Nick Adenhart is up - now what?

It was an awfully rough week for the young pitchers this week, with a host of young arms getting demoted. We will start with Rich Hill (age 28) of the Chicago Cubs, who has received the Matt Murton treatment from Lou Piniella this season. Hill had a nice season last year (11-8, 3.92, 1.19), but struggled out of the gate this year. Piniella had no patience with him, and his K/BB ratio below 1.00 led to his demise. Hill's last start went 2/3 of an inning, as he walked four before being yanked. He will try to work out the kinks in Iowa. Reserve him for now, but do not cut him, since he should be back in the majors before too long. Keep an eye on the situation; however, as if Hill cannot get his control problems under (for lack of a better word) control, he may be worth cutting this summer.

Former top prospect Anthony Reyes (age 26) was also demoted to Triple-A this week. Reyes has had a brutal major league career to date, as in 52 games; he has compiled a 5.41 earned run average, with a 1.36 WHIP. His career K/BB ratio of 2:1 is just not going to cut it. Converted to a middle reliever this season did not help much, and it is time to cut your ties with Reyes. He could be back in the majors eventually, but it is possible that we can simply put him in the failed prospect category at this point.

Colorado Rockies prospect Franklin Morales (age 22) was also demoted to Triple-A this week. After lighting it up at the end of last season, some "experts" felt that Morales could have used more seasoning to start 2008. The Rockies disagreed, but outside of a fantastic early-April start against Arizona, Morales had serious control problems, with 17 walks against 9 strikeouts, in 25 innings. Control problems are a concern with Morales, but he is only 22 years old, and should be back by the end of the year. He is not fit for mixed leagues yet, but in NL-Only Leagues, he can be reserved, and held onto until later this year. If you have no bench, then cut him, but keep an eye on when he is called back up to the majors.

Moving to the American League, the New York Yankees made a conscious decision this year to avoid acquiring Johan Santana, since the cost would have been Phil Hughes (age 21) and Ian Kennedy (age 23). Right about now, that was looking like a less than stellar decision. This week was a particularly rough week, as Hughes (0-4, 9.00, 2.14) was rocked by the Tigers, and then placed on the disabled list with a broken rib. Kennedy (0-2, 8.37, 2.03) was also rocked by the Tigers and then sent to Triple-A. Right now, it looks like neither is worth owning at this point. In keeper leagues, hang onto them, but for a redraft league, it is tough to justify holding onto them.

Hot prospect Nick Adenhart (age 21) was called up by the Anaheim Angels, but was rocked in his major league debut against Oakland. He has a load of talent, but he still has some growing pains to experience. With John Lackey due back soon, Adenhart is probably not long for the majors, but he is definitely one to hold onto in keeper leagues.

Moving away from the young pitchers, there was some serious injury news this week as well. Chad Cordero, who only recently came off of the disabled list, went right back on, with a torn lat muscle. He will not need surgery for now, but he will be out 4-6 weeks for now. Jon Rauch will continue as the closer, and so far he has been effective. If he continues to perform well, Cordero may become virtually useless to own in most leagues (unless you use holds). For now, stash him away, as Cordero may still have value as a closer.

And finally, 2007 Rookie of the Year runner-up Troy Tulowitzki suffered a torn quad and was placed on the 15-Day DL. He is expected to be out until the All-Star Break, which of course, given the way he had been performing this year, may be a blessing. Do not read too much into Tulowitzki's early struggles, as he will ultimately get himself together. Stash him away for now. In his absence, some combination of Clint Barmes, Jeff Baker, Omar Quintanilla, and Jonathan Herrera will be manning the middle infield positions. Keep an eye on who gets the lion's share of the at-bats, as they all could provide decent fill-in support in Tulowitzki's absence. For what it is worth, my money is on Barmes at second and Quintanilla at short.

Thanks for stopping by. See you next week.