Welcome back Salty! After being inexplicably sent down to AAA to start the season, Jarrod
Saltalamacchia is back with the Rangers. Starter Gerald Laird is still in Texas so this doesn’t necessarily mean that Salty will take the full time catching duties. He will most likely catch once or twice a week, DH some, and maybe grab some starts at first. He will most likely be grabbed quickly in your league as the news spreads, so if you have the roster spot act quickly.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, struggling Twin Francisco Liriano was sent back to Triple A to try to find that electric form again. Liriano was awful this year, and it all fell apart last night when he gave up six runs and failed to get out of the first inning. The Twins sent him down to try to get his head straight and find his control again. This is far from the end of the line for Liriano, many pitchers struggle when coming back from an injury of this magnitude, but there is no timetable for his return to the majors, so I can’t fault you for cutting ties with him, but keep an eye on his AAA performance. If he does well, he might not be gone long.
Phillies OF Shane Victorino is nearly complete with his rehab assignment as he is returning from a strained right calf. Victorino is doing well (2-3 on Wednesday), and it looks as though he will be coming off the DL when he is eligible on April 29. He may have been dropped in your league when he was injured, so take a look to see, if he’s available, I would try to find a spot for him on your roster.
Returning from the DL tonight, Rays SP Matt Garza did OK against the Red Sox. Garza threw 84 pitches over five innings, giving up three and striking out only one. There was major concern about Garza’s eligibility for the season when his injury was first diagnosed, but after tonight’s outing it looks like it is safe to put him back in your lineup.
In a shocking development, the Seattle Mariners have resigned catcher Kenji Johjima to a three year extension. This is surprising because it was assumed that they would let his contract run out and hand the catching duties to top prospect Jeff Clement next season. Clement hit 20 HRs and drove in 80 at AAA last season and is off to a good start in 2008, but this move means that Clement’s future in Seattle isn’t behind the plate, and it is now more cloudy as to when you might see him in Seattle.
In his second start after coming back from injury, Yovani Gallardo was impressive again. Yovani threw 117 pitches over seven shutout innings, and struck out five. That is just one earned run allowed over 14 innings after missing the first three weeks of the season. If by some fluke he is still available, jump all over Gallardo.
Quick Hitters
Yankees’ DH Jason Giambi has 5 HRs after his two jack game on Friday. The bad news? That is a total of just 11 hits so far in ’08 for Giambi. His fantasy relevance is all but over, and he really shouldn’t be on your roster unless you have a deep roster.
Curtis Granderson is really ripping up pitching since his return to the field. In three games, he has two homers, four ribs, and four hits. It is safe to say that Granderson is back, and belongs in the middle of your roster.
Embattled starter Ervin Santana ran his early season record to 4-0. He wasn’t great, as he gave up three runs over 6.1 innings, striking out four. Santana is showing that he might have found the stuff that made him so successful over the first few weeks of the year. Put him back in your lineup if you have him.
Dueling with Gallardo, Scott Olsen continues to be unhittable. Olsen gave up just five hits in 7.1 innings, gave up one run and walked five. He also did not strike out a batter. Continue to ride the hot hand, but beware that this streak must come to an end soon.
After not getting a save chance since being named closer, Rafael Betancourt saved his second as in as
many games Friday. No word on when Joe Borowski may return, so keep Betancourt active for the near future.
Astros’ super soph Hunter Pence is finally starting to make some noise. After starting the season batting .161, Pence has gone on a hit parade. In his last eight games Pence has 14 hits and raised his average over 100 points. He also has a homer and five RBI during that span.
As always, your questions about your team (adds, drops, trades, etc) and comments are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee an answer within 18 hours.
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I was as shocked as anyone with the Kenji extension, but this actually speeds up Clement’s track to the majors. Unless GM Bill Bavasi re-signed Kenji so that he could safely trade Clement (entirely possible, but please no) then Clement could come up sooner than later to take over full time DH duties and start learning 1B, even though he desperately wants to remain a catcher.
The NEW catcher of the future for Seattle is Adam Moore, who is currently in AA (probably AAA sooner than later if/when Clement is promoted) and projects as a vintage Michael Barrett. He’ll be more than ready when Kenji’s contract does expire or if he’s traded, and he’s certainly better defensively than Clement.
As far as Salty goes, I picked him up this morning around 4 am (after stumbling in drunk.. haha) and dropped Josh Bard. Even if he doesn’t play full-time, he should still produce better than Bard.