Player Notes

Pitching exclusively out of the bullpen, Josh Collmenter is 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA and 0.95 WHIP over 22 innings.
Advice: Last year's horrific April that cost him a rotation spot seems like a distant memory. Collmenter finished with a 2.13 ERA in 72 innings (seven starts, 17 relief appearances) over the final five months in 2012 and has carried that success into a new season. Of particular interest is his strikeout and K/BB rate, both improved over last year, which were both improvements over 2010's fifth-place-ROY-voting campaign.

Rangers optioned C Robinson Chirinos to Triple-A Round Rock.
Advice: He's clearing the way for A.J. Pierzynski's return from the DL on Tuesday. Chirinos picked up three hits in 12 at-bats with the big club.

Dane De La Rosa has a 4.91 ERA over 21 appearances.
Advice: The 6-foot-7 hurler has allowed four runs over 3 1/3 innings in the last week. His 20/8 K/BB rate in 22 innings is decent, but it doesn't necessarily speak to any potential improvement coming. De La Rosa has never solved the puzzle of major league hitters, posting a 7.08 ERA over 33 games despite a shiny 33/13 K/BB rate.

Andres Torres went 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in Monday's win against Washington.
Advice: Prior to the evening, Torres hadn't collected a hit since May 8. The 35-year-old backup outfielder is batting just .247/.282/.346 over 81 at-bats this season.

Jack Hannahan grounded out as a pinch-hitter in Monday's victory against the Mets.
Advice: The Minnesota native is miscast as a pinch-hitter and is no threat to Todd Frazier's job, despite the latter's struggles. Hannahan is known for his glove, not his stick, but Cincinnati likely hoped for more than a .222/.317/.278 slash line when they inked him to a two-year, $4 million contract over the offseason.

Bartolo Colon pitched the A's past the Rangers by allowing just two runs over seven innings on Monday.
Advice: Colon walked as many batters tonight (two) as he did in his first eight starts combined, but he had his best outing in a month anyway, winning for the first time since April 23. He's 4-2 with a 4.31 ERA overall.

Dale Thayer notched his eighth hold in Monday's victory against St. Louis.
Advice: Thayer induced Ty Wigginton into a double-play after surrendering a leadoff single to Jon Jay. After walking Pete Kozma, he was yanked for Joe Thatcher, who ended the inning. Thayer holds a 3.15 ERA and 0.90 WHIP over 20 appearances.

Jason Marquis limited the Cardinals to two runs -- one earned -- on three hits over six innings to improve to 6-2 on Monday.
Advice: Marquis has won each of his last five trips to the bump and has been one of baseball's best starters over that stretch. We aren't here to pimp Marquis, however, as he's benefited from smoke and mirrors and his home park perhaps more than any pitcher in the game. Marquis' 28 walks lead the National League. And that five-game winning streak? He posted a hideous 17/18 K/BB rate over 31 2/3 innings during that stretch. This house of cards is about to topple and you'd be wise to identify the sucker in your league to pay for Marquis' 6-2 record and 3.27 ERA before it does.

Chris Denorfia went 3-for-4 with a steal and an RBI versus the Cardinals on Monday.
Advice: Certainly one of the game's most unheralded players, Denorfia keeps producing no matter which outfield position the Padres may ask him to play on a given night. The 32-year-old is batting .301/.352/.406 with five steals (and no pickoffs), two homers, 14 RBI and 19 runs and 133 at-bats. He's given NL-only owners everything they could have hoped for.

Shelby Miller coughed up three runs on five hits over 5 2/3 innings in the Cardinals' loss to the Padres Monday.
Advice: He struck out five and walked three. It was the second consecutive start in which Miller labored and was pulled after 5 2/3 innings, tallying 96 pitches against the Mets on Wednesday and 107 this evening. Undoubtedly, Miller must learn how to be more efficient. That will come in time. He already has down the dominate-major-league-brutes thing, posting a 1.74 ERA and 0.93 WHIP over nine starts.

Ty Wigginton went 0-for-2 with a walk in Monday's loss to the Padres.
Advice: He was also caught stealing. Wigginton doesn't draw many starts, and he doesn't do much with them when he does, slashing .194/.286/.226 with no homers or steals and one RBI through 31 at-bats. St. Louis doesn't often make mistakes, but the two-year, $5 million deal they gifted Wigginton in mid-December certainly qualifies.

Brad Ziegler owns a 2.61 ERA and 1.06 WHIP over 24 appearances.
Advice: The former 20th-round pick hasn't received much attention since he blew onto the scene as a rookie in 2008 (finishing eighth on that season's Rookie of the Year balloting), but he hasn't slowed down much. The right-handed specialist has posted a career 2.45 ERA over 347 appearances, which makes him a good bullpen piece in deeper formats, even if he had more saves in that rookie season (11) than he's had since (eight).

Patrick Corbin moved to 7-0 by pitching a three-hitter and striking out 10 as the Diamondbacks topped the Rockies 5-1 on Monday.
Advice: Corbin's April could have been written off as something of a fluke after he went 3-0 with a 1.91 ERA. However, he's now 4-0 with a 0.92 ERA in May. It's a pretty amazing transformation for a guy who went 6-8 with a 4.54 ERA and 14 homers allowed in 107 innings last year.

Seth Smith went 2-for-4 with a homer, two walks and three runs scored versus the Rangers on Monday.
Advice: The A's are hoping Smith's slump is over. His OPS dropped from 1.072 on April 23 to .933 on April 30 to .755 on May 17, but he's now gone 4-for-8 in his last two games. Of course, it was in late April and early May that the A's really needed him. Now that Yoenis Cespedes, Coco Crisp and Chris Young are healthy again, Smith isn't so important to the attack anymore.

Joe Thatcher earned his fifth hold by tossing two-thirds of a scoreless inning against the Cardinals on Monday night.
Advice: When healthy, the southpaw has been terrific for the Padres. Between 2009-2011, he posted a 2.66 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 10.9 K/9 rate. This year he is 1-0 with a 2.13 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 10/1 K/BB rate over 21 appearances. As an effective LOOGY who calls PETCO home, Thatcher is a solid middle reliever in deeper NL-only formats.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer Friday against the White Sox.
Advice: Salty is batting .333 in 42 at-bats this month. The Red Sox are trying to limit the switch-hitter's at-bats against left-handers and it's working so far; he's hitting .302 with all five of his homers and 12 of his 13 RBI against righties.