Roto Chronicles: National League–June 2

It’s a never ending cycle: Who played well, who didn’t. The answers are here.

There were some unusually bad performances this week, and some unusually good ones too. Some players are coming back from the DL and some are going to the DL. It’s a never ending cycle, but nonetheless, here we are with this week’s edition of Ruts and Royalty.

Ruts:

Tom Gorzellany: Gorzellany did so poorly in his last start, the Pirates decided to push him back a start to get his psyche back in order. He didn’t pitch past the first inning against the Reds on May 28th. 6 runs, 2 walks, 2 retired batters and 4 hits later, Gorzellany was pulled from the game. He amassed an “INF” for his efforts on that day. While this was supposed to be Gorzellany’s break out year, he hasn’t come close to his billing. Though he’s done well in some games, he’s inconsistent. The Reds are a good team and I don’t mean to demean them by any means, but that is a game he should’ve won. Look for him to get demoted to the bullpen in the upcoming weeks. It might serve him better to be in that position for a while until he can build up his confidence. However, he might also find his niche in the pen. Keep your eye on him. The bullpen is a good place for pitchers to get their groove back, but in the process he could pitch well enough to get you holds or saves.

Willy Tavares: Tavares is 5 for his last 23. That put him at an average of .208. What’s worse is that he doesn’t have a homerun this season and only 9 RBIs. I can’t say for sure that he’s the only reason the Rockies are in the cellar in the NL West, but he’s one of the main causes. Tavares’s strikeout totals aren’t very high with 32 on the season, so he is at least putting the ball into play. Many of his balls are weakly hit showing us that he might be losing confidence at the plate. His average is a mediocre .243. Though Clint Hurdle still has faith in him, don’t let that fool you. Place him on the bench until he finds his groove. It might not be a bad option to drop him altogether.

Justin Upton: Suffice it to say, Upton has struggled as of late. What’s appalling about his numbers is that he has 66 strikeouts on the year. That’s a third of his at-bats this season. His average may be a .275, but that doesn’t excuse him from his high strikeout total. What’s amazing about Upton is his uncanny ability to get on base despite his strikeouts. His OBP is .389 (higher than Chase Utley) and OPS of .856. Upton may be hovering around a decent batting average, but he should rebound fairly quickly. This week’s opponents are Milwaukee and Pittsburgh, clubs where the pitching is subpar. Look for him to break out.

James Loney: Despite a hot start to the season, Loney has tailed off considerably as of late. He bat .245 this past week and only had 2 RBIs. Loney doesn’t strikeout much, and he can put the ball in play, which is good, but they just need to find the holes in the defense. He hasn’t changed his approach at the plate so it can’t be anything that is mechanical. Younger players have a tendency to slip up a little bit so it’s okay if Loney has a couple bad weeks. Every pro player has them. Give him some time. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to start him because he can break out of his slump pretty quickly.

Royalty:

Jay Bruce: Bruce didn’t disappoint in his first week in the majors. He’s hitting .596 with 2 homeruns and 6 RBIs. Not bad for someone who was just called up. Why the Reds didn’t keep him after Spring Training is beyond me, but he’s showing no signs of letting up. In his debut against Pittsburgh, he went a perfect 1.000 going 3 for 3 and drawing two walks. Bruce has plenty of upside in his game. He is reminiscent of Hunter Pence from last season: aggressive at the plate, fast, and good instincts at the plate. Bruce will be available for the rest of the season, and if you were weary about picking him up in the first place, now is the time to make a move for him.

Jorge Campillo: Campillo didn’t start the season as the starter. He was a reliever that has improved his game immensely in such a short time. Since being converted to the starter role on May 20th, Campillo has shown that he can take on the roll with no problems. He is steamrolling his opponents collecting 2 wins in the process. Campillo has given up 9 hits and one run in over 16 innings pitched. Though he won’t pitch many pitches in a game, that probably warrants him being pulled in the 5th or 6th innings. It’s very hard for a relief pitcher to work their way into the starting line up, but he is having success when he takes the mound. Things like this take time. His ERA is .99, and his WHIP is .83.

Billy Wagner: He’s lights out…not bad for someone that’s 36-years old. Not only does he have 11 saves, but he has a .39 ERA. He’s shown it doesn’t matter who he pitches against, he’ll still get them out. He’s only given up only 1 earned run this season. If that’s not attention grabbing I don’t know what is. What’s better is that he has 28 strikeouts over 23 innings pitched. That’s a little over 1 strikeout per inning and he won’t walk many batters either only walking only 4. He should be an all-star and he could be reliever of the year. You can’t go wrong by putting him in your line up on an everyday basis.

Chase Utley: Utley is destroying the ball. He has an astonishing 50 RBIs and 20 homeruns. At this point in the season he should be the favorite to be in the starting position for the All-Star game. One stat that won’t stick out much is the fact that he has 47 runs scored. Pitchers fear him right now. Rightfully so, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Utley will be a force to be reckoned with and you would be a fool not to start him daily. Currently, the Phillies can’t rely on Ryan Howard because he strikes out quite a bit and his average isn’t as good as it should be so they’re putting more on the shoulders of Utley and he’s doing just fine. Let’s just hope he doesn’t get hurt.

Adrian Gonzales: There’s not much to cheer for in San Diego, but Adrian Gonzales is giving the Padres something to have hope in. He’s batting a very deceiving .290. Just because a batter doesn’t bat in the .300 plus range, doesn’t make him a decent or bad hitter. You have to look at his other numbers. He has 16 homeruns and 50 RBIs. To go on top of that he’s drawn 16 walks. Those are pretty good numbers and an only bright spot for a team that’s in desperate need of some help. The downside of Gonzales is his high strikeout totals. He has 51 on the year. That’s a strikeout every 4.5 at-bats. That will need to be corrected, but he should be good to go. He’s worth starting everyday and it doesn’t look as if he has a problem hitting dominant pitching.

DL Watch:

Angel Pagan: Pagan is a very good player in the Mets’ organization that went down. Though he wasn’t an everyday player, he was still able to get valuable hits for you if he played in the stead of another outfielder. Fortunately his injury isn’t bad and can be recovered from easily. He should be back anytime as his injury is healing quickly. He was placed on the 15-Day DL as of May 13th, but the Mets may be leaving him there just as a precaution. Look for him to bounce back quickly.

Pedro Martinez: Martinez is making strides in his minor league rehab assignments and can find his way back into the rotation soon. The timetable for his return is still undetermined, but if he’s pitching in rehab assignments, that’s a sign of good things to come. If he doesn’t come back this week, he’ll be available next week.

Eric Byrnes: The Diamondbacks took a step back when Byrnes went on the DL. Byrnes isn’t a very active hitter, but his streakiness warrants him starting when he gets back. He’ll be gone for another couple weeks. He was put on the DL on May 27th, but he might come back earlier.

Jayson Werth: Werth went down with a right oblique strain. Oblique strains usually aren’t detrimental and they heal on time. Don’t be surprised if the Phillies decide to keep him on the DL a few more days. Werth is a good player with instincts at the plate. His .260 average is decent, but he’s a good player to start on a regular basis.

Up and Coming Players:

Chad Billingsley: Don’t let his 4-6 record fool you. In 4 of the games in which he lost the Dodgers’ offense only gave him 4 runs or less of support. Against the Mets Billingsley pitched 7 strong innings, gave up 4 hits and no runs and in his start before that he gave up 2 runs in 6 innings against the high powered Cubs’ offense. His worthy 3.29 ERA should not be taken lightly. This young pitcher has plenty of potential, and if the Dodgers can give him some run support when he takes the mound, he’ll start to rack up more wins. Another worthy note of Billingsley is his strikeout total. He has 71 on the young season. While he doesn’t get a lot of talk from the media, Billingsley should be given a good look on your roster. In his 13 starts on the season he has only given up the long ball 3 times. That’s a sign of a pitcher who scouts the batters. He’s good and given time and run support, he’ll be better.