Travis d’Arnaud will start his rehab assignment Thursday as he works his way back from his latest issue – an elbow concern. He’s hitting .296 with four homers in just 71 at-bats this season, elite production for a catcher. At the same time he’s more easily broken than Samuel L. Jackson in Unbreakable.
I’m not saying you completely ignore DA if he’s out there, but you simply cannot trust him to stay on the field.
Chris Davis hit a homer Thursday, his 21st of the year. He’s gonna return to the 30-homer level yet against this season.
Dee Gordon leads the NL with 122 hits. You know who leads the AL with 122 hits? Prince Fielder. Oh yeah, Fielder is also batting .341, just ahead of Gordon’s .338 mark. Gordon’s only been passable the last two months as he’s hit .280 with a .296 OBP over his last 217 plate appearances. That’s not really good – unless you’re Billy Hamilton.
Love or hate him, but history clearly doesn’t seem to matter to Zack Greinke. Working on a scoreless streak of 43.2 innings and set to extend that run Friday, it now appears that Greinke may not. Why? He’s expecting the birth of his first child so it sounds like he might be wearing a hospital gown instead of a ball cap Friday. Will his previous act of coitus preclude his run to history?
This is just stupid… in nine starts on the road Drew Hutchison is a putrid piece of filth with an 8.81 ERA and 1.98 WHIP over 10 starts. Goodness gracious, his BAA is .372. How is that even possible? What makes that pathetic series of numbers even more confounding is the following fact – the guy has been an absolute superstar at home. In nine starts in Canada he’s the owner of a 2.21 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and .219 BAA. How a guy can be a Cy Young contender at home, and look like an 18 year old in Low-A ball on the road is beyond me. By the by, Hutchison missed his start Thursday due to the flu.
Ubaldo Jimenez recorded seven outs Thursday. He also allowed seven runs. Last time out he lasted 4.2 innings but allowed, wait for it, seven runs. Those 14 runs, in the two beatings, literally pushed his ERA up an entire run from 2.81 to 3.81. His last two outings reminded everyone that he’s… Ubaldo Jimenez.
Scott Kazmir was dealt to the Astros today. For my thoughts on the move for both the Astros and Athletics see the July 23rd Daily Trends article.
Albert Pujols leads baseball with 29 homers. Miguel Cabrera (15) and Jose Abreu (14) have combined for 29. Wow.
Masahiro Tanaka makes me all kinds of nervous. Thursday he allowed three homers – all solo – bringing his homer total up to 13 in his last eight outings. He still has a 3.64 ERA and 0.98 WHIP performing very well overall, but the homers are a concern as is my continuing belief that at some point his arm is gonna go.
Justin Turner update. Versus righties = a superstar (.372/.426/.650).
C.J. Wilson is on a role if you haven’t noticed. His last five times on the bump he’s gone 3-1 with a 2.56 ERA and 1.29 WHIP. OK the WHIP isn’t impressive, neither is the 3.98 BB/9 rate, but the fact is he’s pitching well, just as he’s done most of the year. Wilson has a 3.59 ERA and 1.21 WHIP, ratios you have to be pleased with, and he still has the best walk rate of the last four seasons at 3.02 per nine. Solid depth arm in mixed leagues.
This kid is the most entertaining player ever on a baseball diamond. He’s also an utter buffoon if that matters to you.
Ray Flowers can be heard Monday through Friday at 7 PM EDT on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 7 PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).