Another solid night for my Spot Start predictions. Let's recap how each player did.
Start Daisuke Matsuzaka, Thursday vs Oakland
This was a no brainer, as so-called "Spot Start connoisseur's" pray on weak teams. Daisuke has been anything but the model of consistency this season, however he performed flawlessly in this one. Daisuke went 8 innings, giving up only 1 earned run on 5 hits and 2 walks, good for a sub-1.00 WHIP, and a 1.12 ERA. He managed to get 6 punch-outs, but you never want to expect to many strikeouts from him. This is about as good a start as you could invision him having all season.
Sit Kevin Slowey, Thursday at Tampa Bay
Slowey has been dominant lately, but this just wasn't a great matchup. Boy did he start out strong though, looking like he was going to prove me wrong. He started the game with 7 scoreless innings, recording 8 K's while only allowing 3 hits. Unfortunately for Slowey (and fortunately for me) everything unraveled in the 8th inning, where Slowey gave up 2 hits (one was a solo homerun), hit a batter and walked a batter. All 3 baserunners came around to score on Jason Bartlett's grand slam off of Ron Mahay. Not a bad outing by any means, as his WHIP was a lowely 0.65, and he did record 9 K's (a season high if I'm not mistaken). However, his ERA stood at 4.69 and he helped blow a 6 run lead, and although the Twins won, he didn't get a decision. Not a terrible outing, just not a great one.
So far, I've been spot on my spot starts and hit or miss with my sits. My Start pitchers own the following stats: 3-0, 30 IP, 0.60 ERA, 0.70 WHIP and 25 K's. That is rather remarkable if I do say so myself, and if you took my advice in a Head-2-Head league, you likely will win 4 of 5 pitching categories based on those stats alone. My Sit pitchers actually turned out to be not so bad, just not as good as my Starts. The Sit guys posted a 2-1 record, with a 4.44 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 23 K's in 26.1 IP. Not bad, but it did hurt your ERA, and it's obvious that the Starts are having a better week than the Sits.
J.P. Arencibia to make Major League Debut
Arencibia, called up to take John Bucks spot on the Blue Jays roster, will get regular playing time for the next two weeks until Buck returns from injury. He's got some power potential and if your in need of a quick fix in the HR department, you could do worse. It's likely Arencibia will be Toronto's opening day catcher next season, but for now they are just trying to get him some experience in the big leagues. He's a good add if you just lost Carlos Santana for the season, but it's only a temporary fix.
*Update* The Blue Jays released their lineup today, and for the second straight day Jose Molina will be behind the plate. I don't see this happening much longer, as they didn't call up Arencibia to sit on the bench. Expect him to make his major league debut on Saturday.
Royals designate Jose Guillen for assignment
Basically, the Royals are cutting their losses and seeing what they can get for the journeyman. They have 10 days to either cut him, or trade him. The Royals will look to get some prospects in return, but there is no news yet if any team is seriously interesting.
Youkilis, Santana newest players out for season
Kevin Youkilis will have season ending thumb surgery, while Carlos Santana joins the same club with season ending knee surgery. Both of these injuries ironically occured in the same game. With the loss of Youkilis, it will be interesting to see if the Red Sox pack it in and try to deal some veteran players, or if they truely believe they can catch the Yankees or Rays. Youkilis was arguably the Red Sox most consistent player all season, and his loss will mean big changes in the Red Sox lineup.
Losing Carlos Santana doesn't mean much for the Indians, as they are planning for the future. The Indians are more concerned with Santana's long term health, and if that means season ending surgery, they are more than happy to do it. From a Fantasy perspective, all Santana owners are now scrambling for replacements, and Shin-Soo Choo just took a hit, as he no longer has Austin Kearns or Santana in the lineup to protect him. Choo is far and away the best Indians hitter now, and he likely won't see many good pitchers for the remainder of the season.
Strasburg to return to rotation on Tuesday
Stephen Strasburg made it through his simulated game without any problems, and appears ready to rejoin the rotation. This is good news for Nationals fans, as the injury proved to be fatigue. This is even better news for Strasburg's owners, as they missed his strikeout rate this past week.
Kila Ka'aihue gets playing time in Kansas City
However you pronounce his name, the "Kila-monster" appears to be finally given a chance to perform with the Royals. He's a guy with lots of potential, who has been in the minors too long. He probably won't have a major impact this season, although he will get playing time, but most of his value is in next season. If you can get him as a late round keeper, he might be worth the risk. He projects as an opening day starter next season, as a high risk high reward type guy.
