Jeff Francoeur has injected some offense into the pathetic Mets' lineup. Tonight against the Nats Frenchy had three hits including a homer and drove in three runs. Since being traded by the Braves on July 10th, he now has eight RBI in seven games. You would think as the Mets start to get healthier and there are some better players around him, Francoeur's numbers should increase. However, I am not saying go run out and get him, but if you have an injury or someone who REALLY is making you mad, he could be a decent option. I picked him up in one league that I am in with 16 teams in it and he is one of my starters.
For those of you in deep leagues where you might own Rodrigo Lopez, he pitched well again, but I think his time in the Phillies rotation might be short lived. He allowed just one run over six innings and struck out five against the Cubs, which is pretty impressive. With Hamels, Happ, Moyer, and Blanton set in stone, Lopez time might be short after the signing of Pedro Martinez. The Phillies are also usually in the lead when rumors of trades of Roy Halladay are being discussed, so it seems this moment in the sun will be short lived. If you have been counting on him, I suppose you should do so until he implodes or he is removed from the rotation. He did have a couple of good years for Baltimore a while back, but I am not expecting this pitching to continue.
David Hernandez has pitched pretty well under the radar for the Orioles. He allowed just a home run to the Yankees on Monday, and that was to Eric Hinske. In six starts, Hernandez has allowed more than three runs only once, although his strikeout numbers are a little lower than you would like with 21 in 38 innings pitched. There is a certain amount of risk with Hernandez because he is young, and the fact that he pitches for the Orioles means he won't get a ton of wins in that division. But he has now pitched reasonably well against the Yankees, Angels, and Tigers this season, so he might be worth a look in deeper leagues.
Tommy Hanson had his first double digit strikeout game tonight, a nice bounce back after allowing four runs in five innings his last time out. He also went seven innings for the second time in three starts, which is also nice to see a young guy start to be able to pitch deeper into games. I don't think I need to tell you to start Hanson every time he takes the mound, but if you are having any doubts, here goes..........Be sure you start Tommy Hanson every time out! There you go.
Johnathan Sanchez made his first start since throwing his no hitter, and had another pretty decent start. It was a long way from another no hitter, but considering how he was throwing before that, anyone who picked him up should be happy with it. Sanchez allowed three runs over six innings, walked three and struck out eight. He's not going to carry your team by any means, but if he can keep the ERA under control, Sanchez has always been good for the Ks.
Frank Francisco's latest trip to the DL is due to pneumonia. The move was made retroactive to July 11th, which means he is eligible to come back this Sunday, July 26th. C.J. Wilson will close in his absence
After hearing that Carlos Quentin would need a week to get back into shape to play actual games, he showed up tonight activated from the Disabled List and in the lineup for the Sox. He was able to get one hit in his return.
Nelson Cruz has a slightly fractured finger, but he is going to attempt to play through it. He should be back in the lineup tomorrow. Brandon Phillips had a similar injury, and he was able to play through the pain.
Mets' prospect Jonathon Niese looks to be in line for the start that Fernando Nieve would be taking except that he was the latest Met to hit the DL. Niese has been great in the minors lately (5-0, 0.72 ERA in his last seven starts), but he has struggled in the majors when the Mets have given him a chance.
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 the info and craziness we can pack into one hour. A can't miss if you plan on winning your league.
Depending on how my celebration of the Fourth of July holiday goes, there may not be an article tomorrow. I wish you all a happy, safe holiday.
Manny Ramirez returned to the lineup for the Dodgers on Friday, and went 0/3 with a walk. Obviously if you didn't have him in tonight, get him back in your lineups tomorrow. Just a question. Why does everyone still love Manny while guys like Clemens, McGwire, and Bonds are ostracized from the society of baseball? I'm not defending those other guys, but why has Manny come back to such fanfare when we have a positive test on him, while the others are just a mountain of circumstanial evidence?
Jorge Posada was out of the lineup for the second straight game after sustaining a bruised thumb on Wednesday. It doesn't appear that this will be anything that will keep him out of the lineup for much longer. It is even possible that he will return on Saturday.
Carlos Quentin will begin his rehab assignment on Saturday as he hopes to return from the Disabled List before the All-Star Break. He will start out slowly and won't even play the entire game right away. But it appears that Quentin will be back soon, which is good for those of us who have been stashing him for quite a while now.
Ryan Doumit played his first rehab game on Friday, and is likely that he will be back with the Pirates in a week or so. He will play three games in rookie ball before advancing to AAA for four or five games. Doumit caught five innings tonight and was 0-2 with a walk. He was dropped in many leagues, if he's out there and you have any issue at the catcher position I would pick him up to give him a chance. I know a broken wrist is a tough injury to come back from, but there are so few good catchers that he is worth the risk.
Edwin Encarnacion returned for the Reds tonight and hit a long impressive double nearly off the wall against Ryan Franklin. In his rookie year, Encarnacion did hit 26 homers, but that fell to 16 in 2008. He is not a guy that I have ever had a lot of confidence in, but like Doumit there aren't a ton of good options at third base and if you need any help that is the only way that I would consider him.
Raul Ibanez is feeling better but his groin is still not 100% so he hasn't started his rehab assignment just yet. It is looking now that he won't be back until after the All-Star Break, although he likely will begin his rehab assignment sometime in the next three to five days.
Alex Rodriguez homered for the third time in four games, and the fifth time in the last eight contests. He has raised his average nearly 30 points in the last seven games, and for all of you who were thinking of selling him cheap, this is the kind of streak that he is capable of. Despite all the drama and distraction, A-Rod is one of the best hitters in all of baseball, and will hit 40 home runs again in 2009.
Rodrigo Lopez had his first start in the major leagues since 2007, and he certainly made the most of it. Lopez allowed just two runs over 6.1 innings and struck out four. He did have a couple of good years early in his career, but he had elbow trouble that seriously derailed his progress. Lopez didn't have a start for nearly two years for a reason. Don't fall into the trap of grabbing a guy after one decent start. Let someone else make that mistake.
Shin-Soo Choo was a triple short of a cycle tonight, and that included two home runs. Choo is quickly becoming one of the more productive draft picks of the year. He is now hitting .301, has hit 12 homers, stolen 13 bases, and has driven in 53 runs with his seven RBI game on Friday. While I think that he will continue to produce at a similar rate, if you can trade him away for a proven power hitting run producer I would certainly do it. Choo is a good player, but I would try to shop him around to see if someone will bite on something they shouldn't.
Homer Bailey had a much better start his second time out, but I still urge you to stay away from him unless there is a sense of desperation with your pitching staff. Bailey allowed just two runs over 7.1 innings and struck out five. The best part was that he only walked two, after allowing seven free passes last time out. He has had a handful of decent starts in his career, so I am not putting too much stock in this one. Unfortunately for him, the bullpen imploded so he doesn't even get a win to show for his great effort.
Frank Francisco bounced back from his blown save on Thursday and converted an easy one tonight. Francisco collected save number 13 against Tampa Bay without giving up a hit and striking out one. I still believe that he will be an elite closer in the second half, much like he was up until his shoulder woes started. If for some crazy reason he was dropped, pick him up immediately.
Ervin Santana is really starting to frustrate his owners now. Including Friday, four of his last six starts have been awful. He gave up the booty again tonight, allowing four earned runs over only four innings, walked three and struck out five. His ERA on the season is now a whopping 7.43 and his WHIP is a terrible 1.90. Now the big question is what should you do with Santana. Unfortunately, I truly believe that this is a case by case kind of decision. If you have someone in your free agent pool that can be considered a quality pitcher, I would likely let Santana go. If you are just picking up another average retread, hold on to Santana and hope that he turns things around. He has more talent than Kenshin Kawakami, Ross Ohlendorff, and Carl Pavano.
Mailing List
I'm not going to stop bringing up the mailing list until I get a day where I don't get a request to join it. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, when I find news earlier in the day I will send an email to you about whatever it might be. If you were on the mailing list you would have found out about the callups of Matt Wieters, Fernando Martinez, Nolan Reimold and others. The trade of Nate McLouth, and injuries to Jose Reyes, etc. This mailing list is your way to get a step up on your competition. Anyone who is on the list, please leave a comment below on whether you think that you have benefitted from the list. Send an email to either fantasybaseballtonight@gmail.com or fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com and put Mailing List in the subject line.
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 the info and craziness we can pack into one hour. A can't miss if you plan on winning your league.
Josh Beckett has officially caught fire. He has now won six of his last seven decisions, and with the complete game shutout tonight, has not allowed even a run in four of his last six starts. He now also has 88 strikeouts in 91 innings, so he is really helping you in that category as well. Beckett is really prone to wild streaks, so this could turn around and he could get cold again. However, he is one of the more talented pitchers in baseball, so continue to start him with confidence.
I was going to write about Luis Valbuena yesterday, but decided against it at the last minute. Apparently, he didn't like that so he went out and got my attention today. He had three hits on Saturday, including two home runs, his third in the last two games. In the last four games he has eight hits and has driven in seven runs. Yahoo lists Valbuena at 5'10" and 190 pounds, but I have also seen him listed at 165 pounds. Those are not the kind of dimensions that scream power hitter to me, so you shouldn't be expecting this to continue. In a short term injury situation, or if you have a spot where you just pick up the hot guy, I think Valbuena qualifies. He is not the second coming of Hanley Ramirez however.
Jhonny Peralta had his third consecutive two hit game, and his first homer in over two weeks. All of you know I came into the season with big hopes for Peralta, and they have now switched to high hopes for Peralta after the All-Star Break. He has only had small spurts of production this season, so if he is out there, I couldn't say that I would send you running to the waiver wire. I do think that he will outperform Mr. Valbuena above, so if they are both out there I would consider him first, unless you just want to play the hot guy.
James Shields had one of the better starts of his season on Saturday against the Mets, but it was interrupted by rain. He had only thrown 87 pitches through seven innings when the game was delayed, and likely would have kept going. But he did allow only one run, didn't walk a batter, and struck out four. I have been down on Shields this year, as he hasn't seemed like the same pitcher he had been the past couple of years. You can say that about the entire Rays rotation. But he is definitely capable of having an outing like this most times he goes to the mound. He should be better than he has been this year, perhaps this is the start of a nice roll.
Mat Gamel has started to get regular playing time, and he is showing what his bat is capable of. He hasn't been knocking the ball out of the park, but he is definitely hitting. He was 2/3 today with a triple and two walks, and has seven hits in the last five days. I would definitely like to see him start to drive the ball over the fence, and drive in some runs, but it is good to see him making contact. The power will be arriving shortly if they keep him out there.
Delmon Young is starting to grab my interest just a little. The former elite prospect who has yet to get anywhere near his expectations. But he does have three hits in the last two games, and hit his second homer of the season on Saturday. Now don't take this as advice to run out and grab him. However, sometimes rookies struggle to find their way when they initially come up to the majors. Perhaps this is the start of Delmon settling in and he will start to be productive.
Congratulations to Gordon Beckham on his first major league home run. The kid is hitting more and more, and has started to sneak into my thoughts of actually starting him in the two leagues I own him in. In daily transactions I would likely try to find a spot for him, but I don't think I trust him enough yet for those of you who only set your rosters once a week. That could possibly change in recent times.
Scott Podsednik is back with the White Sox, back to the top of the lineup, and back to hitting and stealing again. He has spent the past few seasons mostly in the trainer's room, but right now he is healthy and back to his old ways. This is a guy who stole 212 bases over a four year span from 2003-2006. However, it wasn't just injury that limited his playing time in recent years, he wasn't effective much when he was in there. If you need speed or have a rotating spot he might be worth a shot, but I am not drinking the Kool-Aid on Podsednik just yet.
FINALLY!!!!! Russell Martin got that goose egg out of his home run category, now if he can only get his batting average out of the .240s perhaps he could be worth the draft pick you spent on him. I'd say hopefully he will improve when Manny comes back into the lineup, but it wasn't like he was doing good then either. Keep him in your lineups though, Martin is better than this, there should be a hot streak in his future.
Frank Francisco will be activated from the Disabled List, and hopefully this time it is for good. However, Manager Ron Washington did say that he wouldn't use Francisco as a closer right out of the chute. So, if you see him in the seventh or eighth inning in his first couple of outings, don't freak out or think he's lost his job.
Diasuke Matsuzaka will be skipped his next time through the rotation I guess to give him a little more rest to see if he can get straight again. Matsuzaka will also be examined by team doctors to be sure that nothing is wrong with him. Hold your breath Dice-K owners. I'm not saying something is wrong, but he's been unusually bad. He could just need a rest, or could be something worse.
Coco Crisp could be facing season ending surgery if he has a torn labrum in his shoulder. It could be a rotator cuff injury, but he will be examined in the next couple of days to pinpoint exactly what the injury is. While Crisp is no great fantasy player, he was useful from time to time this season.
Mailing List
I’m not going to stop bringing up the mailing list until I get a day where I don’t get a request to join it. For those of you who haven’t seen it yet, when I find news earlier in the day I will send an email to you about whatever it might be. If you were on the mailing list you would have found out about the callups of Matt Wieters, Fernando Martinez, Nolan Reimold and others. The trade of Nate McLouth, and injuries to Jose Reyes, etc. This mailing list is your way to get a step up on your competition. Anyone who is on the list, please leave a comment below on whether you think that you have benefitted from the list. Send an email to either fantasybaseballtonight@gmail.com or fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com and put Mailing List in the subject line.
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 the info and craziness we can pack into one hour. A can’t miss if you plan on winning your league.
