TEXAS RANGERS

Robinson Tejada’s 4 ER in 3 innings performance on Wednesday against the Orioles shows why the fly ball pitcher should never be active when he is pitching in the bandbox called Ameriquest Field.  In three home starts this year, he is sporting an absurd 14.46 ERA.

In his first 8 starts with the Rangers, Adam Eaton has been unable to recapture the groundball approach that brought him success in the first-half of last year.  A right-handed pitcher with a .70 G/F ratio pitching in Ameriquest Field is a dangerous combination.

Kip Wells is done for the season with a right foot injury.  John Koronka should reclaim the fifth starting pitcher spot.

LOS ANGELES ANGELS

Since his July recall, 23 year-old Howie Kendrick is batting .347 in 150 AB.  Kendrick’s .25 batting eye reveals that he is not a patient hitter.  Instead he relies on making solid contact.  He also has 18 doubles, all of them coming in his second tour with the club.  A high doubles total for a young hitter hints at home run potential as they mature. 

It looks like major league pitching has caught up with rookie Mike Napoli.  After posting a .286 pre-All-Star break batting average, he is hitting a measly .126 since the break.  Part of if it can be explained by luck, balls that were falling in for hits in the first-half of the season are finding opposing players’ gloves in the second-half.  What is not luck is his poor 67% contact rate, which over a full-season will almost always produce a very low batting average.

OAKLAND ATHLETICS

Some major league team will pay free-agent-to-be Barry Zito star pitcher money when his underlying stats of a 6.3 K/9, 3.8 BB/9 and .95 G/F ratio say that he is merely a good pitcher. 

After a poor start, it looks like Brad Halsey is out of the fifth starter spot.  Kirl Saarloos appears to be back in the role.  His 3.1 K/9, 3.8 BB/9 and 2.02 G/F ratio mean his teammates behind him better be playing their best defense if he is going to have success.

Huston Street had no problems in a throwing session and should be able to return on September 3rd.  Justin Duchscherer will go back to the set-up role.

Dan Johnson is back with the big league club.  Since the team was doing fine without him in the line-up, he probably will not see enough time to make a fantasy impact.

SEATTLE MARINERS

After allowing just 1 ER in his first two starts against the Angels and the Red Sox, Jake Woods was tagged for 4ER in 5 innings in a rematch against the Angels.  He is a fly ball pitcher with a K/9 of 5.8 and a too high BB/9of 5.2.  Avoid him in all formats.

Chris Snelling is off to a hot start, batting .371, with 2 home runs in his first 35 AB.  The sample size is small, but players with a 66% contact rate and a .33 batting eye have no business hitting in the .300s.

Gil Meche’s 2 ER, 7 K, 1 BB in 7 innings performance against the Red Sox could signal that he is snapping out of his funk.