Saturday, May 28, 2011

Nicasio nice in first effort

Newly recalled Rockies starter Juan Nicasio dominates the Caridinals with seven shoutout innings on his way to a 15-4 win in his MLB debut. Nicasio walked two and yielded just six hits on the day. He profiles as a project, but with that high-end fastball Nicasio is capable of big things in his career, especially if he improves that slider.

Fantasy Impact: With Aaron Cook expected back with the big league team after a broken pitching hand derailed the start of hi season, it appears this may have been one and done for Nicasio. If that's indeed the case, it might be a good thing for fantasy owners tempted to scoop up the young fireballer. Nicasio has pitched just this season above A-ball, which means he's still working his way through the minor league system. This one-off start was likely a reward for his good work at Double-A (2.22 ERA, 62 K in 56 2/3 innings). That said, the back end of the Rockies rotation (Cook and Clayton Mortensen) is less than inspiring. We fully expect Nicasio to head back to the minors and continue to work on harnessing his impressive stuff. Unless the Rockies are big gamblers, there's only an outside chance we see Nicasio again.

Smoke on the Dodgers

A cloud of smoke is wafting into Dodger Stadium along the first base side. Apparently there's a fire in a warehouse nearby. Fans are being moved to other areas of the part. It's an odd scene.