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Gee’s Up, Mows Down Cards
Mets' pitcher Dillon Gee has been very impressive over his last three starts. The 27-year-old Gee has gone 3 – 0 over that span of 20.3 innings, with only a single earned run allowed in each of those performances. All three starts have come against formidable offenses, as he’s faced the Yankees, Nationals and Cardinals. His strikeout rate has improved substantially with a twelve-strikeout effort over the Bombers followed by two straight seven-strikeout games over the Nats and Cards. With this hot streak, Gee has improved to 5-6 with a 4.84 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. Granted, those numbers are mediocre by most standards, but they represent an incredible improvement over the 2-6 record and 6.34 ERA he held as recently as May 25th. Gee told reporters after Wednesday’s start that he has been dealing with flexor tendinitis since Spring Training, but that it wasn't a major issue. Monitor that situation, but I would suggest adding Gee in leagues where he's available. He owns a 1.32 ERA in June as a result of dominating both the Nats and Cards (who have the best run differential in MLB).
Brew Cruise
Jean Segura and Carlos Gomez led the charge for the Brewers on Wednesday. Gomez had a great night at the dish going 4-for-5 with two triples and three RBI, upping his batting average to .326. Segura, who has been a fantasy goldmine, hit his 10th homer of the season in a 1-for-4 effort. Both Gomez and Segura now are in double digits in homers and stolen bases. Coming into the 2013 season Ryan Braun was presumed to be the Brewers; top fantasy contributor, right? Not so fast! Looking at today’s CBS Roto rankings for 5x5 leagues, Brewers shortstop sensation Jean Segura is ranked fifth overall, while newly extended center-fielder Carlos Gomez is ranked tenth. Braun is listed at #63 overall and is currently sidelined with a thumb issue; he also could be facing a suspension from the Biogenesis PED scandal. I know it may be tough to do, but it is time to sell high on Jean Segura. He is NOT this good and he's never shown these types of numbers anywhere in his career.
Saving Grace
Grant Balfour raged for saves on back-to-back days adding number 17 on Wednesday; Aroldis Chapman struck out two as he closed out a gem by Mike Leake for his 17th save; Glen Perkins closed out the reeling Phillies (5 straight losses) for his 15th save; Andrew Bailey was solid as he struck out two for save no. 7; Nick Vincent came on to clean up and earned his first career save after Luke Gregerson allowed 2 hits and an earned run.
Not So Graceful
Tom Wilhelmsen seems to be losing his footing as the Mariners closer. Tom blew his fourth save of the season and Eric Wedge may need to look elsewhere. Carter Capps would be the add.
Luke Gregerson’s grasp on the closer role in San Diego is far from solid as he blew another save Wednesday and was bailed out by Nick Vincent. Dale Thayer would seem to be next in line, however Thayer has been homer prone even in Petco Park. Vincent is also intriguing as he has averaged over a strikeout per inning in his minor league career. Gregerson and/or Street owners should watch closely.
AL Hot Shots
- Brandon Moss has been in a funk, but a powerful funk. He hit two homers on Wednesday giving him 11 on the season. He has 4 hits over his last 19 at-bats, all of which have left the yard. Even deeper: Dating back to May 25, his only hit was a home run, giving him 5 hits and 5 HR over his last 32 at-bats.
- Evan Longoria cranked his 13th homer of the year in a losing effort to the Red Sox.
- Daniel Nava hit his 9th homer of the season, a two-run shot to put the Red Sox ahead for good. He now sports a .299 BA and 44 RBI.
- Jurickson Profar went 3-for-5 leading off for the rangers adding an RBI upping his average to .292.
- Jason Kipnis was 3-for-5 with a homer, finishing just a triple shy of the cycle. He’s hit safely in seven straight and has his average up to .253 with 9 bombs and 14 base thieveries.
- Nick Franklin continues to solidify an everyday role as he went 3-for-4 with an RBI. He’s hitting .300 thus far and has been on base at a .397 clip. Dustin Ackley has been playing LF for Triple-A Tacoma which speaks volumes for how the club views Franklin’s future in the lineup.
- Clete Thomas went 4-for-4 with two RBI. With Aaron Hicks and Wilkin Ramirez on the shelf the Twins have very few options at CF. Thomas was raking in Triple-A before getting the call with a .296 AVG, 9 HR and a .385 OBP. He’s a toolsy player who never really got a chance to start. He could be a heady pickup in deep leagues as Hicks’ performance continues to underwhelm with lacking consistency.
- Jeremy Bonderman posted back-to-back solid performances with eight shutout innings against the Astros on Wednesday. He’s be stuck with a no-decision as Wilhelmson would blow the save. It would have been a good spot start but Bonderman is not an advisable option going forward.
NL Hot Shots
- Lucas Duda (11), David Wright (9) and Marlon Byrd (9) all homered for the Mets as they topped the Cardinals and Shelby Miller.
- Shelby Miller struck out 10 but allowed 4 ER as homers from Wright and Duda did him in. His ERA rose to a still fantastic 2.21 with the loss moving him to 7-4 on the season.
- Miguel Montero went 4-for-6 with an RBI and two runs scored. Montero has largely under-performed thus far but seems to be picking things up with a .300 BA in June.
- Edinson Volquez struck out a season-high nine over seven innings as he rebounded from the worst start of his career.
- Justin Upton hit a home run for the first time since May 17th. The solo shot was his 15th on the year and his 12th solo homer. Eww.
- Ryan Braun missed his third consecutive game and has not taken batting practice since being removed from Sunday's game. Give the boy his PEDs back.
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