Neues » offers improved potential

TORONTO – Drew Hutchison wants you to know that hes healthy. He will dispel any notion to the contrary when its used to try to explain his inconsistency. “I feel the exact same every time Ive taken the mound this year,” said Hutchison. “Its frustrating because I expect myself not to be inconsistent and thats what I get. Its frustrating.” Hutchisons injury history has been well chronicled. As a 21-year-old, Hutchison was an early season call-up in 2012, less than three years after he was drafted out of Lakeland (Florida) Senior High School. He impressed in 11 starts between April and June, but was lost for the season upon tearing the ulnar ligament in his pitching elbow. He underwent the famous Tommy John reconstruction surgery and returned, pitching in the minor leagues, late last season. This season, hes already surpassed his innings total of last year. The Blue Jays have already negotiated their rotation to afford Hutchison extra rest on one occasion and its likely other spots will be cherry-picked through the year. Hutchison has pitched much better on the road than at home. He has been better on extra rest, five days or more in between starts, than he has been when pitching on the regular four days of down time. He simplified his Sunday struggles, during which he allowed five earned runs in only three innings of work in the Jays 5-0 loss to St. Louis. Hutchison pitched on regular rest. “I made some mistakes and they got hit like they should,” said Hutchison. “I left a change-up up. I hung a slider. Those are pitches theyre going to do damage with. Regardless of anything else, if I throw a hanging slider on two days rest or eight days rest, its going to get drilled.” At home in five starts, Hutchison is 1-3 with an 8.72 ERA, seven home runs allowed and 21 strikeouts to 13 unintentional walks. On the road in eight starts, hes 3-1 with a 2.03 ERA, three home runs allowed and 46 strikeouts to 10 walks. Hutchisons two finest outings of the season occurred away from Rogers Centre. He tossed a three-hit shutout in Texas, outpitching Yu Darvish in a 2-0 win on May 16. Then, on June 3 in Detroit, Hutchison went pitch-for-pitch with Anibal Sanchez. He got a no-decision for his seven scoreless innings, but the Jays got the win when the offence opened up on the Tigers bullpen. The start in Texas was on normal rest. The start in Detroit was on seven days of rest. Yet Hutchisons take on the appearances versus the Tigers is different than the layman observers. “I didnt think I was lights out that start, either, until about the fourth or the fifth,” said Hutchison. “I didnt think I had very good tempo and I didnt think I was locked in.” Hutchison is a command pitcher, at his best when hes working the corners with his fastball and mixing in his slider and his changeup to keep hitters off balance. The modus operandi isnt exclusive to Hutchison, of course, but because he doesnt throw a high-90s fastball, hes less prone to get away with mistakes. If its not about fatigue and it isnt about health, could it be about a 23-year-old still learning the ropes? “I mean, sure, thats fair to say,” said Hutchison. “For me, I dont really look at things that way. Im more take the ball and I expect to give us a good outing every time I go out there, regardless of my age or regardless of what level Im at or anything like that.” Hutchison wants to be reliable and admitted hes angry that hasnt always been the case. Theres frustration at the inconsistency. “Thats been the biggest difference between the good starts Ive had and the bad starts - my rhythm and my tempo has been good in my good starts and it hasnt been in my bad starts, so I think thats something Im more focused on than anything else,” said Hutchison. RASMUS UPDATE Colby Rasmus, on the disabled list since May 13 with an injured right hamstring, has made enough progress that his rehab schedule is becoming better defined. Rasmus continues to perform baseball activities at the Blue Jays facility in Dunedin, Florida and may get into an extended spring training game early this week. The Triple-A Buffalo Bisons are scheduled to open up a four-game series in Toledo, Ohio, against the Mudhens on Thursday. Rasmus will join the Bisons there. Its not yet clear how many games he will play before being activated off the disabled list and rejoining the Blue Jays. Air Max 90 Sale Nz . - The Baltimore Ravens and tight end Dennis Pitta reached agreement on a five-year contract Friday. Nike Air Max 270 Nz . - Leon Draisaitl scored a hat trick as the Prince Albert Raiders stormed past the Swift Current Broncos 5-2 in Western Hockey League action Tuesday. http://www.airmaxnzwholeale.com/cheap-air-max-90-nz.html. Hamelin overcame a weak start to win bronze in the 500-metre race behind winner Wu Dajing of China and American J.R. Celski on Saturday at the world short track speed skating championship. Air Max 95 New Zealand . Patrick Deslisle-Houde and David Rose each scored in the second to give the fourth-seeded Redmen a 3-1 lead after Jean-Philippe Mathieu scored in the first. Air Max 90 Womens Nz . -- Orleans Darkwa ran in from 1 yard with 1:45 left, and the Miami Dolphins rallied from two scores down in the final minutes to beat the Dallas Cowboys 25-20 on Saturday night.There is a two-man race for the best fantasy catcher heading into the 2014 season; the battle being waged between the St. Louis Cardinals Yadier Molina and the San Francisco Giants Buster Posey. You can make an argument for Posey, who has more power and likely has a higher offensive ceiling, but hes also coming off a bit of a down season, during which he hit 15 home runs in 595 plate appearances. While Molina doesnt have the same power ceiling, only hitting more than 15 homers once in his career, hes hit over .300 in three straight seasons and can run a little bit, swiping 36 bases over the last five seasons. So, base-stealing provides an edge for a Molina. Who would have guessed? If you cant land one of the premier catchers, there are still some solid candidates on the next tier. Colorados Wilin Rosario has mashed 49 homers over the past two seasons, more than any other catcher, and hes just turned 25, so theres room for him to get better. Milwaukees Jonathan Lucroy has raised his offensive game in the past couple seasons, slugging 30 home runs and hitting .295 despite missing some time in 2012. There are a couple of wildcards at the position due for position switches. Minnesotas Joe Mauer is headed to first base while Clevelands Carlos Santana, whose 147 runs scored leads all catchers over the past two seasons, is looking at either designated hitter or even third base. While that might offer better longevity, its not as though Santana is going to play dramatically more even with a position switch. He was a half-time catcher last season onn his way to 642 plate appearances, so its not like hes due for an extra 100 plate appearances, but anything to reduce wear-and-tear behind the plate offers improved potential value and especially so in the case of Mauer, who has played fewer than 115 games in two of the past three seasons.dddddddddddd. Some other notables include Baltimores Matt Wieters, who hasnt lived up to the hype, but does have 67 home runs over the past three seasons; Kansas Citys 23-year-old rising star Salvador Perez and the Yankees Brian McCann, a left-handed power hitter, who has slugged at least 20 home runs in six straight seasons and moves to a home park that caters to left-handed power. Should you be late to the catcher party and seek out value, Houstons Jason Castro and Washingtons Wilson Ramos are a couple in their mid-20s and on their way up offensively, while A.J. Pierzynski is coming off two of his most productive seasons. In two catcher leagues, consider the potential upside from young backstops who arent yet established. Replacing Mauer behind the plate in Minnesota, Josmil Pinto hit .342 in his first 83 major-league at-bats and San Diegos Yasmani Grandal has shown some pop when not sitting out a PED suspension. The Mets Travis dArnaud and Seattles Mike Zunino struggled in their first MLB seasons, but both entered the league with an impressive pedigree. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '