After trading for All World 3B Miguel Cabrera and SP Dontrelle Willis, the Detroit Tigers we’re regarded as one of the best teams in baseball entering the 2008 season. They were all but handed the AL Central crown and considered World Series contenders by just about every sports pundit in the biz…including me. Well…what a difference just a couple of weeks can make. Now the Tigers reside in the basement of the AL Central and look more like pretenders than contenders. Their offense struggled a bit out of the gate but has since come around. Their pitching however is in shambles. Other than Jeremy Bonderman, the pitching staff has been horrendous. Kenny Rogers is getting hit hard, Willis is hurt and Justin Verlander (their staff ace) is really struggling. Verlander’s lost three straight starts and owns a 7.03 ERA. Ordinarily I’d say that he’s too good to struggle like this and he’ll bounce back soon. But there are reports that he’s lost almost 10mph on his fastball and that’s a real cause for concern. He does have two decent match-ups coming up against the Rangers and Angels. If he doesn’t show any improvement, then you may want to consider unloading him while you can. Continue to monitor his progress.
Arizona Diamondbacks
They’re the best team in baseball right now bar none. Their pitchers are dealing and their hitters are lighting up the scoreboard. Mark Reynolds is among the league leaders in HR with 5 and in the top 4 in RBI with 17 trailing only David Wright, Chipper Jones and teammate Conor Jackson. Reynolds is the real deal so if you’ve got him don’t sell high. Speaking of Conor Jackson, the guy is totally in the zone right now. He’s hitting .400 over the last 7 games with 3 HR and 11 RBI and even a SB. Enjoy the run while it lasts. Brandon Webb may be the staff ace, but Dan Haren has been the best pitcher on the roster to date. He’s 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP and the road ahead looks pretty easy with match-ups against the Dodgers and Padres whom he has already dominated this year. Justin Upton may be the youngest player in the bigs at 20, but he’s playing like a seasoned pro. The kid is hitting a robust .384 with 5 HR and 18 RBI. I love this kid (he’s on all of my fantasy teams), but you need to look a little closer at his numbers. Upton’s struck out an alarming 17 times in just 65 AB, which is not the stereotypical sign of a .300 hitter. Look, the kid’s a stud and should not be traded under any circumstances. He may slow down a little bit (especially in the average department) but it looks like he’s for real and could help owners win a fantasy title in 2008.
Chicago White Sox
The Sox have to be ecstatic that they didn’t accept some horrible low-ball offer for 3B Joe Crede. Since returning from season ending back surgery, Crede has been red-hot. He’s now hitting .305 with 5 HR (3rd in AL) and 18 RBI (2nd in AL) and still hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down. Obviously he won’t be able to sustain this pace, but a 30 HR 90 RBI isn’t out of the question. After all, Crede accomplished that feat in 2006 which was the last time he was healthy. OF Jerry Owens was sent down to AAA thus guaranteeing everyday AB’s to OF Carlos Quentin. Danny Richar is still nursing a hamstring injury and isn’t expected back soon. Jose Contreras looked great this week vs. Baltimore going 7 strong innings and only allowing a run with 6 K’s. Even though he’s a risky start vs. the Yankees, he sports a lifetime 3.96 ERA against the Bronx Bombers and may be a nice pick-up in AL Only leagues.
Cleveland Indians
What in the world is up with C.C. Sabathia? He’s gotten rocked every start so far this year. His velocity is fine and it appears as if he’s healthy. But, it is a contract year and he could be trying to pitch through an injury because of it. His next match-up is against the upstart Kansas City Royals who he has a lifetime record against of 13-8 with a 3.38 ERA. The Royals are losers of 3 in a row and 7 of there last 10. If he can’t get it going against them, it may time to officially panic. Cliff Lee on the other hand has been the staff ace so far in 2008. The lefthander is 3-0 with a 0.40 ERA and a 0.44 WHIP…unreal. He’s had trouble with the Royals in the past and he may finally have a mediocre start this week.
Milwaukee Brewers
Ben Sheets left his last start with what he described as tightness in his right triceps. Sheets’ owners everywhere are deeply saddened by this as he was the best pitcher so far this year before the injury. It’s speculated that he’ll avoid a trip to the DL but I highly doubt it. I’d expect he’ll make a 2- 4 week trip on the DL and return around the second week of May. Prince Fielder finally hit his first homer and did it in dramatic fashion. Last year Prince didn’t heat-up last year until May so good things should be on the horizon. Mike Cameron is almost finished serving his 25 game suspension for testing positive and violating the league’s substance abuse program and is scheduled to return for the April 29 – May 1 series against the Cubs.
New York Yankees
Can I get a mulligan please? Hank / Hal Steinbrenner and GM Brian Cashman should all be ready to hang themselves for passing on the Johan Santana deal back in January. At the time, they were unwilling to part with either Phil Hughes or Ian Kennedy (plus prospects) in a deal for the 2-time CY Young award winner. So far in 2008 Hughes has been horrendous and honestly shouldn’t even be in the rotation, while Kennedy can’t last more than 4 INN on average. Despite how horrible both youngsters have been, I wouldn’t drop either of them yet. However, I wouldn’t ‘t be surprised to see either or both sent down in the near future. Robinson Cano is off to another slow start and may not heat up until the temperature outside does. He seems to be Jekyll and Hyde player so if you own him, don’t trade him unless you get fair market value. If you want to buy low on him, wait another 2- 4 weeks and let the current owner absorb his bad stats.
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