Mormon Baseball

We have confirmed that Tiger’s starting pitcher Doug Fister is Mormon and have added him to the list of players we track each week. Fister is in his 3rd year with Detroit, and his 5th in the majors. He was drafted in 2006 in the 7th round by the Mariners, and spent 4 years in that organization, including 2 1/2 in the majors.

However, this past week Fister struggled, giving up 7 earned runs in 5 innings for a loss. But overall this season he has been good. He is 11-7 with a 3.81 era and 1.30 WHIP.

Fister isn’t the only Mormon pitcher worth watching these days. Jeremy Guthrie turned in another two strong performances last week, earning a 1.50 era over 12 innings of work while walking just 3 and striking out 9. He has brought his season era down to a respectable 4.08. Also strong is Matt Lindstrom, who pitched 2 shut-out innings in relief last week, and in doing so brought his season era below 3.

At the plate Jacoby Ellsbury continues to shine. He was 11 for 26 (.423) last week and scored 8 times, which brought him into the top ten in the majors this season in runs scored. And his 4 stolen bases last week increased his league-leading total to 51, 10 more than 2nd-place Rajai Davis. Meanwhile, Bryce Harper also is strong at the plate, hitting 7 of 21, including his 19th homer of the season.

New papa John Buck was traded by the Mets to the Pittsburgh Pirates last week, as the Pirates tried to strengthen their staff and secure a place in the playoffs. Buck will provide backup to starting catcher Russell Martin. The Pirates also brought Kyle Farnsworth up from the minors with the expansion to the 40-man roster Sunday, and Farnsworth promptly gave them 2 strike outs and a shut-out inning.

.

Hitting Stats Leaders:

• Jacoby Ellsbury — 87 runs (10th); 51 stolen bases (1st)

Pitching Stats Leaders:

• Jeremy Guthrie — 2 complete games (tied 8th)

Fielding Stats Leaders:

• [none]

.

Current Roster Players:

• Darwin Barney—second base—Chicago Cubs
  4 for 22 (.182), 1 runs, 1 rbi, 0 hr, 1 bb, 1 sb, 4 so
  YTD: .217, 43 runs, 39 rbi, 7 hr, 30 bb, 4 sb, 54 so in 429 at bats.
• John Buck — starting catcher — Pittsburgh Pirates
  4 for 7 (.571), 0 runs, 1 rbi, 0 hr, 0 bb, 0 sb, 2 so
  YTD: .221, 38 runs, 61 rbi, 15 hr, 29 bb, 2 sb, 101 so in 375 at bats.
• Jacoby Ellsbury — starting outfielder — Boston Red Sox
  11 for 26 (.423), 8 runs, 3 rbi, 0 hr, 2 bb, 4 sb, 3 so
  YTD: .299, 87 runs, 50 rbi, 7 hr, 45 bb, 51 sb, 88 so in 552 at bats.
• Kyle Farnsworth — reliever (right handed) — Pittsburg Pirates
  0-0, 0.00 era, 0 hits, 0 er, 0 bb, and 2 k in 1.0 innings
  YTD: 2-0, era 5.58, 37 hits, 19 er, 7 bb and 21 k in 30.2 innings
• Doug Fister — starting pitcher (right handed) — Detroit Tigers
  0-1, 12.60 era, 13 hits, 7 er, 0 bb, and 2 k in 5.0 innings
  YTD: 11-7, era 3.81, 191 hits, 73 er, 33 bb and 127 k in 172.2 innings
• Jeremy Guthrie — starting pitcher (right handed) — Kansas City Royals
  1-0, 1.50 era, 14 hits, 2 er, 3 bb, and 9 k in 12.0 innings
  YTD: 13-10, 4.08 era, 196 hits, 81 er, 53 bb and 99 k in 178.2 innings
• Roy Halladay— starting pitcher (right handed) — Philadelphia Phillies
  0-0, 9.00 era, 7 hits, 5 er, 2 bb, and 1 k in 5.0 innings
  YTD: 3-4, era 7.94, 44 hits, 40 er, 21 bb, 38 k in 45.1 innings.
• Bryce Harper — left field — Washington Nationals
  7 for 21 (.333), 4 runs, 3 rbi, 1 hr, 4 bb, 0 sb, 5 so
  YTD: .278, 60 runs, 49 rbi, 19 hr, 54 bb, 7 sb, 80 so in 349 at bats.
• Elliot Johnson — infielder — Atlanta Braves
  3 for 13 (.231), 1 runs, 2 rbi, 0 hr, 1 bb, 0 sb, 6 so
  YTD: .189, 21 runs, 12 rbi, 2 hr, 9 bb, 15 sb, 56 so in 190 at bats.
• Josh Johnson — starting pitcher (right handed) – Toronto Blue Jays
  Did not pitch – 15-day DL
  YTD: 2-8, 6.20 era, 105 hits, 64 er, 83 k, 30 bb in 81.1 innings.
• Matt Lindstrom — right handed bullpen pitcher – Chicago White Sox
  0-0, 0.00 era, 1 hits, 0 er, 1 k, 0 bb in 2.0 innings
  YTD: 2-3, 2.98 era, 52 hits, 18 er, 39 k, 23 bb in 54.1 innings.
• Brandon Lyon — right handed bullpen pitcher — New York Mets
  Did not pitch — Released
  YTD: 2-2, 4.98 era, 43 hits, 19 er, 23 k, 13 bb in 34.1 innings.
• Adam Rosales — 2B — Texas Rangers
  1 for 3 (.333) 1 run, 0 rbi, 0 hr, 0 bb, 0 sb, 1 so
  YTD: .194, 14 runs, 12 rbi, 5 hr, 10 bb, 0 sb, 34 so in 144 at bats.
• Eric Sogard — infielder — Oakland A’s
  3 for 12 (.250) 0 run, 4 rbi, 0 hr, 1 bb, 0 sb, 2 so
  YTD: .263, 39 run, 31 rbi, 2 hr, 24 bb, 8 sb, 46 so in 320 at bats