I’ve been away from the Ramblings column for a couple of weeks now. No, not leisurely sitting on a beach somewhere sipping on a cool beverage while the waves wash over my feet though that does sound lovely. Truth be told, I was writing as much as ever, just in another direction as I was blasting through football articles for upcoming magazines and draft guides. Got a break today so I’m able to get back to some extra baseball writing (in addition to my Daily Trends and Hitting Coach pieces which I have been doing daily).

Jose Abreu and Nolan Arenado homered Tuesday. Arenado has 15 homers, 50 percent more than the 10 that Abreu has hit.

John Axford has converted all 11 of his save chances for the Rockies.

Melky Cabrera is batting .233 on the year. How is that possible? He also has five doubles. Note that the last two times he’s appeared in 135 games in a season he’s had 35 and 44 two-baggers. His BABIP is just .256, career .308, and his hard hit ball rate is 20 percent. The line drive mark was over 30 percent the last two seasons. He’s simply not squarely the ball up like we’re used to seeing from him.

Be careful what color your drawers are.

Edwin Encarnacion’s shoulder is still an issue. He had to be removed late Tuesday night for a pinch hitter. He doesn’t think a DL stint is needed and is hopeful of returning to the lineup Friday. We shall see, but this is starting to get a bit concerning is it not?

Paul Goldschmidt has a 1.105 OPS. That’s more than .100 points higher than Miguel Cabrera (1.045). By the by, Goldy is on pace to hit steal 25 bases while having a Triple Crown line of .338-45-130 with 120 runs. He’s the best guy going in fantasy. Amazing.

Please donate… immediately. 

Jedd Gyorko has been demoted to Triple-A. What a stunning fall for the young second sacker. Can’t blame the Padres since the dude just isn’t hitting. Truthfully, he hasn’t hit since last season. He may not be back quickly even if he finds his stroke in the minors.

Kenley Jansen has converted all seven of his save chances for the Dodgers. He’s struck out 14 and not walked a batter over eight innings.

Nick Markakis is batting .303 with a .390 OBP. Those are great numbers. However, he’s stolen one base and hasn’t gone deep a single time. A strong real world player, Nick is an average fantasy option in most formats.

David Robertson has a 2.10 ERA and 0.78 WHIP over 24 outings with the White Sox. He’s racking up strikeouts – 13.32 per nine – and he’s walked all of three batters all season long. Dominating. Somehow he’s only 12-for-15 in save conversions.

Aaron Sanchez was supposed to start Wednesday for the Blue Jays. Not happening. Why? His start is being skipped because of “overall body soreness.” Sorry, but what the hell does that mean? The assumption is that Sanchez is fine since the team has already said that Sanchez will re-enter the rotation next Tuesday. Still, really Aaron? My body is sore but I used Icy Hot so now I’m fine.

 

By the way, Copeland held the Marlins to one run over seven innings. For his efforts he was immediately returned to Triple-A.

In four games since he returned to action Matt Wieters has hit .375 with a 1.103 OPS. Don’t forget that from 2011-13 his average effort was 22 homers, 77 RBIs and 66 runs scored. He can hit.

Joey Votto hit three homers Tuesday, the third time he’s done that in his career. Remember when he wasn’t any good cause he couldn’t drive the baseball anymore? I’m looking right at YOU. All of you. I saw the emails, the tweets, the posts on articles. Everyone was done with Votto. You all thought he was the next Joe Mauer. Well Votto is on pace to have a .299 average, 35 homers, 95 RBIs, 90 runs and a .958 OPS. Yeah, he’s terrible.

Chris Young is 5-2 with a 2.25 ERA and 0.94 WHIP for the Royals. That is all. 

 

 

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).