Baseball Instinct – Do You Have It?

Tampa Bay Rays SP Matt Garza went 5.2 innings while striking out 3 and walking 3 in a 4-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles Friday night. Our Instinct:  Garza is on a pace to win 17 games on the season, and might pull off 18.  He's 14-7 with a 3.46 era, 133 k's, and 54 walks in 176.2 innings on the season.  He's hanging in there with the likes of Ricky Romero and Yovani Gallardo as a top 25 starting pitcher.

Chicago Cubs SS Starlin Castro went 2 for 4 and scored a run in a 7-6 win over the New York Mets on Friday Night. Our Instinct:  The 20 year old is in the midst of a 5 game multi-hit- hitting streak, going 11 for 22, while raising his batting average from .308 to .319.  He's a keeper.

New York Mets 3B David Wright went 3 for 5 with a solo hr in a 7-6 loss to the Chicago Cubs Friday Night. Our Instinct:  Wright is hitting .295 with 23 hr's, 90 rbi, 76 runs, and 18 sb.  The 27 year old is on a pace for .295-28-108-92-22.  While this is certainly a bounce back season for Wright, it's not where we thought he would be at age 27.  Still though, he should be a good bet to be productive for many years to come.

Chapman has gotten the call to Cincinnati and Chapmania is taking hold. Chapman was popping 103 mph and controlling his slider in his first action. Let's take a look at his Prospect Breakdown.

Tuesday afternoon, the Boston Red Sox sent reliever Manny Delcarmen to the Colorado Rockies for prospect Chris Balcom-Miller. Four and a half games out in the wild card race, the Rockies had recently lost reliever Manny Corpas to injury while set-up man Rafael Betancourt has been struggling with an abdominal issue, and it is likely that Delcarmen will be counted on to help take some of the innings those two had been pitching. While Delcarmen has been in severe decline since his strong 2008, moving to the weaker NL West could well result in some improvement in his numbers. However, the question on most peoples’ minds has not seemed to be what Delcarmen brings to the table…it’s who exactly is this Chris Balcom-Miller guy?

Washington Nationals SP Stephen Strasburg saw Dr. Lewis Yocum today to get a second opinion on his right elbow.  It doesn't seem to be a matter of "if", but "when" the surgery will happen. Our Instinct:  This is the point in these stories that I love to pull out a flash back to when I told you so, but in this case it wasn't me that told you so.  Oh, no, it was our Minor League expert Tom Belmont who pointed it out in his Prospect Instinct: Stephen Strasburg article back in February.  "He’s a once in a generation talent. How long he can showcase that talent will be up to the doctors, not up to him."  I really hate when he's right (which is a lot), there will be no living with him now.

Tampa Bay Rays SP Wade Davis pitched 7.2 innings of 2 run baseball on Monday.  He Struck out 3 and walked none in the win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Our Instinct:  Davis is 11-9 with a 4.29 era, 82 k's, and 51 walks over 126.5 innings on the season.  He's been anything but exciting, however has done well in the late season going.  He's only 25 and could be a decent come next season's fantasy auctions.

Toronto Blue Jays 2B Aaron Hill went 2 for 4 with a solo hr in a 6-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays Monday. Our Instinct:  Hill is hitting .212 with 20 hr's, 50 rbi, 54 runs, and 1 sb in 430 ab's.  After an MVP type season last season, this has been a disappointment to Hill and fantasy owners alike.  Expect him to improve next season and come at a discount, but don't expect 2009 type numbers again.

New York Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez is on schedule to return from the disabled list next week when eligible. Our Instinct:  A-Rod is hitting a modest .265 with 21 hr's, 97 rbi's 58 runs, and 4 sb in 427 ab's.  He's in real jeopardy of missing 30 hr's for the 1st time in 13 years.

Los Angeles Dodgers OF Manny Ramirez is not in the lineup Thursday and is rumored to be headed to the Chicago White Sox. Our Instinct:  Is there any possible stretch of the imagination that he could be heading back to Boston?  Unlikely, but this can be a weird game.  Ramirez is hitting .313 with 8 hr's, 40 rbi, 32 runs, and a stolen base in 195 ab's over 64 games.  He's 38 years old, not juicing, and hasn't hit a hr due to injury in over 2 months.  He still has the ability to have a big games, all be it, they are fewer and further between now.