Adam Laroche is one streaky hitter. I am starting to wonder if the Nationals will resign Laroche in the offseason with the season he is having. Laroche went 2-4 with 2 more home runs last night to lead the Nationals to a 10-7 win over the Marlins. Laroche scored 3 runs as well, raising his slash line to .275-.348-.531 with 23 home runs and 69 RBI. He leads all National League first baseman in home runs with 23, and has hit more HRs than Mark Teixeira, Prince Fielder, Adrian Gonzalez and Joey Votto thus far, and one can make the case that he is the 2nd best first baseman in the NL going into 2013 drafts.
Felix Hernandez could be a pitcher in high demand this offseason should the Mariners decide to put him on the trade block. With Cole Hamels signing an extension with the Phillies, Zack Greinke is the only true ace on the market, assuming Cliff Lee is dealt today. Hernandez threw a complete game shutout against the Yankees in New York yesterday, limiting them to just 2 hits, 2 walks and striking out 6. King Felix is now 10-5 with a 2.63 ERA, 2.91 FIP, 3.28 xFIP, a 1.11 WHIP and a 159-43 strikeout to walk ratio in 163 innings pitched this season. Seattle may decide not to trade him this offseason, and one couldn't blame them.
I ranked Indians catcher Carlos Santana as my top catcher back in March, and was very skeptical about the return of Giants catcher Buster Posey, who was coming off a serious knee injury. I couldn't have been more wrong about either of them. Posey went 2-6 with a HR and 3 RBI last night, and is now hitting .325-.391-.529 with 16 HRs, 44 runs and 68 RBI. He is on pace for 24 HRs and 100+ RBI, and will more than likely top my fantasy catcher rankings heading into 2013, as I don't see Carlos Ruiz repeating his excellent 2012 season.
Speaking of Carlos Ruiz, he was placed on the 15 day DL yesterday with plantar fascitis and a partial tear in his left foot. He is expected to miss 4-6 weeks and could be out for the season with the Phillies being in sell mode. Ruiz was having the best year of his career, hitting .335-.399-.559 with 14 HRs, 47 runs and 58 RBI this season. His .224 ISO ranks second amongst all catchers in baseball behind only White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski.
More Roundup after the jump:
Rangers prospect Mike Olt started for the second time in three games, playing first base against Royals lefty Will Smith. Olt went 1-2 with 2 RBI and was replaced by Mitch Moreland late in the game. It appears Olt will be playing strictly against left handed starters, but could see time at DH in place of Michael Young as well. Ian Kinsler DH'd on Thursday night with Michael Young DH'ing on Friday and Saturday night.
Note to self: trade for Tigers starter Doug Fister in late June every year. Fister had a great second half last season, and is doing the same this season. Fister threw a complete game 4 hitter vs the Indians yesterday, limiting them to just one run and striking out 6 to win his 6th game of the season. Fister is now 6-7 with a 3.52 ERA, 3.21 FIP, 3.18 xFIP, a 1.18 WHIP, and a 85-20 strikeout to walk ratio in 99.2 innings pitched this season. In his last 5 starts, covering 39 innings pitched, he has given up just 7 earned runs, while striking out 37 and walking just 5 batters.
Phillies starter Roy Halladay silenced the hot Diamondbacks team last night, throwing 7 shutout innings, while giving up just 3 hits, walking one and striking out 5. He is now 5-6 with a 4.02 ERA, 3.32 FIP, 3.53 xFIP, 1.12 WHIP and a 77-17 strikeout to walk ratio in 96.1 innings of work. Halladay was probably one of the top starters off the board in 2012 fantasy drafts, and I wonder where he will fall in 2013 fantasy drafts due to his sub-par 2012 season.
Marlins shortstop Jose Reyes hasn't received much praise in the Roto Roundup this season, but he is quietly having a solid 2012 season. He went 3-4, with a walk and 4 runs scored last night, raising his triple slash line to .288-.352-.433 with 7 HRs, 59 runs scored, 30 RBI and 27 stolen bases in 33 attempts. He is on pace to steal 41 bases this season, which is right around what I expected from him this season.
Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper has struggled a bit after a hot first few months in the big leagues. After hitting .271 in May and .274 in June, he hit just .222-.306-.313 in July and that has continued into August. Harper went 1-5 with a HR and 2 runs scored last night, and is now hitting .257-.330-.424 with 10 HRs, 57 runs, 30 RBI and 13 stolen bases in 335 at bats this season. He is on pace for 15 HRs and 20 stolen bases this season, which is about what I expected of him assuming he was called up by May. It will be interesting to see what his numbers look like at the end of the season, and even more interesting to see some of the projections for him in 2013. I could see him putting up a 25 HR - 25 stolen base season in 2013.
Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright hasn't been the Wainwright from 2010 yet, as he has been hit around a few times in his return from Tommy John surgery this season. But, Wainwright gave us a glimpse of his past last night, as he threw a complete game 5 hitter vs the tumbling Brewers. He limited the Brew Crew to just one run, walking none and striking out 7 to raise his record to 9-10, with a 4.03 ERA and 1.23 WHIP. I would not be surprised to see his ERA closer to 3.50 and his WHIP closer to 1.15 by the end of the season.