Kershaw and Bruce

Clayton Kershaw and Jay Bruce both were both called up from the minors this season to a red carpet studded event and there was reason for that. Both players have huge upside and bring their respective clubs, the Dodgers and the Reds, a great future but lately both players are struggling to produce.

Kershaw, remember he is only 20 years old, is 0-2 with a 4.36ERA in 7 starts this season. He is giving owners some nice K/9IP (7.9/9IP) but is not giving owners enough innings at this moment (only pitchimg more than 5.1 innings once). The Dodgers organization is going to protect this young pitcher and I see them shutting him down early when he reaches a specified innings limit, most likely around 140-160IP for the season. Joe Torre is not like the stupid Dusty Baker who ruined the careers of Mark Prior and Kerry Wood by making them throw too many innings too early in their careers. Kershaw will be a fantasy stud but his time is not now. Owners who keep him on their teams because the high K/9IP is worth a spot on all rosters.

Jay Bruce jumped on the scene with huge numbers in his 10-15 games but since then has fallen from the heavens. He is currently being dropped in most leagues and I can see why but I personally as a Jay Bruce owner am going to keep him on my roster for now. You should too! Since the word AVERAGE is what it says it is, it's a average. He was never going to hit .457 for the rest of the season. His current struggles is just a little correction and he should land in the .280 area and hover there for the rest of the season. This kid is not going to bring stud fantasy numbers like Matt Holliday immediately. Learning the pitchers and adjusting to them after they adjust to Bruce is a cat and mous game that I know Bruce will succeed in. So, owners...just hang on tight and realize that this kid is not going to give you monster numbers but in the end he will help you as a 5-tool player. For now, bench him until he starts to show signs of breaking out of his slump. If you can, try and grab him from another owner for cheap.