Beyond the Boxscore–Fantasy MLB News and Notes 5/12/08

Not a full slate of games tonight, so this is going to be a quick Beyond the Boxscore tonight, quick hitters all around.

Pirates starter Zach Duke has actually thrown a few good outings in a row, after six shutout innings on Monday. However, repeat after me…..I will not pick up Zach Duke on my fantasy team, even if I currently own Barry Zito. Say that five times, and you should be safe. Duke had a great second half in his rookie year, and has been basically useless since.

Tim Hudson is putting together another consistent season. After his win Monday, Hudson now sits at 6-2 with a nice 2.54 ERA. Huddy still doesn’t strikeout enough hitters to be considered one of the elite (35 Ks in 56 IP), but he is quietly gotten himself back to a top 20 pitcher.

There were some questions coming into 2008 as to if Fausto Carmona could repeat his 2007 performance. Through the first two weeks in May, the answer is yes. Carmona threw a complete game shutout Monday and improved his record to 4-1. Like Hudson, Carmona isn’t a big strikeout pitcher, in fact he has walked twice as many as he has fanned. However, at just 24 years old he is one of the more desirable pitchers in keeper leagues.

The Indians had a doubleheader and their bullpen threw one inning. After Carmona went all the way, Cliff Lee threw nine shutout innings in a ten-inning game against Toronto. Lee was amazing again, as he struck out five and lowered his ERA to a miniscule 0.67. I still say sell high on Lee, but I now suggest to shoot higher for a trade request.

A huge “buy low” candidate is the Reds’ “ace” Aaron Harang. Somehow, Harang has a 3.32 ERA….and is 2-5. Harang has been one of the more consistent pitchers in the majors for the past few years, but has been lost from the media eye in Cincinnati. His ERA is usually in the high 3s, and has won 16 games while striking out over 200 for two consecutive seasons. See if the price tag is low for Harang in your league, he should have a good rest of the season.

We spoke recently about Jeremy Hermida starting to breakout. It isn’t just Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla powering the Marlins to the best record in the majors. Hermida is now batting near .310 with four homers and 19 RBI. Hermida always had a world of talent, but couldn’t stay healthy. Is he finally putting it all together? It appears so.

The Rays’ improbable season continued Monday thanks in large part to the seven shutout innings thrown by Matt Garza. Garza is now 2-0 since he returned from the DL, with a 3.86 ERA. He was always one of the top pitching prospects in the Twins’ organization before his trade for Delmon Young, so this could be for real that Garza could win his fair share of games for the suddenly potent Rays.

The time to buy low on Ryan Braun has now officially past. After two home runs on Sunday, Braun followed that up with two more on Monday and now has nine on the year. Another point to prove Braun’s heat is he hasn’t struck out in five consecutive games. He now should be on track to repeat last year’s statistics.

Mariners’ rookie Wladimir Balentien isn’t getting a ton of hits, but he is making the hits he does get count. Balentien hit his fourth homer of the year tonight, although his average is just .244. As with most young players, they will take you on a roller coaster of emotions and it appears Balentien will be no different. He still has plenty of pop in his bat, but will struggle with his consistency.

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 4/30/08

Welcome to the Bigs!

The Mariners sent both of their top prospects to the field tonight as they promotoed both Wladimir Balentien and Jeff Clement. Balentien started in right field, had a homer and three RBI in his debut. Clement didn’t start but came in to replace Johjima and did have a single in his only plate appearance. Balentien strikes out a lot but has had 22-25 HRs in each of the past three years in the minors, so if you need an outfielder, he may be worth the look. Clement has C eligibility in CBS leagues, but not in Yahoo. He did catch when he came into the game, so that should bring him a little closer to gaining C eligibility in all leagues.

It was also announced in Atlanta that hot prospect Jo-Jo Reyes will be called to the majors to start on Saturday and will be placed in the number four spot in the rotation. With injuries to John Smoltz, and the never ending injury to Mike Hampton, Reyes might get a long look to see if he is ready to stay in the majors. He did start ten games in the majors last year, and not only was his ERA over six, but he walked more guys than he struck out. However, he was crushing in AAA this year, so it will be interesting to see which Jo-Jo makes the trip to Atlanta.

It didn’t take Diamondbacks phenom Max Scherzer much time to make an impact in the majors. One day after not allowing a hit and striking out seven in 4.1 innings, it was announced that Scherzer will be headed into the rotation and will make his first major league start on Monday. Will the D-Backs baby him like so many other teams have done with their prized pitching prospects, or will they behave like the Tigers did with Justin Verlander, and just let him pitch? That is the $64,000 question when deciding if you want to add Scherzer.

After struggling in two straight starts, the Cincinnati Reds have decided to give rookie pitcher Johnny Cueto a couple more days between his starts. Cueto will now be starting on Tuesday, instead of Sunday, possibly costing some of you his two start status for next week. This could be just what Johnny needs to get his head back in the game.

Injury News

John Smoltz went on the 15 day DL with an injured right shoulder, but that isn’t the news of the day. Smoltz could be headed back to the bullpen as the Braves closer. Manager Bobby Cox didn’t squash the rumor when asked about it, but it does make some sense with the injury to his shoulder, maybe it is best for Smoltz to pitch hard, but limit the number of innings he throws. I’ll keep you informed on this situation as more details become available.

Alfonso Soriano will be coming off the DL tomorrow, May 1^st , after sustaining an injury apparently while doing his signature hop when he catches the ball. The Cubs have said that Soriano will continue to lead off when he comes back. Plug ‘em back in people!

Yankees struggling starter Phil Hughes was placed on the DL with a strained right oblique muscle. This could be a tricky injury for the young pitcher, as you really use your obliques when pitching. This came into the news kind of unexpectedly, so I will pass along more news as it becomes available.

Nationals closer Chad Cordero will miss the next four to six weeks with a tear in the muscle in his right shoulder. This gives those of you who vultured Jon Rauch off the wire some more time with the big guy closing games for you. Consider Rauch a low end closer, but he will be closing games none the less.

Travis Hafner has been benched but it’s hard to say right now how long it will last. Pronk is 2-16 in recent games, and manager Eric Wedge didn’t say how long it would last, but my guess is a fairly short amount of time.

Arizona pitcher Micah Owings did the impossible tonight. Ok, that’s a little dramatic. First, the D-Backs used a pitcher as a pinch hitter, what are they thinking, right? Wrong, starting pitcher Micah Owings went deep to make their manager look like a genius. Not a lot of fantasy relevance, but an interesting story nonetheless

The Dodgers announced that they might play catcher Russell Martin at third base some to give him a break from behind the mound, and to keep his bat in the lineup. He didn’t start at third, but when Blake DeWitt was lifted in a double switch, Martin ended the game at third. Obviously if you have Martin, you don’t need to use him a third. Catching talent is so thin, you wouldn’t dream to use Martin anywhere else, but the flexibility is nice once he gains 3B eligibility.

Dodgers’ second year starter Chad Billingsley finally showed what we thought to expect on Wednesday. He went seven innings, gave up just one run and struck out eight. I think he will right his ship sometime soon and begin pitching effectively, so if you have some excess baggage on your staff, find a spot for Chad

After a surprising 12-12 year as a starter last year, Braden Looper is doing it again for the Cards. Looper improved his record to 4-1 after giving up just two runs over six innings and striking out four. I only recommend looking at Looper for those who are absolutely desperate for pitching, but if he does just what he did last year, some of you would be happy with that at the end of your rotations.

Carlos Gomez and Willy Taveras both stole their league leading 11^th bases of the year. Taveras stole three on the night to get to that number, but they are both running very well to open the season. If you need SBs, obviously either of these guys would be someone to target.

I wouldn’t call him Jack Cust, but Rick Ankiel is apparently going to be another streaky slugger. After his average had dropped to .248, Ankiel had three hits for the second consecutive game, and appears to be about to go on one of his hot streaks. He has eight hits and five RBI in his last three games.

Cliff Lee went to an improbable 5-0 after giving up three runs over six innings and fanning three. He is a serious sell high candidate right now. He might have a good year, but his value will never be higher, so if you own him see what you can get for him.

Atlanta rookie Jair Jurrjens continued his great start to the season. Although he didn’t factor in the decision, Jurrjens was great again on Wednesday, going seven strong innings, in which he gave up just one run and struckout three. Even better for Jair’s owners is that he didn’t walk a batter. If he happens to be available still in your league, it is time to pick him up.

Possible middle infield fill in Placido Polanco may be breaking out of his slump to begin the season. After a great fantasy season for a second baseman last year, Polanco came into the year really struggling. But after tonight, Polanco has ten hits in his last four games, and has driven in five runs. If you have an injury to your middle infield or drafted crap at that position, consider turning to Polanco.

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.