Thursday MLB Standouts

Thursday, April 5, 2007 - MLB Standouts

Mike Piazza - DH - Athletics
Mike Piazza went 3-for-5 with a solo homer off Francisco Rodriguez in the top of the ninth to help the A's beat the Angels 4-3 on Thursday night. One of his other hits was a double. After Piazza's homer, Huston Street pitched a scoreless ninth for the save, with the final out coming when Erick Aybar was caught stealing. The homer was Piazza's first ever at Angel Stadium.

Matt Morris - SP - Giants
Matt Morris was sharp in his first start of the year, allowing one run and five hits over six innings in a win against the Padres. This after Morris gave up 22 runs -- 14 earned -- and 28 hits in 18 2/3 innings last month. Little can be expected from Morris this year. He lost his best fastball years ago, and his strikeout rate has suffered as a result. The Giants should be content if he bounces back with an ERA around 4.50.

Ryan Klesko - 1B - Giants
Ryan Klesko went 3-for-4 against the Padres Thursday in his first start for the Giants. Manager Bruce Bochy had Klesko at first, Rich Aurilia at third and Pedro Feliz on the bench. The Giants need to get Klesko into the lineup against righties when he's healthy, whether it's Aurilia or Feliz who gets to sit. Beyond Barry Bonds, either Klesko or Ray Durham is probably the club's best hitter versus righties.

Akinori Iwamura - 3B - Devil Rays
Akinori Iwamura had two hits, a walk and three runs scored in the Rays' 7-6 win over the Yankees on Thursday night. With a light snow falling, Iwamura doubled and then scored the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth on a wild pitch that should have been gloved by Jorge Posada. Iwamura wasn't very impressive this spring, and all signs point to his power failing to translate very well to the majors. Still, his glove will keep him in the lineup and he should do enough offensively to be a significant asset in AL-only leagues.

Al Reyes - RP - Devil Rays
Al Reyes pitched a perfect ninth for a save in the Rays' one-run victory over the Yankees on Thursday. Reyes struck out pinch-hitter Josh Phelps and got Hideki Matsui to ground out before Jorge Posada fly to fairly deep right ended the game. Brian Stokes set him up with a scoreless eighth, though he loaded the bases in the process. Reyes is the heavy favorite for saves in Tampa Bay right now.

Jose Valverde - RP - Diamondbacks
Jose Valverde bounced back from Tuesday's blown save with a perfect ninth Thursday against the Nationals. Valverde needed only eight pitches to earn a save in the 4-3 game. He's 2-for-3 in save chances.

Elijah Dukes - OF - Devil Rays
Elijah Dukes hit a solo homer -- his second in two games -- and walked Thursday against the Yankees. The homer off Scott Proctor was a laser beam over the left-field wall at Yankee Stadium. Jonny Gomes doubled and walked filling in for Rocco Baldelli tonight, but if Dukes keeps playing like this, he could get most of the at-bats at DH when Baldelli is ready to head out to center field.

Dmitri Young - 1B - Nationals
Dmitri Young homered, doubled and walked Thursday against the Diamondbacks. Young has been shaky defensively, but he's 6-for-16 with an RBI in each of the Nationals' four games. He'll stay in the lineup for as long as he's productive and healthy.

Chuck James - SP - Braves
Chuck James allowed one run over five innings to win Thursday as the Braves completed a sweep of the Phillies. James only walked one, but he threw 92 pitches through five innings, making it an easy decision to remove him for a pinch-hitter in the top of the sixth. James is well worth using in mixed leagues.

Daisuke Matsuzaka - SP - Red Sox
Daisuke Matsuzaka yielded one run in seven innings and struck out 10 Thursday to beat the Royals in his major league debut. Matsuzaka allowed a single to the first batter he faced, David DeJesus, and later got bitten by DeJesus again on a solo homer in the sixth. The Royals nearly tied it up after that. Esteban German singled and then appeared to steal second base, only to get called out on a controversial call. Emil Brown followed that with a two-out double that would have driven in German from first. However, Matsuzaka bounced back to strike out three of the final four hitters he faced. It won't be the last double-digit strikeout game he has this year.

Jonathan Papelbon - RP - Red Sox
Jonathan Papelbon struck out two in a perfect ninth for a save Thursday against the Royals. Papelbon was making his first appearance since rolling an ankle on March 29. He threw 13 pitches today, 11 of them strikes.

Zack Greinke - SP - Royals
Zack Greinke allowed two runs -- one earned -- over seven innings in a loss to the Red Sox on Thursday. The Red Sox had the leadoff man on in six of the seven innings, but Greinke did a great job of pitching out of trouble. He walked just one and struck out seven, including David Ortiz three times. If he keeps throwing like this, he's going to be one of the AL's top 15 or 20 starters. It's probably not going to lead to a lot of value in shallow mixed leagues, but he'd be worth considering in his easier matchups.

Bobby Jenks - RP - White Sox
Bobby Jenks got four outs for a relief victory as the White Sox edged the Indians 4-3 on Thursday. Matt Thornton blew a one-run lead by giving up a single and a double to start the eighth. He then bounced back to get two outs before Jenks replaced him. Jenks got the final out of the eighth and pitched a scoreless ninth before the White Sox won in the bottom of the inning. The winning run scored when Roberto Hernandez hit A.J. Pierzynski with the bases loaded.

Grady Sizemore - OF - Indians
Grady Sizemore homered in a third straight game Thursday against the White Sox. Sizemore was just brutal this spring, batting .115. Still, it was never a cause for concern and he's showed exactly why. In all, Sizemore was 6-for-14 against the White Sox.

David Weathers - RP - Reds
David Weathers pitched a perfect ninth with a three-run lead to earn a save Thursday against the Cubs. Rheal Cormier, Kirk Saarloos and Mike Stanton each got one out in the eighth to set Weathers up. Although Weathers hasn't been named the Reds' closer. he's likely to get most of the save opportunities until he falters.

Jason Marquis - SP - Cubs
Jason Marquis allowed one run and four hits in six innings against the Reds on Thursday. A solid debut for Marquis, who finished the spring with a 4.84 ERA. Aided by cold weather and a 19-mph wind blowing in from left, he managed to avoid giving up a home run. He walked two and struck out one while throwing 82 pitches.

Huston Street - RP - Athletics
A's closer Huston Street earned his first save of the season in a 4-3 win over the Angels Thursday night. The 23-year-old right-hander figures to be a great source for saves again this year after posting 37 last season.

Robinson Cano - 2B - Yankees
Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano went 3-5 with a run and a RBI batting leadoff in place of the injured Johnny Damon. Though manager Joe Torre hinted that Melky Cabrera would be the long-term leadoff hitter if Damon hit the DL, nights like this could change his mind. Expect Cano to pile up plenty of runs if he stays atop the lineup.

Brian McCann - C - Braves
Sustaining his early-season hot streak, Brian McCann went 1-for-3 with a walk and two RBIs in Thursday's win at Philadelphia. In three games, the stud backstop has six RBIs (two in each game) and a .500 batting average (6-for-12).

Aramis Ramirez - 3B - Cubs
Aramis Ramirez went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI vs. the Reds on Thursday. Ramirez’s second consecutive three-hit game boosted his batting average to .538. He has yet to go deep, but that will likely change soon, as the slugging third baseman has averaged 35 blasts per year since the beginning of 2004.

Mark DeRosa - 2B - Cubs
Mark DeRosa went 2-for-3 with a solo homer and a walk in Thursday’s loss to the Reds. DeRosa is off to a nice start with a .556 average and three RBIs in his first three games, giving hope to owners who gambled that last season’s breakout numbers weren’t a fluke.

Calros Ruiz - C - Phillies
Calros Ruiz went 2-for-4 with a solo homer in his first start of the season Wednesday night. Ruiz was named backup catcher to Rod Barajas at the end of Spring Training, but with youth on his side (27 years old), the rookie backstop could see more starts before long.