Roto Chronicles: National League–Aug. 18

With the end of the season a little over a month away some players find themselves performing better than ever, while others are playing to forget about their seasons. Who did well, who suffered? The answers are near.

As the playoff hunt starts to heat up certain players are doing the same, while some are choking under the pressure. This is common as the hunt for the pennant gets more and more competitive. Granted many players know it’s out of their reach at this point, but they are fighting for recognition for next season and a bigger payday. This week’s royalty players found their play taken to the next level. The same can’t be said for the rut players, but given time, they will break out of it and could find themselves with extended playing time down the road.

Royalty:

Willy Taveras: Even though Tavares isn’t putting up solid numbers as he used to with the Astros, you can’t ignore what he’s done this week. He’s batting .480 with three runs, and seven stolen bases. The Rockies are becoming more aggressive with Tavares now that he’s getting on base more. This is what was expected of him early in the season, but has failed to deliver. Some players turn it on at the end of the season and it looks like he’s no exception to that rule. His average has raised significantly going from .247 to .261, a .14 jump in average in just one week. If he can keep up this momentum he’ll have a special close to the season.

Reed Johnson: Johnson only played in five games this week, but he made the most out of all his opportunities. He’s batting an even .500 average with three runs and four RBIs. He splits time with Jim Edmonds out in center field, which may prevent Johnson from being picked up by many owners, but these type of players are just as important. Many of the teams today play a platoon system with the outfield and the Cubs are doing just that. Johnson, in his limited time in action is batting .314 with six homeruns and 45 RBIs. If he’s available somewhere pick him up. You’ll usually find him batting against left handed pitching.

Johan Santana: Santana is finally coming along as the dominant pitcher he was when he was with the Twins. I’m not overshadowing Santana’s accomplishments, but he only has 11 wins on the season and 148 strikeouts. While that’s good, that’s not Santana good. Over the week, he has won two games including a shut out of the Pirates. His team is starting to get him some runs too, which doesn’t hurt his cause. The Mets have given at least four runs of support in Santana’s last seven starts. He’ll continue on his dominating pace on the mound, only this time, I expect Santana will reach the 200 strikeout plateau and finish with an ERA below 2.50. He won’t reach 20 games, but he’ll get at least 15.

Ronnie Belliard: A big problem with Belliard is his age. He turns 34 next baseball season and many teams are weary of signing players that old to long term deals. A desperate team will sign him on a short term basis. Thus far, Belliard is batting a mediocre .255, but he is tearing the ball up as of late. He is .324 on the week with four RBIs. That’s still pretty good coming from a Nationals team that has lost 10 straight. Belliard should be in for a decent pay day in the offseason if he stays with the Nationals. He still has over a month to improve on his .255 average. If he can teeter his way to the .300 mark before the season ends, then he will land somewhere with a lucrative deal, not necessarily a long term one. For now, he’s not worth the risk of playing because of his inconsistency. He’s good, but not that good.

Paul Maholm: Maholm is one of the best pitchers on the Pirates staff and that’s not saying much since they are 12th in pitching in the National League. Maholm, however, is as consistent as they come. He is sporting a nice 3.70 ERA, but his WHIP is 1.23 which is in the top 15 for starting pitchers in the league. His last two starts were gems, combining for a 1.05 ERA and WHIP of 1.00. All season he has only given up over six earned runs in one start. All else is fantastic. His 8-7 record is a result of the run support he gets, as often is the case with a starting pitcher who has an ERA of less than four. Maholm could be a dominating pitcher down the stretch now that he has nothing to pitch for except a nice payday. The Pirates would be foolish to let him go to another team. Look for him to achieve at least 150 strikeouts this season.

Ruts:

Carlos Zambrano: Zambrano had an off week, but he doesn’t have many of those, but it shows that he’s human. Against St. Louis he gave up nine earned runs in four innings. That was by far his worst performance of the season. Six days later he pitched against the Marlins giving up five earned runs in six innings. He was wild in both games walking six. He does have some stuff left, but the Cubs will do well to rest him a start. As the season wears on so do bodies and Zambrano is no exception. He will be facing a Cincinnati team that is offensively insufficient so he should regain his confidence then. Start him if you have him.

Nate McClouth: He is only batting .241 on the week with no runs and one RBI. It’s safe to say you need to put him on the bench, but the rest of the season will be a test of whether or not he’s the real deal. This is his first season on full-time status in the outfield and it could be that the season is wearing him down. He will be facing tough pitching this week as he faces St. Louis, Milwaukee, and then Chicago. He looks to be in trouble. If you have another able outfielder start him instead. Though his .275 average is appealing to the eyes, his average has dwindled in July and August.

Ubaldo Jimenez: Jimenez is slipping with his control and his ERA is on a steady rise. His last two starts were unspectacular giving up a combined 19 hits, walking nine, and taking two losses. He was in royalty last week. How quickly things change. You can’t blame one particular element to his recent slump. He first needs to work on not walking players and he’ll be in good shape, but with 77 walks on the season that doesn’t make a good case for you to start and could be relegated to the bullpen, which probably isn’t a bad place to go if you’re struggling. Just ask Barry Zito what it was like.

Joe Blanton: Since coming over from the A’s he’s been okay, but 6-12 is just horrible. You can’t blame it on his team not giving him offensive support because he gets five runs of support each start. In his last start against the Dodgers he gave up four runs in five innings, striking out six. The latter’s not a bad stat, but it still doesn’t make him good. Two main areas of concern for Blanton is that he doesn’t strike out many batters (82), and he gives up the long ball (17). Those two aren’t going to be corrected over the course of the rest of this season, but with work in the off-season he could come back next season dominant and finally live up to his expectation.

Aaron Rowand: His .227 for the week isn’t impressive, but you can’t ignore his .285 batting average overall and his veteran status. He is right at his career average, and it’s obvious he doesn’t stay down for too long. Rowand will be facing a tough Florida pitching staff and a weak San Diego staff so he could easily break out of his slump. He is batting .320 against the Marlins staff which is the highest of any regular player. It’s safe to keep playing him. There’s no real reason to be concerned. If he didn’t have a history of breaking out of jams I’d be concerned, but it’s safe to assume that he’ll be okay for weeks to come.