Today's Fantasy Rx

Anaheim: John Lackey, RH Starter
4-7 on a 36:23 K:BB in 74 IP over 12 GS
with 80 H, 9 HR, a 1.01 G-F, and a 5.35 ERA.

The Angels' decision to move Darin Erstad to first base, combined with losing Troy Glaus to the DL, dropped their defense from among baseball's best to the worst in the league, effectively negating the support Anaheim starters receive from their great bullpen. Unfortunately, with his ground-fly ratio still decreasing, a 4.4 strikeout rate similarly leaves Lackey little room for error. While most of his skills appear decent, including a 2.8 BB/9, 9.7 H/9, and a 1.1 HR/9, his 42420 current QA log depicts a volatile pitcher who looks largely lost on the mound. He should emerge as an excellent bargain if he improves against lefties or begins pitching better on the road, however you only should target him now if you need wins or innings since you can't expect help in other categories.

We'll continue tomorrow with National League overachieving pitchers.

Today's Fantasy Rx: Yesterday's shakeup of Kansas City's bullpen makes no sense considering Curt Leskanic hadn't allowed a run this month while Jason Grimsley owns a 10.38 ERA, a product of allowing five earned runs in 4.1 innings over 6 games. Of course, Grimsley also excelled in May, so Jaime Cerda might be the most reliable reliever in this incredibly unstable pen. At this point, anyone looking for Affeldt insurance should seek Scott Sullivan since he seems the most consistent right-handed alternative.