Possible Late Season Adds
By this point of the season it is getting harder and harder to find quality guys in free agency. I am not guaranteeing success with these guys, but here are ten players that can most likely help your fantasy teams as we are in the dog days of August.
Hitters
Chris Dickerson, Cincinnati Reds. The Reds brought Dickerson to the majors after trading Adam Dunn away to Arizona. He has a nice speed/power combination, although he doesn't overly excel at either. In 94 games at AAA this season, Dickerson hit .286 with 11 homers, 53 RBI, and 26 steals. Look for him to get the vast majority of the playing time for the Reds in left field. In his first two games since being called up, Dickerson is 4-9 with two doubles, an RBI, and a steal.
Jody Gerut, San Diego Padres. Gerut was once supposed to be a staple in the Indians outfield for years, but somewhere it went all wrong. In 2005 he went from Cleveland to the Cubs to the Pirates all in one season, and he missed all of 2006 and 2007, before catching on with the Padres this season. He has caught fire so far in August, and has five homers and ten RBI this month. Gerut did have 22 homers in 127 games in his rookie season, so this could be the start of a strong finish to the season for him.
Rocco Baldelli, Tampa Bay Rays. Now, I am not endorsing this move, but I at least feel compelled to let you know that he is playing and should be available in your league. We all know about Baldelli's injury history, and this condition that he has that causes him to be fatigued all the time. But he was always a highly touted prospect, and IF he can stay in the game he could help you. Baldelli did put up some pretty decent numbers in the minors, as well as his first couple seasons before he was injured all the time. He has three hits in his four games since returning, and it is possible he could help you if you are in dire need of outfield. Just know he will have to rest sometimes, and might not even play the entire game.
Bryan LaHair, Seattle Mariners. He hasn't shown a lot of pop in his bat yet, but Richie Sexson's replacement in Seattle is more than holding his own. In his first 23 games in the majors, LaHair has hit .278 with two homers and four RBI. They have him batting pretty low in the lineup, which has been hurting his run producing statistics. In 85 games in the minors this year, LaHair did hit 12 homers and drive in 53 runs, so the potential is there. His biggest drawback is his plate discipline. Between the minors and majors in 2008, he has struck out 109 times in 108 games. He will NEED to improve on that.
Paul Konerko, Chicago White Sox. This is a guy who has really fallen out of the good graces of fantasy owners over the past couple seasons. Now, with the addition of Ken Griffey Jr., Konerko really hasn't been playing every day. But with the way he has been hitting in August, the Sox would be wise to find him some at-bats. Since August 1st, Konerko has three homers and six RBI, as well as 2 three hit games. He has slugged over 40 homers in a season before, so if he gets hot, he could really help your team in the last six weeks.
Also consider: Frank Thomas, Oakland; Jim Edmonds, Chicago Cubs.
Pitchers
Anthony Reyes, Cleveland Indians. This is hoping that the proverbial "change of scenery" will help a guy out. Reyes was a highly ranked prospect for the Cardinals, and even won the first game of their 2006 World Series Championship. But he fell out of favor with Tony LaRussa and Dave Duncan, and was basically never given a real chance, or a defined role. St. Louis shipped him out at the trading deadline, and the Indians wasted no time giving him a chance. So far he has pitched twice for Cleveland, and both times he has been pretty effective, allowing just three runs in 12.1 innings. He isn't going to strike a ton of guys out, but in the minors he was around one an inning, so that stat could increase if he gets comfortable in Cleveland.
Jeff Karstens, Pittsburgh Pirates. One of the pitchers traded in the Xavier Nady/Damaso Marte trade, Karstens spent his career to this point with the Yankees and it has been average at best. Well, since he left the Bronx and moved to the National League, Karstens has looked GREAT. He has allowed only three runs in three starts, and they all came in one game. He took a perfect game into the 9th inning in his second start, and pitched six shutout innings in his first start for the Pirates. He isn't a strikeout pitcher, but could get you some cheap wins down the stretch. He doesn't strikeout too many batters, but if he keeps pitching like this, he is worth a roster spot.
Yusmeiro Petit, Arizona Diamondbacks. This is more of a potential pick then for what he has shown thus far in his major league career. Petit was a big time prospect for the Mets who was shipped to Florida in the Paul LoDuca trade. He has been pitching mostly out of the bullpen, but since the Diamondbacks have been pretty desperate for starting pitching after Micah Owings decided he couldn't find the strike zone anymore, Petit has gotten a few starts. He was very good in the Mets' farm system, and although he is more of a control pitcher than throwing gas, he got a pretty good number of strikeouts (130 in 117 IP in '05 for AA). His success hasn't really translated to the majors yet, but in his last outing he allowed only two runs over five innings and struck out six. I don't know if I would add him yet, but I would be watching his boxscores for the next couple weeks.
David Purcey, Toronto Blue Jays. Purcey had been called up for a couple of spot starts during the year for Toronto, but now he has become a regular part of the rotation. And while his spot starts, weren't great, he seems to be finding his groove somewhat now that he is a regular. His last start was his best against the Tigers, in which he threw six shutout innings and struck out four. He has some potential to turn into a quality pitcher. This season in the minors he was 8-6 with just a 2.69 ERA and 121 strikeouts in just 117 innings. Keep a watch on Purcey to see if he can continue his recent success.
Hideki Kuroda, Los Angeles Dodgers. This guy is up and down more than an elevator in the Empire State Building. Following three starts in which he gave up 17 runs, Kuroda has allowed just three runs in his last three starts. Not only are his runs allowed sporadic, but his strikeout numbers are as well. When he is pitching good, he gets the Ks. When he is off, so are the strikeouts. Case in point, the three starts that he allowed 17 runs.....six strikeouts. The last three where he allowed just three runs.....17 strikeouts. He is incredibly inconsistent, but might be the best pitcher available in your league.
Other options: Jesse Litsch, Toronto; Paul Byrd, Boston; Jarrod Washburn, Seattle (for now); Carl Pavano (ha, ha), New York (DL), Brandon McCarthy, Texas (DL).
For more great information like this, go to fightingchancefantasy.com. I always welcome your emails at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com and I guarantee a response within 18 hours.
Hitters
Chris Dickerson, Cincinnati Reds. The Reds brought Dickerson to the majors after trading Adam Dunn away to Arizona. He has a nice speed/power combination, although he doesn't overly excel at either. In 94 games at AAA this season, Dickerson hit .286 with 11 homers, 53 RBI, and 26 steals. Look for him to get the vast majority of the playing time for the Reds in left field. In his first two games since being called up, Dickerson is 4-9 with two doubles, an RBI, and a steal.
Jody Gerut, San Diego Padres. Gerut was once supposed to be a staple in the Indians outfield for years, but somewhere it went all wrong. In 2005 he went from Cleveland to the Cubs to the Pirates all in one season, and he missed all of 2006 and 2007, before catching on with the Padres this season. He has caught fire so far in August, and has five homers and ten RBI this month. Gerut did have 22 homers in 127 games in his rookie season, so this could be the start of a strong finish to the season for him.
Rocco Baldelli, Tampa Bay Rays. Now, I am not endorsing this move, but I at least feel compelled to let you know that he is playing and should be available in your league. We all know about Baldelli's injury history, and this condition that he has that causes him to be fatigued all the time. But he was always a highly touted prospect, and IF he can stay in the game he could help you. Baldelli did put up some pretty decent numbers in the minors, as well as his first couple seasons before he was injured all the time. He has three hits in his four games since returning, and it is possible he could help you if you are in dire need of outfield. Just know he will have to rest sometimes, and might not even play the entire game.
Bryan LaHair, Seattle Mariners. He hasn't shown a lot of pop in his bat yet, but Richie Sexson's replacement in Seattle is more than holding his own. In his first 23 games in the majors, LaHair has hit .278 with two homers and four RBI. They have him batting pretty low in the lineup, which has been hurting his run producing statistics. In 85 games in the minors this year, LaHair did hit 12 homers and drive in 53 runs, so the potential is there. His biggest drawback is his plate discipline. Between the minors and majors in 2008, he has struck out 109 times in 108 games. He will NEED to improve on that.
Paul Konerko, Chicago White Sox. This is a guy who has really fallen out of the good graces of fantasy owners over the past couple seasons. Now, with the addition of Ken Griffey Jr., Konerko really hasn't been playing every day. But with the way he has been hitting in August, the Sox would be wise to find him some at-bats. Since August 1st, Konerko has three homers and six RBI, as well as 2 three hit games. He has slugged over 40 homers in a season before, so if he gets hot, he could really help your team in the last six weeks.
Also consider: Frank Thomas, Oakland; Jim Edmonds, Chicago Cubs.
Pitchers
Anthony Reyes, Cleveland Indians. This is hoping that the proverbial "change of scenery" will help a guy out. Reyes was a highly ranked prospect for the Cardinals, and even won the first game of their 2006 World Series Championship. But he fell out of favor with Tony LaRussa and Dave Duncan, and was basically never given a real chance, or a defined role. St. Louis shipped him out at the trading deadline, and the Indians wasted no time giving him a chance. So far he has pitched twice for Cleveland, and both times he has been pretty effective, allowing just three runs in 12.1 innings. He isn't going to strike a ton of guys out, but in the minors he was around one an inning, so that stat could increase if he gets comfortable in Cleveland.
Jeff Karstens, Pittsburgh Pirates. One of the pitchers traded in the Xavier Nady/Damaso Marte trade, Karstens spent his career to this point with the Yankees and it has been average at best. Well, since he left the Bronx and moved to the National League, Karstens has looked GREAT. He has allowed only three runs in three starts, and they all came in one game. He took a perfect game into the 9th inning in his second start, and pitched six shutout innings in his first start for the Pirates. He isn't a strikeout pitcher, but could get you some cheap wins down the stretch. He doesn't strikeout too many batters, but if he keeps pitching like this, he is worth a roster spot.
Yusmeiro Petit, Arizona Diamondbacks. This is more of a potential pick then for what he has shown thus far in his major league career. Petit was a big time prospect for the Mets who was shipped to Florida in the Paul LoDuca trade. He has been pitching mostly out of the bullpen, but since the Diamondbacks have been pretty desperate for starting pitching after Micah Owings decided he couldn't find the strike zone anymore, Petit has gotten a few starts. He was very good in the Mets' farm system, and although he is more of a control pitcher than throwing gas, he got a pretty good number of strikeouts (130 in 117 IP in '05 for AA). His success hasn't really translated to the majors yet, but in his last outing he allowed only two runs over five innings and struck out six. I don't know if I would add him yet, but I would be watching his boxscores for the next couple weeks.
David Purcey, Toronto Blue Jays. Purcey had been called up for a couple of spot starts during the year for Toronto, but now he has become a regular part of the rotation. And while his spot starts, weren't great, he seems to be finding his groove somewhat now that he is a regular. His last start was his best against the Tigers, in which he threw six shutout innings and struck out four. He has some potential to turn into a quality pitcher. This season in the minors he was 8-6 with just a 2.69 ERA and 121 strikeouts in just 117 innings. Keep a watch on Purcey to see if he can continue his recent success.
Hideki Kuroda, Los Angeles Dodgers. This guy is up and down more than an elevator in the Empire State Building. Following three starts in which he gave up 17 runs, Kuroda has allowed just three runs in his last three starts. Not only are his runs allowed sporadic, but his strikeout numbers are as well. When he is pitching good, he gets the Ks. When he is off, so are the strikeouts. Case in point, the three starts that he allowed 17 runs.....six strikeouts. The last three where he allowed just three runs.....17 strikeouts. He is incredibly inconsistent, but might be the best pitcher available in your league.
Other options: Jesse Litsch, Toronto; Paul Byrd, Boston; Jarrod Washburn, Seattle (for now); Carl Pavano (ha, ha), New York (DL), Brandon McCarthy, Texas (DL).
For more great information like this, go to fightingchancefantasy.com. I always welcome your emails at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com and I guarantee a response within 18 hours.
posted by Ryan Hallam at
Friday, August 15, 2008
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