Friday, August 21, 2009

Anibal is back

Marlins starter Anibal Sanchez is back in the Majors after missing over two months with a sprained shoulder. Sanchez produced mix results in two minor league starts during his rehab stint with Double-A Jacksonville.

Fantasy Impact: The former pitching prospect has always been considered worth a flier when returning from his various injuries, but Sanchez has pitched just 117 1/3 innings since his breakout year back in 2006. If you're desperate for pitching, give him a go, but Sanchez's 5.55 ERA over seven starts this year is not of much fantasy value.

Mauer the mauler

Joe Mauer may be on a tear like no one else right now, but he's going to have to keep it going full-throttle if he wants to hit .400. The Twins catcher batted .524 over his recent 15-game hitting streak, but he's 1-7 over his last two games. That's a .486 mark over his last 17 games. Baseball Musings projects Mauer must hit at least .451 the rest of the way to reach .400 for the season.

Fantasy Impact: There's no doubt Mauer is the best hitting catcher in baseball. His remarkable power surge (.648 SLG pct. in 2009 is 141 points over last season's mark) makes a good thing that much better. Mauer is such a complete hitter than a run at .400 is not out of the question, even if it's highly unlikely.