Brandon Mauer has miss bat stuff, but he learned a valuable lesson: if you make a mistake, big league hitters are going to punish those mistakes. He throws a low 90s fastball and knockout slider. His control of his changeup and curveball is still pretty loose, especially the curveball. I unfortunately started him in all my NFBC leagues so my ratios are going to be the dumps the next couple of weeks and I’m still on up in the air if I’ll start him again. Next week he’s scheduled to play against Houston and Texas at home next week.

Jose Valverde signed a minor league deal with the Tigers yesterday. Valverde is the pitcher you want to own in the Tigers bullpen if you’re looking for saves. Valverde is not a good pitcher, but the closer position is a fantasy position bred out of opportunity and the Tigers will give him every opportunity to succeed.

Kris Medlen looked nothing like the Medlen we saw at the end of last year; he had trouble commanding his pitchers (only 62% of his pitches were strikes) and left some balls up. The biggest thing I noticed was the lack of a feel for the changeup, his best pitch; too many times it was thrown out of the zone. Medlen doesn’t overpower hitters, but instead relies on movement to generate outs. If his changeup doesn’t improve his upside will be limited. The cold and wet conditions could have contributed to his poor performance, but I think this performance is more of an indication of who he is than what he did last year.

No timetable for Jason Motte to come off the DL. Mitchell Boggs is the pitcher you want now, but I believe Trevor Rosenthal will have the most saves for the Cardinals this season.