A pair of pitching performances caught my eye Thursday.
First, Kyle Davies -- a guy I chronicled all spring only to shy away from him in the end -- pitched his best yet in a start against the White Sox, allowing only five baserunners and recording eight strikeouts in seven shutout innings. I don't know that you can expect him to strike out so many batters going forward, but his other numbers continue a trend he started last September, when he went 4-1 with a 2.27 ERA.
So would I pick him up in a mixed league? If I already had a scrub pitcher on my bench, I wouldn't mind making an exchange. Ian Snell for Davies is already all-systems-go in one league. When trying to find an out-of-nowhere breakout, you want to keep shuffling the hottest pitchers on and off the waiver until one sticks by staying hot. Nobody will pick up someone like Snell, coming off a miserable start, if you drop him, but someone else might look at Davies if you don't grab him first.
Of course, the pitching performance that won't go unnoticed is Chris Carpenter's seven innings of one-hit baseball against the Pirates. He had a 1.52 ERA in 23 2/3 innings this spring, and now this. I feel confident and not the least bit premature declaring what 71 percent of Fantasy owners had already come to realize: He's baaaa-aaaack.
Speaking of back, Andruw Jones not only started for the first time this season, but he hit cleanup for the Rangers . Oh, he also went 3-for-5 with a double.
How long before he replaces David Murphy in the lineup?
