All posts under "Player Commentary" - Page 145

Orlando Hernandez: Last night's debacle against the Braves, 8 ER in 3 innings, was long overdue for Hernandez. Coming into the game, a ridiculously low .144 BHIP% was depressing his 3.32 ERA, which shot up to 3.75. His 7.8 K/9...

Daric Barton - Barton made his major league debut yesterday against the Mariners, and this isn't going to be your ordinary cup of coffee......Barton may very well be in the lineup to stay. (Incidentally, he went 2-3 with two walks...

Oliver Perez- NYN- Hot- Perez continues to throw the way the Pirates thought he would after what was expected to be a breakout season in 2004. Unfortunately for them, Perez is now a Met and his third quality start in...

Ryan Church Are we allowed to admit man-crushes as an analyst? Not sure, but I have a bit of one for Ryan Church. Church was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer Sunday off Atlanta's Lance Cormier. It's been obvious for at...

(Editors note: This is only a sneek peek at this week's entire Prospect Central sent to our members via e-mail. Not a member yet? Visit Insiderbaseball.com today and see what else  you are missing! ) Have you ever noticed...

Delmon Young: You wouldn't notice it unless you were paying close attention but Delmon Young is making some serious strides in the 2nd half of this season. He went 2-4 with a HR last night, his 12th on the season...

Apparently, it is a fact that Rick Ankiel, of the St. Louis Cardinals, received enough Human Growth Hormone in 2004 to last a whole year of continuous use. It is also fact that Ankiel made the extremely rare transition from...

It's time to check out of the Dan Haren honeymoon suite. Haren fell to 14-7 last night after suffering through another poor outing and he's now 1-4 in his last seven starts. Haren allowed five runs on 12 hits and...

Grady Sizemore: In his third full major league season, Sizemore has taken a step back. His power is down; 28 home runs, 11 triples, and 53 doubles in 2006 vs. 23 home runs, 3 triples, and 29 doubles in 2007,...

Jose Reyes Reyes is mired in a 6-for-38 slump and although you certainly won't be benching him (don't) at this point in the season, you have to wonder if all that running (92 stolen base attempts, 74 successful - 80.4%)...

It is early September and stability reins in major league bullpens … Ok, perhaps “stability” is strong … but there have been no major structural changes this week.   The biggest bullpen news of the week may be the...

Jeremy Guthrie held the Rays to 3 runs in 6 IP on 8 hits, 4 walks and 5 K but did not figure in the decision on Tuesday. In the midst of the great season for Jeremy his starts have...

Jason Isringhausen: On paper it has been a fine season for Isringhausen, 1.77 ERA and 26 saves in 28 opportunities. However, there is some trouble lurking beneath the surface. A depressed .164 BHIP% and a ridiculously low HR/FB% of 3.6%...

Alex Gordon - Gordon had three singles for four RBI's yesterday against Texas, but it's his power since the break that intrigues me a bit.....his ISO of .240 is actually quite good, which you'd never believe given the lack of...

Esteban Loaiza- LAN- Hot- Loaiza tossed a quality start in his first outing for the Dodgers, allowing 3 runs on 9 hits and a walk in 7 IP while striking out 3. It was a solid, if not spectacular, start....

(Editors Note: This is a sample sneek peak of Prospect Central this week. Members of Insiderbaseball.com have seen in-depth profiles of over 130 prospects this season and the rest of this week’s report was e-mailed to them this morning....

Alexi Casilla: Given his lack of power, 0 home runs in 148 AB, Casilla will need to make better contact, 86% Ct%, and draw more walks, 5.1 BB%, to be effective. It is surprising that he has swiped 9 bases...

Matt Diaz Diaz is starting to get more at-bats versus right-handers lately and rightfully so. Diaz didn't start on Saturday, but after a .386/.427/.786 August in 70 at-bats, Diaz deserves to start every day over Willie Harris. Eventually (now?) Bobby...

Carlos Villanueva- MIL- Rise Value- With the spate of injuries striking Milwaukee's starters, Villanueva will probably get the start on Tuesday. He performed very well in his recent stint in the minors (3.24 ERA, 0.48 WHIP, 9 Ks in 8-1/3...

Kelvim Escobar, of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, has already set a season high in wins with 15, so every start out for the remainder of the season will be a chance for him to raise the high water...

Chris Young: Be prepared for some injury reports coming out this morning on Chris Young because his start last night suggests he's just not right. Young walked 6 batters in his 4 1/3 innings of work, allowing 5 ER's. This...

Jose Lopez: It is looking like another second-half collapse for Lopez, 1/8/.237 in 177 AB vs. 7/44/.280 in the first-half. The same thing happened last year, 9/58/.280 in the first-half vs. 1/21//285 in the second-half. Although he is still only...

Hi all … I am traveling to Yankee Stadium for today’s Red Sox/Yankees tilt so this morning’s Closer Look was produced last night. Make sure to check your Daily E-mail Update from Insiderbaseball.com this morning for any last minute...

Dustin Moseley Save to say that after Tuesday, Moseley has a good shot at replacing Ervin Santana in the rotation while Bartolo Colon is out. After Santana surrendered five runs while retiring just one batter, Moseley saved the day, working...

Brian Schneider: Schneider provides very little power, 6 home runs and 17 doubles in 352 AB, and no speed. However, he does have a good approach at the plate, 86% Ct% and a .94 BB/K, and with a few more...

Carlos Pena grew up playing high school baseball three walking minutes from my house. My near-teenage daughter was a baby in a stroller when I used to walk her down to watch Carlos play. I interviewed him the day...

A.J. Burnett - A.J. Burnett was at it again last night, walking batters with aplomb until he absolutely had to get an out, which he of course was able to do. Burnett has had a very cushy schedule since coming...

Ryan Church- WAS- Rise Value- With Wily Mo Pena sidelined by injury, Church should get some increased playing time. He has not performed poorly recently, hitting .273 over his last 14 games with 3 homers in 44 at bats. That's...

Every year at some point, I get into a discussion about Contract Year Theory.   I am usually put in the position of having to defend the unpopular position that it is a myth. We hear all the time...

Rafael Furcal: Furcal's had an unusual August, which is usually one of his stronger months, as he's only gone hitless in 5 of the team's 24 games but has hit an empty .274 on the month with only 6 extra...

(Editors note: This is a partial preview of Insiderbaseball.com's Prospect Central, emailed to our memebers each week. Not a member yet? Go to Insiderbaseball.com today and join! And tis the season, so make sure you visit Insiderfootball.com before your...

John Patterson Patterson's injury has certainly been a curious case this year. He pitched seven games, going 1-5 with a 7.47 ERA and 15:22 K:BB, likely pitching many of those games hurt, before he was placed on the DL in...

Radhames Liz- BAL- Rookie- The Orioles are calling up Radhames Liz to make his major league debut today. Liz dominated the Carolina League last year, with a 2.82 ERA and 95 Ks in 83 IP at Frederick. Once he was...

Adam LaRoche, of the Pittsburgh Pirates, capitalized on the extra at bats he received in a 15-inning win against the Houston Astros on Friday night. LaRoche went three for seven with a run scored and four runs batted in. LaRoche...

Zack Greinke: The Royals are moving Greinke back into the starting rotation. His numbers as a reliever; 9.3 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, and a 3.54 ERA, have been much better than when he was a starter earlier this year; 5.2 K/9,...

Will Inman – Brewers Starter – Throws Right – 6-0, 200 – 2/6/1987 Will is a very good test case for personal philosophies in regards to pitching prospects. To me he is simply not the type of guy I...