Player Spotlight: Edwin Jackson

Edwin Jackson is taking the American League by storm and he has caught most fans and fantasy owners by surprise. Jackson is 25 years old stands 6'3, he tips the scale at 190 LBs and throws from the right side. Jackson was born in 1983 in West Germany. He was originally drafted by the Dodgers in the 6th rd in the 2001 draft. The Dodgers traded him to TB in 2006 for Danny Baez and Lance Carter, then the Rays traded him to Detroit in 2008 for Matt Joyce. Jackson has never had great numbers and I wouldn't expect this current pace to hold up.

2007
IP- 161
W- 5
L- 15
ERA- 5.76
WHIP- 1.76
K/9- 7.2

2008
IP- 183.3
W- 14
L- 11
ERA- 4.42
WHIP- 1.51
K/9- 5.3

So far this season Jackson is 6-3 in 83.3 innings 62 Ks with an impressive 2.16 ERA. He has been throwing 97 MPH in the 9th inning as he is striking out 6.7 batters per 9. Control has been a major issue for Jackson the past couple of seasons and I believe that has been the biggest factor in his turn around as Jackson is only issuing 2.1 free passes per 9. The one concerning stat for Jackson is that only 25% of balls hit into play are falling for hits and that is proving that he is getting lucky so far. The past 2 season his H% was at 30% and 35% so expect that ERA and WHIP to rise as his H% normalizes.

Who the hell is Barbaro Canizares and why is he hitting clean-up?
The Braves promoted the 29 year old Canizares to play 1st base and tonight he was hitting clean-up. He is slow, can't field his position and doesn't hit for power so the Braves put him at a power position and bat him clean up! The Braves offense is so bad and as a Vasquez owner I would rather have the Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro playing 1B for this pathetic squad.

Drew Storen could be Nats closer by Year End
The #10 pick in the this years draft, Drew Storen, has already signed, $1.6 million, and been assigned to A ball. Storen emerged as a premier closer in his freshman campaign with eight saves. He was drafted by the Yankees in the 34th round in 2007, but he did not sign. In 28 appearances in 2009, Storen was 7-1 with seven saves. In 42 2/3 innings, Storen permitted 18 earned runs on 34 hits with eight walks and 66 strikeouts. If your league has a deep bench I would aquire him for possible September save opportunities.

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