Saturday Notes

With Jimmy Rollins already drawing my wrath, here are some other things I took from today's play, of course from a fantasy perspective...

• What happened to you, Manny Parra? On May 17, you tossed your fourth straight quality start in a row and lowered your ERA to 4.57. After that, you have simply imploded. You got shellacked today, allowing 6 runs and retiring only 5 batters before being yanked. Your ERA is now 7.52, and your 1.92 WHIP is almost unconscionable. I can't imagine Parra is being started in any mixed league formats right now, but if you were holding onto Parra as bench insurance, for goodness sake, feel free to dump him. And as for NL-only leaguers that own Parra, the news that he is being demoted to AAA after this start should be welcomed. Parra has talent, folks, but he is most certainly not getting results right now. He will inevitably get another chance later in the season, so don't completely forget about him, and the next paragraph might tell you why I say that.

• Jose Contreras had a Manny Parra-like start to his season, yet he is the one that was the opposing pitcher against Parra today and he has turned in two brilliant starts since being banished to the minors. This is why I say that sometimes a pitcher can turn it around after a stint away from the big leagues (Ricky Nolasco looks like he may have turned things around too, for example). Contreras went 8 outstanding innings today against a powerful Brewer lineup, allowing 2 harmless hits and striking out eight. He has not allowed a run in 16 innings since returning to the rotation, and he's given up a mere three hits in those 16 innings. His ERA when he got sent down to the minors on May 8 was 8.19, and after 16 scoreless innings it now stands at 5.32. He's obviously a worthwhile pickup in AL-only leagues, and, dare I say it, a possible mixed league pickup as well. I'd hold off on grabbing him in shallow mixed leagues, but those that are in a position to roll the dice certainly can give him a try.
  

• I thought it was worth pointing out that with a scoreless inning today (as mentioned, the Brewers got blown out so this was just an appearance to get work in), Trevor Hoffman has started the season with 19 innings of shutout baseball. Remarkable. I expect bumps in the road later, but it's obvious Hoffman is healthy and considering that the Brewers are a solid team, he has to be viewed as a very solid #2 closer going forward. And his 16 K's in 19 innings aren't terrible, either. Bravo, Trevor.
  

• Troy Tulowitzki is not meeting expectations so far this season, but don't let that blind you from noticing that in the past week, the Long Beach State product has hit .455 with 3 homers, 5 RBI, 3 stolen bases, and 7 runs scored. The talent is there for Tulowitzki, and with shortstop being so weak, you might want to take a look and see if he is available in your league (he's owned in 76% of Yahoo leagues). He was 1-for-3 today with a stolen base, and his 7 steals already tie him for his career high. He isn't a particularly good base-stealer (he's been caught 5 times this season and for his career, he has been successful just one more time than he's been thrown out), but there's no question that he is running more this season, and that's always good news for fantasy purposes. He's on pace for close to a 20-20 season, and if he continues to hit, he'll be one of the better SS values from this point on. I'd target him in trades if you can get him as a buy-low because his year-to-date totals aren't good, and, again, if he's out there on your league's waiver wire, he's a recommended add.

• While the Mets pounded out 17 hits in their win at Bandbox Field today against the Yankees, hitting achievements at that park aren't especially noteworthy. Instead, what I took from this game from a fantasy perspective was the solid outing of Fernando Nieve. Nieve, who will be 27 next month, tossed 96 1/3 innings for the Astros in 2006, making 11 starts and compiling a respectable 4.20 ERA. But he missed all of 2007 with injuries, and only pitched 10 2/3 innings for the Astros last year. Given a chance to start for the Mets today, Nieve held the Yankees to 2 runs in 6 2/3 innings, and while the 2 K's aren't impressive, the 4 hits and 2 walks allowed most definitely are. I thought his low-90's fastball looked live, with good movement. You can't overrate a guy with his injury history after just one start, but I would keep an eye on him in NL-only leagues. Remember, if he sticks in the Met rotation, he would be pitching on a solid team in a pitcher's ballpark.

• Zach Duke continues to defy the odds, perhaps, with great pitching. Duke hurled 8 innings to beat the Tigers today, allowing 3 runs on just 6 hits and a walk (with 3 K's). His ERA is now 3.10, and I never would have believed that Duke could have an ERA of right around 3 past June 1. Most improbable, to me, is that Duke isn't giving up a lot of hits; just 88 in 93 innings now. Combined with his always-low walk totals, Duke is now holding a super 1.17 WHIP (coming into the season, his career WHIP was just about 1.50). I'm going to continue to tout Duke as a sell-high candidate, because I just think an inevitable rough patch is coming. Keep in mind that a pitcher with such low strikeout totals (47 K's in 93 innings) almost has to have a low ERA and WHIP in order to be worth starting in mixed leagues. Duke has a 3.10 ERA and 1.17 WHIP right now, but if he were to post a 4.25 ERA and 1.30 WHIP from this point on, and continues to strike out 1 batter per 2 innings, he won't be worth owning in mixed leagues. Again, my advice is to sell high.