Mormon Baseball

Its often hard to know what to expect from veterans near the end of their careers. In the case of Kyle Farnsworth, the Mets were ready to relegate him to the minors, given a poor performance in spring training, but the injury of closer Bobby Parnell brought him up to the majors and gave him the setup role for Parnell’s replacement. And Farnsworth has blossomed, his fastball is up 10 mph to the mid 90s, and his performance has been excellent—1.59 ERA and 1.06 WHIP in 5 2/3rds innings—inline with the best years of his career. At 37, the question is whether or not he can keep up this level.

The other active Mormons on the mound also did well last week. Jeremy Guthrie had a strong outing against Tampa Bay (7 innings, 1 er, 0.71 WHIP) and White Sox closer Matt Lindstrom managed a win, despite struggling in his new role. He has just one save so far and has blow two—although last night’s blown save became a win, thanks to his teammates.

At the plate, Bryce Harper joined Jacoby Ellsbury in the extraordinary performance category. Harper was 10 for 21 last week (.476), raising his season average to .316—its almost like Harper needed an extra week of spring training. Ellsbury wasn’t far behind at 10 for 26 (.385), keeping his name all over the stat leader boards. Let’s see how long it takes Harper to join him there.

Doug Fister and Josh Johnson remain on the 15-day DL. Fister is expected back to the majors sometime in May, while Johnson could make it back this month.

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Hitting Stats Leaders:

• Jacoby Ellsbury — .362 average (13th), 6 stolen bases (tied 3rd), .423 OBP (19th), 17 hits (t-13th)

Pitching Stats Leaders:

• Jeremy Guthrie — 2 wins (tied 5th)
• Matt Lindstrom — 1 save (tied 25th)

Fielding Stats Leaders:

• [none]

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• Darwin Barney — second base — Chicago Cubs
  1 for 10 (.100), 0 runs, 0 rbi, 0 hr, 3 bb, 0 sb, 3 so
  YTD: .136, 1 runs, 0 rbi, 0 hr, 6 bb, 0 sb, 5 so in 22 at bats.
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• John Buck — backup catcher — Seattle Mariners
  0 for 3 (.000), 0 runs, 0 rbi, 0 hr, 1 bb, 0 sb, 0 so
  YTD: .143, 1 runs, 0 rbi, 0 hr, 1 bb, 0 sb, 1 so in 7 at bats.
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• Jacoby Ellsbury — centerfield — New York Yankees
  10 for 26 (.385), 3 runs, 2 rbi, 0 hr, 2 bb, 3 sb, 1 so
  YTD: .362, 6 runs, 3 rbi, 0 hr, 5 bb, 6 sb, 3 so in 47 at bats.
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• Kyle Farnsworth — relief pitcher — New York Mets
  0-0, 0.00 era, 0 hits, 0 er, 1 bb, and 1 k in 2.1 innings; 0.43 WHIP
  YTD: 0-0, era 1.59, 4 hits, 1 er, 2 bb and 3 k in 5.2 innings; 1.06 WHIP
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• Doug Fister — starting pitcher — Washington Nationals
  Injured — 15-day DL
  YTD: 0-0, era n/a, 0 hits, 0 er, 0 bb and 0 k in 0.0 innings
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• Jeremy Guthrie — starting pitcher — Kansas City Royals
  1-0, 1.29 era, 4 hits, 1 er, 1 bb, and 4 k in 7.0 innings; 0.71 WHIP
  YTD: 2-0, era 3.55, 11 hits, 5 er, 5 bb and 7 k in 12.2 innings; 1.26 WHIP
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• Bryce Harper — starting centerfield — Washington Nationals
  10 for 21 (.476), 4 runs, 4 rbi, 1 hr, 4 bb, 0 sb, 6 so
  YTD: .316, 5 runs, 4 rbi, 1 hr, 5 bb, 0 sb, 16 so in 42 at bats.
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• Elliot Johnson — second base — Cleveland Indians
  1 for 6 (.167), 1 runs, 0 rbi, 0 hr, 0 bb, 0 sb, 3 so
  YTD: .091, 1 runs, 0 rbi, 0 hr, 0 bb, 0 sb, 4 so in 11 at bats.
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• Josh Johnson — starting pitcher — San Diego Padres
  Injured, did not pitch (15-day DL)
  YTD: 0-0, era n/a, 0 hits, 0 er, 0 bb and 0 k in 0.0 innings
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• Matt Lindstrom — Chicago White Sox, closer
  1-0, 0.00 era, 2 hits, 0 er, 1 bb, and 0 k in 2.0 innings; 1.50 WHIP
  YTD: 1-1, era 5.40, 8 hits, 3 er, 2 bb and 2 k in 5.0 innings; 2.00 WHIP
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• Brandon Lyon — relief pitcher — Los Angeles Angels
  Not on roster — reassigned to minor leagues
  YTD: 0-0, era n/a, 0 hits, 0 er, 0 bb and 0 k in 0.0 innings
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• Clayton Mortensen — relief pitcher — Kansas City Royals
  Not on roster — reassigned to minor leagues
  YTD: 0-0, era n/a, 0 hits, 0 er, 0 bb and 0 k in 0.0 innings
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• Shane Peterson — Oakland As minor league affiliate, infield
  Did not play — reassigned to minor leagues
  YTD: .000, 0 runs, 0 rbi, 0 hr, 0 bb, 0 sb, 0 so in 0 at bats.
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• Adam Rosales — Texas Rangers, backup infielder
  Did not play — reassigned to minor leagues
  YTD: .000, 0 runs, 0 rbi, 0 hr, 0 bb, 0 sb, 0 so in 0 at bats.
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• Eric Sogard — Oakland As, backup short stop
  2 for 17 (.118), 1 runs, 0 rbi, 0 hr, 2 bb, 1 sb, 1 so
  YTD: .185, 3 runs, 0 rbi, 0 hr, 4 bb, 2 sb, 2 so in 27 at bats.
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