I’ve been asked to take over for Dan Pants today. He must be on a bender or something. Or maybe he’s getting that vasectomy he’s been talking about. Anyways, it looks like there is a new rivalry in town. Tampa and Boston are quickly overthrowing the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry. Two fights in, two separate games in under two weeks. David Price hit David Ortiz in the first inning, and then Mike Carp a few innings later. Somehow Price wasn’t ejected, even though there were warnings issued after the first beaning. The Sox had four ejections: two managers, a coach, and Brandon Workman (who threw behind Evan Longoria after the first two HBPs). Still, the Sox managed to win 3-2 in 10 innings. If you own players on either team, be on the lookout for suspensions. Here’s what else happened throughout the league Friday evening:
Ian Desmond – 1-for-4, 1 HR, 3 RBI. It doesn’t seem like much, but his home run put the Nats ahead for good. It’s nice to see Desmond hitting though.
Stephen Strasburg – 6 IP, 0 ER, 9 K. He looked pretty good out there. The runs he gave up were unearned because of an error. Outside of that one inning, Stras was basically lights out.
Ricky Nolasco – 6 IP, 7 H, 4 BB, 1 ER, 3 K. Sure he only gave up one run, but he almost had a 2.00 WHIP. He just got lucky stranding batters. I trust him as much as I trust a 95 year old woman to catch me in a trust-fall.
Vidal Nuno – 6.2 IP, 7 H, 0 BB, 4 ER, 6 K. His stat line looks worse than Nolasco’s, but he really just got unlucky. He gave up three bombs. I still wouldn’t buy into him yet.
Oswaldo Arcia – He’s back baby! His injury is no longer nagging him. In the five games since returning from the DL, he has four singles, three doubles, and two homers. Pick him up while you can. He was one of my favorite sleepers at the beginning of the season.
Eric Hosmer – 0-for-4, 2 K. Hosmer isn’t living up to our expectations, which is a bummer. He didn’t start hitting homers until the second half last year, so there’s still some hope.
Lorenzo Cain – 3-for-4, 1 HR, 4 RBI. Cain continues his hot streak. He’s hitting an unreal .339 on the season. I doubt he’ll keep it up, but you should get aboard the Cain-Train while it’s still rolling.
Billy Butler – 3-for-4, 3 R. He’s down, but not out. So he got thrown from right field, big whoop. He’s still near and dear to our hearts.
Alex Gordon – 1-for-2, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 SB. Slow starts be damned, the kid’s still got it. Are they kids if they’re 30? Sure his stolen base was off a botched pickoff throw, but it still counts.
Jose Bautista – 2-for-3, 1 HR. I didn’t like him going into this year…guess he’s proving me wrong. Oh well.
Corey Kluber – He is one of my favorite players this year. He even tied the Indians record with 60 K in a month after his 12 K’s tonight. Buy, buy, buy.
Cody Allen – 1 IP, 2 K, SV. Allen picked up his second save last night, and it was a clean inning. If he can keep this up, John Axford might be permanently out of the closer role.
Carlos Gonzalez – 1-for-3, 1 HR, 2 RBI. Don’t doubt the talent. He can smash the ball when he’s healthy. Buy low.
Charlie Blackmon – One of the biggest surprises this year. He made a beautiful catch in the fifth inning which saved a run. Good defense will help him hold onto his spot in the lineup. Corey Dickerson is making a run for a full time position.
Michael Cuddyer – 0-for-4. I don’t trust him to keep his average up. Last year was a fluke. He is more of a high .200s hitter, although hitting in Colorado has its perks.
George Springer – 0-for-4. Send him back down to AAA! He’s washed up. But for realsies, Springer is looking good. We know the potential is there. His price is likely to only go up.
Matt Dominguez – 1-for-3, 1 2B, 1 R. Totally underrated player. Worthy of rostering in most deep leagues, especially ones with IF or CI slots. He’s probably available in your league. Have fun.
Jose Altuve – 1-for-4, 1 SB. He just keeps hitting, and he leads the AL in hits. He is currently on a nine game hit streak. It looks like a good time to sell high to me.
Brett Oberholtzer – 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER. That’s a great game, especially against the Orioles. I wouldn’t expect him to keep this up.
David Price – I had to write about him after my article praised him more than Mother Teresa. Two HBP, zero ejections. He also went 7 IP with 2 ER and 6 K. Maybe there was some merit to what I wrote? Math is great…isn’t it?
Xander Bogaerts – 3-for-5, 1 R, 1 RBI. A highly touted prospect doing well? I never would’ve guessed! The kid looks good. I can definitely call him a kid.
Travis Wood – Milwaukee “wauk”-ld all over Travis tonight. He got roughed up for five runs in the first inning. His end line was 2.2 IP, 10 H, 7 ER. Not his best day. He should see better ones, but he is still just a spot starter.
Khris Davis – He continues to hit. He is currently on an eight game hitting streak, during which time he has four homers. I’m glad people gave up on him earlier in the season so I could snatch him up. His price probably went up a bit during this last week though.
Ryan Braun – 3-for-5, 1 HR, 3 RBI. The Hebrew Hammer still has it. He has thirteen hits in the past week. The injury risk is there still, but he seems to be getting over it.
Rickie Weeks – He still plays? Sometimes he even plays well! He went 3-for-4 tonight with 2 RBI. Somehow he is hitting .321 on the season…which probably has to do with his paltry 78 AB this year.
Adam Wainwright – Waino got blown out tonight, going 4.1 IP, 8 H, 7 ER. Los Gigantes ran all over him tonight. It’s one bad start amongst a plethora of good ones. Hopefully you had the foresight to sit him tonight. Although I wouldn’t do that again.
Madison Bumgarner – 7 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 10 K. My man Maddy Bum showed up Waino tonight. He had been looking shaky in the beginning of the year, but he is picking up steam now. Choo choo! All aboard the Bumgarner Express.
Hunter Pence – 2-for-5, 1 HR, 3 RBI. To all of those who stuck through Pence’s early season woes, your suffering is being alleviated. Pence went yard, way yard. Buy him if you can.
Pablo Sandoval – 2-for-5. After a disappointing start to the season, Sandoval is absolutely mashing. Over the past fifteen days, Sandoval is holding an 11/6/16/.373 line. He is among the top five batters over that time.
Angel Pagan – 2-for-4, 2 R, 1 RBI. Pagan came out of the gate running in April, and he hasn’t slowed down much all season. He is looking to be one of the best pickups this year…not that I said that or anything…
Matt Holliday – 0-for-2. Holliday keeps disappointing owners. Maybe his age is finally catching up to him. His power is seemingly non-existent, and his average is down. Is this the end for Holliday? Possibly.
Tom Koehler – 7 IP, 3 ER. Not a terrible outing for him. If they took him out after five innings, he wouldn’t have given up any runs, but that’s not how it worked out unfortunately. But he is a part of the reason the Marlins are in second, and only one game down on the Braves.
Julio Teheran – He keeps stringing good starts together: 7.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 5 K. I regret trading him in a league or two now.
Giancarlo Stanton – 1-for-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI. It’s just more Stanton being Stanton. I wish I drafted him now. Stanton is finally living up to the hype.
Jason Grilli – Grilli Cheese it back! He got a 1-2-3 inning and picked up a save. He should be good to go for the future, but you might want to hold Mark Melancon as a handcuff.
Josh Donaldson – 3-for-4, 2 HR, 3 R, 4 RBI. It was a big day for JD, and it’s been a big season for him thus far. Just like Joey Bats, I misjudged him this year. You’re looking at the best third basemen in baseball.
Garrett Richards – 0.2 IP, 5 ER. Not his best day, that’s for sure. He should be good for the future though. He’s a good sleeper option.
Devin Mesoraco – 2-for-4, 2 HR, 5 RBI. I had high hopes for Devin at the beginning of the year, but then he hit the DL twice this season. The good news is that he has been hitting well during his limited playing time. He is still a great sleeper option, especially in deeper leagues.
Oh…and I hope you all know the first rule of Fight Club.
Jeremy is a contributor for Razzball Baseball. He had a last name, but he lost it in ‘Nam. You can follow the soldier of misfortune on twitter @Jeremy_Razzball, just don’t trigger his flashbacks.
