Johan Santana - Fantasy News & Updates
Johan Santana - Fantasy News & Updates
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After a dominant first two months, Santana showed diminished strikeout ability in June, and it's obvious now that he was working at less than full strength for much of the season. Of course, he still proved capable of throttling opposing lineups while battling elbow pain, a testament to his superior ability on the mound. The 30-year-old is expected to be fully healthy for the start of the 2010 season, and it seems likely he'll reclaim his place among the game's best starters.
Santana explained that the injury had been bothering him for much of the season's second half. He was having a harder time recovering between starts and had stopped throwing a bullpen session between games. "The time frame was to do it after the season was over," Santana said. "Then the team decided to do it sooner rather than later to allow me more time to recover. This was the smartest thing to do. Shut everything down, get it clean, get it ready to go." Santana underwent a similar procedure in 2003 as a member of the Twins. The left-hander had bone chips removed from his pitching elbow in the offseason, returning in '04 to win 20 games and the first of his two American League Cy Young Awards in Minnesota.
Santana had successful arthroscopic removal of multiple bone fragments from his left elbow at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan. Mets Medical Director Dr. David Altchek performed the procedure, which is expected to allow Santana enough time to make a full recovery and be ready for 2010 Spring Training.
Santana will have bone chips removed from his left elbow, while Perez will have scar tissue removed from the patella tendon of his left knee. Both lefties are expected to be ready for Spring Training next season. Santana, 30, went 13-9 with a 3.13 ERA in 25 starts for the Mets this season and hasn't pitched since Aug. 20. The 28-year-old Perez, who last pitched Aug. 23, went 3-4 with a 6.82 ERA in 14 starts for New York this season.
Santana was examined by Mets Medical Director Dr. David Altchek at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan, at which point it was decided he would undergo minor arthroscopic surgery to clean up bone chips in his left elbow. The Mets ace is expected to fully recover and be ready for Spring Training.
The Mets offered minimal information, i.e., no specific diagnosis or theories, about the problem that manager Jerry Manuel said began to develop before the All-Star break. But Mike Pelfrey, Santana's fellow starter, said, "I don't think anyone expects good news." And Jeff Francoeur said he anticipates Santana will require surgery after speaking with the pitcher in the clubhouse Monday. While the club offered no written release about Santana, his teammates certainly merit some credibility on the matter. Stay tuned for further updates.
According to Mets skipper Jerry Manuel, Santana has experienced pain in the elbow since before the All-Star break and that he, Manuel, is "terribly concerned." Hardly good news for a pitcher whose K/9 rate has fallen drastically since the end of May, from 11.73 to 5.36. Nelson Figueroa will start Tuesday's series opener against the Marlins at Land Shark Stadium.
For the ninth time in Johan's 25 starts, the Mets scored fewer than three runs. Granted, the ace left-hander wasn't exactly flawless Thursday, surrendering nine hits and only striking out two. Still, there's no reason to sit Santana when he faces the Marlins next time out, or against any club down the stretch for that matter. He sports a 3.13 ERA and a 146/46 K/BB ratio.
Santana nearly had his second walk-free performance in three outings. His plunking of Bengie Molina, the last batter he faced, was an answer to Pablo Sandoval's home run in the previous at-bat and to David Wright getting hit earlier in the game. He figures to be a great start as always on Aug. 20 when he and the Mets host the Braves.
Santana delivered when the Mets needed it most, helping them avoid a sweep from the Padres. Santana is ultra-reliable at lasting deep into games. He's lasted at least seven innings in six of his last seven games, always making him a strong candidate for a win. He goes against the Giants Aug. 15 at home vs. the Giants.
Johan’s latest outing was full of positives and negatives. On the positive side, he submitted a season-high eight innings and didn’t issue a walk for the first time since May 16. On the negative side, he got touched for two homers and failed to protect an early 3-1 lead. However, he did exit with the Mets up 7-5 and was in line for his 13th win until Francisco Rodriguez blew his fourth save in the ninth inning. Johan will look for a better all-around effort when he totes a 3.10 ERA into his next start on Aug. 9 at pitcher-friendly Petco Park in San Diego.
For the third time in four starts, Mets fans were treated to a vintage Santana performance. The left-hander threw 70 percent of his pitches for strikes and recorded his highest strikeout total since May 27. Santana appears to have regained his top form and should be started in all formats Aug. 3 at home vs. the Diamondbacks.
The game will be made up as part of a day-night doubleheader on Thursday, with start times of 10:10 a.m. and 5:10 p.m. MT. The pitching matchups for the final two games of this four-game set will remain intact, with Wednesday's scheduled starter, Jason Hammel, opposing Mets ace Johan Santana on Thursday afternoon, and Jorge De La Rosa facing Jonathon Niese in the nightcap.
Friday's loss marked the end of an incredible run of second-half success for the ace left-hander, as Santana suffered his first post-break defeat since Sept. 26, 2007 when he was still a member of the Twins. Since then, he's gone 9-0 over his last 16 second-half starts, including a win against the Braves his last time out. Santana will try to get a new run started when he next toes the rubber on July 29 vs. the Rockies at Citi Field.
Santana has cast aside a dreadful June (2-4, 6.19 ERA) to post numbers more in line with his fantastic career marks in July (2-1, 0.85 ERA), and has paved the way for a possible second-half surge. Last season Santana was merely perfect after the break. He made 15 starts, lost none and won eight. The Mets won four of his seven no-decisions, and his ERA in the three games they lost was 2.11. The ace lefty will look to keep the ball rolling on July 24 when he faces off against the Astros.
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