Beyond the Boxscore–Fantasy MLB News and Notes 5/23/08

The majority of the news tonight revolves around starting pitching, so let’s just get the hitting out of the way quickly.

Rangers’ catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit his second homer of the season, and he made it count. Salty went Grand Salami, and although he is hitting just over .220, he is certainly an option for those of you suffering with a crappy option at catcher. He is young, he is powerful, now he just needs some experience and confidence and he could be a tough out for years to come.

Yankees 2B Robinson Cano looks like he might be breaking out of his season long slump. Cano has five hits in the last three games, and has driven in a run in three straight games. If his owner in your league is even a little bit down on Cano, see if you can swing a deal for him now (unless you own Chase Utley of course). Cano is a great hitter and when he does bust out of this funk, he is going to fill a lot of fantasy categories.

Another 2B in the news is Florida’s Dan Uggla. Uggla continues to punish the baseball, and he is putting himself in the company with the best at his position. However, if you think he will finish the season with numbers similar to Chase Utley, I believe you will be sorely disappointed. Uggla has his average up to .320 and hit his 15^th homer of the year on Friday. His power was never a question, but I think his average will take a sharp dive in the wrong direction.

Injury News

Another great cancer survivor story came from Arizona’s Doug Davis today. Davis had surgery to remove his cancer on April 10^th, and just six weeks later is back on the mound in a major league mound. Not only that, but he pitched very well. Davis lasted seven innings, allowed just one run and struck out four. His return signals the end of Max Scherzer as part of the rotation, so Davis isn’t very popular with fantasy players, especially those in keeper leagues. Davis is an average fantasy option, and even saying that, unless you have an injury I can’t recommend picking up Davis. He has been an average starter throughout his career, and I believe he will continue to be just that.

Indians starter Fausto Carmona left his start tonight after injuring his hip covering first base. It is too soon to find out if he will miss any extended time, or any at all. Keep an eye on this situation for details.

More Pitching News

The rumors are flying again about the arrival of super prospect Clayton Kershaw for the Dodgers. The speculation comes from the fact that he was pulled after just one inning in his last start Kershaw is in line to make his next start on Tuesday, the exact time that the Dodgers would need a fifth starter again. More details if this becomes official, but right now it is still just a rumor.

Angels starter Joe Saunders continues to pitch way over his head. Saunders ran his record to 8-1 on Friday after pitching into the ninth inning against the White Sox. Saunders was almost able to go the distance, but got into a little trouble in the ninth before being relieved by K-Rod. Saunders is a guy that I would definitely try to sell high on, and after tonight’s performance, he may have made that a lot easier for you to do.

Saunders’ opponent, Gavin Floyd, was able to go the distance, although it was in a losing effort. Floyd has been a very effective pitcher in most of his starts in 2008, and his ERA is under 3.00. Floyd deserves better than his 4-3 record and is a pretty decent option if you are looking to add a pitcher.

Even with Josh Hamilton leading the world in RBI, the trade which sent him to Texas continues to look good for both teams, as Edinson Volquez continues to pitch masterful baseball. On Friday, Volquez allowed just one run over six innings and fanned 12 to actually raise his ERA to an incredible 1.34. Although he is going to have to start allowing SOME runs, Volquez should finish the season as one of the top 15 starters in the majors.

The inconsistencies from Mets’ starter Oliver Perez continue. I keep touting him as a guy who can give your team a lot of help in the second half, but unless he learns to keep these walks under control, Perez is going to hurt you more than help. On Friday, Perez allowed only two runs over five innings, but in could have been much worse if some of his eight walks were to have crossed the plate. I still like Perez, but am starting to become more and more concerned about his control, and if he can give you consistent outings each time he takes the ball on the mound.

The recent shakiness for Royals’ SP Zach Greinke finally manifested itself into a bad start for the youngster. One of the best sell high options, Greinke finally allowed more than three runs for the time all season as he allowed six runs over just five innings. For those of you who are consistent readers of this blog know that I have been waiting for this sort of outing from Greinke, and I believe there are more where this came from in the future.

The Tampa Bay Rays continue to get strong pitching, and continue to have the best season in their franchise history. Friday it was Matt Garza’s turn, and the man they got for Delmon Young didn’t disappoint. Garza went 7.1 innings, allowed just one run and struck out four. Long considered the Twins top pitching prospect, Garza has been up and down some after returning from an injury that cost him the beginning of the season. Keep your expectations under control, and you won’t be disappointed with having Garza on your roster.

As always, your questions (adds, drops, trades) and comments are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Don’t forget to check me out at mlbfrontoffice.com on Tuesdays under In The News. Also go to fantasybaseballsearch.com to find me in the Gurus Blog.

Beyond the Boxscore–Fantasy MLB News and Notes 4/24/08 Rockies closer, Liriano, Sell High, Hidden Gems, more

The top story of the day I guess is the change in the bullpen in Colorado. It was made official today that Brian Fuentes would be reinstated as Rockies closer, so all of you with Manny Corpas on your roster had better act fast (I already did). We covered in our article yesterday Corpas’ recent struggles, and they appeared to be too much for Manager Clint Hurdle to overlook. It doesn’t hurt when you have a former All-Star closer in the 8^th inning role to make that decision any easier. My guess is that Fuentes will have a pretty long leash, and unless he has a stretch like Corpas (not only blowing games, but blowing big leads), Fuentes has a good chance to close for the rest of the season.

Francisco Liriano is back????? Even a huge Liriano fan like myself is starting to have some doubts. Francisco had his worst outing as a professional as he didn’t even get out of the third inning. The A’s were piling up hits faster than Tony Soprano before Liriano was mercifully pulled from the game. I still think he will be a productive pitcher before the end of the season, but don’t expect those lights out numbers that we saw in 2006. Possibly further down the line, but for those who own him, I wouldn’t drop him yet, but you have to consider not starting him until he puts a good start up.

The Big Hurt has returned to the Bay Area. Four days after being cut by the Toronto Blue Jays Frank Thomas found a new home, or I guess it’s his old home. Thomas returns to a place where he had a very productive season of 39 HRs and 114 RBI. Not saying that I expect him to return to those numbers, but if he is somewhere that he feels comfortable, it is possible for Thomas to come close to 30 bombs and 90 ribs. If he was dropped in your league when he was dropped by the Jays, stash him if you can and see if Oakland brings out the best in him again.

Reds rookie Johnny Cueto continues to do what most rookie pitchers do. He will look like a world beater one start, and then look like he just got beaten up the next. Cueto gave up five runs and struck out only two on Thursday and his record fell to 1-2. Two things give me confidence that Cueto will be a solid starter now and beyond, and they are things you don’t normally see with rookies. He is going deep into games (he has gone at least six innings in every start), and he doesn’t walk many hitters (has walked just five in 33 innings). These are the things that get young guys into trouble, and if Cueto continues to stay away from them, he will be a strong guy to have on your roster, don’t give up on him yet.

Sell High

Josh Willingham is having quite a season for himself. After a 3-4 day on Thursday that included his fifth double and sixth homer, Willingham pushed his average to an unheard of (for him) .329. Willingham has been a solid contributor since he came into the league, but nothing like this, especially with his batting average. See if you can get a fellow owner to buy into his fast start and turn him into someone that will maintain this all season.

Angels starter Joe Saunders has been one of my sleeper picks in my drafts this year, and so far he has been paying dividends. But now I’m thinking, he’s paying off way more than I expected, can I flip him into someone more steady? After moving his record to 4-0 today, the answer may now be yes. I’m not saying I’m going to try to trade Saunders for Cole Hamels or anything, but you put a decent package together, and Saunders can no longer be just a throw away guy. But can you sweeten the pot some and get someone like Yovani Gallardo, Oliver Perez, or Roy Halladay? Not straight up, but probably not as much as you would’ve given when the season started when Saunders had little value.

Finally, Pat Burrell can not POSSIBLY keep this production going. With another double and two RBI Thursday, Burrell is now hitting .355 with eight homers and a league leading 25 batted in. Ok, his power is legit (although I still think he will just fall short of thirty for the season), but there is no way this guy is going to all of a sudden hit 100 points higher than his career average. His value will never be higher, so be smart and deal Burrell for maximum return now.

Keep An Eye On

Making his major league debut today due to illness, was Red Sox pitcher Justin Masterson. He has never pitched above AA ball, but was very effective Thursday. Masterson went six solid innings, giving up just one run and striking out four. He did walk four batters, but considering this was his first start, and it was against the Angels, he must have made a good impression with the organization if they have a need for a starter due to injury. His minor league numbers aren’t spectacular, but he looked pretty good today.

Oakland starter Greg Smith has now put four good starts together. Smith has yet to give up more than three runs, and with his easy win over the Twins today he is now 2-0. Smith went seven strong, giving up just two runs and struck out three. If you are in need of a pitcher in the short term, give him a try. I doubt he will pitch this well all season, but if you have someone injured and need a fill in, Smith could be a good choice.

The St. Louis Cardinals have a crowded outfield with capable players, but one who is showing his worth, although doesn’t play all the time is Brian Barton. Barton was the Cardinals selection in the Rule 5 Draft, which means they have to keep him on the roster all year, or else they have to give him back to the Indians. So far, Barton has given the Cards no reason to think about doing that. Barton got the start today and went 2-4 with two RBI, bringing his average to .343. With Rick Ankiel struggling, keep an eye on Barton’s playing time, if he starts getting regular playing time he would be worth adding to your roster.

Rangers’ 1B/DH Jason Botts is getting another chance in the majors. Botts is getting some at bats at DH, but also getting some starts at first for the struggling Ben Broussard. Botts has long been looked at as a good prospect because he showed great power in the minors. However, he has yet to have that transition to the big show. I wouldn’t go out and add Botts at this point, but keep an eye on that Rangers’ box score and see if he starts hitting bombs. As of right now Botts is hitting just .138 so it looks like this is just another chapter in his unfulfilled potential, he looks like he might be a 4-A guy (too good for triple A, not good enough for the majors).

Quick Hitters

Toronto 3B Scott Rolen (boy, that’s weird) is due to return to the Blue Jays lineup on Friday. I would temper my expectations right off the bat, but if you own Rolen, get him back into your lineup, just don’t look for his past production.

After being a fairly effective pitcher for St. Louis last year, Joel Piniero has been a dud this season. On Thursday, however, he showed that he belongs in the rotation. Piniero went seven, gave up just one run and K’d six. He is only to be owned by those looking for a spot start, a two-start pitcher, or in an injury emergency.

Ryan Braun might be swinging himself back into shape. Braun has eight hits in his last four games including four doubles and four ribs. Braun also stole his first base of the season and has his average up to .270. Maybe your first round pick is rounding into shape.

Sucking in Cincinnati, centerfielder Corey Patterson is hitting a robust .227 (wasn’t that an 80’s sitcom?). I’m sure they are real happy they sent Jay Bruce down to the minors to start the season, no way he could’ve helped more than Patterson. Hopefully the new GM will wise up and we will see Bruce in the near future.

Astros’ slugger Lance Berkman is having a great start to ’08. He is batting close to his weight at .325, and has six homers, 20 RBI, and four steals. He was almost in my sell high portion of the article, but he is fully capable of some big time fantasy numbers.

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.