Hernandez survives scare: Seattle SP Felix Hernandez was forced out of Saturday's contest against Texas after being hit in the right arm by a line drive off the bat of Michael Young. He was diagnosed with a bruised forearm and that there was no fracture. While he was in the game, Hernandez allowed seven runs -- five earned -- in 3 1/3 innings of work. He struck out two and issued one walk. Hernandez was tagged for his 14th loss of the year as the Rangers beat the Mariners, 7-3. (Updated 09/24/2011)
Injury Report
No information available at this time (Updated 2/12/12).
Fantasy Analysis
Hernandez won't make another start this year for the Mariners. He finishes with a 14-14 record and 3.47 ERA. Despite having some of the best stuff in the majors, Hernandez plays for Seattle, a team that normally doesn't score a lot of runs. That hurts Hernandez's Fantasy production, but he remains a high-end SP option. Fantasy owners should consider him as an early round selection on Draft Day in 2012. (Updated 09/24/2011).
01/27/2012 12:08 2012 Fantasy outlooks: Seattle Mariners
The Mariners are obviously in a rebuilding phase, but have they done enough to improve the worst offense in baseball? Al Melchior takes a closer look at Seattle in a Fantasy team outlook.
01/23/2012 19:11 Mariners, Yankees finalize Pineda-Montero deal
Considering the heady talent that Brian Cashman has controlled in his tenure as general manager of the New York Yankees, his belief in the talent of Jesus Montero has to bring hope for the offensively starved Seattle Mariners.
After winning the AL Cy Young Award in 2010, Felix Hernandez had a bit of a disappointing campaign a year ago. While he posted 14 wins in 33 starts, his 3.47 ERA and 1.22 WHIP where both up from the season before. Most of his struggles came in the second half, when he went 6-7 with a 3.91 ERA over his final 13 starts. Still, he was able to strike out 200 batters for the third straight year and pitched five complete games while leading the Mariners in wins and ERA. The 25-year-old enters 2012 as one of the top starters in baseball again and should be able to continue his dominant run of pitching. He is a shoe-in for at least 200 innings with a ton of strikeouts and a sub-4.00 ERA so target him in the early rounds on Draft Day. Despite poor offensive support in Seattle, Hernandez should be considered a Top 10 Fantasy SP. (Updated 1/3/12)