Stats of the Day: Cubs Win Again

Chi Cubs	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Soto, C	5	1	4	2	0	0	0	.333

The Cubs won their fifth straight game yesterday with the help of Geovany Soto, who hit two doubles and a two-run homer. Soto was never a highly regarded prospect until last year when he hit .353 in AAA Iowa and then .389 in 54 ABs during his big league call-up. That was all it took for the Cubs needed, looking for a replacement for Michael Barret, to name him the starter this year.

As of right now this looks like a good decision, but the odd thing here is the lack of a track record. Soto has only hit like this in the past year, and only for a month or two's worth of ABs in the majors. While he has hit well enough to convince many people he is for real, there is still some reason for caution in case he enters a slump, which we haven't really seen from him yet. It might be time to sell high on Soto if you can get a high impact player in the deal.

Oakland	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Eveland	6.1	3	0	0	3	6	0	0.68

Dana Eveland turned in his second great start of the year in Toronto, not the easiest of parks to pitch in. Part of the Dan Haren deal to the Diamondbacks, Eveland seems to be the player most likely to pay dividends now. In both starts Eveland has struck out a batter per inning and kept his walks in check.

In his other short stints in the majors Eveland has walked over 5 batters per 9 innings while striking out over 8. However, his minor league numbers point to better control as he walked half that number and struck out even more in 413 innings.

Eveland has the skills to succeed in the majors in an excellent pitcher's park and in front of a good defense. He's definitely worth a pickup in any league.