Renaissance Man [ren' i-sans' man] n - a man who knows a lot about many different subjects and has many practical skills and abilities.
At the beginning of each week I am going to take a look at some Rotisserie Renaissance Men from the previous week. Stats in this edition cover the week of June 14th - 20th. These are the hitters that are solid contributors to all 5 roto categories and pitchers who are doing things right in 4 - and possibly 5 categories some weeks. Whether these guys are sitting on your bench or your league's waiver wire, they probably need to be in a starting line-up while they are staying hot.
The offensive selections this week focus more on speed than power. With the lack of hitters with big home run numbers to be able to swipe a bag, we are including a couple stolen base guys that also went deep this last week. We also welcome back for the first time in a few weeks a Relief Pitcher/Closer to that side of the coin. Along with a couple guys with the proclivity to strike men out, you get this week's Roto Renaissance Men.
Hitters
Dustin Pedroia
- 2B, Boston Red Sox
(23 AB,
.522 AVG, 9 R, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 4 SB)
Everyone loves a good "Laser Show" and if you were around for Boston's home stand last week you got to see one courtesy of Mr. Pedroia. He wreaked havoc on the bases, and was on the bases thanks to his .522 batting average on the week. The whole Red Sox offense is really starting to click and guys like Adrian Beltre
and David Ortiz
are getting a lot of face time because they are the power hitters that are starting to come around but a big, little cog to this offense is also starting to be effective at the plate again and doing his thing.
(29 AB, .429 AVG, 9 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 3 SB)
Crawford has quietly been a well rounded player so far this year and weeks like this help those over all stats stay more than respectable. The Rays have been scuffling a little bit as of late and Crawford's performance has been one of their bright spots. His batting average has dipped a little bit in June but he is really starting to drive the ball more with a June slugging % of .500 with already plating 14 RBI, his highest monthly total so far this season.
Manny Ramirez - OF, Los Angeles Dodgers
(21 AB, .429AVG, 7 R, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 1 SB)
Manny returned to Beantown, and even though his team was lack luster, Manny seemed very comfortable hitting at Fenway once again. He went 5-12 on the weekend, collecting one of his home runs on the week and his only stolen base all on Saturday. Manny is definitely in the lime light of his career number wise but you can still expect a huge week here and there that will dazzle and excite baseball fans everywhere. To finish up inter-league play this week Manny will get to visit Anaheim and then welcome in former adversaries the New York Yankees for a weekend series at the Ravine.
Pitchers
Max Scherzer - SP, Detroit Tigers
(13 IP, 2 W, 17 K, 2.77 ERA, 1.15 WHIP)
Since being recalled from his brief demotion to triple-A Scherzer has started to live up to Detroit's expectations when they traded for him. After tweaking some mechanical issues down on the farm Mad Max has come back to deliver 41 strike outs in 31 innings. Last week he was able to get some run support and pick up 2 wins to go along with all of those strike outs. If Detroit's offense continues to give him that kind of run support and he stays out of bad habits Scherzer could easily be a top 15 starter from this point on in the 2010 campaign.
CC Sabathia - SP, New York Yankees
(15 IP, 2 W, 13 K, 1.80 ERA, 0.93 WHIP)
CC lost his bid at a shut out thanks to Mother Nature on Sunday, but really he didn't need the potential 3 more K's and a lower WHIP and ERA to have a good week. He put up those numbers against a couple very good offenses - well potentially very good offenses - in the Phillies and Mets. CC has won his last 4 starts and hopes to get another against the Yankee's former skipper Joe Torre when the Yankees visit L.A. this week.
Jonathan Papelbon - RP, Boston Red Sox
(4.1 IP, 1 W, 4 K, 2.08 ERA, 0.69 WHIP, 3 S)
Usually a Closer picks up a win only after he affords the other team a run and blows the save. This was not the case for Paps this week when his Win came after he held the Dodgers scoreless on Saturday. After his return from a short trip to the restricted list he has shown he still deserves his label as an elite closer in the game, converting all 4 save chances in the month of June. With the Red Sox playing better ball as of late look for Papelbon to get and convert more save chances in the future.