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Players Whose Starts Mean Something

Although I largely believe two weeks mean next to nothing, it's worth noting the exceptions - players whose values have changed so far. Here are a few:

  • Rich Harden - it's impossible to say whether he'll stay this way, but Harden's arm is as live as it's ever been right now, and that was something we couldn't know when he was easing his way through spring with a shoulder injury.
  • Clayton Kershaw - after a couple starts, we can't say definitively that he's turned the corner, but his 13-K game with excellent command illustrates his ceiling on the field rather than just in theory.
  • Chien-Ming Wang - we have no idea whether he'll bounce back or not, but the damage he's done to his final stats (and those of his owners) is so severe that it's no longer in his power to undo it. Even if he becomes the Wang of old in his next start, his final ERA will be above 5.00. And you really can't keep him in your lineup until he proves he's turned the corner (unless, like me, you have him in LABR, a 12-team AL-only league where you'd have to drop him otherwise).
  • Bobby Abreu - I'm just glad I have him in one league, and I should have realized this before the season started, because Mike Scioscia loves to run, and it would no longer surprise me if Abreu stole 35 bases.
  • Carlos Quentin - the seven home runs show he's over the wrist injury. Probably would have gone a round earlier had we known that for sure.
  • Aaron Hill - I'm not convinced that his hot start will continue, but he's another player coming off an injury who's proven he's healthy and ensured his playing time.
  • Johan Santana - his spring arm problems and declining strikeout rate raised questions about his health, but Santana put those to rest with 27 K in 19.2 IP and just one earned run.
  • Erik Bedard - 23:3 K/BB in 19.1 IP - he's picked up right where he left off.
  • Closers whose roles have changed - there's no point in listing them individually, but this is the one area where a two-week period can confer or remove value entirely. That said, I wouldn't necessarily drop the Jason Mottes just yet. If the situation is still sufficiently unsettled, they can get another shot before too long.