The Hot 8: Week 6
Happy Mother's Day to all of the Mom's out there. Guys, please take care of the women in your life. Visit your Mom today, give your Wife some much needed rest and show them all how much you appreciate all they do. One day is not nearly enough for all these ladies do for us so do an extra good job on them today.
1) Chris Coghlan (2B/3B/OF) -- Marlins -- Last Tuesday I announced on Fantasy Baseball Tonight that Coghlan would be up shortly to take over for Emilio Bonifacio. Well, that day came sooner than even I expected when Coghlan was called up on Friday. He is a good OBP guy who always makes solid contact. He drives the ball to both gaps with some power. Coghlan was a first round pick in 2006, played in the Futures game in 2007 and won the Southern League All-Star Game MVP trophy in 2008. He is a very smart player with a great work ethic. The kind of player Managers love to have on their club. He has just average speed but studies pitchers well and will steal 20+ bags in a full major league season. I believe he is the Marlins answer for a leadoff hitter but in the mean time his ability to play multiple positions will keep him in the lineup quite often.
2) John Lackey (RHP - Starter) -- Angels -- It is surprising how available Lackey is in most leagues right now. Considering many leagues have a DL spot I just cannot believe people would let Lackey sit on the free agent wire this close to his eventual return. His final rehab start comes today (Sunday) for AAA Salt Lake and if it goes anywhere near how well the last one did the Angels will have him back in the rotation immediately. Lackey has always been an over-looked starter but when healthy does nothing but put up zeroes on the scoreboard and wins in fantasy owners pockets. It should also be noted that Ervin Santana is set to also be recalled after his rehab assignment this week. Both of these guys are very worthy of roster spots on your fantasy team. Getting the two of them back will also stabilize the Angels rotation enough to get them back to winning form after what has been a very difficult start to this season.
3) Josh Whitesell (First Base) -- Diamondbacks -- Just another in a long list of prospects the Washington Nationals/Montreal Expos organization let get away. Whitesell has the most important tool of any power hitting prospect and that is plate discipline. He is a patient hitter who looks for his pitch and takes a strong violent swing at what he likes. It looks as though new Arizona manager A.J. Hinch likes what he has in Whitesell and will give him plenty of opportunities to show what he can do. This will mostly come at the expense of Chad Tracy. I think the Diamondbacks still have a strong young nucleus and it will be very interesting to see what Hinch can get out of these guys that Bob Melvin just couldn't. Whitesell has tremendous upside. I can see him making a big impact in fantasy numbers such as OBP, HR, RBI and runs scored. He should also be available for OF pretty soon which makes him a valuable member of any teams bench right now.
4) Ryan Freel (3B/2B/OF) -- Cubs -- Freel was one of if not the best utility players in the league while with the Reds a couple of years ago but never was accepted after signing with Baltimore in the offseason. This trade will prove to be a difference maker for the Cubs as they now have filled a huge void that was left with the departure of Mark DeRosa. Freel will fill in immediately at 3B for the injured Aramis Ramirez who separated his shoulder and will miss nearly two months of the season. Freel is a high energy guy who gets on base and destroys left handed pitching. Freel has great speed also that will come in awfully handy in Chicago. I expect Freel to go on a tear in the next month or so as he finally is healthy and has a chance to play with a good team in a division he is very familiar with.
5) Andrew Bailey (RHP - Reliever) -- Athletics -- Brad Ziegler has been a mess lately. He has experienced elbow problems and caught a nasty case of the stomach flu over the past few weeks. Bailey meanwhile has been the A's best reliever by far this season posting a 1.27 ERA and giving up just 6 hits in 21 1/3 innings while striking out 24. While Ziegler's throwing motion and ability to get ground ball outs is good, I feel that Bailey is a better closer candidate going forward. Bailey has a unique ability to run the ball in on the hands of both lefty and righty batters. He also changes speeds on his fastball and curve which keeps hitters way off balance. He also has very good control which will limit any damage done when a hitter finally does get ahold of his pitches. Look for more save opportunities from Bailey as well as continued success as the A's setup man.
6) Matt Gamel (Third Base) -- Brewers -- Gamel will get the call up to the majors by the end of the month when the Brewers begin interleague play. I am hearing from my sources in Milwaukee that the plan is to add Gamel in time to be the DH in American League ballparks. With a stat line of .340/.425/.689 8 HR 30 RBI he simply cannot be held back for too much longer. What is most impressive about Gamel is that he is currently hitting .429 Vs. LHP and has always had success against lefties in his career. He is a pure hitter who can hit for average, power and will get on base at a solid rate. It is not a matter of IF you should pick up Gamel..it is more like WHEN should pick him up. I suggest that within the next 10 days Gamel's ownership will quadruple meaning that if you heart is set on adding a hitter of this caliber now is the time.
7) Kris Medlen (RHP - Starter) -- Braves -- Living in the shadow of Tommy Hanson ain't all that bad, just ask Kris Medlen. While everybody waits for the future ace in Hanson, all Kris Medlen has done is outperform the great one so far while pitching on the same staff in Gwinnett. Medlen is 4-0 with a 1.17 ERA and 38 K's in 30 IP. While starting pitching isn't exactly the Braves problem right now, they do have a spot occupied by Jo Jo Reyes who is filling in for Tom Glavine. Having two studs dazzling for the AAA Gwinnett team makes no sense at this point and thus my feeling is that Medlen will get a call up very soon. Medlen will be the first starter called up between now and June 1st. After June 1st, I believe the team will bring up Hanson first before Medlen. This is all due to contract structure and arbitration eligible years which is all the rage in today's game. Either way, both of these guys are worthy of being on your watch list and possibly a bench spot in NL Only leagues.
8) Jason Repko (Outfield) -- Dodgers -- Manny Ramirez is out for 50 games after a positive test for performing enhancing drugs. This leaves a big hole for the Dodgers to fill in LF and in the middle of their lineup. Xavier Paul was called up to take Manny's spot on the active roster. But I am a big believer in Jason Repko. I have followed Repko's injury prone career closer than anybody outside of his immediate family. He is a former first round pick of the Dodgers and has showed flashes of brilliance between major injuries during his eight year minor league career. This kid can hit for power, has good speed, hits for high batting average and is a plus defender in all three outfield spots. I believe that he is closer to the starting LF job in L.A. than Xavier Paul is. Obviously Juan Pierre is the immediate fill in for Manny and will get the most playing time. But I wouldn't be surprised to see Repko come up pretty soon and find his way into the lineup several times a week.
That is the Hot 8 for this week. What do you guys think? Post your comments below or email me at jeff@fantasybaseballsearch.com
1) Chris Coghlan (2B/3B/OF) -- Marlins -- Last Tuesday I announced on Fantasy Baseball Tonight that Coghlan would be up shortly to take over for Emilio Bonifacio. Well, that day came sooner than even I expected when Coghlan was called up on Friday. He is a good OBP guy who always makes solid contact. He drives the ball to both gaps with some power. Coghlan was a first round pick in 2006, played in the Futures game in 2007 and won the Southern League All-Star Game MVP trophy in 2008. He is a very smart player with a great work ethic. The kind of player Managers love to have on their club. He has just average speed but studies pitchers well and will steal 20+ bags in a full major league season. I believe he is the Marlins answer for a leadoff hitter but in the mean time his ability to play multiple positions will keep him in the lineup quite often.
2) John Lackey (RHP - Starter) -- Angels -- It is surprising how available Lackey is in most leagues right now. Considering many leagues have a DL spot I just cannot believe people would let Lackey sit on the free agent wire this close to his eventual return. His final rehab start comes today (Sunday) for AAA Salt Lake and if it goes anywhere near how well the last one did the Angels will have him back in the rotation immediately. Lackey has always been an over-looked starter but when healthy does nothing but put up zeroes on the scoreboard and wins in fantasy owners pockets. It should also be noted that Ervin Santana is set to also be recalled after his rehab assignment this week. Both of these guys are very worthy of roster spots on your fantasy team. Getting the two of them back will also stabilize the Angels rotation enough to get them back to winning form after what has been a very difficult start to this season.
3) Josh Whitesell (First Base) -- Diamondbacks -- Just another in a long list of prospects the Washington Nationals/Montreal Expos organization let get away. Whitesell has the most important tool of any power hitting prospect and that is plate discipline. He is a patient hitter who looks for his pitch and takes a strong violent swing at what he likes. It looks as though new Arizona manager A.J. Hinch likes what he has in Whitesell and will give him plenty of opportunities to show what he can do. This will mostly come at the expense of Chad Tracy. I think the Diamondbacks still have a strong young nucleus and it will be very interesting to see what Hinch can get out of these guys that Bob Melvin just couldn't. Whitesell has tremendous upside. I can see him making a big impact in fantasy numbers such as OBP, HR, RBI and runs scored. He should also be available for OF pretty soon which makes him a valuable member of any teams bench right now.
4) Ryan Freel (3B/2B/OF) -- Cubs -- Freel was one of if not the best utility players in the league while with the Reds a couple of years ago but never was accepted after signing with Baltimore in the offseason. This trade will prove to be a difference maker for the Cubs as they now have filled a huge void that was left with the departure of Mark DeRosa. Freel will fill in immediately at 3B for the injured Aramis Ramirez who separated his shoulder and will miss nearly two months of the season. Freel is a high energy guy who gets on base and destroys left handed pitching. Freel has great speed also that will come in awfully handy in Chicago. I expect Freel to go on a tear in the next month or so as he finally is healthy and has a chance to play with a good team in a division he is very familiar with.
5) Andrew Bailey (RHP - Reliever) -- Athletics -- Brad Ziegler has been a mess lately. He has experienced elbow problems and caught a nasty case of the stomach flu over the past few weeks. Bailey meanwhile has been the A's best reliever by far this season posting a 1.27 ERA and giving up just 6 hits in 21 1/3 innings while striking out 24. While Ziegler's throwing motion and ability to get ground ball outs is good, I feel that Bailey is a better closer candidate going forward. Bailey has a unique ability to run the ball in on the hands of both lefty and righty batters. He also changes speeds on his fastball and curve which keeps hitters way off balance. He also has very good control which will limit any damage done when a hitter finally does get ahold of his pitches. Look for more save opportunities from Bailey as well as continued success as the A's setup man.
6) Matt Gamel (Third Base) -- Brewers -- Gamel will get the call up to the majors by the end of the month when the Brewers begin interleague play. I am hearing from my sources in Milwaukee that the plan is to add Gamel in time to be the DH in American League ballparks. With a stat line of .340/.425/.689 8 HR 30 RBI he simply cannot be held back for too much longer. What is most impressive about Gamel is that he is currently hitting .429 Vs. LHP and has always had success against lefties in his career. He is a pure hitter who can hit for average, power and will get on base at a solid rate. It is not a matter of IF you should pick up Gamel..it is more like WHEN should pick him up. I suggest that within the next 10 days Gamel's ownership will quadruple meaning that if you heart is set on adding a hitter of this caliber now is the time.
7) Kris Medlen (RHP - Starter) -- Braves -- Living in the shadow of Tommy Hanson ain't all that bad, just ask Kris Medlen. While everybody waits for the future ace in Hanson, all Kris Medlen has done is outperform the great one so far while pitching on the same staff in Gwinnett. Medlen is 4-0 with a 1.17 ERA and 38 K's in 30 IP. While starting pitching isn't exactly the Braves problem right now, they do have a spot occupied by Jo Jo Reyes who is filling in for Tom Glavine. Having two studs dazzling for the AAA Gwinnett team makes no sense at this point and thus my feeling is that Medlen will get a call up very soon. Medlen will be the first starter called up between now and June 1st. After June 1st, I believe the team will bring up Hanson first before Medlen. This is all due to contract structure and arbitration eligible years which is all the rage in today's game. Either way, both of these guys are worthy of being on your watch list and possibly a bench spot in NL Only leagues.
8) Jason Repko (Outfield) -- Dodgers -- Manny Ramirez is out for 50 games after a positive test for performing enhancing drugs. This leaves a big hole for the Dodgers to fill in LF and in the middle of their lineup. Xavier Paul was called up to take Manny's spot on the active roster. But I am a big believer in Jason Repko. I have followed Repko's injury prone career closer than anybody outside of his immediate family. He is a former first round pick of the Dodgers and has showed flashes of brilliance between major injuries during his eight year minor league career. This kid can hit for power, has good speed, hits for high batting average and is a plus defender in all three outfield spots. I believe that he is closer to the starting LF job in L.A. than Xavier Paul is. Obviously Juan Pierre is the immediate fill in for Manny and will get the most playing time. But I wouldn't be surprised to see Repko come up pretty soon and find his way into the lineup several times a week.
That is the Hot 8 for this week. What do you guys think? Post your comments below or email me at jeff@fantasybaseballsearch.com
posted by Jeff Mans at
Sunday, May 10, 2009
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