Jon Lester has been frustrating his fantasy owners, but I believe that he will bounce back and have many more games like he did on Sunday. Lester allowed just one run over six innings and struck out a season high twelve guys. He still has an ERA over 5.50, but he is a guy that I have confidence that he will get that under 4.00 before the end of the season. Lester was always a high ranking prospect in the Red Sox system, so it isn't like his success last season was a fluke. He is a great buy low candidate for the rest of the year.
Edwin Jackson is starting to turn my head, a few weeks after I think he turned a lot of yours. On Sunday he threw eight shutout innings and struck out seven. Jackson has now only allowed more than three runs in two of his eleven starts. Jackson has been around for a while, and all the way back when he was a Dodgers' prospect he was supposed to be great. It took him a little longer than most to figure it out, but now it looks like Jackson is ready to start realizing the potential that we were promised many years ago.
Phil Hughes was just OK against the Tribe on Sunday, but it doesn't seem like he's going back to the minors any time soon. I have heard on the radio here in New York that Chien-Ming Wang is in the bullpen until manager Joe Girardi wants to move him back to the rotation. Hughes wasn't bad as he gave up four runs over five innings. That isn't great by any stretch, but not terrible either. If you own Hughes, continue to start him. If he is a free agent, I would definitely consider picking him up. Evaluate your team to see if there is anyone you can afford to lose.
Carl Pavano might not have gotten the win, but he did get the better of the Yankees on Sunday. Pavano allowed just three runs over 7.1 innings, and struck out four. For those of you looking for some pitching either short-term or long-term, I would say that Pavano is worth picking up in deeper leagues. For traditional 12 team leagues, I would still only pick him up against weak opponents, but he has allowed three runs or less in six of his last seven starts. He is not an elite strikeout pitcher, but seems to have bounced back from his dismal career in New York.
Jhonny Peralta is still not hitting for any power whatsoever, but at least he drove in a few runs. Those of you who have been emailing me with an issue at shortstop have gotten advice from me to consider Peralta as an option. Thus far he hasn't made me look very good. Hopefully Sunday is the start of the hot streak I have been waiting for. Peralta had three hits (all singles) and drove in three runs including the game winner. The next couple weeks should be telling ones for the future of Peralta who has been playing mostly third base.
Yovani Gallardo continues his great season. He allowed just one earned run and struck out nine in just 5.1 innings. He is definitely showing what all the hype was about coming into the season, and is having a fine season. Gallardo is a great strikeout pitcher on a good team. He should win 15-17 games if he stays healthy, and could strikeout close to 200 batters. Start him every time out regardless of the matchup.
Kris Medlen recorded his first major league win on Sunday, and was pretty impressive in doing it. After being less than average his first two times out, Medlen allowed just one run over six innings and whiffed nine. He also kept his walks under control with just one. Medlen has a ton of talent, so this isn't a huge suprise, but it is still up in the air how consistent he will be. He could have just gotten off to a slow start, but this could also be one good start in a line of subpar outings. I think the next start for Medlen will be a big one. If he can put a good showing out, I will gain some confidence in him. If he's bad again, chances are he will have another line of struggles.
Frank Francisco finally allowed a run today and took a loss, but this is not something to be concerned about. It took until his 18th appearance before he gave up that run, and he has been striking out a batter an inning. It wasn't a blown save, as he came into a tie game, so he is still perfect in that area. He was my sleeper closer heading into the year, and that is one call that is working out. Continue to have Francisco in your lineups, he is a guy that will far outperform his draft status.
Ervin Santana was AWFUL for the second straight start, and I'm sure his owners are starting to sweat.....or at least wondering what is going on. After only lasting one inning in his previous start, Santana allowed eight runs over 5.1 innings, and only a great rally by the Angels stopped him from taking a loss. Before you go dumping Ervin to free agency, remember that he missed the first five or six weeks of the season. He is still working on getting himself back to normal. If he's bad for two or three more starts in a row, then I would start worrying.
Brad Lidge recorded a save for the third straight day, and even more important than that, again it was uneventful (that's a good thing). He didn't allow a hit on Sunday, and only gave up one hit over his last three saves. It now appears that he has gotten over his struggles, and is safe to keep in your lineups.
Injury News
Grady Sizemore landed on the 15 day DL with his elbow issues. I haven't seen a timetable for his return, but hopefully it will just be the fifteen days. Also, hopefully the rest will get his average out of the .220s when he returns.
Joakim Soria is traveling with the team as they go to face the Rays, and he could be activated at any time. I would think about activating him for the upcoming week, as he is one of the best closers in fantasy.
Josh Hamilton is about to undergo an MRI on his sore groin that he suffered running into the wall a few days back. He was able to pinch hit, and apparently isn't headed for the DL, but I just don't like the idea of him going for the MRI. I have him in a weekly league, and I am SERIOUSLY considering sitting him for the week.
Mailing List
For those of you who are regular readers, or even new to the site, I would like to offer a new service. I am starting a mailing list. Sometimes I see news during the day, but I wait until this nightly article to pass it along to you guys. Prospects coming up, injury news, closer movement, etc. Just send me an email to fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com with “Mailing List” in the subject line and I will add you to the list. Then, whenever I find news that I feel is breaking and important, I will send it to you as soon as I find out about it. Hopefully this is something that you all will find valuable to make a possible move before your competition.
Also, you can now follow me on Twitter for more updates. Go to www.twitter.com/fightingchance.
Got another mention on Steve Gardner's Fantasy Windup blog again on the USA Today site. You can check out the post here. It is a great blog, and they also have some good contests for you to check out. I know some of you have already started to participate in some of them and are enjoying it.
Attention League Commissioners! If you are looking to spice up your league some, go and visit Fantasy Sports Trophies. Tom Harkins has put together a great site with all kinds of different trophies to give the winner of your league something besides just bragging rights. There are trophies for fantasy baseball, football (check out the Beer League Fantasy Football Trophy), basketball, hockey, and auto racing. I invite you to take a look at the site and try them out.
As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don’t miss the “Fantasy Baseball Tonight” podcast four nights a week from Monday-Thursday. The Big Show on Wednesday is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com. To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show. Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the news, free agent pickups, minor leaguers, and injuries. A can’t miss if you plan on winning your league.
Another week and another batch of Hot 8 players are making a splash. Last week's list featured David Price, who picked up his first win in dominating fashion on Saturday. Ross Detwiler, who won his first two starts after being called to the big leagues and Jake Fox who finally got the call up from Iowa and has gone 3-4 all as a pinch hitter. Not to mention Sean Rodriguez who is about to be called up by the Angels any day now...dammit! I am not supposed to let that one slip, my bad! This weeks Hot 8 features a couple of players whose tickets are also about to be punched and a few players you may have given up on prematurely.
1) Tommy Hanson (RHP - Starter) -- Braves -- With Tom Glavine coming back very soon and a rotation that is performing quite well it looks like Hanson may have to wait a while longer before joining the Braves. No way, Jose! Hanson is making it impossible for the major league team to ignore him as his numbers are nothing less than staggering. Hanson is 3-3 with a 1.48 ERA. He has 82 K's in just 60 2/3 innings pitched with a ridiculous 0.86 WHIP. He loses another year of arbitration if not called up by the beginning of this week which suits the Braves just fine. But knowing there is no possible way to squeeze another year out of him there is no doubt in my mind that Hanson is pitching in Atlanta in the next two weeks. Time to make a play for him right now my friends before this ship sails in one of your opponents wind.
2) Gordan Beckham (SS/3B) -- Whitesox -- Earlier in the year I made a vow because I am a White Sox fan to ignore the "Beckham-Mania" that has swept through my fair city this spring. As a baseball writer, it is crucial to judge "your team" as evenly and as fairly as you do the rest of the league. I take pride in doing that. But, I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't alert you all to a couple of very interesting facts. The White Sox promoted Beckham to AAA Charlotte this past week. Big deal you say? Well it is considering the White Sox AA Birmingham club is the apple of their organizational eye. This is where they have stored their entire future collection of talent. Birmingham is blasting their way through the Southern League and have hopes of capturing the title this year. Interesting then that the best player from that team would be promoted at this juncture of the season without a near suitable backup for him in place. Furthermore, Beckham is playing 3B for the Charlotte Knights and not his customary SS. In the past month, the White Sox have moved Beckham to both 2B & 3B to get him more familiar with those positions. This leaves no doubt in my mind that he is now being groomed to take over Josh Fields' third base job or possibly Chris Getz second base gig in the very near future. As much as I don't buy into the hype of Beckham, the kid can do it all on the diamond and if promoted to Chicago is an absolute must grab middle infielder.
3) Ben Zobrist (2B/SS/OF) -- Rays -- By now I hope that if you are in need of a middle infielder, you have made the move to pickup Zobrist. With Akinori Iwamura out for the season the second base job is all Zobrist's. The fact that he is eligible at SS and OF positions make him all the more valuable fantasy acquisition. Zobrist has been around a while and is by no means a prospect. What Zobrist brings to the table is the ability to get on base and hit for a very solid average. This season he has shown more power then he has in the past with the eight HR's, something I don't believe will continue. I would expect a total of 13-16 HR's for Zobrist this season to go along with 20 stolen bases. The key here is that he has been hitting at the top of the Rays order as well which means more opportunities to score runs. All told, Zobrist is an extremely useful fantasy player that is going to serve some team very well the rest of the way. If he is still available in your league, make sure that someone is you!
4) Ben Francisco (Outfield) -- Indians -- Grady Sizemore has finally landed on the DL with a sore left elbow leaving Ben Francisco as the primary center fielder for the Tribe. Francisco is a nifty little player. He is pretty much a poor man's Grady Sizemore as he offers a nice mix of speed and power without much of a batting average or on base percentage. With steady playing time he'll continue about on his current pace which projects as a 20-20 season. Who knows how much time Sizemore will actually miss or if he will ever be 100% this season. Thus, Francisco should see close to 500 AB's and is quite a fantasy steal if picked up right now.
5) Desmond Jennings (Outfield) -- Rays -- This is for the more aggressive fantasy players out there, you know who you are. If you haven't heard of Desmond Jennings here is a little refresher. Jennings is in my opinion the premier leadoff prospect in all minor league baseball. He is a supreme athlete with a know-how of how to play the game of baseball. He has great strike zone discipline and despite above average power, uses his legs or whatever means necessary to get on base. He is currently in the Rays AA Montgomery affiliate with a stat line of .366/.433/.586 with six HR's and 17 stolen bases. Injuries have curbed Jennings development over the past two seasons at least as far as getting to the major leagues is concerned. But this guy is about as good a fantasy prospect as there is. The Rays have not been shy at using their prospects from any level to aid their big league clubs run at a title. With Zobrist now a fixture at 2B, they have one less right field platoon player now. Then there are the struggles of B.J. Upton who is still flirting with the Mendoza line. Jennings is obviously too good to be in AA right now and my feeling is that we'll see him in Tampa sometime around mid-July. Put him on your watch list and make sure you grab him if and when another Rays outfielder goes down or as the trading deadline approaches. You'll thank me later...
6) Clayton Richard (LHP - Starter) -- Whitesox -- I guess for this week I am a bit of a homer. Richard is owned in just 5% of fantasy leagues right now despite being on a major roll since entering the White Sox starting rotation. He is 2-0 with a 3.38 ERA and 30 K's in 40 innings. Richard, like John Danks before him, is thriving while emulating the timing and poise of teammate Mark Buehrle. Richard has greatly shortened time between pitches and is throwing more to the hitters bat than trying to strike everybody out. He has also improved his control since joining the starting rotation. While his WHIP and strikeout numbers will not be anything of a top end starter, at the very least Richard is a guy you must use if you live by the pitch and ditch method. He is available in almost all leagues and will give you quality innings most times out for sure.
7) Dexter Fowler (Outfield) -- Rockies -- I can't believe how many of you have given up on Fowler already. You have to understand that a player like Fowler will be of far more use to you later in the season then he is right now. Still, Fowler has been pretty productive in platoon duty this year scoring 22 runs and swiping 11 bases. The Rockies fired Clint Hurdle and are now actively trying to trade both Brad Hawpe and Ryan Spilborghs before the trading deadline. This will open the door for both Dexter Fowler and Seth Smith to play a full time role in the second half of the season. Fowler has some power and blazing speed. He'll hit 15 or so homers and steal 30+ bases in a full season while compiling plenty of runs and a solid batting average. I believe him to be a future star in the league but at the very least he'll be a Johnny Damon type fantasy player, which is pretty darn good. It is time to start thinking about how some of these players will finish this season instead of how they began. If you are going to challenge for a fantasy title this year, you will need to start acquiring some of the players who will make you stronger in August and September rather than the ones who will keep you afloat right now.
8) Andrew Bailey (RHP - Closer) -- Athletics -- I had Bailey in the Hot 8 in week 6 and said at the time that it wouldn't be long before he was the A's closer. In case you haven't noticed, Bailey is the A's closer now and doing a mighty fine job at that. He is only owned in 50% of both Yahoo and CBS fantasy leagues which means you have a 50% chance of picking up a free closer. Bailey has struck out 37 in 30 IP while amassing a 0.95 WHIP and a .190 batting average against this season. Sure the save opportunities in Oakland have been few and far between this season but fantasy owners are always on the prowl for saves, strikeouts and WHIP. Other than my announcement a few weeks ago, Bailey has been under the radar for much of the season. Make that work into your favor by going out now and picking up the young right hander and adding some depth to your fantasy bullpen.
That is the Hot 8 for this week. What do you guys think? Post your comments below or email me at jeff@fantasybaseballsearch.com
Now this is what we expected from David Price when he came to the majors. Price was much more helpful to your team on Saturday as he allowed just one run over 5.2 innings, walked just two, and struck out eleven. Not much more to be said about Price. His owners exhaled after today's game after his less than stellar first outing. He still threw a lot of pitches, but the walks were much more under control.
It took four games for Fernando Martinez to record his first major league hit, and he followed it up with another in the same game. I was just about to lose hope that Fernando would be doing anything during this callup, so now I have a slight glimmer of hope. Of course, he did strike out in the ninth with two guys on, but overall it was a good day for him. Hopefully he was just very nervous his first few days in the majors and he will settle in now. I'm not buying that yet, but you can hope.
Matt Wieters was seventh in the Orioles lineup today, and he did much better in his second game. He had both a double and a triple, giving those of you who held on to him for nearly eight weeks waiting for this day some hope. Hope that having an empty spot on your roster for that time was worth it. All signs point to there being many more days like today than yesterday, when he failed to record a hit.
The lucky horseshoe has finally been removed from Shairon Martis' behind. He finally took a loss after a horrible outing, something he has been able to avoid his last few times out. But there was no way out of taking the first loss on the season this time, as Martis gave up two whoppers to Ryan Howard on his way to allowing seven runs over just four innings. He also walked more than he struck out again, and I don't see any reason at all to have this guy on your team. If he is, remedy that situation after you finish reading this. Well, maybe do it now and then come back.
Matt Palmer got another start for the Angels, and he made the most of the opportunity. This is almost definitely his last one barring an injury, as Kelvim Escobar isn't too far away. Palmer threw seven shutout innings, didn't walk a batter, and struck out five. Outside of a couple hiccups, Palmer was great as a fill in starter as he racked up a 5-0 record. It would have been his sixth win tonight except for the handy work of Brian Fuentes blowing the save. If there is another need for a starter for the Angels, you would think that Palmer has shown enough this year to earn those starts. But for now, it's to the bullpen for him.
Francisco Liriano has tested his owners' patience perhaps for the last time. Liriano was bad again, and took his seventh loss of the year through two months. It took him 93 pitches to get through just four innings, gave up four runs, walked three, and struck out three. I am torn. I think at this point you should let him go, but at the same time if he was available in any league that I played in, I would probably pick him up unless my pitching staff was very good. If you can afford to camp him on your bench and not start him, that would probably be what I do. If not, I would probably look for better options.
I know this isn't exactly timely, but Miguel Tejada is having a much better season than I expected....by a mile. With his two hits on Saturday, Tejada is now batting .347 with five homers and 28 RBI. If I didn't declare him done in the blog before the season started, I certainly thought it, but he has proven me wrong so far. That being said there is still four months left in the year, plenty of time for him to cool down, but in leagues that require a MI spot, he is definitely worth the roster spot.
Tonight is the perfect reason why if two pitchers are similar, you want the guy on the better team. Cole Hamels got a win tonight that he didn't deserve. When you give up six runs in six innings, you generally don't get the win. But Hamels did indeed get his third win of the year. So if you are thinking of picking up Tim Wakefield or Zach Duke (hypothetically speaking), this is the reason you pick Wakefield.
Aaron Harang has been good most of the time, but when he's bad BOY is he bad. Harang gave up eight runs over 4.1 innings, but on a positive note he didn't issue a walk and struck out five. This was his eleventh start. In four of them he has allowed five runs or more. In the other seven he allowed more than two runs only once. Keep starting him, and hope that the bad outings he has won't kill your week.
Injury News
Brandon Phillips returned to the Reds lineup on Saturday, and picked up right where he left off and connected on his eighth homer of the season. Phillips is attempting to play through a hairline fracture in his thumb, and so far, so good. Get Phillips back in your lineups tomorrow, or today depending on when you are reading this.
Joey Votto was placed on the 15 day DL, but apparently according to reports it isn't related to the ear infection he has been dealing with. This absence is due to "personal reasons" that they aren't going to disclose. Hopefully over this time Votto will be able to deal with whatever this issue is, as well as get his illness under control. He is eligible to return on June 14th.
Mailing List
For those of you who are regular readers, or even new to the site, I would like to offer a new service. I am starting a mailing list. Sometimes I see news during the day, but I wait until this nightly article to pass it along to you guys. Prospects coming up, injury news, closer movement, etc. Just send me an email to fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com with “Mailing List” in the subject line and I will add you to the list. Then, whenever I find news that I feel is breaking and important, I will send it to you as soon as I find out about it. Hopefully this is something that you all will find valuable to make a possible move before your competition.
Also, you can now follow me on Twitter for more updates. Go to www.twitter.com/fightingchance.
Attention League Commissioners! If you are looking to spice up your league some, go and visit Fantasy Sports Trophies. Tom Harkins has put together a great site with all kinds of different trophies to give the winner of your league something besides just bragging rights. There are trophies for fantasy baseball, football (check out the Beer League Fantasy Football Trophy), basketball, hockey, and auto racing. I invite you to take a look at the site and try them out.
As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don’t miss the “Fantasy Baseball Tonight” podcast four nights a week from Monday-Thursday. The Big Show on Wednesday is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com. To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show. Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the news, free agent pickups, minor leaguers, and injuries. A can’t miss if you plan on winning your league.
Rivera finally gets another save, while the Rangers sweep two from Athletics. By Todd Farino, www.thecloserreport.com
After a few quiet save days, closers gave us a nice Friday. There was eleven saves in the league today, starting with Trevor Hoffman's 12th save. The old-timer continues to sizzle in 2009 as he is yet to blow a chance. He has also not given up a run and has a stellar 0.49 WHIP. Hoffman is making a lot of the young closers look bad.
Another oldie, but goodie, Mariano Rivera recorded his 10th save of the season. Rivera struck out two to preserve the 3-1 win for the Yankees. It was his first save in eight days ending a long drought by his standards.
Brad Lidge pitched a perfect 9th with two strikeouts to get his tenth save of the season. Lidge is still a closer I wouldn't want, but today he earned his stripes. At this point it is touch-and-go for his owners every time he goes out there.
Frank Francisco also continued his scoreless streak capping a 6-3 win for the Rangers. He has yet to allow a run this season and his WHIP remains very low at 0.85. We were high on Francisco coming into the season, and he hasn't let us down. The setup man, CJ Wilson, got the save in the nightcap of the doubleheader.
Huston Street continues to prove he is the closer in Colorado, and frankly they have no one else. He closed out the 3-0 win over the Padres Friday night with a perfect inning. It was his 8th save of the season. It was his 7th straight save since returning to the closer role.
Over in Chicago, Kevin Gregg also earned his eighth save in an almost effortless inning against the LA Dodgers. Both closers looked strong today.
Other Appearances: Scott Downs (6) - The Blue Jays finally won and Downs closed out the game nicely. Randy Choate (1) - Got the call for the Rays. Is he the next closer in Tampa. I doubt it. Madden will go with whoever he feels the best with. David Aarsdma (7) - Wasn't the prettiest save, but he got it. Morrow should be ready for the job soon.
Brian Wilson (11) - A perfect inning from an underrated closer.
Alexei Ramirez had three more hits tonight, and has now raised his batting average 36 points over the last ten days. He also drove in two more runs, bringing his season total to 22. I would say if his owner was impatient (and chances are he was), and he is available in your league, I would pick him up. He might not reach last year's numbers, but it looks like that awful slump is over.
Matt Wieters made his long awaited major league debut tonight, and let's just say they haven't started his bust for Cooperstown just yet. He has been the most hyped prospect of the year, and through one game he is 0-4 with a strikeout. But don't freak out over one game, Wieters should be a stud, just be patient. I know all of you who recently traded away are secretly (or not so secretly) laughing up your sleeves.
Luke Scott hit another two home runs on Friday, and now has ten on the season. I've already gotten an email wondering if Scott should be picked up. Allow me to say this. If you are dropping someone who is severly slacking or have an injury, I would definitely pick up Scott. He should easily top 20 home runs. However, this particular email was referring to Nolan Reimold. I would not do that. I would not drop someone like Brad Hawpe. Like I said, Scott has ten homers on the year. Well, five of them have come in the last three days. That means he hit five in the other 28 games he has played. He is a good player, just don't fall in love with a hot streak.
Dontrelle Willis got knocked around some on Friday, tarnishing some of the great story that is his comeback. Unfortunately, I think there will be many more days like this upcoming for Mr. Willis. Like we talked about on the Tuesday podcast of Fantasy Baseball Tonight with Jeff Mans and myself, we agreed that we needed to see much more success from Dontrelle before we declared him back, or even picked him up on our rosters. Unless you are in a deep league, or in dire need of pitching, I would not want to pick up Willis.
While he hasn't been bad by any stretch, Ted Lilly had his first real strong outing in a while. I do like Lilly to be a part of your rotation, as long as he isn't one of the top couple pitchers on your staff. Lilly allowed just one run and struck out five over seven innings, running his record to 6-4 on the year. He is one of the more underrated pitchers in baseball. He always gives you good innings, rarely is hurt, has a good strikeout rate, and usually has a better than average ERA.
Edwin Maysonet has been filling in for the injured Kaz Matsui at second for the Astros, and has been doing quite well. In fact, tonight he went 4-4 with a homer and two doubles. He was mostly an average player in the minors who showed good speed in the lower levels. Matsui should be back within a few days, so this isn't someone you should be following.
Someone who has NOT picked it up is the Rangers' Chris Davis. He was 0-7 in the doubleheader today, and struck out six times. He now has 32 hits and an unbelievable 77 strikeouts to go along with a .194 batting average. He has three hits in his last eleven games. What am I trying to say? I think it might be time to look for a replacement for Davis. Things have gotten really bad.
Brad Lidge picked up a save tonight, and that is now two in a row without incident. Lidge didn't even send his owners looking for sharp objects tonight, as he retired the Nationals in order with two strikeouts. For the sake of those of you who have him, hopefully that "rough patch" is behind him.
Clayton Richard was solid again for the White Sox and is looking more and more like a viable fantasy option. He isn't a dominant strikeout pitcher, but is pretty efficient. He was 12-6 with a 2.46 ERA in 20 starts in the minors last season, so this good pitching isn't a fluke. He is already 25, so not a young prospect, but you can't argue with his results. I would consider adding him in the right situation.
Josh Outman continues his great season under the radar, as he allowed three runs over 6.2 innings and whiffed nine. He continues to improve. He has been going deeper into games, he has been striking out more guys, his ERA for the year is just 3.06, while his WHIP is 1.19. He had a pretty decent minor league career too. I am also starting to suggest him as a bottom of the rotation kind of pitcher, and definitely an injury replacement. The only problem is the A's aren't that good, and he won't get a ton of run support.
Injury News
Joey Votto left the game early again tonight, and this ear infection or whatever is wrong with him is causing havoc on his breakout year. It is so hard to suggest what to do with him at this point. You want to play him, but you can't afford to have him to continue to do this. The safe play is to hold him out of your lineups until you see him play back to back games.
Brett Myers will need surgery on that torn labrum in his hip, and could miss the entire season. No date has been set for the surgery, but he is looking at anywhere between 13-18 weeks for a full recovery. Therefore, it is time to let go of Myers.
Ryan Ludwick returned to the Cardinals lineup on Friday and didn't record a hit in his first two at bats. Get him back into your lineups immediately. He was having a great start to the season, and his return will hopefully also kickstart Albert Pujols back into the ultimate fantasy player. He has also suffered from the loss of Ludwick.
Hideki Kuroda will return to the Dodgers' rotation on Monday against the Diamondbacks. I'm not the biggest fan of Kuroda, but he is a useful fantasy pitcher as the last man in your rotation. If you are waiting for him to come off the Disabled List to carry your pitching staff, you will be sorely disappointed.
Jorge Posada returned to the Yankees' lineup tonight and was 2-3 with a double off of Cliff Lee. If he was dropped during his time out, I would definitely pick him up unless you have an elite catcher. Posada was doing great before his latest injury, and his first game back was encouraging that he could jump right back on the horse.
Mailing List
For those of you who are regular readers, or even new to the site, I would like to offer a new service. I am starting a mailing list. Sometimes I see news during the day, but I wait until this nightly article to pass it along to you guys. Prospects coming up, injury news, closer movement, etc. Just send me an email to fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com with “Mailing List” in the subject line and I will add you to the list. Then, whenever I find news that I feel is breaking and important, I will send it to you as soon as I find out about it. Hopefully this is something that you all will find valuable to make a possible move before your competition.
Also, you can now follow me on Twitter for more updates. Go to www.twitter.com/fightingchance.
Attention League Commissioners! If you are looking to spice up your league some, go and visit Fantasy Sports Trophies. Tom Harkins has put together a great site with all kinds of different trophies to give the winner of your league something besides just bragging rights. There are trophies for fantasy baseball, football (check out the Beer League Fantasy Football Trophy), basketball, hockey, and auto racing. I invite you to take a look at the site and try them out.
As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don’t miss the “Fantasy Baseball Tonight” podcast four nights a week from Monday-Thursday. The Big Show on Wednesday is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com. To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show. Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the news, free agent pickups, minor leaguers, and injuries. A can’t miss if you plan on winning your league.
I have to start this one with a very special Happy Birthday to my little girl Morgan. My younger daughter turns one year old today. She is perhaps the happiest baby you have ever seen, and of course since she's mine, the cutest. Nothing erases a bad day faster than looking into those little eyes. For those of you keeping track, I have two daughters, Avery who is three and Morgan, which means in ten years you will find me with no hair and a bottle of Jack Daniels close by my side. Either that or some blunt instrument that I can introduce any fine young boy to before they think about taking my girls out. I've been practicing my intimidation techniques and hopefully by the time I need them, I'll have them perfected.
Jason Varitek hit two home runs for the Red Sox and already has ten on the season. Not bad for an old guy who only averaged 15 a year in the last two seasons. His average is still not helping you at .248,but you can't argue with the power. I think he is an ideal candidate for those of you who are dealing with the injuries to Chris Iannetta or Ryan Doumit. I don't expect this production to last all season with Varitek, but you can ride this hot streak as long as it lasts. Hopefully that will be until your main guy comes back from injury. For those of you who just have a stinky catcher, I would take Varitek for now, but just realize that you probably will have to cut him at some point when he cools down.
Kerry Wood collected his eighth save of the year, but it certainly hasn't been easy. His ERA is still over six, but it has been a little misleading. Eleven of his twelve earned runs allowed came in four outings, but his problem has been save opportunites. The Indians are seven games under .500, and even many of their wins aren't generating save chances. Wood will always be a strikeout artist, but due to his subpar team and long injury history he can not be looked upon as a top tier closer. He seems to have a very long leash in Cleveland, but when he has a bad outing, he really has a BAD outing.
Luke Scott is back from injury for the Orioles and he now has three home runs in his first two games back. Scott just came back from a shoulder strain, and looks like he is back to normal. I think he should definitely top the twenty homer plateau, but don't pick him up expect this recent power surge to continue. He is a nice fourth outfielder on your team, but he isn't all of a sudden carry your fantasy team.
I am starting to gain a nice sized soft spot in my heart for Nolan Reimold. I don't know if I can take on another man crush at this time, but he's making it hard to ignore him. He homered for the the third straight game, and now has five in just fourteen games. I would like to see him get his batting average up a little more, as he sits at just .264, but I feel confident that he will at least surpass .280. The future is very bright for Mr. Reimold, and it looks like he will have a fantasy impact in 2009.
Randy Wells has been pitching well for the Cubs in filling in for Rich Harden, but I just don't think I would put too much stock in this. He might be 0-2,but he hasn't given up more than three earned runs in his five starts, and he has 23 strikeouts in 25 innings. So, why am I not more excited about this? The strikeouts are legitimate, I can't take that away from him, but if you look at his minor league statistics, they aren't very impressive. Wells has been in AAA for the last three years, and his ERA ranged from 4.02 to 4.96, and he even made many appearances out of the bullpen. Now, he has been impressive in the majors, but I need to see more before I buy in. When a guy is so average on the farm, it usually comes true that he doesn't turn into an All-Star at the next level.
Carlos Zambrano received a six game suspension for his childish tirade the other day when he didn't get the call at home plate. However, because of the idiotic rules for suspensions for pitchers, he will miss just one start. Why is it when a position player gets suspended five days he misses five games, while a pitcher is given the same number of days but only misses one start? How is that a punishment? All you are giving him is a little rest that he probably needs. He (and other pitchers) should be sat down for three starts. Enough of my rambling, bottom line is take Zambrano out for his next start, he isn't appealing the suspension.
Injury News
Jorge Posada is set to rejoin the Yankees again on Friday after his hamstring injury. Take a look at your league to see if he is available, as he was dropped in a couple that I play in. He was off to a strong start, and could help you if you are in need of a decent catcher. Not sure if I have confidence in his resurgence he enjoyed to start the season, but if you don't have a good catcher, he is worth the risk.
Grady Sizemore has been dealing with an elbow injury that could land him on the Disabled List. He has been only been able to DH for the last few days, and it has kept him in the lineup. But if he doesn't improve sometime in the next few days, it could be possible that he lands on the DL. It might not be the worst thing in the long term. Sizemore, who never has a great average, is really scuffling as he is hitting in the .220s.
Brett Myers is the next one of the cool kids to have a hip injury. It seems like it is all the rage lately, and you ain't cool unless you have something up with the labrum in your hip. An MRI revealed either fraying or a tear in Myers' hip (how does a medical person not know the difference?) and he won't make his next start. We now know if he needs surgery he would miss eight to ten weeks.
Travis Hafner is supposed to finish his rehab assignment on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and could possibly rejoin the Indians on Monday. As long as he doesn't suffer any setbacks he should be back against the Yankees. Not sure what to expect from him in the long term in 2009, but if you have him, get him back in there.
Mailing List
For those of you who are regular readers, or even new to the site, I would like to offer a new service. I am starting a mailing list. Sometimes I see news during the day, but I wait until this nightly article to pass it along to you guys. Prospects coming up, injury news, closer movement, etc. Just send me an email to fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com with “Mailing List” in the subject line and I will add you to the list. Then, whenever I find news that I feel is breaking and important, I will send it to you as soon as I find out about it. Hopefully this is something that you all will find valuable to make a possible move before your competition.
Also, you can now follow me on Twitter for more updates. Go to www.twitter.com/fightingchance.
Attention League Commissioners! If you are looking to spice up your league some, go and visit Fantasy Sports Trophies. Tom Harkins has put together a great site with all kinds of different trophies to give the winner of your league something besides just bragging rights. There are trophies for fantasy baseball, football (check out the Beer League Fantasy Football Trophy), basketball, hockey, and auto racing. I invite you to take a look at the site and try them out.
As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don’t miss the “Fantasy Baseball Tonight” podcast four nights a week from Monday-Thursday. The Big Show on Wednesday is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com. To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show. Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the news, free agent pickups, minor leaguers, and injuries. A can’t miss if you plan on winning your league.
Nathan is back on track, Franklin saves 12th straight game. By Todd Farino, www.thecloserreport.com
Sorry about missing yesterday, but it was my sons 5th birthday so I spent the day with a bunch of little kids. Here is the update for the day.
Joe Nathan has been on the hot seat lately with owners, but quickly he has won the hearts of his owners and has saves two straight games. We knew this slide by Nathan was nothing more then a dry spell with a couple of bad appearances in-between it. Nathan is one of the more dominant closers in the game and should be treated as so.
Ryan Franklin is the opposite of Nathan, but has performed out of this world in 2009. When will Franklin go on a dry spell of his own ? Right now he is on fire with a 1.42 ERA and an amazingly low 0.79 WHIP. At this point I would say SELL on Franklin, but in reality HOLD!
Heath Bell is on top of the world right now. He saved his league leading 14th saves and got one out to secure the save. Bell is another outstanding closer and #2 on our top 20 closer ranking.
The #1 closer on the list Jonathan Broxton had a tough day in Colorado. Granted he came into the game in a non-save situation he wasn't able to find the plate at all and ended up walking 3 batters and giving up a run. This is the only problem you have to worry about with Broxton is his lack of control. He he can't find the plate with all his pitches he will have a bad today. Lucky it wasn't worse or moreover a blown save. He needed 38 pitches to get through the 9th inning and only 23 were strikes. Not good for a closer.
Fernando Rodney didn't get the save today, but had a great inning. He gave up two hits, but struck out the side and looked filthy. Frankly, the hits were lucky.
Waldo was found. That's right, Kevin Gregg made a save appearance and believe it or not got his 7th save of the season. He's been on the hot seat with his owners for along time and its about time he got the save. Of course he worried everyone by walking two batters before ending the game.
Matt Lindstrom made what I thought was a great appearance. This was a growing experience for him and he passed. After retiring the first better, Lindstrom then gave up a single and double. He then hunkered down and got the outs he needed without letting a run score. That is growth and we loved it. He also did it without a strikeout. He came into a 6-2 game, so no save.
Other Appearances: Brian Fuentes (13) - Another easy save. He is outperforming everyones expectations. Brian Wilson (10) - Looked strong in a quick save. Francisco Rodriguez - Gave up an unearned run in a non-save opportunity. Huston Street - Pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. No save in a 8-6 loss to the Dodgers. Luis Vizcaino (1)- Pitched 3 innings to get the save. Did strikeout 4.
Rick Porcello now won his fifth straight start, and has now become a serious, consistent major league pitcher at age 20. He is now 6-3, and he has allowed two runs or less in five straight starts. The only thing that you can say about Porcello is that you would like to see him strike more hitters out. But that's not who he is. He now has 32 Ks in 51 innings, but unlike most young pitchers he doesn't allow many walks. In nine starts he has walked only 16 batters. In keeper leagues his value is immeasurable.
Nolan Reimold continues his great start for the Baltimore Orioles. He didn't start the game, but came in and made the most of his time. Reimold hit a walk off three run homer to win the game. He now has four dingers on the year, and is hitting .265. His average should go up some as he gets more comfortable, and like I've been saying, I think he will have a good season.
The Cubs have called up Jake Fox to the major leagues. He will be 27 in July, so he isn't a young prospect, but boy is he raking. In 40 games at AAA, Fox is mashing the ball to the tune of a .423 average, 17 HRs, and 50 RBI. He is not a base stealer though. I'm not exactly sure where they intend to play him, but he has seen time at first base, third base, catcher, and both corner OF spots in the minors, so he could play any number of places. Will he hold the fort down at 3B until Aramis comes back? Tough to say, but I am guessing that he will get ABs. Last year between AA and AAA he hit 31 homers and drove in 105 runs, so this power is legit. The .423 average has to come down, but he could have an impact.
After I finally dropped him Daniel Murphy, goes out and has a great game. Unless the Mets go out and make a trade, Murphy will be playing first base going forward. His average had dipped down to .246 before his 3-5 effort today. Murphy drove in five runs, and connected on his fourth homer of the year. In the last ten games he only had three hits and had driven in one run. They like Murphy on sports talk radio here in New York, but I wonder if he is in over his head. I need to see a ton more from him before I would even think of having him on my rosters.
Jay Bruce might not be hitting for a very good average, but when he hits, he makes the most of it. Bruce had one hit in his last six games, but he had two homers and a triple. He's now up to 14 home runs on the year, and is a real candidate to hit 30 this season. I also think he will get his average up to the .265 range, so hot streak has to be in his future. He will be a great major league player in the near future.
Texas rookie Derek Holland didn't fare too well in his start against the Yankees on Wednesday, but few young pitchers do. Holland allowed five earned runs over five innings, walked just two, but struck out five. He's only 22, so he will struggle from time to time, but he throws hard and is left handed, so he will get a long leash to succeed. The Rangers also have a strong offense, so he could get some wins he doesn't deserve.
The Orioles have called up David Hernandez to replace Koji Uehara. Hernandez has been good for the past couple seasons, but is not an elite prospect, or at least not one of the Orioles better prospects. Last year at AA he was 10-4 with a 2.68 ERA in 27 starts. He is a great strikeout pitcher, as he whiffed 166 in 141 innings. Control can be a problem as he also walked 71. This season he was in AAA and was 3-1 with a 2.91 ERA and 60 Ks in 41 innings. Not sure how long term this promotion is, but if he pitches well he could hang around. The O's certainly could use some help at starter.
More Starting Pitching
Erik Bedard improved to 3-2 with another strong outing. He pitched 6.2 innings, allowed just one run, and struck out five. Bedard has had some injury problems over the years, so I am always concerned about that with him. His ERA is just 2.48, and he has yet to give up more than three earned runs in any start this season. I'm still more of a sell high guy on Bedard, but he has been doing quite well.
A.J. Burnett won for the first time since April 14th by shutting out the Rangers over six innings, and striking out seven. He is still walking too many guys, as he offered four free passes, but hopefully this is the start of a hot streak for him. Burnett has had a history of being good only in contract years, which means he could only be a .500 pitcher this season, but on the Yankees he should get some extra wins. Even if he doesn't get a ton of wins, Burnett will help you in strikeouts.
Kevin Slowey is now 7-1, and hasn't given up more than two runs in four straight starts. He allowed just two runs over six innings tonight against the Red Sox,and struck out five. He also walked a batter, which gives him a grand total of five walks in his ten starts. Slowey's ERA might still be over 4.00, but that is largely due to the fact that he allowed five runs in three of his first five starts. Continue to start him with confidence.
I keep waiting for Jered Weaver to fail, and he keeps proving me wrong. He was great again, giving up just one run over eight innings and striking out eight. Weaver is bringing back memories of his rookie season, and I am feeling better and better about him as the season goes on. I assume his owner feels the same way if you were thinking about trading for him, so you might have to give up too much. It might be worth throwing an offer over to see if perhaps the person who has him is still as skeptical as I was.
Gavin Floyd might have taken the loss, but it was his second consecutive quality start. Floyd went the whole eight innings, gave up three earned runs and struck out eight. After a horrible start to the year, this was back to back eight inning performances. I still think he is better than he showed at the start of '09, but not as good as he was in '08. If he was dropped, I would make a move to pick him up, just don't expect quite what he gave you last year and you won't be disappointed.
Rich Hill was BAAAAAAD in his third start of the year. After allowing just two runs in each of his first two outings, Hill finally struggled and couldn't get through the fourth inning. He gave up six earned runs and walked three in 3.1 innings, raising his ERA to 6.14. Of course he is going to struggle from time to time, you couldn't have expected him to be lights out considering where he has been the past couple of seasons. Consider him a decent end of your rotation kind of guy, and he might be able to give you a few decent starts against weaker AL teams.
Mailing List
For those of you who are regular readers, or even new to the site, I would like to offer a new service. I am starting a mailing list. Sometimes I see news during the day, but I wait until this nightly article to pass it along to you guys. Prospects coming up, injury news, closer movement, etc. Just send me an email to fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com with “Mailing List” in the subject line and I will add you to the list. Then, whenever I find news that I feel is breaking and important, I will send it to you as soon as I find out about it. Hopefully this is something that you all will find valuable to make a possible move before your competition.
Also, you can now follow me on Twitter for more updates. Go to www.twitter.com/fightingchance.
Attention League Commissioners! If you are looking to spice up your league some, go and visit Fantasy Sports Trophies. Tom Harkins has put together a great site with all kinds of different trophies to give the winner of your league something besides just bragging rights. There are trophies for fantasy baseball, football (check out the Beer League Fantasy Football Trophy), basketball, hockey, and auto racing. I invite you to take a look at the site and try them out.
As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don’t miss the “Fantasy Baseball Tonight” podcast four nights a week from Monday-Thursday. The Big Show on Wednesday is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com. To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show. Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the news, free agent pickups, minor leaguers, and injuries. A can’t miss if you plan on winning your league.
Matt Wieters will finally be joining the Baltimore Orioles on Friday according to GM Andy McPhail. Not much more to say here. Wieters is an elite prospect that you definitely want on your team, even if you already have a good catcher. He seems like he will be the kind of guy who will succeed right away, and even if you already have a good catcher, you either will have a great player in your UTIL spot, or some great trade bait.
The New York Mets have finally placed Jose Reyes on the Disabled List. But with that bad news comes some exciting news. They have called up their super prospect Fernando Martinez. Just listened to an interview here on 1050 ESPN Radio with SNY's (Mets channel) Ron Darling, and Darling said that Martinez would play everyday in right field. Ryan Church has been placed on the 15-day DL which opens up that spot for Martinez. He is a guy that we have been hearing about for a long time here, even though he is only 20. Martinez is an elite prospect, and you could have room for himi on your team. You can always email me back if you want me to evaluate your situation and let me know who you would drop. In 41 games at AAA this season, Martinez is hitting .294 with seven homers and 26 RBI. He doesn't bring you much speed though.
Zack Greinke is just out of his mind. He threw another complete game, and allowed only one run. Greinke is now 8-1 and his ERA is still a ridiculous 0.84. He struck out eight, and for the fourth time this season, he didn't walk a batter. What more is there to say about Greinke at this point? He is awesome, amazing, Cy Young favorite, and if my wife was going to cheat, perhaps it would be OK if it was with him. Maybe that last one was a bit much, but the rest is right on the mark.
Nolan Reimold connected on his third home run of his major league career in his 12th game of the season. Reimold is now hitting .261 with six RBI over that time. I continue to have a lot of hope for Reimold on the short term and the long term, and if he is available, I would evaluate what you have and if he can help you.
Kris Medlen was not very good again, although he was better than his first time out. OK, so he faced Tim Lincecum and that is no easy matchup, but Medlen was unable to get a win. He pitched 5.1 innings, allowed four runs, walked two, and struck out three. He needs to continue to improve if he wants to stay in the major leagues, but my guess is that he would get another shot the next time his turn comes up.
For the second consecutive outing, Max Scherzer struck out ten hitters. After not getting off to a good start, Scherzer has been much better of late. On Tuesday, he pitched seven innings, allowed two runs, didn't walk anyone and struck out ten. Scherzer has always had incredible potential, and now it seems that he is starting to live up to it. Check to see if he is available, and if you can afford to find him a spot on your team.
Carl Pavano has shockingly been not too bad this season. It is going to take some time to get his ERA under control since he gave up nine runs in just one inning of the season, but he has been fairly effective in the month of May. He had possibly his best start of the season on Tuesday. He allowed just one run over seven innings, and struck out six. He allowed three runs or less in five of his six starts, and struck out 30 hitters over that time. I'm not convinced that he will continue this, but as a spot starter against bad teams or injury replacement he might not be a bad play. He is now 5-4 on the season, and that ERA is down to 5.50.
Is it possible that the Mets' second best starter is Livan Hernandez? He is now 4-1 after a complete game in which he allowed just one run. Hernandez also struck out a season high six guys. He has only allowed more than three runs on three different occasions during the season,and has been incredibly consistent for the Mets. I'm not 100% sure that I would be picking him up in my leagues, but I have picked him up for one start here or there a few times during the season. Only in injury replacements or for one time starts would I be adding Livan.
Brad Lidge finally was able to nail down a save without allowing a run or a hit. Lidge came in to get the final two outs against the Marlins to record save number nine of the season. Regardless of his struggles, the Phillies have to much time and money invested in him to just cast him aside. They will probably try to put him in better situations over the next few days to try to get him back on track, but he is still Philadelphia's closer.
Jon Lester was cruising along and looking good, and then fell apart allowing five runs in the fifth inning. Lester was able to pitch six innings, and struck out four, but he continues to disappoint his owners. His ERA is still over 6.00, but I continue to wait for the good stretch to start. Don't give up on Lester, I see an extended hot streak in his near future.
New Feature
For those of you who are regular readers, or even new to the site, I would like to offer a new service. I am starting a mailing list. Sometimes I see news during the day, but I wait until this nightly article to pass it along to you guys. Prospects coming up, injury news, closer movement, etc. Just send me an email to fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com with “Mailing List” in the subject line and I will add you to the list. Then, whenever I find news that I feel is breaking and important, I will send it to you as soon as I find out about it. Hopefully this is something that you all will find valuable to make a possible move before your competition.
Also, you can now follow me on Twitter for more updates. Go to www.twitter.com/fightingchance.
Attention League Commissioners! If you are looking to spice up your league some, go and visit Fantasy Sports Trophies. Tom Harkins has put together a great site with all kinds of different trophies to give the winner of your league something besides just bragging rights. There are trophies for fantasy baseball, football (check out the Beer League Fantasy Football Trophy), basketball, hockey, and auto racing. I invite you to take a look at the site and try them out.
I’m also going to start mentioning the Fantasy Windup with Steve Gardner over at the USA Today again. His blog is updated many times each day, and is always covering the stories you are talking about when it comes to fantasy baseball. Yesterday he had a great post about the five most frustrating players to own in fantasy baseball. Go vent your frustrations on the message board.
As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don’t miss the “Fantasy Baseball Tonight” podcast four nights a week from Monday-Thursday. The Big Show on Wednesday is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com. To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show. Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the news, free agent pickups, minor leaguers, and injuries. A can’t miss if you plan on winning your league.
Papelbon gets hammered, but gets the save.Qualls blows second save. By Todd Farino, www.thecloserreport.com
Hey everyone. I hope you all had a great Memorial Day. There was a full slate of games today,but only fair amount of saves. The biggest one to talk about was Jonathan Papelbon's save against the Twins. For the second straight appearance he gave up a 2-run home run. Today it was against Joe Mauer, who is one of the hottest players in baseball, but it wasn't enough and he hung on to get his 12th save of the season 6-5. The other home run was to Omir Santos a powerless catcher from the Mets on Saturday.
Papelbon's problem right now is two-fold. The first is location, location, location. Both pitches that ended up being home runs were poorly located. This problem happens with any pitcher and its something he just needs to find again.
The other problem is batters are now sitting on his fastball, so if it's not located well it get pounded. He has been working on a slider and a changeup to offset the fastball. He use to use his splitter often, but recently has lost confidence in it Papelbon needs to start throwing his splitter more and mixing up his pitches. His fastball is so devastating that another pitch could make it nearly untouchable.
Heath Bell and Francisco Rodriguez both got their 13th save of the season. Bell had another perfect inning, but KROD had some problems giving up a hit and walk, but nailed the save strong with a strikeout and a perfect slider for a pop-up.
In other big news, Chad Qualls blew his second save of the season. He gave up a run on 2 hits in a game the Padres ended up winning, giving Heath Bell another save. Qualls has given up 4 runs in his last 4 appearances. This is the Chad Qualls we expected. He lasted awhile looking out of this world and now he is imploding a bit.
If you can pick up Jon Rauch from free agency I would do that ASAP. He has already got 2 saves on the season and right now he's pitching much better then Qualls.
Matt Lindstrom got his first save since May 20th. He easily locked up his 9th save of the season against the Phillies 5-3. His control was great, but he did walk a batter. If you own Lindstrom you should be very happy with this performance. Hopefully we will see more just like it.
Other Appearances: George Sherrill (10) - He looks great and is just churning out saves now. Sean Burnett(1) - Filled in for Matt Capps. Capps has pitched a ton lately and was just getting the day off. Francisco Cordero (12) - Cordero is on fire. This could be the year for Cordero. He is pitching like he did years ago. Kevin Cameron (1)- Pitched 3 innings to get the save.
While many of us take this day as an extra day off of work, and a reason for a barbeque and a great reason for a get together with friends and/or family, let's not forget what today is really about. Memorial Day is a day to remember those who have given the ultimate sacrifice while serving their country. The men and women who have given their life in the name of freedom and patriotism. I also think that we should take this day to thank those men and women who have not given their lives, but continue to give of themselves and their time to serve the United States. Those who sacrifice their love and their lives to keep us safe and free. I might be wrong, but it seems like the military is filled with either kids in their early 20s, or with those who sacrifice time with their families to protect this great land. On this Memorial Day, please take a second out for not only those who have given the ultimate sacrifice, but for those who currently serve our country, and their families who also make an incredible sacrifice as they miss their loved ones who are away at war. Please continue to support President Obama's initiative to get our young men and women back home again so they can reconnect with their families. God Bless You All, you are much better people than I am.
I love Chris Carpenter. I'm sure that 90% of that has to do with me being a Cardinals fan, but even as his fantasy owner, he is damn good when he is healthy. I like him even more this year because I didn't have to spend a high draft pick on him to have him on my team. And (again) when he is healthy he is pitching like a guy I would have picked in the first three rounds. He threw eight shutout innings in his second start back from the Disabled List, and struck out ten, and he still hasn't allowed an earned run in his four starts in 2009.
Yovani Gallardo was almost as good as Carpenter on Monday. He also threw eight shutout innings, and allowed only two hits. The only difference between the two is Gallardo walked four guys, and he struck out six, while Carpenter fanned ten. Gallardo has just a 3.32 ERA for the season, and is taking the next step to be a fantasy stud. He has had a couple of bad outings, but on the whole he has been great. Continue to start Gallardo with extreme confidence.
David Price made his 2009 debut for the Rays, and while it wasn't good, it wasn't absolutely terrible either. Price threw 100 pitches in just 3.1 innings, but it was wildness that killed him. He allowed only two earned runs, but he walked five guys. He was able to strikeout six hitters, which was great considering how long he pitched, but it was just his first start of the season. Price should have another start this week, feel free to start him again.
Can Phil Hughes please decide what he is going to be? He gives up three runs, he gives up eight runs, he gives up three runs again. Now on Sunday he pitched eight shutout innings, allowed just three runs, and struck out six. His last two starts have been pretty darn good, and perhaps this is the start of all that hype that we have been hearing about for so long. I'm still not sure how long Chien-Ming Wang will be in the minors/bullpen, and how long that Hughes will be in the rotation. The longer he pitches like this, the better his chances are of sticking around. Ride this hot streak as long as you can, but beware that Wang could be back in the rotation at sometime in the near future.
Francisco Liriano is really starting to worry me. With his latest horrible outing, Liriano is now 2-6 on the season. He allowed five runs over just four innings, and struck out seven. In a small part of good news, he didn't walk anyone, but his ERA is close to touching 6.50 for the year. I don't think I would make a move to drop him now, but I am getting closer to thinking about the possibility. Give him a few more starts to straighten this out before doing anything too rash.
Justin Verlander continues his resurgence as an elite pitcher with another amazing outing on Monday. Verlander didn't allow an earned run today, and hasn't allowed a home run to an opponent since April 22nd. What else can I say at this point? Verlander is FAR outperforming his pre-draft expectations and should be in your weekly lineups no matter what. He definitely seems that he is back to an elite pitcher, and should be treated that way. You can try to trade for him, but I imagine his owner has a pretty good grip on him at this point.
Oakland rookie Brett Anderson had his second consecutive good outing. After allowing two runs over six innings, his last time out, Anderson was better allowing just one run over six innings, and striking out four. He is a highly talented rookie pitcher who will have some bad starts along with some great ones. I would have some reservations about starting him every time out, maybe only pick him up when he faces one of the weaker teams in the league.
Chris Volstad has still yet to allow more than four runs in any start this season, and his consistency should be celebrated. On Monday, he allowed three runs over 6.2 innings, and struck out six. He is still someone that I have a LOT of faith in, and continue to start every week. Volstad will have his share of ups and downs, but I would keep starting him every week, and in keeper leagues he has added value. Keep starting Volstad every time he takes the mound.
My short love affair with Jorge De La Rosa is over as soon as it began. We went out a couple of times, caught a movie, and even had a couple of drinks. But he said something a little off color that just turned me off. Now, I'm not even returning his phone calls. After two straight starts with double digit strikeouts, De La Rosa followed that up with back to back starts allowing seven earned runs, and his record is now 0-5. His ERA is now 5.26 for the season, and should be jettisoned to free agency if ANYONE of any value is out there.
Jeremy Guthrie was very good for the Orioles today, as he allowed only one run over seven innings. Guthrie seems to be a popular guy to have at the bottom of your rotation, but he is certainly not anyone that I am interested in. Even with his stellar outing on Monday, Guthrie is still just 4-4, and his ERA is way too close to five for my liking. He doesn't strike enough guys out (35 Ks in 60 innings) to have much value in fantasy in my opinion, and he pitches for a terrible team. Even as the last pitcher on your team, I don't know if I would have him on my roster. I think I would rather have a young pitcher with a high ceiling.
Joe Mauer owners didn't expect much out of him since he had the day off. But Mauer still performed as he had a pinch hit appearance and had yet another home run. That is 11 from him this month after connecting off of Jonathan Papelbon in the 9th inning. This power is CRAZY from Mauer, and I keep thinking he has to slow down eventually. He obviously can't keep this up, and if I owned him I would be trying to trade him for the mother load. If you couldn't get an incredible deal, I would be more than happy to hold on to him.
Gerardo Parra continues to hit well, and play well, and on Sunday the Diamondbacks had him in the leadoff spot, which only further shows how much confidence they have in their rookie outfielder. He singled in one run, and was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded for his 10th RBI in 11 games since being called up. I think Parra will be around for the long term now, or at least until he goes into a prolonged cold streak, so keep him in your lineup going forward. i still think that there should be a good number of stolen bases in his future as well.
New Feature
For those of you who are regular readers, or even new to the site, I would like to offer a new service. I am starting a mailing list. Sometimes I see news during the day, but I wait until this nightly article to pass it along to you guys. Prospects coming up, injury news, closer movement, etc. Just send me an email to fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com with “Mailing List” in the subject line and I will add you to the list. Then, whenever I find news that I feel is breaking and important, I will send it to you as soon as I find out about it. Hopefully this is something that you all will find valuable to make a possible move before your competition.
Also, you can now follow me on Twitter for more updates. Go to www.twitter.com/fightingchance.
Attention League Commissioners! If you are looking to spice up your league some, go and visit Fantasy Sports Trophies. Tom Harkins has put together a great site with all kinds of different trophies to give the winner of your league something besides just bragging rights. There are trophies for fantasy baseball, football (check out the Beer League Fantasy Football Trophy), basketball, hockey, and auto racing. I invite you to take a look at the site and try them out.
I’m also going to start mentioning the Fantasy Windup with Steve Gardner over at the USA Today again. His blog is updated many times each day, and is always covering the stories you are talking about when it comes to fantasy baseball. Yesterday he had a great post about the five most frustrating players to own in fantasy baseball. Go vent your frustrations on the message board.
As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don’t miss the “Fantasy Baseball Tonight” podcast four nights a week from Monday-Thursday. The Big Show on Wednesday is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com. To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show. Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the news, free agent pickups, minor leaguers, and injuries. A can’t miss if you plan on winning your league.
Ok, so I am out of the bathroom tonight. I figured I should go down the Ground Round which is attached to the hotel and sit in the bar, have a few cold ones, do some writing, and watch the NBA Playoffs. So, I rolled down there about 10:05 after all were sleeping in my hotel room, and set up shop at a booth. I went up to the bar to get a beer and the bartender tells me that they close at 10 o'clock. Now, I know it is Sunday, but C'MON!!! TEN O'CLOCK at a hotel bar? Needless to say I was angry. I had thought about doing this all day long and could taste the hops and barley sliding down into my belly. So, instead I am sitting here in a room that says "Board Room" on the door with some other kid behind me no doubt playing Wizards of Warcraft at least by the looks of him. Damn it! I considered just running to the store and picking up my own six pack and heading back to my toilet, but I decided against it. So, needless to say I write to you tonight completely disappointed. Anyway, let's get to the games.
Everyone will be focusing on the bad news from the Phillies game, as Brad Lidge blew another save. But instead of dwelling on the negative, I thought we could focus on some good things that came out of the game. Cole Hamels was great again today. He pitched against an incredibly tough Yankees lineup and allowed only two runs over six innings. Hamels was torturing his owners to start the season, but now he appears to be very close to the guy we saw in the playoffs. He struck out five over those six innings, and didn't walk a batter. Hamels looks to be the fantasy ace we were hoping for when we drafted him. Also in that game, Ryan Howard stole his second base of the season, which begs the question "how the hell did that happen?" Did the catcher roll the ball to second base in his attempt to get him out?
Dontrelle Willis again looked like he might be worth owning in fantasy baseball again, even though he took the loss. He lasted 6.2 innings, allowed just three runs, and struck out four. Control was again a problem for him, as he walked four guys, but it was his offense that betrayed him on Sunday. The Tigers were only able to scrape over one run against Colorado pitching, and Willis fell to 1-1. I'm still not sure that I would be picking him up unless you had a real need for pitching and are just taking a chance, but I am starting to come around to the idea.
Neither Cliff Lee or Johnny Cueto factored into the decision today, but they both continued their strong seasons. Lee was more than decent as he allowed just three runs over six innings and struck out four, but Cueto was downright nasty again, as he gave up just two earned runs over seven innings, and fanned seven. Both guys are must starts every time out, but Cueto is the one who is on the rise. Lee will be a solid fantasy pitcher, but Cueto seems to improve almost every time out. I see a slight cold streak in the future sometime for both, but you have to put them out there.
Jason Bartlett continues his incredible season, but I really can't see him keeping this up. With his 1-4 today, Bartlett is now hitting .373 with seven homers, 30 RBI, and he has stolen 13 bases. If you look at his career highs are .309 (in 99 games in 2006), five home runs (in 2007), 43 RBI (in 2007), and 23 steals (you guessed it, 2007). Even in the minors, the most homers he ever hit was eight. So, am I crazy to say that he is due to fall on his face? I would be shopping him everywhere in an attempt to maximize this amazing start.
Brian McCann will hopefully now but this blurry vision thing behind him. Geez, between hips, blurry vision, and dizziness, we sure have had some mysterious injuries this year. But McCann might have broken out tonight as he went 3-4 and connected on homers number four and five in a game against the Blue Jays. He had been hitting well since he returned to action with the glasses, but he wasn't hitting for much power. Since May 11th he has raised his batting average 57 points, but had only hit one home run, as a McCann owner, here's to a hot streak!
Scott Richmond was good again for the Blue Jays (outside of one of the McCann taters). He only lasted five innings, but only gave up two runs, didn't walk anyone and K'd five. So after two straight terrible starts, Richmond is back on track with two solid ones. He isn't facing the stiffest competition, but how many truly great teams are there? I would hold on to Richmond longer if I had him, he has been mostly good this year.
It seems safe to assume that Joel Hanrahan is back as the Nationals closer, after two saves over the past four days. He was dreadful to start the season, but it didn't take long for Washington to realize that he was by far their best option at the position. If Hanrahan was dropped in your league and you need saves, pick him up. The save opportunities won't be frequent, but I would be willing to bet he will finish off most of them.
Shairon Martis continues to be the worst undefeated pitcher in the history of baseball. Well, maybe not the history, but in as long as I can remember. He was atrocious again today, as he allowed five runs over six innings, walked two and struck out two. Lucky for him Baltimore's pitching staff is pretty bad as well, and his offense came through for him. I would not want this guy on my team, his ERA is nearly 5.00, but I have no comeback for the five wins. I still will be surprised if he gets to ten, or twelve at the most.
Brandon McCarthy has had an up and down season, but at least for one night, he put it all together. He threw a complete game shutout against the Houston Astros, giving up nine hits and striking out six. I have no idea what to think of this. On one hand, McCarthy was once one of the brighter pitching prospects in baseball for the White Sox, but has done nothing but disappoint in his four years in the league. The other hand says, most young pitchers struggle in the beginning, maybe this is McCarthy finally figuring it out. I have to say, right now the hand that is telling me not to get too excited about this is winning the arguement. But chances are McCarthy will be picked up in most leagues within the next 24 hours on mere speculation alone. So, if you feel you have a real need for starters, I would make up my mind quickly. However, I would say unless you are dropping someone who is out and out hurting you, I would let someone else make that transaction.
Josh Hamilton continued his surge since coming back from a few different injuries with his fourth home run and tenth RBI in his last ten games. Right after coming back from a stint on the DL, Hamilton got banged up again crashing into a wall. He appears to be fine, and I urge you not to sell cheap on him. He will reward you greatly going forward, and don't forget how great he did the first four months of last season. Hamilton will rake again.
Josh Outman won again today, but it certainly wasn't pretty. He pitched into the eighth inning, allowed just one earned run, and ran his record to 2-0. The ugly part was Outman didn't strikeout a batter, and walked five! That's not good for the old WHIP! But going into the game he had walked only 13 and struck out 31 in 32 innings, so hopefully this is just one tough outing, although the D'Backs aren't exactly known for being patient hitters. Outman is certainly flying under the fantasy radar. If you look at his minor league career, it wasn't stellar, but it wasn't bad either. Does he have staying power? I'm not ready to answer that question yet, but I am going to poke around some of my deeper leagues to see if he is available.
One of my bigger disappointments in recent years, Kevin Kouzmanoff has caught a little fire lately. He has improved slightly from year to year, but he has yet to get to the level that I thought he would, not to mention he is usually dreadful to start the year. 2009 has been no exception. On May 16th, Kouz was hitting .222 with one home run. However, just eight days later, Kouzmanoff connected on his fourth of the season, and is now hitting a robust .236. OK, so the average is still horrid, but he is picking up the pace some, and is at least looking like he could challenge the 23 homers he hit last season. He hit 22 homers in 94 games in 2006 in the minors, so the power is there, but PetCo Park is certainly not helping. Unless you are in a deep league, I probably wouldn't grab him, but see how hot he stays.
Scott Baker almost went the distance tonight for the Twins, in an attempt to turnaround this nightmare of a season. Last year Baker was 11-4 with an ERA of 3.45 and was a popular pick at the end of drafts. But even with the win tonight he is still just 2-5 and his ERA is over 6.50. I think Baker is a decent guy to grab a hold of if he is out there and you are in need of some pitching. I don't think he will be as good as he was in 2008, but he is better than he started out this year. I could see him go on a little roll in the month of June and might not be a bad option. Chances are he might be available in your league.
New Feature
For those of you who are regular readers, or even new to the site, I would like to offer a new service. I am starting a mailing list. Sometimes I see news during the day, but I wait until this nightly article to pass it along to you guys. Prospects coming up, injury news, closer movement, etc. Just send me an email to fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com with “Mailing List” in the subject line and I will add you to the list. Then, whenever I find news that I feel is breaking and important, I will send it to you as soon as I find out about it. Hopefully this is something that you all will find valuable to make a possible move before your competition.
Also, you can now follow me on Twitter for more updates. Go to www.twitter.com/fightingchance.
Attention League Commissioners! If you are looking to spice up your league some, go and visit Fantasy Sports Trophies. Tom Harkins has put together a great site with all kinds of different trophies to give the winner of your league something besides just bragging rights. There are trophies for fantasy baseball, football (check out the Beer League Fantasy Football Trophy), basketball, hockey, and auto racing. I invite you to take a look at the site and try them out.
I’m also going to start mentioning the Fantasy Windup with Steve Gardner over at the USA Today again. His blog is updated many times each day, and is always covering the stories you are talking about when it comes to fantasy baseball. Yesterday he had a great post about the five most frustrating players to own in fantasy baseball. Go vent your frustrations on the message board.
As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don’t miss the “Fantasy Baseball Tonight” podcast four nights a week from Monday-Thursday. The Big Show on Wednesday is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com. To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show. Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the news, free agent pickups, minor leaguers, and injuries. A can’t miss if you plan on winning your league.
I hope everybody is enjoying this Memorial Day weekend. We have come to the point in the season where a sub .200 batting average, significantly less power numbers and less playing time can no longer be chalked up to a slump. At this point you must forget all about draft position and treat players as they deserve to be treated this season. You simply cannot afford to hold out hope for guys like Geovany Soto, David Ortiz or Ricky Nolasco any longer. We have already begun to see a bunch of top tier prospects called up to bail out struggling veterans and believe me when I say more are on their way. So, put away the lawn mower, fire up the grill and let's see what players you should have your eye on to solve your roster blues.
1) David Price (LHP - Starter) -- Rays -- Is anyone not familiar with David Price at this point? There really isn't much to say about this move other than if he is still available and you haven't made your claim yet than you have bigger issues to deal with. Do not worry an ounce about Price's struggles earlier this season. He is as polished and ready as a player can be and was probably bored out of his mind in Durham this season. One point I would like to make is don't read into the timing of this callup. David Price, like Matt Wieters, Ross Detwiler and the soon to be drafted Steve Strasburg have major league contracts that they signed when drafted. These deals are not cut the same way as other draftees as far as service time and arbitration years and thus it makes little difference if they are called up in April or August. This seems to be a confusing thing to many baseball analysts and I figured that I should clear the air a bit on this. Guys like Tommy Hanson and Neftali Feliz are the ones who are sitting around because of the arbitration years issue.
2) Alcides Escobar (SS/2B) -- Brewers -- Suddenly the Brewers wealth of infielders has been whittled down due to the injuries to Rickie Weeks and JJ Hardy. Weeks is out for the season but Hardy will be OK in a few days after leaving a game due to back spasms. Escobar has started the past few games at 2B for the Nashville Sounds, without a doubt this is in order to prepare him for his promotion to Milwaukee in the very near future. Escobar is an amazing defensive SS and not be the one switching positions but whatever the case this kid will be fantasy relevant very soon. He has tremendous speed as evidenced with his 20 stolen bases already in AAA. He is a big kid who has added some muscle the past two seasons and now projects to hit 10+ HR's in the big leagues. He will likely hit toward the bottom of the Brewers order which will give him some fine RBI opportunities as well. This is one of the best middle infield fantasy prospects that you will see this season so don't drop the ball when and if you get the opportunity to add him in the next week or so.
3) Ross Detwiler (LHP - Starter) -- Nationals -- If it is not obvious that Detwiler is ready for the big leagues after his two starts this week then I have never seen a major league ready pitcher in my life. He tossed 11 innings giving up just 3 earned runs (2.45 ERA), struck out 10 batters and posting a 0.81 WHIP. Many scouts believed that Detwiler was major league ready when he was drafted in 2007. He offers four plus pitches that he can throw for strikes and command on any count. He throws a 96 MPH fastball and can go to two seamer with downward sink in ground ball situations. His curveball has a tight spin and a big late break while his changeup has become a go-to pitch for him with supreme fade on it. It is no surprise to see him doing well at this level. He is a much better prospect in my opinion than Jordan Zimmerman and will no doubt have much more fantasy upside. I don't expect him to spend any more time in the minor leagues this season or ever again.
4) Sean Rodriguez (2B/SS) -- Angels -- Rodriguez is next on the Angels list of impressive infield prospects. Brandon Wood seems to only hit in the minors, Howie Kendrick cannot get on base enough and Erick Aybar hasn't quite met previous expectations. Rodriguez is among the leaders in HR (16) and RBI (47) in all of the minor leagues. He's raised his average to .280 with a .373 OBP which should be awfully tempting to the Angels right about now. Rodriguez has also cut down on his strikeouts this year, something that has been stressed to him after his brief stint in L.A. last season. This guy can do some damage if put in the Angels lineup right now. He also has enough speed to swipe 15 bases or so in Mike Scioscia's aggressive system.
5) Yorvit Torrealba (Catcher) -- Rockies -- I've got a feeling about this guy right now and I just don't know what it is. He has proven to be a streaky hitter over his career and I just can't help but think that he'll have a nice little run while starting in place of the injured Chris Ianetta. The catcher position is a wasteland right now as far as free agent are concerned and thus why Torrealba merits a mention in this weeks Hot 8. You are going to get a full 15 days from Torrealba as Ianetta's hamstring injury will keep him out at least that amount of time. If you are waiting on either Matt Wieters to be called up or Geovany Soto to regain form then I suggest taking a shot on Torrealba because anything you can get out of your catcher is a big plus in fantasy baseball.
6) Jake Fox (Outfield) -- Cubs -- Something needs to be done about Jake Fox. What he is doing at AAA Iowa is just disgusting. I mentioned Fox earlier in the season as his power numbers began to soar very early on. I am convinced that he will eventually be a part of a trade, most likely to San Diego if Cubs ownership ever approved additional payroll needed to land Jake Peavy. But a .423/.503/.908 line with 17 HR's, 50 RBI and only 26 K's in 142 AB's cannot be ignored much longer no matter how crowded your outfield is. Fox is killing AAA right now and every day that goes bye without him being promoted (or traded!) is an embarrassment to anyone who follows baseball.
7) Dale Thayer (RHP - Reliever) -- Rays -- The impending injury/retirement of Troy Percival leaves many questions in the Rays bullpen. The guy I thought would be the closer by now, Grant Balfour has a 5.03 ERA and a 1.80 WHIP and looks nothing like his 2008 self. Enter Dale Thayer who has collected 138 minor league saves in his career and is throwing lights out this season at AAA Durham with a 0.95 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. Thayer isn't necessarily a strikeout pitcher, but he has made a living getting people out and finishing off games. The Rays are crying out for a closer to step up right now and there is a good chance that Thayer will fall into that role real soon. He already has recorded a 3 inning save in his first major league appearance so the time to acquire him is right now before the rest of the world catches on.
8) Tony Gwynn Jr. (Outfield) -- Padres -- There isn't much in his history outside of his bloodline that tells us the younger Gwynn is anything more than a marginal major league player. But, the trade to San Diego seems to have set off a mountain of momentum that I could see propelling Gwynn to his best major league season ever. He was hitting .309 with a .382 OBP in AAA this season with 15 stolen bases. Being closer to his Dad and getting everyday playing time for the franchise he grew up with is a very nice fit for a player like Gwynn. Maybe it is a sentimental pick, but anyone who knows me knows feelings never get in the way of reasonable thought. I wouldn't go out and pick up Gwynn just yet, but monitor his numbers over the next week or two. If it comes to be that he is playing everyday and getting big hits for the Padres (somebody has to, right?) then add him to your outfield. Any sort of BA or OBP along with the stolen base opportunities will make Gwynn surprisingly fantasy relevant down the stretch.
That is the Hot 8 for this week. What do you guys think? Post your comments below or email me at jeff@fantasybaseballsearch.com
