Two
of the most hated men in fantasy baseball — and rightfully so — are Rich Harden and Milton Bradley. They tease and entice you with visions of Cy
Young’s and MVP’s one moment, and then break down faster than a cheap wooden
bat the next. Sure, you may have both of them on your team right now while
sitting comfortably in first place. But the question is, can you ride them for
the rest of the season to a championship, or do you trade them now?
Since
coming off the DL in early May, Harden has been great, going at least six innings
in six of his seven starts and compiling an 11.1 K/9 rate in that time. For the
year, he now as a 2.53 ERA, a 1.18 WHIP, a 2.91 K/BB rate, and a 11.3 K/9
rated. These are the types of numbers we’ve come to expect from a healthy
Harden.
As
for Bradley, he’s been equally if not more impressive on the offensive side.
He’s batting .329 with 15 HR, 46 RBI, and a 1.081 OPS. While he’s always been
an impressive player, his career high in home runs is 19, and that was when he
had a career high 516 at-bats in 2004. Since Bradley’s rookie season in 2000,
that’s the only season in which he’s had over 400 at-bats.
If
you own Harden, you’d be wise to stick with him. You’ll never get full value in
a trade for him because of his injury history, and if you deal him at a cut
rate, you could miss out on some great numbers. Take the chance and keep him.
Bradley’s a different story. He left yesterday’s game in the third inning with
a mild left quad strain, but the injury appears to be minor. That aside, he’s
hitting way over his head right now and possesses more than an injury risk — he
has a tendency to implode mentally as well. If you can trade him and get a
decent return, do it.
Elsewhere...
* Johnny Cueto threw a
decent game yesterday in taking the loss — 7 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 2 K — but
continues to be plagued by a poor K/BB rate. In his last six starts he’s walked
21 and struck out 21. There’s no way he can lower his ERA if he continues this
trend.
* The man
Cueto lost to last night — Chad
Billingsley — is trending in a different direction. Over his last six
starts he has 38 strikeouts and just 14 walks. He’s allowed just 10 earned runs
in those six starts.
* Mike Aviles hit his
third home run since being called up and is now hitting .318/.348/.614 in his
first 44 at-bats. He was the Royals’ minor league player of the year last
season and has put up some decent power numbers before. Don’t expect this type
of production to continue, but a .300 BA and .450 SLG aren’t out of the
question.
* Jason Kubel has hit a
home run in four of the last seven games he’s played. The last part of that is
quite relevant. In June Kubel is hitting .325/.426/.700 but has only started 11
of the Twins’ 16 games. It’s hard to plug someone into your lineup who isn’t
getting consistent playing time; however, he’s worth keeping an eye on.
* Don’t look
now but The Gambler is back in town. Kenny
Rogers won for the fifth time in six decisions and now has four consecutive
starts going at least seven innings. Over those four starts he’s allowed just
three earned runs. He still doesn’t strike guys out, but expect consistent
starts and an ERA around four for the rest of the season.
* Mark Ellis went
3-for-4 with two home runs last night, giving him eight on the season. In June
he’s hitting .339/.403/.627. He obviously won’t continue at that pace but he’s
shown in the past that he can put together decent middle infield power.
* Manny Parra had another
strong outing last night — W, 7 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, 5 K. In five of his last
seven starts he’s allowed one or zero runs. Unfortunately, in the other two
he’s allowed a total of 11 runs. For him to be considered more than a
spot-starter, he must prove to be more consistent.
* After his
incredible start, Jay Bruce has come
back to earth a bit. He’s hitless in his last three games and hasn’t had a
multi-hit game in nine. As hot as he started, this had to be expected — but it
doesn’t mean that you abandon him.
* Brandon Morrow earned
his second save last night by striking out two in a perfect ninth. He hasn’t
allowed a run in 13 straight outings.
* Since
being called up on May 31, Kyle Davies
is 3-0 with a 1.46 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. He’s allowed just one run in each of
his four starts including last night. Unfortunately, along with his high WHIP,
he has a 1:1 K/BB rate. Expect a downturn soon.
* Mike Gonzalez is
expected to return to the Braves today. Expect him to become the new Braves’
closer very soon.
* Brad Penny was placed
on the DL with a sore shoulder, something that has apparently bothered him all
year. This would have been nice to know earlier in the year before he built up
a 5.88 ERA.
* Another
struggling player headed to the DL is Paul
Konerko, with a strained oblique. It’s his first time on the DL in his
career.
* In
shocking injury news, Bartolo Colon
has landed back on the DL with a stiff lower back.
Spot-start
candidate:
Kevin Slowey vs.
Washington. Slowey has a 7.41 ERA in his last three starts but an 11:1 K/BB
rate. He’s pitching against a team that hits just .235 against righties. He’ll
turn it around tonight.
Avoid:
Kyle Kendrick vs.
Boston. In his last three starts Kendrick has a decent 3.57 ERA but an awful
4:6 K/BB rate. Boston hits righties well
— .277/.352/.447 — and should feast on him at Citizens.
QuickTIP Results
I
said start:
Andy Pettitte — W, 7 IP, 0 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 9 K
I
said avoid:
Jamie Moyer — L, 5 IP,
2 ER, 4 H, 5 BB, 4 K
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