K-Rod cracks top 10 in all-time appearances

Francisco Rodriguez passed Jason Isringhausen to move into 9th all-time in appearances, with 542. K-Rod tossed two scoreless innings of relief in Sunday's game one, a 7-6 home win over Amityville.

With 31 appearances this year, Rodriguez is on pace to move into the top 5 in 2012. He passed Rick Aguilera (513) earlier this season to break into the top 10 and also is second among active pitchers, trailing only Mariano Rivera (1,156). Isringhausen is active, with 541 appearances, but hasn't signed on with a franchise this season. A busy year and K-Rod could very well reach Billy Wagner, who's 4th all-time with an even 700 games; he's averaged 64 appearances over his first eight seasons.

Though he hasn't yet recorded a save, K-Rod is enjoying a fine season in his return to Las Vegas, who selected him at the end of the 6th round this year. He's 1-2 with a 2.47 ERA and 1.02 WHIP, but even more impressively, only 4 of 24 inherited runners have scored (.167).

K-Rod also stands 8th all-time in saves with 128 but hasn't been a full-time closer since his days with Blue Ridge (2008-2010). He needs only two saves to match Roberto Hernandez for 7th all-time.

Now in his ninth season, Rodriguez broke in with Philly as a 2nd round pick (20th overall) in 2004. He notched a career-high 34 saves in back-to-back campaigns in 2006 and 2007 and then was shipped to Las Vegas with Erik Bedard in exchange for Mark Teixeira and a 3rd round pick. But it wasn't the last time he'd be traded; in fact, K-Rod has been shipped off to other teams five times in his career.

By July 2008, the Rat Pack exchanged him for Joe Nathan in a deal with then-D.C. (now Bridgewater) but he never threw a pitch for the Bushslappers. Mere weeks later, he was included in a seven-player deal to Blue Ridge. He spent a few good years with the Bombers, who then dealt him to Newark for an 11th-rounder before the start of last season. He didn't spend much with the Sugar Bears either, going to Marietta in a giant eight-player deal early in the 2011 campaign.

Buehrle wins his 100th game

It took 14 starts but Mark Buehrle has his first win of the season -- and the 100th of his career. The left-hander scattered four hits and a run over seven innings while striking out four in a 4-1 home triumph against Philly last night.

The 100 wins puts him squarely in 20th place in all-time victories, breaking a tie with Jake Peavy, who's spent most of this season working on his mechanics in the Hopatcong minor league system.

The third overall pick of the 2002 draft, Buehrle went on to win the McDonald Award that year for the Columbia Crusaders, going 18-9 with a 2.32 ERA and wicked awesome 0.98 WHIP-- yet somehow losing out on the Listach Award for Rookie of the Year to Joel Pineiro (who did win 21 games). He's been among the steadiest starting pitchers in the DMBL over past decade despite being with his seventh franchise in the St. Louis Farrakhans. Through his first five seasons, Buehrle pitched no fewer than 220 innings in all but one of them, and routinely recorded two dozen or more decisions a year.

Buehrle also is closing in on the top 20 in innings pitched, trailing Barry Zito and Bartolo Colon. He's third among active pitchers in complete games with 31 (behind Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt), which ties him for 15th all-time with Mike Morgan. He's also within the top 30 in career starts, with 259.

Buehrle is just 1-5 this season with a team-high 6.37 ERA. The losses have added up, putting him just two away from 100 for his career (which puts him 18th in league history).

Granderson hits for the cycle

Curtis Granderson hit for the cycle Thursday night, starting with a home run in the 1st inning and completing it with a triple in the 9th. The Las Vegas centerfielder went 4-for-5 with 3 RBIs and 2 runs scored, leading the Rat Pack to a road win over the Hoboken Cutters, 8-7.

Granderson started it off in the first inning with a home run off Ricky Romero after the Hoboken starter walked the first two batters of the game. The Grandyman added a single in the 3rd and a double in the 5th before grounding to first to end the 6th. With one out in the 9th, Granderson tripled off another lefty, reliever Bill Bray, to complete the cycle.

Milestone night for Oswalt

Roy Oswalt, the longtime Honolulu Shark who has bounced around four different teams in the last five seasons, last night became the 16th pitcher in league history to make 300 starts, while becoming the 13th hurler to reach 2,000 innings pitched. It was quite the milestone game as Oswalt fell to 2-5 on the season, matching Tim Hudson for 10th all-time in losses, with 112. He also sits just 12 strikeouts from 1,500, a mark only 14 pitchers have reached.

Oswalt reached the milestone in the uniform of the Las Vegas Rat Pack, who selected him in the 4th round of this year's draft, after spending the last two seasons in Vancouver. He won a career-high 17 games last year for the Iron Fist but spent his first six seasons in Honolulu, where he was the workhorse of the staff, going 75-74 in 194 starts but averaging 32 starts and 221 innings per year. He also spent a season each with Tampa (2008) and Amityville (2009).

The Mississippi native is now tied with Kevin Appier, who sits at 15th all-time with an even 300 starts. Oswalt is likely to pass Al Leiter, up next at 308, and if he can stay healthy enough to make 26 starts this year, he'd pass David Wells at 315 and move into 13th all-time. Could Oswalt be putting together a potential Hall of Fame career?

Oswalt very nearly had a complete game, which would have been his 43rd, matching David Cone for 11th all-time. He was lifted after 8 2/3, plunking pinch-hitter Ian Desmond before making way for Fernando Rodney who promptly gave up the game-winning double to Justin Smoak in the 5-4 loss.

Where have all the lefties gone?

This year, less than 1 out of every 4 starts in the DMBL has been made by a lefty -- a percentage that's way down from last year, when 30 percent of starts were made by lefties. In fact, at the current pace, just 499 starts will be turned in by lefties this season -- by far the lowest number of left-handed starts as far back as we can track (1999).

Last year, lefties were given the start 673 times, out of 2,268 games (30 percent). This year, lefties have started just 169 out of 768 games (22 percent). Unless a lot of teams start using a lot of lefties, this will set a new record for fewest lefty starters used, shattering the old record set in 2009 (538 starts, or 24 percent). The highest use of lefties dates back to 2004, when 750 lefties were used (33 percent of all starts). All told, from 1999 through 2012, 8,470 out of 30,260 games have been started by lefties, an average of 28 percent.

Why aren't people using lefties? Is it because of the long-held belief that lefties, due to benches full of lefty mashers, are doomed in the DMBL? It's true that this season, teams have losing records in games started by lefties (82-87). But consider last year, games started by lefties produced a winning record (343-330) -- as they did in 2010 (353-350) and 2009 (283-255)!

Amazingly, just one team accounts for a sixth of all starts by southpaws this season -- the Amityville Ant Slayers, who have three in their rotation (Cole Hamels, Madison Bumgarner, and Jon Lester). Four teams (Blue Ridge, Hoboken, Rowdy, and Vancouver) have two lefties in their rotations, and seven have one. Bridgewater and Newark have each used a lefty for just one start, as an injury replacement. Hillsborough and Sardine City haven't used a left-handed starter all year. In fact, the Straphangers don't even have a left-handed reliever!

One interesting consequence of so many people using right-handed rotations: Of the 73 free agent pitchers who are eligible to be used as starters, 24 (33 percent) are left-handed -- including six of the 10 starters with the lowest ERAs. If a rash of injuries hits starting pitching this summer, expect the number of left-handed starters to go up!

The way-too-early Round 1 preview!

"If the 2013 draft was held today, who would be the first overall pick?"

What a ridiculous question! We're one month into the season. No one has even qualified yet!

But still...

Who would be the first overall pick?

Alright, let's do it. The way-too-early predictions for the first round of the 2013 Draft!

Note that none of these guys is actually available to be picked up as a free agent right now, so don't get all excited. We're strictly looking at guys who we know will be available in 2013.
 

Lance Lynn

1 Lance Lynn, SP: This St. Louis starter has all the ingredients you look for in a #1 pick -- he's relatively young (25), he was a highly touted prospect (the Cardinals' 1st round pick in 2008), and he throws hard (358 K in 414.1 minor league innings). But if he keeps pitching like this, he'll be a slam dunk. Lynn is a perfect 5-0 in five starts this season, with a sparkling 1.60 ERA and 0.77 WHIP. He's struck out 30 guys in 33.2 innings while just walking seven. Lynn also had a pretty good year in 2011 -- 3.12 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 11 BB, 40 K in 34.2 IP -- but in only 18 games and two starts, not nearly enough to qualify.

2 Bryan LaHair, 1B: The Cubs first baseman is hitting a ridiculous .381/.459/.794 (1.253 OPS!) to start the season, with 8 2B and 6 HR in just 63 AB. If he keeps up that pace, he'll definitely be the #1 overall pick! While no one is expecting LaHair to put up Ruthian numbers, you can't totally dismiss his start as a fluke -- he put up huge numbers in Triple-A last year (.331/.405/.664, 38 HR, 109 RBI in 456 AB), then followed it up with .288/.377/.508 in the bigs, albeit in just 59 at-bats. Overall, he's put up a .295/.362/.503 line in 3,624 minor league ABs. And that's the downside -- he'll be 30 in November, having spent the last six seasons stuck in Triple-A.

3 Wade Miley, SP: While Arizona prospects Trevor Bauer and Tyler Skaggs get all the attention, Miley is actually in the majors -- and off to a great start! The 25-year-old southpaw was named N.L. Rookie of the Month for April after going 3-0 with a 1.29 ERA and 0.81 WHIP. Miley began the year in the D-backs bullpen, giving up 7 hits and 4 walks with just 2 Ks in 8.2 innings. Then he was moved to the rotation, where he's been amazing -- 0 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 13 K in 12.1 IP!

4 Drew Smyly, SP: The Tigers' 2nd round pick in 2010, Smyly has catapulted to the majors after posting a 2.26 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, and 131 K in 127.2 minor league innings. The southpaw has been terrific so far in Detroit, allowing just 3 ER in his first four starts (1.23 ERA, 1.18 WHIP). He's struck out 22 while walking 8.

5 Jose Altuve, 2B: Altuve doesn't make a lot of prospect lists because he stands just 5'5" -- but he uses his size to his advantage, with a career .386 OBP in the minors. The 21-year-old second baseman hit .361/.388/.569 in 144 ABs in Double-A last year, then was promoted to the majors where he hit .276 (but with just a .654 OPS) in 234 PAs, leaving him just 16 shy of being eligible. So far this season, he's hitting an astounding .358/.404/.526 (.930 OPS) for the Astros, with 11 of his 34 hits going for extra bases (7 doubles, 3 triples, and one inside-the-park home run).

6 Anthony Bass, SP: This 24-year-old righty is just 1-3 so far this season, but that's not his fault -- he's got a 2.30 ERA and 1.02 WHIP. Bass just missed qualifying last year, with 27 games and 48.1 innings -- with 3 more appearances or 1.2 more innings, he'd be eligible (and likely already on a roster, given his 1.68 ERA and 1.28 WHIP). Bass has struck out 27 in 27.1 innings so far this year.

7 A.J. Ellis, C: A career minor league catcher, this real-life Crash Davis has spent the last four years putting up tremendous numbers in Triple-A -- .310, with a .441 OBP -- but has never been eligible for the DMBL. The 31-year-old may finally get his chance this year, after getting off to a .306/.449/.468 start in 79 plate appearances with the Dodgers.

8 Shane Robinson, CF: Another long-time minor leaguer, the 27-year-old Robinson is hitting a robust .394/.444/.545 (.990 OPS) this season, building on his fine season in Triple-A last year (.309/.378/.495).

Barry Zito

9 Barry Zito, SP: Zito has been a huge disappointment in MLB and DMBL for a long time. Now 34, the southpaw is finally off to a good start, with a 1.76 ERA and 1.11 WHIP in his first five starts. The only downside is he's struck out just 15 (and walked 13) in 30.2 IP, but it's still a huge improvement over the beatings he's received for the past five seasons or so.

10 Chris Davis, 1B: Joining the long parade of prospects who repeatedly broke our hearts over the years, the oft-drafted Davis is finally off to the start so many had hoped for him (.316/.368/.595, .963 OPS). Davis, still only 26, hit .266/.305/.402 in 210 MLB PAs last year, but tantalized fans with a ridiculous .368/.405/.824 (1.229 OPS) line in Triple-A. Now with the Orioles, is this finally the year Davis recaptures the promise of his rookie campaign, when he hit .285/.331/.549 as a 22-year-old?

11 Adam LaRoche, 1B: Another DMBL veteran, LaRoche is a famously bad starter (.765 OPS in the first half, .889 OPS in the second half over nine MLB seasons). To that end, LaRoche put up a .546 OPS through May last year -- and then missed the rest of the season, leaving him with just 177 PAs. But for whatever reason, LaRoche is off to a monster start with the Nationals this year -- .311/.392/.511. Maybe this will be the first time since 2006 that the 32-year-old first baseman has an OPS over .900?

12 Duane Below, RP: This 26-year-old lefty has yet to allow a run, a walk, or an extra-base hit in 2012. In 12 innings, Below has struck out 9 while posting a 0.00 ERA, 0.58 WHIP, and .333 OPS.

Luke Scott

13 Luke Scott, DH: This left-handed hitter does one thing well -- mash righties. He's been a platoon hitter in several DMBL seasons, and will be back to do that again next year after getting off to a .348/.404/.783 start vs RHP with the Rays. (Against lefties, he's his usual helpless self, hitting .130 with a .471 OPS.) Scott had an ugly year last year, hitting just .220 with a .703 OPS in just 236 plate appearances. He might have to keep up that 1.000+ OPS line against righties to be considered first-round material, though, as the soon-to-be 35-year-old has only played DH this year.

14 Tony Campana, CF: This 26-year-old center fielder's career minor league OBP (.358) is actually higher than his career minor league SLG (.354), which tells you a lot about his game -- put the ball on the ground and run like hell. Said to be one of the fastest guys in the majors, Campana stole 24 bases in 26 attempts last year -- in just 143 ABs. So far this year, this Chicago Cub is 7-for-7 on the basepaths and hitting .355 with a .394 OBP.

15 Robbie Ross, RP: Another lefty reliever, Ross's MLB career is off to a perfect start as he's 4-0 after eight appearances. The 23-year-old has a 1.74 ERA and 0.77 WHIP in 10.1 innings and has been equally deadly against lefties (.190 BA) or righties (.143 BA).

16 Darren O'Day, RP: You may have forgotten about him after an ugly year last season (5.40 ERA in 16 games), but O'Day was a quality middle reliever in 2009 (1.84 ERA, 1.01 WHIP) and 2010 (2.03 ERA, 0.89 WHIP). It looks like he'll be returning to the DMBL in 2013 as he's off to an outstanding start (0.71 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, 6 H, 3 BB, 13 K in 12.2 IP). The right-hander has faced 17 lefties so far this year and retired 15 of them.

As we noted above, no one has actually qualified for the 2013 season yet, so some or all of these guys could be ineligible by the time next season starts. Or they could follow up their amazing Aprils with miserable Mays. We'll find out next February!