, regarding Puig hitting at the top of the lineup:
"It just kind of felt right, get a guy up top with a chance to create some energy. He could steal a bag, he could hit a home run. He can pretty much do anything," Mattingly said. "He seems like the right guy for now. When we get Carl back, we'll see how we go from there."
"He can pretty much do everything?" Is it me, or do you get the feeling that Puig could stay up with the big club even when Crawford returns from the DL?
Puig went 2-4 with an outfield assist to end the game last night in his major league debut. He showed off his hit tool, his speed and his outfield arm in the Dodgers 2-1 win over the Padres. Here is a .gif of his throw from the warning track to double up Chris Denorfia to end the game last night, courtesy of True Blue LA.
Round'em Up
Reds starter Bronson Arroyo is one of the more underrated starters in baseball. He isn't flashy as he doesn't strike out a ton of batters, but he pitches well enough to put up double digit wins every year. Last night, he shutout the Rockies on 4 hits, no walks and 3 strikeouts in 8 innings. Arroyo is now 6-5 with a 3.38 ERA, and a 1.10 WHIP in 80 innings this season.
A day after the Marlins knocked Mets starter Matt Harvey around, Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick limited them to 2 runs on 6 hits, a walk and 5 strikeouts in a complete game win last night. Kendrick is now 6-3 with a 3.12 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and a 50-22 K-BB rate in 80.2 innings. The complete game was his second of the season, and he has given up two runs or less in 9 of his 12 starts in 2013.
There is talk that the Braves may move starter Kris Medlen to the bullpen when Brandon Beachy returns from the DL. Last night, he had his best outing of the season, giving up one unearned run on 7 hits, no walks and 6 strikeouts in 7 innings in the Braves 7-2 win. Medlen is now 2-6 with a 3.14 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and a 54-24 K-BB rate in 71.2 innings. He has given up 3 runs or less in 9 of his 12 starts this season.
Since his huge April, where he hit .298 with 12 HRs, 22 runs and 19 RBI, Braves outfielder Justin Upton has struggled in a big way. He hit just .211 with 2 HRs, 16 runs and 10 RBI in May, but has hit better in the first few days of June. Last night, 1-4 with 2 runs scored, a walk and two strikeouts in the Braves 7-2 win over the Pirates. He is now hitting .259-.368-.517 with 14 HRs, 41 runs, 29 RBI and 5 stolen bases this season, but is on track to strikeout 190 times this season.
Jay Bruce is one player that rides hot streaks and cold streaks like no other hitter in the game, or at least it seems that way. Last night, he went 3-4 with a HR, 2 runs and 2 RBI and is now hitting .272-.320-.472 with 9 HRs, 32 runs, 38 RBI and a stolen base. He is on pace for "just" 25 home runs, so he will have to start hitting some long balls to reach my expectations of 35+ home runs this season.
A's outfielder Coco Crisp had a big night at the plate last night, going 4-5 with a double, home run, 2 runs and an RBI in the A's 10-2 win over the Brewers. Crisp raised his triple slash line to .300-.401-.513 with 6 HRs, 38 runs, 22 RBI and 11 stolen bases this season.
Injury Roundup
The Dodgers placed outfielder Carl Crawford on the 15 day DL before Monday's game and, as a result, we will see more of Yasiel Puig than we expected. And possibly even more than we know, judging by Mattingly's comments above.
Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera had to be helped off the field last night, after aggravating his right quad running out a ground ball last night, and according to manager Terry Francona, could land on the DL.
Closer Roundup
Dodgers closer Brandon League still has the support of manager Don Mattingly, and he keeps getting save opportunities. He pitched a clean ninth inning last night in the Dodgers 2-1 over the Padres, but need a double play to get out of the inning. It was no regular double play ball though. This DP was a fly out to the warning track in right field and a huge throw from Yasiel Puig to double up Chris Denorfia at first base to end the game. It was a very close play, and I would not have argued if he had been called safe.