SB Nation - Mike Moustakas

MLB Final Score/Recap: Cleveland Indians 4, Kansas City Royals 3

Ryan — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 05:00:04 -0000

June 18, 2013

The pitching matchup featured Ervin Santana and Ubaldo Jimenez. Santana dominated the Indians the first time he faced them this season (7 IP, 0 ER), and the way he started the game, it looked like he would at the very least match his first outing. Through five innings, the Indians had managed just one hit off Santana, and didn't get more than one runner in an inning. But in the sixth, the Indians not only made Santana work, but actually got on the board. Drew Stubbs, who has struggled all season against right-handed pitchers, got on via a broken-bat single, and quickly stole second. That put him in position to score on Mike Aviles' single to left, and cut the deficit to 2-1.

How did the Royals score those two runs? Well, it wasn't on a base hit. The Royals scored two runs in the third inning without a base hit, stolen base, or error. Ubaldo Jimenez walked the first two batters of the inning, he uncorked a wild pitch, the two runners move up to second and third, Eric Hosmer hit an RBI groundout, then Ubaldo threw another wild pitch to bring home run #2. On the second one, Carlos Santana let the ball get under his glove in a play very much like the play in the ninth inning on Monday.

For much of the game, it seemed like those two tainted runs would be an insurmountable deficit. But, as mentioned above, the Indians actually scored a run off Santana in the sixth, and with Santana out of the game, one run over three innings didn't seem that difficult a deficit to overcome. But then the Indians gave a key run back, and that run was handed to the Royals on a silver platter. Eric Hosmer led off the top of the eighth with an easy grounder back to Cody Allen. But Allen's throw to first was wild, and Mark Reynolds wasn't in position to keep the ball from going down the line. Hosmer alertly ran all the way to the third, and scored when Salvador Perez singled through the drawn-in infield.

It was at this point that you not only lost all hope, but became completely disgusted with the team. They had blown the first game on a wild pitch, and they were about to lose a game in which all three runs were scored without the benefit of a hit. The Indians had six outs to go, but it was against one of the American League's best bullpens.

If you've followed a baseball team for any length of time, you've been humbled multiple times. For example, the Indians were up three runs in the ninth in Boston, and you were thinking that the Indians would get out of town with a split. Even though you've seen the worst happen, it still doesn't prevent you from making those assumptions again and again. But it works the other way, too. Tonight, for instance, I thought that there was not way this team could make up two runs against the Royals, and that they'd fall two game under .500, and 1.5 games behind the Royals, and perhaps 6.5 games behind the Tigers. But in the span of ten minutes, that disgust and despair turned to unexpected happiness.

Kelvin Herrera, he of the 100 mph fastball, started off the bottom of the eighth by walking Ryan Raburn, who went to second on a Drew Stubbs groundout. It was at this point that I got even more disgusted, because the Indians had given away a run the inning before, making Raburn's run unimportant. But then Herrera threw a "slow" curve to Michael Bourn, who flipped the ball down the left field line, scoring Raburn from second. Then Mike Aviles singled , moving Bourn to second. OK, now it's getting somewhat interesting, but here comes Tim Collins, who has owned left-handers all season (.163/.234/.186), to pitch to Jason Kipnis. But Kipnis doubled down the left field, bringing home the tying run and pushing the go-ahead run to third base with one out. Carlos Santana was then walked, setting up another lefty-lefty matchup, this time Michael Brantley, who has been awful over the past month (.229/.289/.265). But after falling behind 0-2, he got the ball to the outfield, and thanks to a poor throw, Aviles tagged up and scored the go-ahead run.

So then, all of sudden, the Indians were in a position to win, and Vinnie Pestano hurriedly got ready to come in to pitch the ninth. And he was really bad, allowing three hits and walk, but you know what? He didn't allow a run, and here's how it happened. Pestano allowed singles to David Lough and Mike Moustakas to start the inning, but then struck out Chris Getz for the first out. Then Alcides Escobar hit a sharp single to right field. With Lough, a speedy runner, at second, I thought there'd be no way he'd be held at third, and apparently Lough did, too. For although the Kansas City third base coach put up the stop sign, Lough ended up in no-man's land, and got caught in a rundown. Pestano ran him back to third, where Mike Moustakas was now standing. Moustakas was out on the play, and if Pestano had been a bit quicker, he might have tagged both runners out to end the game. So now there were runners at second and third with two outs. Pestano pitched around Alex Gordon, and then got Eric Hosmer to ground out to end the game.

So despite essentially giving the Royals three runs, despite giving up three hits in the ninth, the Indians escaped with the victory. And with that victory, they took back second place, and got back to .500.

Source: FanGraphs

Roll Call (27 Commenters)

Game Thread (238 Comments)

#	Commenter	# Comments
1	PaduaDSP	28
2	PyroKinesis	27
3	emily522	26
4	LosIndios	25
5	westbrook	21
6	BuenosAires_Dawg	14
7	Mr. Bad Example	11
8	Zaza Braggins	11
9	themadlibs	9
10	cleveland teamer	9
11	APV	9
12	Gophermike	8
13	Josh Duggan	7
14	roar888	5
15	ahowie	4
16	Brad D	3
17	Gradyforpresident	3
18	ramblinwreckcle	3
19	JulioBernazard	2
20	pdxtribefan	2
21	woodsmeister	2
22	Fundamentals	2
23	Cols714	2
24	emd2k3	2
25	27ftBaja	1
26	YoDaddyWags	1
27	valhallas_own28	1

Royals Are Below-Average. White Lion Plays the Children of Kansas City to Sleep Tonight.

Josh Duggan — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 02:49:04 -0000

With an opportunity to be above-average for just the second time this late in the season since 1995 there for the taking, the Royals took a deep breath, took a long look back at their history of irrelevance, and decided they'd go back to where they were more comfortable--sub-.500 baseball.

Heading into the eighth, everything had come up Kansas City. The Royals plated two runs in the third against the Racists' starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez that wouldn't have been possible had Carlos Santana been less himself--or to put it into context for Royals fans, been less like Miguel Olivo and more like Salvador Perez--and gathered two Jimenez wild pitches before runners were able to advance. In the case of Alex Gordon, he actually crossed the plate as Santana searched for the ball that skittered past him. If ever there were a team that was pursuing a loss by way of Kansas City Baseball(tm), it was tonight's Clevelanders.

Those two runs held the lead through the next four innings, as Ervin Santana--who had another fine outing--gave up his only run allowed in the sixth when Mike Aviles drove in Drew Stubbs to narrow the lead to one run.

In the top of the eighth, the Royals got that run back off Cleveland reliever Cody Allen as Hosmer reached third on an Allen throwing error and was immediately driven in by Perez.

Then came the bottom of the eighth and a bullpen meltdown. Kelvin Herrera kicked things off with a lead-off five-pitch walk to the universally-feared Ryan Raburn. Stubbs grounded out to Herrera but advanced Raburn to second. Bourn followed the ground out with a 1 - 2 single on a change-up that he took a defensive stab at and massaged up the third base line for a single, whittling down the Royals lead to 3 - 2. Herrera got up 0 - 2 on Mike Aviles, too, before missing consecutively with 101-MPH pitches up and then in, but Aviles stroked a 100-MPH fastball down the middle to shallow left, putting two on with one out and leading Yost to gesture for the diminutive lefty in the pen.

Tim Collins came in and promptly ceded the lead with a fastball low and away that Kipnis stroked the other way, plating Bourn as the ball caromed off the wall in foul territory and advancing Aviles to third with Kipnis standing just 90 feet behind him. Collins then fed Michael Brantley a 1 - 2 curveball that he left up and was spun around watching David Lough come in to get it but not before Aviles tagged up and scooted past Perez who was just sliding to stop the ball on the grass just in front of home plate.

The three-run eighth was deflating, sure, but the Royals mounted their own offensive against the interim closer for the Racists, Vinnie Pestano. Lough led off with a bouncer up the middle. Mike Moustakas followed with a single on a full-count fastball that he pulled just over Kipnis's leaping glove and into right for his second hit of the night--just his seventh multi-hit game of the season. With runners on first and second and nobody out, Chris Getz sauntered up to the plate looking exceptionally confident (read: this author doesn't recall a situation in which he's seen more doubt showing on the face of a Royals hitter while the Racist battery conferenced on the infield) and squared to bunt twice (retracting and then pop-fouling) before getting way out in front of an 80-MPH slider and whiffing embarrassingly. Escobar then fought off a 2 - 1 fastball outside, singling to right. Of course, David Lough advanced half-way down the third base line before being halted by Royals third base coach Eddie Rodriguez as the throw came into the plate from Drew Stubbs. Lough got caught in a run-down and was eventually tagged out on third as both he and Moustakas stood atop the bag. Lough was allowed to stay at third despite his boner, and eventually Pestano got to pitch around Gordon to load the bases for the Son of God, who promptly channeled the 2012 version of himself and grounded out to the right side of the infield. At least he pulled it.

After the game, Gordon looked pissed in the dugout. His face spoke for the faces of every hopeful Kansas City fan who had to put away their parade supplies as an above-.500 record would not be celebrated at the Plaza when the Royals returned to face the Pale Hoes on Friday.

Roto Roundup: Josh Johnson, Chris Davis, Max Scherzer and Others

Ray Guilfoyle — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:00:07 -0000

Do you have some trade offers you are consider, but need to bounce them off of someone? Are you pondering a roster move and want a second opinion? Feel free to post your questions in the Fantasy Baseball Questions thread.

Fake Teams Podcast; Episode 10: Let's Make a Deal

Zack and Andrew hosted episode 10 of the Fake Teams podcast on Sunday night, where they discussed the Wil Myers promotion, Rick Porcello, Corey Kluber, Carlos Beltran and also discussed how to make a trade in keeper and redraft leagues. Make sure you listen to the podcast

MP3

ITunes

Josh Johnson back to the old Josh Johnson?

Josh Johnson was once of the top fantasy starters in the game, pitching for the, then, Florida Marlins, but encountered lingering shoulder issues back in 2010 and 2011, but came back to make 31 starts last year. This season, he has made just 7 starts, but last night appeared to show us that he still has the old Josh Johnson stuff, as he shut out the Rockies for 7.1 innings, giving up 5 hits, walking 2, and striking out 10 batters. Since his April 11th blow up vs the Tigers, Johnson has given up three runs or less in four of his last five starts, lowering his ERA from over 11.00 to 4.38. He has gone seven or more innings in two of his three starts since returning from the DL. The Blue Jays have been hot of late, but are stranded in last place right now in the AL East, so there is a chance he gets dealt by the July 31st trade deadline.

Chris Davis just continues to bash

It is no secret that Orioles first baseman Chris Davis is having a break out season in 2013, and last night he continued his hot power production, hitting his 24th home run of the season in the Orioles 5-1 loss to the Tigers. Davis has seen his average drop a bit of late, which was expected, as he is hitting .337-.415-.706 with 24 HRs, 49 runs and 61 RBI, and is on pace for 55 HRs and 139 RBI this season.

Davis is having the kind of season that we all expected from Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton, or pretty close to it. Who would you rather have for the rest of the season: Davis or Stanton?

Round'em Up

Tigers starter Max Scherzer is having a better season than Justin Verlander. Think about that for a moment. Last night, he limited the solid Orioles lineup to just one run, the Davis home run, on 7 hits, 2 walks and 10 strikeouts. He is now 10-0 with a 3.08 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and a 116-24 strikeout to walk rate in 96.1 innings this season. He is my AL Cy Young award leader right now, and should move into my Top 10 starters for 2014 if he can keep this up.

One of the more disappointing young hitters this season is Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas, Moustakas has plenty of power, but has struggled at the plate ALL season, and is now in danger of being sent down to AAA. He went 0-3 last night, and is now hitting just .183-.249-.279 with just 4 HRs, 16 runs and 12 RBI in 197 at bats this season. If you own him in a keeper league, you have to either keep him, or package him with another player to upgrade third base or another position.

I have written about Jorge De La Rosa a few times in these pages this season, but he might have had his best start of the season last night, holding the Blue Jays to just one hit, 3 walks and 4 strikeouts in 7.1 innings. He did not factor in the decision, but is now 7-4 with a 3.21 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in 15 starts this season. He isn't the strikeout pitcher he was before the Tommy John surgery, but is giving up less than a hit per inning thus far, which is saying something when he makes half of his starts in Coors Field.

Yesterday afternoon, Rangers manager Ron Washington announced that the team was going to give top prospect Jurickson Profar the chance to play left field every day. Well, Profar is a shortstop by trade, so he will have to learn the position before playing in a big league game out there. This helps his owners with position flexibility, but his overall value goes down if you have to stick him in your outfield. He has much more value as a fantasy shortstop or second baseman than in the outfield. The first thing that came to my mind when I read this news is that Ian Kinsler will be a prime trade candidate this offseason, as it sounds like he does not want to move to the outfield to give Profar the second base job.

Rangers outfeilder Nelson Cruz will always be remembered for misplaying that fly ball in right field in the 2011 World Series, but fantasy owners could care less about that fly ball. Cruz had a big night at the plate last night, going 3-4 with 2 HRs, a double, 2 runs and 4 RBI, raising his triple slash line to .266-.330-.532 with 18 HRs, 30 runs, 48 RBI and 5 stolen bases this season, and is on pace for over 40 home runs. I don't see him hitting 40 this season, but 30-35 would not surprise me.

MLB Final Score/Recap: Kansas City Royals 2, Cleveland Indians 1

Ryan — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 03:14:32 -0000

June 17, 2013

Royals 2, Indians 1

OK, let's get the annoying [stuff] over with first.

It's the ninth inning. There are runners on first and second with nobody out. Left-handed hitter David Lough steps up the plate. He's probably bunting. So why bring in Rich Hill, who has been as bad as any reliever still in the majors for that type of situation. And you know that after that bunt, Ned Yost isn't going to let Mike Moustakas, who has been as bad as hitter still in the majors, to hit in that situation. I think you either have to leave Bryan Shaw in, or bring in another right-handed reliever. Now Rich Hill's presence didn't really affect the outcome of that inning, because a run would have scored whether the bases loaded or just runners on second and third, but the use of Rich Hill in that high-leverage situation still rankles me. This is the middle of June, and the Indians obviously are flailing around for other options with the signings of Clay Rapada and J.C. Romero (who just went on the DL in Columbus). If the Indians had another left-handed option, Hill probably wouldn't be here, but just because he's on the roster doesn't mean to have to use him in that situation.

That rant aside, the real reason the Indians lost this game wasn't because of Rich Hill, but because Carlos Santana couldn't block a pitch in front of him. The go-ahead run score with nobody out, but as it turned out, if that ball didn't go through Santana's legs, the Royals wouldn't have scored that inning, and the Indians would have gone to the bottom of the ninth against a different reliever.

That leads to my second point, or rather, a pointed rhetorical question. Why was John McDonald batting in the ninth inning with the team down a run? John McDonald, who in his 15-year major-league career, has career OPS+ of 60? Yan Gomes, who could have tied the game with one swing of the bat, was on the bench. To me, the fact that Francona was "forced" to use both Hill and McDonald in that situation should be a sign for Chris Antonetti to make a call to Columbus. Even if the organization feels that Lonnie Chisenhall needs to spend more time in Columbus, you could call up Cord Phelps, who has played first base and the outfield. You may say that Swisher is only going to down for a couple more games. Well, having a functional hitter on the bench might have help the Indians win tonight. I've never liked the eight-man bullpen to begin with, but now that the Indians are down to a two-man bench, I like it even less, if possible.

Now to the good stuff. Carlos Carrasco, whose 2013 has been chaotic to say the least, came off his suspension and pitched the best game of his major-league career. All that potential you saw in him in 2010 and 2011 became reality for at least one night. OK, it was the Royals, who this season has been one of baseball most inept offenses, and Carrasco was greatly helped by his outfield defense, but (a) the Royals have been hitting much better of late and (b) Carrasco was dealing with a very small strike zone. The Indians chased James Shields after six innings largely because Shields wasn't getting the corners, but Carrasco was going strong into the eighth inning, and would have gone longer if not for the 1-0 score. But because Eric Hosmer hit a dying quail that fell in no-man's land, he not only a run tacked on to his pitching line, but also lost the potential of getting the win.

The Indians walked eight times and collected five hits (one of them a solo homer), but could manage just the one run. They loaded the bases with one out in the third and couldn't score, and had runners on base almost every inning between the third and the end of the game. Now you feel like the Nationals fans felt yesterday.

So it wasn't just the offense, and it wasn't just the top of the ninth inning, but both mixed together that led to this galling defeat.

Source: FanGraphs

Roll Call (33 Commenters)

Game Thread (553 Comments)

#	Commenter	# Comments
1	Mr. Bad Example	55
2	PyroKinesis	50
3	JulioBernazard	47
4	westbrook	42
5	USSChoo	41
6	BuenosAires_Dawg	35
7	troyflowers	31
8	tabler84	29
9	LosIndios	24
10	Gradyforpresident	20
11	barsham	18
12	emily522	18
13	notthatnoise	17
14	johnf34	17
15	world dictator	14
16	woodsmeister	14
17	supermarioelia	13
18	Zaza Braggins	11
19	Chief Wahoo	11
20	The Guys Get Shirts!	10
21	ramblinwreckcle	9
22	cleveland teamer	7
23	mauichuck	5
24	PaduaDSP	3
25	palcal	2
26	valhallas_own28	2
27	Gophermike	2
28	Benedict Arnold	1
29	Cols714	1
30	MooneysRebellion	1
31	Nat	1
32	emd2k3	1
33	tribefan62812	1

Royals lull Indians to sleep, then strike

Craig Brown — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 02:50:26 -0000

This was setting up to be a brutal loss.

Carlos Carrasco was dominating the Royals. Granted, we know the Royal bats and all the issues. They haven't gone away. Yet when facing a pitcher of Carrasco's ilk, you expect something. Anything.

And the Royals were held without a baserunner through the first 4.1 innings of the game. It was Lorenzo Cain to open the Royals hitting account. (After several jinx-worthy Tweets from yours truly.) You would think that maybe things would start happening. Especially as they saw Carrasco for the second or third time of the night. Except they managed just three more hits.

It was ugly.

Meanwhile, James Shields was scuffling through six innings. Don't take scuffling as a pejorative. Shields didn't have his best command, walking four, but he was able to get the key outs when needed. The only damage was on a Carlos Santana home run to lead off the sixth.

Then it all happened.

A single, a sacrifice and a lineout and it looked like the Royals would squander another opportunity. Then a little Eric Hosmer bloop to no man's land in shallow center and the game was tied.

That just set the stage for a bizarre ninth.

A Billy Butler double and a Lorenzo Cain walk had runners on with no outs. David Lough bunted. It was a good bunt, but the Indian pitcher couldn't keep his footing and Lough was on first without a throw. Bases loaded with no outs. This is always an uncomfortable time for us as Royals fans. How many times have we seen this situation and failed to score a single run.

Thankfully, Matt Albers was keeping the ball in the dirt and it skipped between the legs of Santana. Wild pitch and a run.

Ballgame.

Yet there was still time for things to descend into the bizarre. Like a Chris Getz intentional walk. And Alcides Escobar laying down a bases loaded bunt. I speculated Escobar did this on his own. In his postgame, Ned Yost said that it was a called play. Third base coach Eddie Rodriguez gave Lorenzo Cain a "verbal" call and Cain apparently missed the cue. Forget all the missed signs. Why bunt in that situation? All we need is a flyball. Granted, Escobar isn't swinging the bat with any kind of confidence, but still. Just put the bat on the ball and see what happens. That's Yostball for ya.

A couple other notes:

-- Here's how this game looked if you played it on a computer:

Source: FanGraphs

-- Escobar laid down a sac bunt attempt in the eighth but didn't really bother to run out the play. Terrible lack of hustle.

-- Same for Moustakas in the fifth.

-- Speaking of Mike Moustakas, it may be all about confidence, but if the manager doesn't have confidence to hit him with the game on the line, what exactly is he doing here? Time to farm him out and replace him with the first person who can get to Kansas City.

-- Greg Holland hit 100 mph in the ninth. The radar gun was a little hot.

-- I particularly liked the progression Holland had on Mike Aviles. Low, low and low before uncorking a 99 mph* fastball up. Swing and a miss.

- Oh, .500.

This team is so bizarre. There's just no way they're this good. They're averaging four runs per game during this stretch, which is right in line with their seasonal average. Yet, they're allowing 2.1 runs per game in June. Yes, 2.1 runs per game over their last 16. There's no way this is sustainable. But I can't remember seeing a team go through stretches like the Royals. I can only hope the forthcoming correction is gentle.

The Royals New Lineup

FantasyNinja8 — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:00:08 -0000

Ned Yost, manager of the Kansas City Royals, did something two weeks ago that very few big league managers (or even men) ever do. He admitted he needed some help. After dropping 13 of 15 games to close May and 2 of the team’s first 3 games in June, Yost recognized that his lineup wasn’t getting the job done. So, he went to the team’s stats department and asked them to create a lineup constructed for optimal run production. After one minor tweak, the Royals trotted out a new, sabermetric-influenced lineup that looked like this:

Batting
Alex Gordon LF
Eric Hosmer 1B
Salvador Perez C
Billy Butler DH
Mike Moustakas 3B
Lorenzo Cain CF
David Lough RF
Jeff Francoeur RF
Chris Getz 2B
Alcides Escobar SS

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 6/16/2013.

The Royals scored 4 runs that night en route to a 4-1 win over the Twins. While four runs isn’t exactly an enormous offense surge, it seems to be enough for the Royals on most nights. Since the lineup change, the Royals have scored four or more runs in seven of twelve games and have one each of them which puts them at 24-5 on the season. Yost has continued using his "optimized" lineup and the Royals have gone 10-2 since June 4^th. This new lineup is a sign of progress in the attempt to merge statistics with the "old school" and it’s resulted in numerous wins for the Royals, but it may not have such a positive effect on fantasy baseball.

There are two sides to every coin and the "optimum" lineup situation is not exempt. I believe that this lineup can mean two different things to two different kinds of owners. The operative aspect of the new lineup is the idea that optimization includes platoons and matchup plays. This idea means that there are several players who will lose at bats in the new system. A lot of fantasy value stems from opportunity so the loss of at bats is generally viewed as a detriment to a player’s value. In most cases, I agree but I don’t think that platoon players are completely useless.

In standard 5x5 leagues, counting stats account for four out of five offensive categories. One of the most determining variables in the valuation of these stats is opportunity. The more at bats a player receives; the more chances he has to hit a home run, drive in a runner or get on base to score a run or steal a base. The players who stand to lose the most in their current situations are Mike Moustakas, Jeff Francoeur and Chris Getz. These players saw the lion’s share of playing time at third base, right field and second base, respectively. Now, they are relegated to playing mainly against pitchers of a certain handedness, thus seeing fewer at bats.

All of these players have had their struggles this season, but Moustakas has been particularly frustrating to his owners. After a season in which he hit 20 home runs and 34 doubles, he’s on pace for only 10 home runs and 17 doubles this season. He may not score or drive in more than 50 runs and the recent developments in Kansas City seem to be making those numbers even less of a probability. Many owners have asked whether or not it is time to drop Moustakas. For anyone holding onto him in a mixed league of less than 20 teams, I think the time has come. He his hitting only .203 against right handers and that’s .080 higher than he’s hitting against lefties. Only 13% of his batted balls have been line drives and Moustakas has always hit a lot of fly balls, 17% of which haven’t made it out of the infield this year. It’s looking more and more like Moustakas is just not a good hitter. A poor hitter with fewer opportunities is not a guy worth owning in anything but the absolute deepest of leagues.

Francoeur wasn’t really fantasy relevant in mixed leagues before the change and he continues to be Al-Only plays afterward. However, I think he might stand to gain a little bit of value with the new lineup. Francoeur will play the majority of games against left-handed pitching as he is a career .288 hitter against southpaws. That should set him up to succeed and boost his rate stats, albeit over a smaller sample size. If you own Francoeur in an AL Only league, I assume it is a fairly deep league and some spots require little more than a warm body. I think Frenchy can be an asset in such a league if you are looking for someone to fill in one of the last spots on your roster. David Lough, Francoeur’s counterpart, will play against righties but has little value. He hit just under .300 over parts of seven seasons in the minors but will not get enough at bats for his small power and speed potential to be significant.

The only move I don’t really understand is the idea to play Chris Getz against right handed pitchers. He’s hit lefties better throughout his career and actually has a better career average than Elliot Johnson. Elliot Johnson seems to be the guy against lefthanders but the second base job may come down to riding the hot bat, rather than a true platoon. This makes it extremely difficult for fantasy owners to gage the value of these two players. Should Getz win the full time job, I would have a little bit of interest. He has the potential to steal 20+ bases with a .270 average. Johnson is a better real life ball player and I can’t imagine a scenario in which he should be owned by a fantasy team.

There’s been discussion about whether or not this new lineup is a win for the sabermetric community. I, for one think it is, but there are always different ways to look at any situation. The same holds true for the effects of the new lineup on the players’ fantasy value. The change may mean one thing for a certain player and something entirely different for another. It’s important to always fully assess the circumstances and decide how they affect your position.

AL Central Week in Review (June 10-16)

Lukehart80 — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:00:06 -0000

A.L. Central standings through Sunday, June 16:

Team	W	L	GB	RS	RA	DIFF
Detroit	38	29	-	336	251	+85
Cleveland	34	34	4.5	318	308	+10
Kansas City	33	34	5	267	248	+19
Minnesota	30	36	7.5	269	298	-29
Chicago	28	38	9.5	237	273	-36

For the first time all season, the Central has spread farther apart in the standings than a couple other divisions, mostly due to Chicago really struggling. Cool Standings (used by ESPN) now projects 82 wins the the Indians and gives them a 26% chance of making the playoffs (up from 20% a week ago), while Fangraphs' advanced standings now project 78 wins for the Indians, putting them 16 games back of Detroit and 8 games back of the second wildcard (2 fewer than a week ago).

Detroit Tigers (3-3)

The Tigers began their week in Kansas City. In Monday's opener, Miguel Cabrera hit his 18th home run of the year, but the Tigers managed little other offense and fell 3-2, with Doug Fister pitching all 8 innings in the loss. Detroit's offense didn't score many more next night, but Max Scherzer made 3 runs enough and the series was knotted. In Wednesday's finale, Justin Verlander threw 7 shutout innings, striking out 8 and allowing just 3 hits. The Tigers led 2-0 entering the 9th, but Jose Valverde struck again, sending the game to extra frames, where Phil Coke took his 4th loss of the season in relief.

The Tigers looked to get back on track with a weekend trip to Minnesota. In the opener Rick Porcello continued his recent success with 7 shutout frames. Prince Fielder homered and Jhonny Peralta had a pair of doubles in the 4-0 win. The news wasn't as good Saturday. The 6-3 loss Detroit suffered isn't a big deal, but Anibal Sanchez exiting in the 4th inning after his previous start was skipped due to shoulder soreness could be a huge deal. Sanchez has been placed on the DL, potentially derailing an All-Star caliber season. The Tigers did manage to win that rubber match, getting home runs from Torii Hunter and Austin Jackson.

Player of the Week: Austin Jackson (.333/.385/.583, 4 H and 1 HR in his first 3 games back after missing a month)

Player of the Weak: Victor Martinez (.143/.208/.190)

Cleveland Indians (4-2)

The Tribe was in Texas during the week, ending a road trip that had begun 0-6. The spiral continued Monday with a 6-3 loss in which all three runs scored on a double by Carlos Santana. The Indians finally broke the losing streak Tuesday, behind 8 innings from Corey Kluber, who allowed just 1 run. Every Cleveland starter collected at least 1 hit in the game, tying the series. In the rubber match, Ubaldo Jimenez only managed 5 innings, but also allowed just 1 run. Jason Kipnis had 3 hits, including his 9th home run, and the Tribe took the series.

The team returned to Cleveland to host the Nationals for the weekend. Justin Masterson struck out 10 on Friday night, giving up just 1 run in 7 innings. It was still 1-1 in the bottom of the 9th, when Drew Stubbs made a mad dash home on a grounder to first base and just beat the tag, winning the game and giving the Indians their first 3-game winning streak in almost a month. Saturday saw the Tribe fall behind 5-0, come back to take a 6-5 lead, then blow the lead and lose. Santana And Mark Reynolds both homered, but Scott Kazmir didn't survive the 3rd in a frustrating loss. On Sunday, Kluber took the mound again, and pitched 8 shutout innings, escaping multiple dangerous jams and winning himself a lot of new fans as the Indians won their second-straight series.

Player of the Week: Corey Kluber (2 starts, 16 IP, 0.56 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 11 K)

Player of the Weak: Mark Reynolds (.136/.174/.273, 11 K)

Kansas City Royals (5-2)

The Royals were at home against the Tigers during the week. In the first game, Jeremy Guthrie allowed only 2 runs over 6.1 innings and K.C. had its sixth-straight victory, its longest winning streak since 2011. The streak ended Tuesday, despite 6.2 strong innings from Wade Davis, as the offense managed just 5 hits (one of which was the first home run of David Lough's career). In the rubber match, James Shields allowed just 2 runs over 7 innings, but the bats were silenced for 8 innings. A Lorenzo Cain blast to left-center tied the game though and the Royals went on to win in the 10th. All three games in this series ended 3-2, with K.C. on the right end in two of them.

The Royals then had 4 games down in Tampa Bay. Ervin Santana allowed only 1 run (unearned) in 7.2 innings Thursday and the offense exploded for 10 runs, led by 3 hits by 2B Elliot Johnson, including a home run. Johnson, Salvador Perez, and Billy Butler each had a pair of hits Friday night, in another win for Kansas City. The Royals dropped Saturday's contest 5-3, but rebounded for another victory on Sunday, as Davis again pitched well. K.C. has now won 5 games in two straight weeks and finds itself only 1 game below .500, half a game back of 2nd place.

Player of the Week: Elliot Johnson (.389/.389/.722, 7 H, 5 R, 4 RBI)

Player of the Weak: Mike Moustakas (.263/.300/.263)

Minnesota Twins (3-3)

The Twins were at home to face the Phillies during the week. P.J. Walters lasted 7.1 innings in the opener, allowing just 1 earned run. Justin Morneau's third hit of the night plated what proved to be the game-winning run in the 8th inning, as Minnesota took the game 3-2. The Twins struck in the 8th again on Wednesday, this time it was a Clete Thomas double tying the game before Thomas himself scored on a wild pitch. Minnesota was in position for a sweep, leading the series finale 2-1 in the 8th, but Jared Burton couldn't hold the lead and the Twins were defeated.

Next up for Minnesota was a weekend spent hosting the Tigers. The offense could get nothing going Friday night, managing just 3 hits in a 4-0 loss. The bats bounced back on Saturday though, especially that of Trevor Plouffe, in his first game back after missing more than three weeks with a concussion and calf injury. Plouffe had 3 hits, including a home run, and drove in 3 runs in a 6-3 win that also featured 7 good innings from Samuel Deduno. The Twins managed just 3 hits on Sunday though, and dropped the series finale 5-2.

Player of the Week: Clete Thomas (.381/.409/.476, 8 H, 2 2B)

Player of the Weak: Pedro Florimon (.067/.125/.067, 1 single, 6 K)

Chicago White Sox (1-4)

The White Sox hosted Toronto to begin their week, winning 10-6 on Monday. Incredibly, this was just the third time all season they've scored more than 7 runs (the fewest by any MLB team). 4 hits by Adam Dunn, including 2 HR, led the way for Chicago. Addison Reed blew a 9th inning lead on Tuesday and the Sox went on to lose in 7-5 in the 10th, squandering another decent game from the offense. Wednesday's game was postponed due to expected thunderstorms in the area (which came, but weren't all that bad, as the Cubs were able to get their game in the same night).

The Sox traveled to Houston for the weekend. Friday night, Chris Sale made some history, becoming only the second pitcher in history to strike out 14+ and allow 0 earned runs, but take the loss (the first: Cleveland's own Sam McDowell, back in 1968). Dunn homered again Saturday, but Chicago was once again defeated. On Sunday, Chicago fell again, having scored just 8 runs in 3 games against a team that entered the series allowing an average of 5.3 per game. Tonight the Sox get one last chance to avoid being swept by the lowly Astros.

Player of the Week: Adam Dunn (.389/.455/1.056, 7 H, 4 HR, 6 R, 8 RBI)

Player of the Weak: Tyler Flowers (.286/.286/.286)

2013 Player Power Poll

Pitchers:

1) Anibal Sanchez (DET) - 81.2 IP, 2.76 ERA, 1.115 WHIP, 11.13 K/9, 2.53 BB/9

2) Chris Sale (CHW) - 85.1 IP, 2.43 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 9.07 K/9, 2.00 BB/9

3) James Shields (KC) - 100.0 IP, 2.79 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 8.10 K/9, 2.34 BB/9

4) Max Scherzer (DET) - 90.1 IP, 3.19 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 10.56 K/9, 2.19 BB/9

5) Doug Fister (DET) - 92.2 IP, 3.21 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 7.38 K/9, 1.36 BB/9

Hitters:

1) Miguel Cabrera (DET) - .352/.447/.625, 189 RC+, 93 H, 18 HR, 54 R, 69 RBI

2) Joe Mauer (MIN) - .321/.409/.474, 145 RC+, 80 H, 20 2B, 37 BB, 38 R

3) Prince Fielder (DET) - .292/.389/.502, 143 RC+, 37 BB, 18 2B, 54 RBI

4) Carlos Santana (CLE) - .284/.387/.486, 145 RC+, 37 BB, 18 2B, 34 R

5) Jhonny Peralta (DET) - .329/.385/.481, 137 RC+, 18 2B, 31 R, 29 RBI

The Week Ahead

Indians: 3 vs. Royals, 3 vs. Twins

Royals: 3 @ Indians, 3 vs. White Sox

Tigers: 3 vs. Orioles, 4 vs. Red Sox

Twins: 3 vs. White Sox, 3 @ Indians

White Sox: 1 @ Houston, 3 @ Twins, 3 @ Royals

Cheslor Cuthbert Promoted to Double-A Northwest Arkansas

Josh Duggan — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 18:51:36 -0000

This morning, Bob Dutton tweeted the following:

#Royals have promoted 3B Cheslor Cuthbert, one of their top prospects, from Hi-A WIlmington to AA Northwest Arkansas.
— Bob Dutton (@Royals_Report) June 13, 2013

Back in the halcyon days of the Best Farm System Ever, Cuthbert hit his way to prospect darling status with a strong start to his 2011 campaign. The last half of that season saw his stock plummet, but the whispers of many in the know possibly attributing his struggles to wearing down as full-season ball had its way with him. As an 18-year-old in his first taste of full-season ball, he managed a respectable.267/.345/.397 line over 81 games with 22 extra-base hits in 300 at-bats. He walked at a 10.5% clip, had a .345 wOBA and a 114 wRC+. His impressive start to the season was still enough to find Cheslor Cuthbert ranked 84th on Baseball America's Top 100 Prospects list heading into the 2012 season.

Then came 2012. If 2012 was unkind to the Major League club and its franchise cornerstones Mike Moustakas and especially Eric Hosmer, it was damn near sadistic to Cuthbert, who was said to look lethargic in the field and was positively putrid at the plate as he made the transition to the notoriously hitter-unfriendly confines of Wilmington, DE, and the Royals high-A affiliate. He triple-slashed .240/.296/.322 in a full season as an overmatched 19-year-old, collecting just 25 extra-base hits in 517 plate appearances. Looking at things in a more advanced way, his wOBA (.285), wRC+ (73) and walk-rate (7.2%) were discouraging to put it mildly. Anyone hoping for Cuthbert to realize his potential was placing a whole lot of hope in two months worth of solid play in the Midwest League.

As a 20-year-old in his third season of full-season ball, the Royals kept Cuthbert down in Wilmington to start this season. His line has been much more akin to what he did in 2011. Through the first 60 games of the season, Cuthbert hit .280/.354/.418 with 25 XBH in 225 AB, managed a .354 wOBA and 116 wRC+, and increased his walk-rate back to 10.4%.

It's hard to know exactly what Cuthbert is. A more prudent approach might be to temper expectations and look at the entire picture rather than a nice stretch to start his first season of full-season ball. Regardless, the time to promote Cuthbert to Northwest Arkansas was probably now.

Hopefully, he hits .500 for the next month with a .900 SLG, and they'll finally send Moustakas down to find himself in the West, even if it means taking the route that Kwai Chang Caine took.