Thursday, August 6, 2009

Tigers battery a double positive

The youngest battery in the Majors proved effective the first time together as 20-year-old Rick Porcello wins his 10th game of the season and 22-year-old catcher Alex Avila goes 2-4 with a run scored and an RBI in his MLB debut. The Tigers rookies certainly helped the team to a 7-3 victory over Baltimore. Avila wasn't even expecting a call-up this year.

Fantasy Impact: Porcello is an own-able option as a starting pitcher, but Avila's situation is much more amorphous. The backstop might not get many chances at the MLB level with Gerald Laird ahead of him. Laird, however, hasn't hit much for the past month, making Avila worth watching in the case that he begins to steal Laird's playing time.

Porcello finally wins

Tigers rookie starter Rick Porcello wins his 10th game of the season, working 5 2/3 innings of two-run ball in a 7-3 victory against the Orioles. While it was just Porcello's second win since June 18th, the sinker-baller is still a fixture in Detroit's rotation. He's capable of a handful of more wins by season's end, giving the youngest player in the Majors a shot at 15 wins in his opening campaign.

Fantasy Impact: Porcello's ERA swelled almost a full point from the end of June through August 1st, but this outing was a half-step in the right direction. The 20-year-old is holding his own as a Major Leaguer, and he's proven very impressive over the course of 18 MLB starts. When the matchups are right, Porcello is a nice back-of-the-rotation option for any fantasy team.