Fantasy Baseball 365

Brandon League Out as Mariners Closer

JoshShep50@yahoo.com (Josh Shepardson) — Sat, 26 May 2012 23:09:58 +0000

League has been dreadful this season. He has nearly as many walks, 12, as he does strikeouts, 13. His groundball rate is down significantly this year, and all-in-all, the negative peripheral stats have resulted in a 4.43 ERA and 1.62 WHIP. Unfortunately for his fantasy owners, the ugly season line isn't the result of some messy non-save work. He has fumbled away the closer role by blowing four saves in 13 chances, including two in the last 10 days. He has allowed multiple runs in three of his last four appearances, and manager Eric Wedge has decided enough is enough.

Daily Notes - The Prospect Makes Good Edition

matthewmcmillen@gmail.com (Matthew McMillen) — Thu, 24 May 2012 12:43:32 +0000

I'm going to be totally upfront and honest here. I don't know much about prospects. I'm a big league guy. I love going to minor league games and have the pleasure of living in an area where there is a NY-Penn League team, but I don't know a lot of the guys in the minors. I know the big names, the Miller's, the Bundy's, the Taillon's and d'Arnaud's, but that is about it. I'm a numbers guy, despite my ill will towards math. I can get tons of big league statistics, can't get them for the minors. If you want info on prospects talk to Josh or Charlie, or Mark. Not me.

I figure I need to get on this prospect band wagon if I'm going to succeed in this industry, so I'm looking into maybe joining a dynasty league. Take over a big league roster, each yearly draft is all minor league players. When looking at available teams in this league, and the prospects affiliated with each one, I had to do a fair bit of Googling to see how good my farm system was I may be inheriting. One name that popped up was Todd Frazier. I had never heard of him (this was a month ago). The point of all this is not only do I know who he is now, I'm sure everyone in Atlanta does too, because you see, Todd hit a walk off homer last night to cap a 2-1 victory against the Braves.

Frazier is a power bat at a power position, he has 64 AB's this season, a .250 avg and 3 HR's. A respectable rate of hitting a HR every 21 AB's or so (math wins again!), or a HR every 4 or 5 days... or to broaden it out, a little more than 1 HR every week. Look at all that math! That's currently a better pace than Alex Rodriguez, and similar pace to Kelly Johnson and Billy Butler. Not overly sexy names, but players more than useful to our game. The point is with regular playing time this guy is capable of helping out. If you have nothing better going for you, grab him and see what happens. He's hitting HR's at a better rate than Miguel Cabrera has been.

Daily Notes - The Couple of Guys Under the Radar Edition

matthewmcmillen@gmail.com (Matthew McMillen) — Wed, 23 May 2012 14:59:33 +0000

So, Adam Wainwright looked like the old Adam Wainwright last night, rattling off the complete game shutout, fanning 9, allowing only 4 hits, 1 walk. He has been mostly average so far this season, with glimpses of his old self, but last night was encouraging (understatement). Yes, this gem came against the Padres, but his next start is Sunday against the Phillies and they aren't quite the force they were of years past. Looking further ahead he draws matchups against the Mets, then Astros. The only way this stretch of games could be any better is if the Pirates were thrown in somewhere, but alas, this isn't a perfect world. This could be just the thing Waino needs to get his groove back. Don't overlook those Astros too much though... Jed Lowrie could kill you.No joke, for now anyway.

Lowrie has a WAR of 0.7 over the last 7 days, tied for highest in baseball. Over that stretch he has a .360 AVG with 3 HR's, 5 Runs and 6 RBI. Eligible at 3B and SS he is the 41st ranked player in Yahoo! at the moment and he is only owned in 51% of leagues. By now I hope you have given up on Alexei Ramirez, Erik Aybar or Jhonny Peralta and grabbed him. Heck, if you read this paragraph before doing it, it's probably too late.

If anyone is still feeling love not yet completely numb from burns season after season, Gordon Beckham is once again showing signs of his potential, with 3 HR's and a .280 avg over the last week. Ride the streaks folks.

Twins Getting a Spark & Other AL Notes

mark.schruender@gmail.com (Mark Schruender) — Sun, 20 May 2012 03:05:21 +0000

The Twins have been desperate for wins all season and now have won four in a row. A huge reason for their success has been the emergence of Brian Dozier at shortstop and the pitching of Scott Diamond and P.J. Walters. All of whom were recently called up from Triple-A Rochester. Diamond has been a trendy name over the last couple of days because of the numbers, but I like Dozier a little more for fantasy purposes. In a year in which shortstop is kind of a down position, Dozier could be a good player to grab during a streak or a series of favorable matchups. His average won't kill you and he has 10/10 potential. Diamond has seen a dramatic increase in his K:BB rate this season, but I'm not entirely sold.

Out with the old in with the new in the outfield for the Angels. Mike Trout, Peter Bourjos, and Mark Trumbo all started tonight.
Lots of injury notes in Oakland. Brett Anderson is ahead of schedule but had a recent setback, Coco Crisp could be back tomorrow, and Yoenis Cespedes will not be activated when eligible to come off the DL on Tuesday.
Adrian Beltre's hamstring issue is almost to the point where it is no longer an issue.
Jesus Montero busted out of a slump for the Mariners. He attributed his 3-hit day to an at-bat in which he drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch early in the game.
As soon as the swelling goes down, Paul Konerko will be back on the field for the White Sox. The shiner he got from Jeff Samardzija is worth a look for the boxing fans.
Detroit will be without Jose Valverde for at least another couple of days. Austin Jackson also figures to be out of the starting lineup for Sunday's action.
The Royals have already had 8 different starting pitcher and 14 different relievers through 37 games played this season. That won't change this year given that the team won't be adding a veteran.
Jeanmar Gomez has a 1.09 WHIP this season after another quality start on Saturday. He's had one bad outing in the eight appearances he's made this season (7 starts) and if we throw out that one bad outing he has a 1.77 ERA.
It's possible that Desmond Jennings could be back on May 27th when he's eligible to return. Joe Maddon said the club has not decided if he needs at-bats in the minors first.
Brandon Morrow has looked as good as any pitcher on the planet over the last month including Justin Verlander. Morrow threw a complete game 3-hitter Saturday and has not allowed more than an earned run in his last six starts. It's stories like this that inspire people to actually believe in xFIP.
The Red Sox might not have to make a decision on Daisuke Matsuzaka by May 23rd when his rehab schedule is supposed to be complete.
Adam Jones is on pace for more than 110 RBI, 120 runs scored, and 55 home runs. Yes, it is time to sell high.
Alex Rodriguez has 1 home run in his last 72 at-bats. Hank Aaron's Barry Bonds' record appears safe.

Buy Low: Stars Still Struggling

cs.fb365@gmail.com (Charlie Saponara) — Sun, 20 May 2012 07:00:00 +0000

We’re not “early in the season” anymore, but, then again, we aren’t exactly deep into the season either. There are a number of high round draftees still struggling to find their way and put forth the numbers that their fantasy GMs were expecting. Because of their track record, on top of current peripheral stats, these players make for great buy-low targets.

Deep League Stash Options: A Couple of Old Guys

JoshShep50@yahoo.com (Josh Shepardson) — Sat, 19 May 2012 21:17:21 +0000

This is usually a popular time of year for fantasy pundits to discuss which hot prospects are worth stashing in the hopes of an early summer promotion. I am often one of those fantasy baseball writers driving the hype train on prospects. However, in an unusual turn of events, a couple of older veterans may be worth stashing instead of the youngsters. Manny Ramirez will be taking cuts for Triple-A Sacremento starting tonight, while he continues to serve his suspension for a failed drug test. Meanwhile, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, Roy Oswalt has thrown bullpen sessions for the Phillies and Red Sox, and he appears on the verge of picking a contender to play for in 2012.

Brett Lawrie Gets 4 Game Suspension

mark.schruender@gmail.com (Mark Schruender) — Wed, 16 May 2012 22:31:09 +0000

Brett Lawrie was handed a four game suspension for throwing his helmet, but will appeal the decision. Although Lawrie was quoted as saying he needs to explain his side of the story, Metta World Peace would argue that he could have thrown the helmet in a lot of other directions. The video justifies a 4-game suspension. In terms of the violence involved with this situation this is as bad as Carl Everett's head-butting episode 13 years ago. Lawrie really chucked the helmet. He was absolutely justified in erupting (it was a ball), but as a young player he needs to find a better way to let his aggression out. Lawrie is having a good year although he is not on pace for a 20/20 season as almost everyone thought he would have. Here are some other quick notes:

Mound Musings: The Former Fantasy Aces Edition

JoshShep50@yahoo.com (Josh Shepardson) — Tue, 15 May 2012 21:41:33 +0000

It's hard to believe, but we're already approaching the quarter pole for the regular season. With that in mind, it's time to try and determine which hot starts are sustainable, and which aren't. Two former fantasy aces have gotten off to hot starts, and one pitcher's sizzling start to the season looks more believable than the other.

All PITCHf/x data courtesy BrooksBaseball.net

Daily Notes - The Orioles Dropped Bombs Edition

matthewmcmillen@gmail.com (Matthew McMillen) — Fri, 11 May 2012 12:47:04 +0000

OK, so the Orioles hitting three homers in a row to open a game may not be extremely fantasy relevant, but it's neat and hasn't been done before. All said and done, they hit five homers as a team in the first game of the double header. Sure teams have hit more, and Strasburg's 13 K's in 6 innings is more impressive, but I couldn't resist the urge to make a bird poop joke in today's headline. On to the bullets...

Daily Notes - The OMG A Prospect Was Called Up Let's Add Him Edition

matthewmcmillen@gmail.com (Matthew McMillen) — Thu, 10 May 2012 11:56:06 +0000

It happens on a regular basis. Hot hitting prospect in the minors gets attention, a big league player gets hurt and opens the door, said prospect joins the big league club, fantasy owners flock to get him. Happened earlier this year with Mike Trout and Bryce Harper, the much lesser known Kirk Nieuwenhuis came up the 2nd or 3rd day of the season and has played fantastic ball since. More often than not, said prospect struggles (Belt and Rizzo last year are prime examples). Last night, Scott Van Slyke threw his name into the hat.

Son of former All Star Andy Van Slyke, Scott was batting .336 with eight homers and 25 RBI in 32 games for AAA Tucson. Those numbers put him near the top of the leader boards in the PCL (his eight HR are second behind the aforementioned Rizzo). He was 6th in OPS sporting a 1.034 mark. We all take PCL stats with a grain of salt due to it's rep as a hitters league, however Van Slyke has two things working in his favor for a chance to succeed at the next level. Pedigree and combination of injury/poor performance ahead of him. He was called up because Juan Rivera has hit the DL with a severe hamstring strain or tear. We we learned from players like Jose Reyes, or going a little further back, Ken Griffey Jr. hammies can take more than 15 days to come back from. The Dodgers still have Tony Gwynn and Jerry Hariston (two other players with pro fathers, coincidentally) to play in the outfield, but Van Slyke can also play first base, which means the only person standing in front of him is James Loney. The same James Loney who is batting .213. The same James Loney who has a May OPS of .668 the last three years. The same James Loney who has a manager threatening his playing time should he continue to struggle.

If you are in a league that is NL only, or deep with weekly lineup changes, I would make the add and take a wait and see. He was raking in AAA so we know he can hit, it's just a matter of how much playing time he is going to get. Him slotting into 1B as well as OF only helps him, and I would imagine his pinch-hit-rbi-single in his first MLB at bat last night made a good impression.

Daily Notes - The Josh Hamilton Is Pretty Good Edition

matthewmcmillen@gmail.com (Matthew McMillen) — Wed, 09 May 2012 11:54:44 +0000

Last night Josh Hamilton added his name to the baseball record books. He picked up 18 total bases in a game while going 5-for-5 with 4 HR's and a double. Hamilton's talent is never in question, just his health. Right now he is healthy and tearing it up. He has corrected his day night split problem from years past with special eye drops he uses before day games. He is living up to the contract year mythos in a big way. If you are an owner, enjoy it. If not, his value is probably too high right now to obtain him at a reasonable price. I mentioned a little while back I had him in a keeper league and traded him. Do I have remorse about it? Some. Not because he is still on fire, but because Hamilton is one of my favorite players (Yes, grown men can still have favorite players). I stil enjoy my team, but I miss seeing Hamilton's name on my daily roster. I parted ways with him for Joey Votto and Roy Halladay. I still think I got the better end of the deal in the long run, but after last night's performance if someone really wanted to pry him away via trade, is it even possible (realistic?) to give up more than the first and 2nd round picks I obtained for him? Probably not. If you have the resources to make such a move, don't. Sit tight. In fact, pre set your line ups for the next 3 weeks and lock up your computer. Better yet, have a trusted friend take it away. You need to be protected from yourself. There is a good chance Hamilton gets hurt in that time anyway.

Trade Will Middlebrooks now!

cs.fb365@gmail.com (Charlie Saponara) — Wed, 09 May 2012 00:33:44 +0000

Were you one of the fantasy GMs savvy enough to snag Will Middlebrooks? Good for you! Now trade him as soon as you can!

There is no questioning that Middlebrooks is a skilled ballplayer. He put up a .302/.345/.520 line with 18 home runs in 397 plate appearances at Double-A last season and started the 2012 season on fire, tearing up Triple-A pitching to the tune of a .333/.380/.677 line with nine home runs in 100 plate appearances. Since being called to The Show, he hasn't exactly slowed down...at all. Coming into today, Middlebrooks was hitting .381/.380/.952 (no, that's not a .952 OPS, that's a .952 SLG!) with three long balls in only 22 plate appearances (he doubled in his first at-bat as I started writing this).

Daily Notes - The Talk About Pitching Edition

matthewmcmillen@gmail.com (Matthew McMillen) — Tue, 08 May 2012 12:07:47 +0000

There are a couple things that piqued my interest yesterday. So much in fact, I couldn't decide what to focus on for the main point of this mornings article. So rather than short change any of my thoughts (looking to give you your full penny's worth) I'm just going to kind go on and see where it take me.

First up, the Cole Hamels suspension. I'm not going to go into the reasoning for the suspension, that doesn't matter. I want to focus on the actual act of suspending. I feel that suspending pitchers is a joke. He has a five game suspension. So pretty much that means he pitches on an extra day of rest. It's dumb. it's not a punishment. If a position player is suspended for 3 or 5 games, he actually misses 3 or 5 games. A starting pitcher only plays once every 5 games, so in essence he is suspended for games he wasn't scheduled to be in anyway. If a player is going to be suspended from games, he needs to be suspended from games he is actually going to have an impact on. I'm not a lawyer so I don't know what kind of language the rule needs, or how to make the players union and MLB agree to it, but for a starting pitcher to be suspended and have it be an actual punishment, he needs to miss a couple turns through the rotation or something. Now, all that being said, I own Hamels on my 2nd place Blog Wars team, and I'm pumped that he will be able to pitch this week in the weekly lineup format we use.

Next Item on the agenda; Carlos Zambrano, another player on my Blog Wars team. I grabbed him with my 2nd to last pick in the draft. The definition of draft lotto ticket, he has paid dividends so far. This week (a two start week) is the first I am actually using him in my lineup. He has a rep for not being the most stable guy in the club house, but neither is his manager. The Ozzie and Carlos marriage is one I figured would work, and to this point everyone has to be happy. He picked up his first win last night, a complete game 3 hit shutout in which he struck out 9 Astros. It was his 5th quality start in a row. There is a lot to like about him this year. His K/9 is up from last year while his BB/9 are down. His ground ball rate is back to where it was when he was the ace of the Cubs staff from '03-'06/'07. His current swinging strike rate is the highest it's been since 2001. Looking at his Heat Maps on Fangraphs, he has the off-speed stuff working, keeping his slider in on righties and the change up low and in on lefties. Both pitches are avoiding the strike zone and batters are chasing. I haven't been able to watch any of this games, but I imagine it pitches are heading for the zone then breaking out of it forcing the batter to swing. At this point he has earned some trust despite the level of competition in his quality start streak. (HOU, WSH, ARI, SF, HOU again).

Sell High on Paul Konerko?

cs.fb365@gmail.com (Charlie Saponara) — Tue, 08 May 2012 05:13:19 +0000

36-year-old Paul Konerko is off to a tremendous start this season, hitting .347/.426/.614 with six bombs, 14 runs, and 17 RBI. His value might never be higher.

Paulie has hit over .300 for the past two seasons and he’s off to a great start in 2012. However, it’s highly unlikely that he will sustain a BABIP over .360. The question is, when his AVG drops, how far will it go? Konerko has a rather high 19.4-percent HR/FB rate, yet a rather low fly-ball rate, a stat that has been trending down for a couple of years now. Another trend has been Konerko’s rise in line-drive rate, which seems to be continuing this season as well.

Last season, Konerko had a fantascit first half of the season, hitting .319/.390/.564 with 22 home runs. However, he faded big-tme in the second half, hitting .272/.385/.447 with only nine home runs.

Because of his age and the possibility that he will fade a bit in the second half as he did last season, it’s worth shopping him around. However, if the price isn’t right, he’s a solid hold.

The Brewers & The Rest of the Walking Wounded

mark.schruender@gmail.com (Mark Schruender) — Tue, 08 May 2012 01:37:47 +0000

It has been a crazy week for injuries. The Great Mambino is back for their weekly installment of fantasy knowledge. Here's an excerpt from thier work:

What's happening in the water in major metropolitan cities across the US? Has the trace amount of fluoride in the tap just suddenly started to disintegrate tendons in your joints? Does pine tar gain the properties that destroys calcium in your bones? I'm not sure exactly what's causing our favorite athletes to drop faster than Charles Barkley does names on TNT. Let's take a look at who exactly went on the 15-day DL this week, how it'll affect their team, but most importantly, how it's going to affect YOUR fantasy team.

OF Carlos Gomez, SS Alex Gonzalez and 1B Mat Gamel, The Good Land Brewers

All in a week, three Milwaukee starters went down with leg injuries, including Gomez with a strained hamstring, Gonzalez with a right knee injury and Gamel with a torn ACL. Extremely bad news for a Brewers team that's already under .500 and trying to get their postseason mojo back after losing Prince Fielder to free agency and trying to escape Ryan Braun's cheatery scandal.

The problem here isn't so much that these guys are integral parts to the Milwaukee offense; Gomez was an above-average player, while Gamel and Gonzalez were giving the Brewers replacement-level production. Nor was it that they had any particular upside as the season went on. The real hurdle to their absences, especially a season-ending injury like Gamel's, is that the players replacing them are indicative of Milwaukee's lack of depth. Two punchless hitters in SS Cesar Izturis and 1B Travis Ishikawa are now the starters, and an under-achieving OF Nyjer Morgan is replacing a cresting Carlos Gomez. Sure, Gamel, Gonzalez and Gomez weren't All-Stars or highly productive hitters, but at least they were decent, rather than the below replacement-level stink performed by their understudies. All in all, a devastating week for Milwaukee.

Fantasy Spin: None of these three are worth even holding on your DL spot, unless you're in a very deep mixed league or NL-only league (in Gamel's situation, he's a must-drop for everyone). Their replacements aren't worth picking up either, so if you owned anyone that I just talked about, you're pretty much screwed. Sorry.

For more on the many injuries over the past week check out the rest of their article.

Daily Notes - The Albert Pujols Gets On the Board Edition

matthewmcmillen@gmail.com (Matthew McMillen) — Mon, 07 May 2012 13:46:03 +0000

It finally happened. After 111 AB's, Pujols finally went yard. I don't have any experience as a big league hitter, but I can imagine this is a sizable burden that has been lifted off him. Hopefully with that out of the way he can relax and get back on his game. He still has the 10th worst OBP and 20th worst AVG in baseball among regulars, but as outlined last week, he is a prime buy low candidate and despite the slow start still projects for close to 30 HR's.

Daily Notes | Time to Drop Rickie Weeks?

mark.schruender@gmail.com (Mark Schruender) — Sun, 06 May 2012 04:26:29 +0000

I dropped Rickie Weeks in a 12-team mixed league this weekend to pick up Ernesto Frieri (more on Frieri in the notes portion). Weeks is now hitting .180 on the season. He has struck out 32 times in his 100 at-bats and has just a 12% line drive rate - by far the worst of his career. Although he has the tools to be an impact player without hitting for average, those tools haven't really been there to date. I ranked him way too high in the preseason and got caught with him way too early in the draft, but it's time to look at other options.

Jose Altuve has already has 5 steals which is halfway to what Weeks has averaged for the full season in each of the past two seasons. Jason Kipnis is in the midst of making the jump from potential to player. Veterans Kelly Johnson and Omar Infante are not the most appetizing names out there, but both players have gotten off to solid starts.

Weeks is still hitting leadoff for the Brewers and the season is only one-sixth complete, but if you would not pick up a player with Weeks' numbers on free agency then don't let his past reputation prevent you from improving your team. Weeks is not worthy of being owned in a mixed league.

Down on the Farm: April's Hottest Minor League Pitchers

JoshShep50@yahoo.com (Josh Shepardson) — Sun, 06 May 2012 00:01:28 +0000

The calendar has turned to May, and I took a look at the minor's hottest hitters in April a few days ago. There were also a number of pitchers that had outstanding Aprils. In fact, there were entirely too many to give everyone their proper due. With that in mind, I tended to slant toward starting pitchers that pitched more than 20 innings. There is only one starting pitcher, a special prospect, who failed to eclipse 20 innings and still found their way into this article. All stats were current as of May 1, so the statistics illustrate each pitcher's work in the month of April.

Daily Notes - The Possible End Of An Era Edition

matthewmcmillen@gmail.com (Matthew McMillen) — Fri, 04 May 2012 12:17:16 +0000

Last night in Kansas City, Mariano Rivera collapsed in a heap of agony on the warning track after chasing down a fly ball during batting practice. As he was running it down, he tweaked his knee, hit the wall, then hit the ground. After being carted off the field, there was an actual game played, but I don't think anyone was really paying attention until the late innings, wondering what would happen in the event of a pinstripe save opportunity. That never happened.

Checking the headlines this morning, it seems that Mo has a torn ACL. He is certainly out for the remainder of the season, and this could possibly be the end of his career, which is sad. I'm a Mets fan and hate the Yankees, but Rivera is an icon, gentleman, and one of the games finest players and people of all time. No one wants to see him go out like this. That being said, we still have to look at our options, much like Girardi did. Two names come to mind, and one more so than the other.

David Robertson is the first add I would make if he is still available in your league. In 11 innings this year, he has yet to give up an earned run, has a K/9 over 14, and a WHIP checking in at 0.91. Choice two, Rafael Soriano, has closing experience, notching 27 saves as a Brave in 2009, then 45 with the Rays in 2010. Despite two wins this year, his WHIP is a less than desirable 1.89, an xFIP of 4.55 and a tERA over 5.00... So to recap, Robertson is Plan A, Soriano Plan B. We won't know for sure until Girardi tells us, or we see it, which is mildly annoying, but at least this is a better picture than the mess that is the Cubs, or the mystery that Robin Ventura dangled in front of us all spring.

Daily Notes - The We Got Lots Goin On Edition

matthewmcmillen@gmail.com (Matthew McMillen) — Thu, 03 May 2012 11:47:08 +0000

Where to begin with all the action and surprises in baseball last night? Weaver? Harper? Lynn? This is too much to process in one paragraph. It's a quick jump into bullets today.

Jared Weaver was a walk and a passed ball away from perfection last night, but had to settle for the 9th no hitter in Angels history last night. It would have been the 5th, but some dude named Nolan Ryan had to be selfish and throw four of them.
Bryce Harper had a clutch 3 hit night that included two doubles and 2 runs scored. One double came in the 9th and was a table setter for Ian Desmond to hit a game winning HR. Despite less experience, Harper is currently winning the battle of the top prospect performances over Mike Trout so far.
Lance Lynn is the first 5 game winner in the NL this year. Who saw that coming? He was originally slated to be the odd man out when Chris Carpenter returns from the DL. Lynn has an ERA of 1.60 and a 0.77 WHIP. Inducing a grounder 56% of the time, he should see continued success if he can maintain his stellar walk rate (1.86 BB/9)