Line of the Day: May 1st, 2011

SP Bud Norris of the Houston Astros combined with three relievers on a three-hit shutout in a 5-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. He allowed all three of the Brewers' hits, walked three and struck out 11 while upping his record to 2-1 while lowering his ERA to 3.03 and WHIP to 1.26.

Line: 7.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 11 K; W, QS

My fantasy perspective: In six starts this season, Norris has allowed 33 hits in 35.2 innings pitched while striking out 43 (10.85 K/9). His BB/9 are down from 4.4 for the 2009-2010 season to 3.03 this season while his K/9 are up from 9.1 to 10.85. These are the kinds of numbers you like to see from a young pitcher as he grows from a hard-thrower to a maturing pitcher. He's still only owned in 10.6% of ESPN leagues and 27% of Yahoo! leagues. The time to own him is now. His next scheduled start is at the Pirates, so he could be looking at another productive evening real soon.

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