Whether or not staff ace Yu Darvish (neck) will be ready for Opening Day is unclear at this point.
T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com writes: "Darvish played catch on Monday but is still dealing with a stiff neck. The Rangers aren’t sure when he’ll get back on the mound and it appears more questionable if he’ll be ready for Opening Day. General manager Jon Daniels said it wouldn’t be the end of the world if Darvish gets pushed back."
The Rangers open the season with a series against the Phillies that begins on Monday, March 31st.
In his second season with the Rangers, Darvish finished second behind Max Scherzer in A.L. Cy Young voting with a 13-9 record, 2.83 ERA (fourth-best in AL) and league-best 277 strikeouts.
Darvish is ranked second in my 2014 starting pitcher fantasy baseball rankings behind only Clayton Kershaw.
Showing posts with label Clayton Kershaw. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Clayton Kershaw. Show all posts
Monday, March 24, 2014
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Kris Medlen (forearm) leaves start early, to have MRI Monday
In the fourth inning of today's spring training game against the Mets, Braves starter Kris Medlen left the game early with what is being called a right forearm strain.
That said, there is the potential that it is a serious injury for Medlen, who had Tommy John surgery back in 2010.
Medlen will have an MRI and be evaluated by the team's orthopedist on Monday, per MLB.com's Mark Bowman.
As Bowman notes, Medlen's initial reaction today after throwing the pitch that led to the injury was similar to his reaction from 2010 before he needed Tommy John surgery.
"He wasn't in good spirits [initially]," [Braves manager Fredi] Gonzalez said. "But after he got settled down a little bit and the trainers looked at him a little bit and the Mets doctors looked at him, I think he was in better spirits."
In 43 starts since July 31, 2012, Medlen has an ERA of 2.47, which is second only to Clayton Kershaw (1.80) during that span.
Hopefully, the news for Medlen tomorrow is better than it appeared, but it looks like there is a good chance that Medlen will begin the season on the disabled list. Not only could the Braves be without Medlen to start the season, but Mike Minor is hoping to be ready by the end of the second week of the regular season.
That said, there is the potential that it is a serious injury for Medlen, who had Tommy John surgery back in 2010.
Medlen will have an MRI and be evaluated by the team's orthopedist on Monday, per MLB.com's Mark Bowman.
As Bowman notes, Medlen's initial reaction today after throwing the pitch that led to the injury was similar to his reaction from 2010 before he needed Tommy John surgery.
"He wasn't in good spirits [initially]," [Braves manager Fredi] Gonzalez said. "But after he got settled down a little bit and the trainers looked at him a little bit and the Mets doctors looked at him, I think he was in better spirits."
In 43 starts since July 31, 2012, Medlen has an ERA of 2.47, which is second only to Clayton Kershaw (1.80) during that span.
Hopefully, the news for Medlen tomorrow is better than it appeared, but it looks like there is a good chance that Medlen will begin the season on the disabled list. Not only could the Braves be without Medlen to start the season, but Mike Minor is hoping to be ready by the end of the second week of the regular season.
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Phillies sign Burnett to one-year deal, Hamels won't be ready for Opening Day
According to Jim Salisbury of CSN Philly, the Phillies have agreed to a one-year deal with free-agent starting pitcher A.J. Burnett and that the deal is worth $16 million.
Even though he had a losing record (10-11) last season with the Pirates, Burnett tied a previous career low in ERA (3.30) and struck out 209 batters in 191.0 innings.
Not only did Burnett's K/9 rate of 9.848 set a career best, but he ranked first in the National League in the category. Miami's Jose Fernandez (9.747) and New York's Matt Harvey (9.639) finished second and third, respectively.
In addition, his HR/9 rate of 0.518 was only slightly worse than his career-best rate of 0.517 (2005). The only N.L. pitchers that had a better rate in 2013 were Harvey (0.353), Clayton Kershaw (0.420) and Jhoulys Chacin (0.502).
Burnett will be the team's No. 3 starter behind Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels. That said, Hamels (shoulder tendinitis) is currently behind in his throwing program and won't be ready for the start of the season.
Even though he had a losing record (10-11) last season with the Pirates, Burnett tied a previous career low in ERA (3.30) and struck out 209 batters in 191.0 innings.
Not only did Burnett's K/9 rate of 9.848 set a career best, but he ranked first in the National League in the category. Miami's Jose Fernandez (9.747) and New York's Matt Harvey (9.639) finished second and third, respectively.
In addition, his HR/9 rate of 0.518 was only slightly worse than his career-best rate of 0.517 (2005). The only N.L. pitchers that had a better rate in 2013 were Harvey (0.353), Clayton Kershaw (0.420) and Jhoulys Chacin (0.502).
Burnett will be the team's No. 3 starter behind Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels. That said, Hamels (shoulder tendinitis) is currently behind in his throwing program and won't be ready for the start of the season.
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers agree to 7-year deal
The Los Angeles Dodgers and their 25-year-old staff ace, Clayton Kershaw, have agreed to a seven-year deal worth $215 million, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles.
Per Shelburne, the deal allows Kershaw, who would have been eligibility for free agency in 2015, to opt out of the deal after the fifth season. Easily becoming the highest-paid pitcher in MLB history, Kershaw's deal beats the extension signed last year by Detroit's Justin Verlander by $35 million.
The winner of two N.L. Cy Young awards in the past three seasons, Kershaw finished second to R.A. Dickey the year he didn't win it.
Not only does Kershaw have a sub-3.00 ERA in each of the past five seasons, he has led the N.L. in ERA for three consecutive years including a career-best 1.83 ERA last season. In addition, he has led the league in WHIP in each of the past three seasons and has 200-plus strikeouts in four consecutive seasons.
Without question, Kershaw will be the slam-dunk top fantasy pitcher when I release my initial 2014 fantasy baseball rankings later this month.
Per Shelburne, the deal allows Kershaw, who would have been eligibility for free agency in 2015, to opt out of the deal after the fifth season. Easily becoming the highest-paid pitcher in MLB history, Kershaw's deal beats the extension signed last year by Detroit's Justin Verlander by $35 million.
The winner of two N.L. Cy Young awards in the past three seasons, Kershaw finished second to R.A. Dickey the year he didn't win it.
Not only does Kershaw have a sub-3.00 ERA in each of the past five seasons, he has led the N.L. in ERA for three consecutive years including a career-best 1.83 ERA last season. In addition, he has led the league in WHIP in each of the past three seasons and has 200-plus strikeouts in four consecutive seasons.
Without question, Kershaw will be the slam-dunk top fantasy pitcher when I release my initial 2014 fantasy baseball rankings later this month.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
MLB Midseason Awards: N.L. Cy Young Award
The NL Cy Young has a lot of guys in the mix for the award at this juncture, with no one really standing head and shoulders above the rest.
Depending on your personal criteria, you can easily make a case for Adam Wainwright who is 12-5 with a 2.45 ERA, Matt Harvey 7-2 with a 2.35 ERA and a league-leading 147 strikeouts, Jeff Locke who is 8-2 with a 2.15 ERA, Patrick Corbin who is 11-1 with a 2.35 ERA, or Jordan Zimmerman who is 12-4 with a 2.58 ERA.
All are great choices with excellent records and ERAs. Some people will favor strikeouts, others favor wins/losses.
Personally, I'm an ERA guy. You can't control your run support, so I don't feel that wins/losses should be held against you for an individual award. While high strikeout totals do impress, I'm also not going to hold efficiency against a pitcher if he gets ground ball outs and throws fewer pitches than a power pitcher.
All that said, I'll give my midseason award to Clayton Kershaw, who is a mere 8-6 but has a 1.98 ERA.
The Dodgers started the season off poorly, and clearly Kershaw did not get a lot of run support early on. He is the only pitcher in baseball with a sub-2.00 ERA, and he has only eight wins.
If Kershaw can remain under two runs per game, it will put him in the company of guys like Roger Clemens, Pedro Martinez, and Greg Maddux, and definitely makes him worthy of the midseason Cy Young.
See A.L. choices: Cy Young leader - MVP leader
[Editor's note: This post is by John Trifone (@JohnnyT0122), who also contributes at our NFL site: Eat, Drink and Sleep Football (see John's archives).]
Depending on your personal criteria, you can easily make a case for Adam Wainwright who is 12-5 with a 2.45 ERA, Matt Harvey 7-2 with a 2.35 ERA and a league-leading 147 strikeouts, Jeff Locke who is 8-2 with a 2.15 ERA, Patrick Corbin who is 11-1 with a 2.35 ERA, or Jordan Zimmerman who is 12-4 with a 2.58 ERA.
All are great choices with excellent records and ERAs. Some people will favor strikeouts, others favor wins/losses.
Personally, I'm an ERA guy. You can't control your run support, so I don't feel that wins/losses should be held against you for an individual award. While high strikeout totals do impress, I'm also not going to hold efficiency against a pitcher if he gets ground ball outs and throws fewer pitches than a power pitcher.
All that said, I'll give my midseason award to Clayton Kershaw, who is a mere 8-6 but has a 1.98 ERA.
The Dodgers started the season off poorly, and clearly Kershaw did not get a lot of run support early on. He is the only pitcher in baseball with a sub-2.00 ERA, and he has only eight wins.
If Kershaw can remain under two runs per game, it will put him in the company of guys like Roger Clemens, Pedro Martinez, and Greg Maddux, and definitely makes him worthy of the midseason Cy Young.
See A.L. choices: Cy Young leader - MVP leader
[Editor's note: This post is by John Trifone (@JohnnyT0122), who also contributes at our NFL site: Eat, Drink and Sleep Football (see John's archives).]
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