Archive for June, 2009

The Daily Dirt for Tuesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 30th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Nationals made an interesting trade, swapping outfielders Nyjer Morgan for Lastings Milledge with Joel Hanrahan also going to the Pirates and Sean Burnett going to the Nationals. The trade does nothing to alleviate the crowding in the Nationals outfield since Milledge was in Triple-A. Milledge is hitting .253 in the minor leagues with one home run, seven RBI and seven steals in 25 games. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Tuesday…

Hitters:

Albert Pujols blasted two more home runs bringing his season total up to 30. Pujols currently leads the National League every key offensive category (discounting stolen bases), except for placing sixth in batting average with a .332 mark.

Martin Prado went 4-for-5 with his fourth home run of the year and four RBI. Prado is hitting .299 on the season and is getting more at bats with Kelly Johnson struggling this year.

B.J. Upton homered for the second time in three games and drove in a run for the fifth straight contest. Upton has seven RBI in his last five games and has raised his batting average to .247 on the season. Upton is hitting .327 in June with four home runs and 21 RBI.

Kevin Youkilis went 3-for-5 with three RBI including his 13th home run of the season. Hopefully this will jump start Youkilis at the plate as he is hitting .224 in the month of June.

Marlon Byrd went deep twice and drove in five runs, giving him three home runs in his last two games. Byrd is now hitting .286 on the season with seven home runs and 39 RBI.

It took him a little time, but Gordon Beckham is starting to come around at the plate. Beckham went 3-for4 with his second home run of the season and is now hitting .267 on the year. Beckham has a five game hitting streak with five RBI during that stretch.

Ryan Braun went 3-for-4 with four RBI, raising his batting average to .327 in the process. Braun has two home runs runs and nine RBI in his last 10 games.

Lance Berkman went 2-for-3 and hit his 17th home run of the season. Berkman has homered four times in his last 10 games with 10 RBI and has raised his batting average 20 points during that period.

Pitchers:

As much as Johan Santana wanted to dispel rumors awhile ago that he was not injured, the stats seem to point to the contrary. Santana allowed five runs in six innings on Tuesday, dropping his record to 9-6 on the season. In his last five starts, has has allowed five runs twice and nine runs in another outing. In his last six outings he has struck out a combine 18 hitters. Compare to that to his two starts back on May 22 and May 27 when he combined for 19 punch-outs in those two starts.

Dan Haren allowed one run in seven innings with nine strikeouts to notch his seventh win of the season. Haren has allowed two runs or less in seven consecutive starts dating back to May 28th.

Ross Ohlendorf tossed seven shutout innings and struck out eight to pick up his seventh win of the season. If you subtract his rough start at Coors Field on 6/19, Ohlendorf has allowed three runs or less in his last four starts.

Matt Garza allowed one run in seven innings with three strikeouts to up his mark to 6-5 on the season. It is impressive that his whip ratio is only at 1.18 despite being third in the American League in walks allowed.

Jason Marquis pitched a complete game shutout, limiting the Los Angeles Dodgers to two hits while striking out three. Marquis improved to 10-5 on the season and lowered his ERA to 3.87.

Closers:

J.P. Howell continues to roll as closer for the Tampa Bay Rays, picking up his sixth save of the season. Howell has collected two wins and two saves in his last four appearances. He has been unscored upon in June through 12 innings.

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Minor League Report – week 12

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 28th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

After reviewing the top pitchers in the week 11 minor league report, here is a look at some of the top hitters in the top two minor league levels that will be participating in the Futures Game in St. Louis on July 12. In case you might be wondering why one of your favorite minor league players is not in the game, each major league team has to have at least one player on the roster and no team can have more than two.

Catcher – Jason Castro (Astros) – Castro was the 10th overall pick in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft. He was promoted to Double-A a little more than two weeks ago, and is hitting .288  in 59 at bats. His overall numbers are .305, with eight home runs, 48 RBI and one stolen base. Fantasy baseball owners might be gun shy of Castro because the failures of the Astros previous rookie catcher J.R. Towles. Baseball America had Castro as the Astros number one prospect coming into this season and he has held his own so far in 2009. It will be interesting to see five years from now how he stacks up against the catcher that went earlier in the draft, Buster Posey, who is in the San Francisco Giants farm system.

Catcher – Tyler Flowers (White Sox) – Flowers has been in Double-A the entire season so far, and is hitting .278 with 11 home runs and 39 RBI. He threw out 28% of runners trying to steal in 2008, made 12 errors and allowed 11 passed balls. With A.J. Pierzynski signed through 2010, if Flowers continues to progress, he should be ready to take over as starting catcher in 2011.

First Base – Chris Carter (Athletics) – With the lack of offense at the major league level, it is a little surprising to see Carter still in Double-A. Carter is currently hitting .299 with 13 home runs, 59 RBI and eight stolen bases on the season. He has upped his power numbers each month, hitting one home run in April, five in May and seven in June. Carter, 22, was part of the big bounty the Oakland Athletics received from the Arizona Diamondbacks when they traded Dan Haren.

Second Base – Scott Sizemore (Tigers) – Sizemore was promoted to Triple-A two weeks ago. He is currently hitting .250 in 52 at bats. For the season, he is batting .296 with 10 home runs, 36 RBI and eight stolen bases. He was  a fifth round pick back in 2006 out of Virginia Commonwealth University and was ranked seventh by Baseball America coming into the 2009 season. He started off his minor league career as a shortstop before moving to second base in 2007.

Second Base – Eric O. Young (Rockies) – Young has been at Triple-A the entire season with an eye on a starting job in 2010. Much like his father and former Rockies player Eric Young,  his one plus attribute is his speed. Young is hitting .286 through 70 games with three home runs, 21 RBI and 44 stolen bases against eight times caught stealing.

Third Base – Pedro Alvarez (Pirates) – Alvarez was promoted to Double-A one week ago and has started off slowly, hitting .125 with 10 strikeouts in 25 at bats. In High Class A, he showed an ability to drive in runs despite a high strikeout rate. In 243 at bats, he hit .247 with 14 home runs, 55 RBI and 70 strikeouts. The talk of him being the first person from the 2008 draft class to make it to the major leagues seems like a stretch with his current plate discipline.

Third Base – Brett Wallace (Cardinals) – Wallace was the 13th overall pick in the 2008 draft and has split this season between Double-A and Triple-A. He started off Triple-A slow, but has picked up his performance recently, hitting .395 in his last 10 games with two home runs. On the season, he is hitting .280 with nine home runs and 27 RBI. The recent addition of Mark DeRosa to the St. Louis Cardinals means Wallace will likely stay in Triple-A until rosters expand September 1 and then compete for the starting job in 2010.

Outfield – Chris Heisey (Reds) – He finally got promoted to Triple-A on Friday after destroying Double-A. Although he was old for the level at 24, he hit .347 with 13 home runs, 40 RBI and 13 steals. Heisey has gone from a 17th round unknown back in 2006 to an underrated prospect in the Reds organization coming into 2009 to now a potential starter in 2010.

Outfield – Desmond Jennings (Rays) – He looked to be on the fast track to Triple-A until he slowed down considerably in June. He still has solid numbers for the season, with a .325 average, six home runs, 35 RBI and 28 stolen bases. After hitting .349 in April and .368 in May, Jennings is hitting .255 in June with zero home runs and six RBI. Jennings was ranked #5 by Baseball America for 2009 in the Rays minor league system. He missed the first two months of the 2008 season with a back injury, then played 24 games before injuring his left shoulder and undergoing season-ending surgery.

Outfield – Mike Stanton (Marlins) – Stanton has gotten off to a slow start at Double-A after being promoted three weeks ago. His plate discipline has deteriorated slightly as expected with the move up a level. Stanton is hitting .234 with three home runs and nine RBI, with 24 strikeouts in 77 at bats at Double-A. Overall he is batting .276 with 15 home runs and 48 RBI between two levels.

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The Daily Dirt for Saturday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 27th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Mark DeRosa was traded from the Cleveland Indians to the St. Louis Cardinals for Chris Perez and a player to be named later. DeRosa should retain his same value as Cardinals manager Tony La Russa will have him play multiple positions. Perez should not see any save chances with Kerry Wood signed through 2010  plus a vesting option for 2011.

Jonathan Sanchez has been sent to the bullpen by the San Francisco Giants in a move that was long overdue. Ryan Sadowski will get the start on Sunday but it not really a good bet for long term success. There is a very good chance the Giants will turn to one of their top minor league prospects once the second half of the season starts.

Hitters:

Jason Werth went 4-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI to power the Philadelphia Phillies to a 10-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Werth has hit five home runs with 10 RBI in his last 10 games.

Albert Pujols hit two two-run home runs off Kevin Slowey to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 5-3 win over the Minnesota Twins. Pujols now has 28 home runs with 74 RBI on the season.

Pablo Sandoval went 3-for-5 with two solo home runs, raising his batting average to .340 on the season. Sandoval has been on fire in June, batting close to .400 with eight home runs and 18 RBI.

Scott Podsednik went 4-for-5 with three RBI including his third home run of the season. Podsednik is now hitting .319 on the season with to home runs, seven RBI and three steals in his last 10 games.

Casey McGehee homered for the third time in his last six games and is now batting .340 on the season. If your fantasy baseball league has 10 game eligibility for position qualification, McGehee is now eligible at second base and third base.

Prince Fielder went 2-for-5 with four RBI and connected for his 19th home run for the season. Fielder is now second in the National League with 73 RBI, one behind Pujols. Fielder has hit three home runs and plated 11 runners in his last 10 games.

Aubrey Huff went 2-for-3 with his 10th home run for the season. Huff now has 51 RBI on the season and has driven in 11 runs in his last 10 games.

Pitchers:

J.A. Happ tossed a complete game shutout while striking out four to up his record to a perfect 5-0 on the season. It was only the second start this season where Happ did not walk a batter.

Tim Wakefield worked six scoreless innings with a lone strikeout to notch his 10th win of the season. Wakefield is 4-0 in his last five starts with one no decision.

Javier Vazquez allowed one run in 7 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts in a tough-luck loss against Wakefield. It is nothing new for Vazquez to receive no run support, as he has allowed two rouns or less in five of his last six starts and only has one win to show for it.

Felipe Paulino, back from the disabled list and making his first start in three weeks, twirled a gem of a game, allowing one run in seven innings with nine strikeouts. Paulino allowed only three hits and did not walk a batter, making it through seven innings on 96 pitches.

Scott Kazmir returned from the disabled list exhibiting much better control than the majority of his pre-inury starts. Kazmir making his first starts in more than five weeks, allowed one run in five innings with five strikeouts. More importantly for fantasy baseball owners, he walked only one batter in the outing.

A.J. Burnett allowed one hit in seven shutout innings with 10 strikeouts to earn his six win of the season. Burnett has allowed one run in his last three starts covering a total of 20 1/3 innings.

Kevin Correia has been a new man since June 1st, and he was back on the mound again on Saturday with the same reuslt. Correia allowed three runs in seven innings with nine strikeouts to win his fourth game in his last five starts. Correia has a 2.41 ERA in those five starts with 29 strikeouts in 33 2/3 innings.

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Strikeouts: Enjoy the breeze

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 27th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

In fantasy baseball leagues, the later into the season it goes, the harder it becomes to make up ground in one offensive category. Runs, home runs, RBI and stolen bases aren’t as hard to make up ground in, because as the season goes on, other owners lose interest, focus on other leagues, leave injured players in their lineup, etc., so even if your players don’t improve over the course of the season if they are struggling, there are still several points you will be able to make up in each category.

Batting average becomes a little bit trickier as you get further along into the season. If you have a team of .260 hitters that are playing every day and accumulating a large number of at bats, it becomes harder to make up ground in that category unless you are able to pull off several trades or you have multiple players that turn in monster second halves of the fantasy baseball season.

Discount BABIP (batting average on balls in play) for a moment, a higher strikeout rate for a hitter means the hitter has a reduced chance of ever having a batting average above .280 because of the fewer number of balls in play.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the some of the league leaders in strikeouts per plate appearances. If you own any of these hitters, now is the time to start looking to get them off your roster if you are looking to gain points in batting average.

1) Chris Davis - batting average .210 – his strikeout rate was high last year at 28% in a half season of at bats, but in 2009 it has soared ridiculously high to 42%.

2) Jarrod Saltalamacchia – .258 – his current strike out rate of 34% is in line with his 32% in 2008 which ranked him fifth in baseball

3) Miguel Olivo – .257 – he has been on a tear lately in the power department, but the hacking is not good for the average. His 33% is 7 percentage points higher than last season.

4) Mark Reynolds – .266 – 33% last year, 33% this year, when he does make contact, he hits it a long way, much like Jim Thome, Ryan Howard, etc.

5) Bill Hall - .197 – Why was he ever platooning with Mat Gamel? Luckily the Milwaukee Brewers have wised up, giving Hall only one start in the last week. His current strikeout ratio per plate appearance of 30% is close to his 28% mark of last season.

6) Carlos Pena – .238 – 30% this year vs. 28% last year. Good for power but a real drag to the bating average.

7) Delmon Young – .251 – Wow! What happened to him? Has never lived up to the hype since coming to the major leagues and seems to have gotten worse this year. His 30% strikeout ratio is way above last years mark of 18%. It might be okay if the transition to more strikeouts meant more power but that has not been the case with only two home runs in 171 at bats.

8.) Josh Fields – .233 – 29% this season vs. 31% in 2007 since he did not have many at bats in 2008. His inability to make contact is part of the reason the Chicago White Sox turned to Gordon Beckham earlier than expected.

9) Ryan Howard – .250 – 29% this year and last year. He will always been in the top 10, it is a matter of whether his home runs and RBI make him worth carrying on your fantasy baseball team.

10) Mike Jacobs – .226 – 28% in 2009 vs. 23% in 2008. He is hitting only .172 in June with one home run and one RBI in 64 at bats.

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The Daily Dirt for Friday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 26th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Andre Ethier was locked in at the plat on Friday night, going 3-for-4 with three home runs and six RBI. It was the first three home run game of Ethier’s career as he powered the Los Angeles Dodgers to an 8-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners. In other news around fantasy baseball on Friday…

Hitters:

Hanley Ramirez is working hard this week to reward fantasy baseball owners that drafted him high in the first round. Ramirez homered for the second straight day on Friday, giving him four home runs in his last five games. He has now driven in 15 runs in his last five games with two stolen bases.

The Baltimore Orioles banged out 16 hits and scored 11 runs without hitting any home runs Friday. Melvin Mora drove in four runs and Aubrey Huff knocked in three runs while Adam Jones, Nick Markakis and Nolan Reimold all had three hits apiece.

Jake Fox homered for the second straight game, giving him in nine RBI in his last five games. With Aramis Ramirez expected back sometime after the all-star break, Fox should have two to three more weeks ov value in National League only fantasy baseball leagues.

Victor Martinez homered for the second consecutive game, giving him four home runs and 11 RBI in his last 10 games. Martinez now has 14 home runs and 56 RBI on the season.

Garrett Atkins is showing signs of life, getting additional at bats as the designated hitter in interleague play. Atkins has collected three hits in each of the last two games with a total of four RBI. He has lifted his batting average 37 points in the last 10 games. Unfortunately for fantasy baseball owners, he most likely heads back to the bench once the Colorado Rockies return to National League play. The best case scenario is the extra bats have given Atkins a little bit of trade value to the Rockies are able to move him at the deadline to a team that will give him more playing time.

B.J. Upton went 2-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBI. Upton stole his 27th base of the season, and is now up to .245 on the year. In his last 10 games, he has two home runs, 12 RBI and three stolen bases.

Brett Gardner went 5-for-6 with three runs score and stole his 17th base of the season. Gardner has stolen six bases in his last 10 games and is now hitting .303 on the season.

Pitchers:

Brad Bergeson allowed one run in six innings and struck out five to improve to 5-2 on the season. Bergeson has not lost since April 19th and has lowered his ERA over 1.5 runs during that stretch.

Randy Wells allowed two runs in seven innings with six strikeouts to win his second consecutive start. Wells has a 2.57 ERA and 1.09 whip ratio through nine starts.

Virgil Vazquez won his first start, replacing demoted Ian Snell, allowing two runs in six innings with seven strikeouts.  Vazquez was 5-2 with a 4.18 ERA in Triple-A with 53 strikeouts in 79 2/3 innings before being recalled from the minor leagues.

Ricky Romero hurled seven shutout innings with seven strikeouts to win his second straight start. Romero has a 2.36 ERA in his last five starts with 33 strikeouts in 34 1/3 innings.

CC Sabathia allowed one run in seven innings with eight strikeouts to notch his seventh win of the season. Sabathia currently ranks fourth in the American League in whip ratio at 1.09.

Josh Beckett worked seven shutout innings with six strikeouts to up his record to 9-3 on the season. Beckett has allowed zero earned runs in four of his past five starts

Yovani Gallardo allowed one run in 7 2/3 innings with nine strikeouts to improve his record to 8-4. Gallardo has allowed two runs or less in six of his last seven starts (he allowed three runs in the other start) and currently sits  fifth in the National League in ERA at 2.86 and fourth in strikeouts with 102.

Jason Hammel allowed two runs in 7 1/3 innings with five strikeouts to up his mark to 5-3 on the season. Hammel has quietly become an effective starter for the Rockies, allowing two runs or less in four of his last five starts. He is 5-0 in his last seven starts, with his last loss coming on May 19th.

Clayton Kershaw allowed two runs in six innings with eight strikeouts to even his record at 5-5 for the year. Kershaw has a 0.97 ERA in his last three starts with 21 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings.

Closers:

Huston Street worked a  scoreless ninth inning to pick up his 17th save of the season. It has been quite a comeback for Street this year, as he is only three saves back of the lead in the National League, despite losing his job to Manny Corpas earlier in the season.

LaTroy Hawkins picked up his 10th save of the season in place of Jose Valverde who was given the night off. It was the fourth day in a row that Hawkins pitched.

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The Daily Dirt for Wednesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 24th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Nick Swisher homered for the 13th time this season and drove in two runs, giving him 38 RBI on the season. The home run was the first for Swisher in the last two weeks, after hitting home runs on June 7th and 8th. June has been a much better month for Swisher who became home run happy in May, striking out 29 times in 80 at bats and hitting a measly .150. Swisher is currently hitting .267 in June with three home runs and nine RBI. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Wednesday…

Hitters:

Miguel Cabrera went 2-for-4 with two RBI and delivered his 15th home run of the season. Cabrera has homered four times in his last eight games with eight RBI.

David Ortiz went 2-for-3 with three RBI and blasted his seventh home run of the season. Ortiz homered for the second straight game and for the sixth time in the month of June.

Adam LaRoche went 3-for-4 with three RBI and connected for his 11th home run of the season. The home run was his second in as many days and gives LaRoche four home runs in his last nine games with eight RBI.

After missing two games with an illness, Jason Kubel returned to the lineup and hit his 13th home run of the season. It was the fourth home in the last 10 games for Kubel who is hitting .311 on the season with 40 RBI.

Paul Konerko homered for the second consecutive game and the third time in his last five games. Konerko is currently hitting .293 with 11 home runs and 45 RBI on the season.

Pitchers:

Joba Chamberlain allowed two runs in 6 1/3 innings with five strikeouts to pick up his fourth win of the season. It was the first start for Chamberlain in which he did not walk a batter outside of his start on May 21 that he left after 2/3 of an injury due to an injury.

Zach Duke allowed one run in six innings with four strikeouts to improve his record to 8-5 on the season. After surrendering six home runs in his previous three starts, Duke was able to get the ball in the park on Wednesday.

Matt Garza allowed one run in eight innings with seven strikeouts to even his record at 5-5. The win for Garza was his first since May 16th who has been the victim of a lack of offensive support in his previous starts.

Fernando Nieve tossed six shutout innings with five strikeouts to notch his third win of the season. Nieve has a 1.31 ERA and a 0.97 whip ratio through 20 2/3 innings for the year. Nieve should get another start with Oliver Perez and John Maine both slated to get at least one more start in the minor leagues before they are activated from the disabled list.

Ricky Nolasco worked seven shutout innings with seven strikeouts to earn his fourth victory of the season. Nolasco has a 1.80 ERA in his four starts since returning from the minor leagues.

Roy Oswalt allowed one run in six innings with eight strikeouts in a no decision. It has been an uneven season for Oswalt who had alternated wins and losses in his previous four outings. In addition to a career high batting average against of .282 this season, Oswalt is also on pace to give up a career high 30 home runs this year.

Gavin Floyd allowed one run in six innings with three strikeouts to earn his fifth win of the year. It marked the fourth straight start that Floyd allowed one earned run, lowering his ERA to 4.45 on the year.

Vincente Padilla allowed one run in seven innings and struck out three to gain his sixth win of the year. Padilla has a 2.16 ERA in his last four starts while going 3-0 during that stretch.

Closers:

Dan Meyer picked up his first save of the season in place of injured closer Matt Lindstrom who was placed on the disabled list and will miss a minimum of four weeks.

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The Daily Dirt for Tuesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 24th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Brandon Inge homered for the second consecutive day and drove in two runs, giving him four home runs and nine RBI in his last 10 games. Inge has already surpassed his second highest total for home runs in his career and is now taking aim at his season best mark of 27. He should have no problem breaking that level if he continues at his current home run rate of one every 14 at bats compared to his 2006 rate of one home run every 20 at bats. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Tuesday…

Hitters:

Chase Utley went 3-for-5 with four RBI and homered for the 16th time in 2009. The home run was the fourth in June for Utley who remains on pace to possibly set career best marks in home runs (39) and RBI (119).

Jason Bay went 4-for-6 with three runs scored and three RBI. Bay blasted his 19th home run of the year and now has 69 RBI in 69 games played.

Brian McCann went 3-for-4 with two RBI and connected for his seventh home run on the season. The home run for McCann was his first in the last two weeks, leaving him on pace for 19 home runs and 83 RBI.

Jacob Ellsbury went 4-for-4 with three RBI and stole his 30th base of the season. Ellsbury has hit two of his three home runs on the year in his last 10 games, driving in eight runs and stealing seven bases during that period.

Matt Wieters went 2-for-4 with his second home in five games. Wieters has driven in six runs in his last 10 games while raising his batting average almost 70 points.

Troy Tulowitzki homered twice and drove in three runs to account for all of the offense for the Colorado Rockies. Tulowitzki has seven home runs in June with 14 RBI, five steals and a .350+ batting average.

Rod Barrajas homered for the third time in his last five games, giving him seven home runs on the season. Barrajas has knocked in a run in five of his last six games.

Grady Sizemore returned from a three week stint on the disabled list, going 2-for-5 with two RBI and a triple.

Pitchers:

Tommy Hanson worked 5 1/3 scoreless innings and struck out four to remain perfect on the season at 3-0. His ERA has been good (3.13) but his whip ratio has been not so great (1.61). He had some control problems back in 2008 after being promoted to Double-A walking 3.8 hitters in nine innings. His current walk ratio sits at 5.9 per nine innings after his start on Tuesday.

Joel Piniero tossed a complete game shutout, allowing two hits while striking out one to earn his sixth victory of the season. Despite allowing three runs or less in his last four starts, Piniero only has a 1-3 record to show for it during that span. His current 3.40 ERA is being aided by his minuscule home run rate, allowing only two home runs so far on the season through 92 2/3 innings,  after surrendering 20+ long balls in each of the past five years.

It took him a few starts to get acclimated to the major league, but David Huff seems to have turned it around after hurling eight scoreless innings with two strikeouts on Tuesday. Huff has allowed three runs or less in his last four starts while going 3-0 during that stretch. He should be an option in American League only fantasy baseball leagues.

Zack Greinke allowed one run in eight innings and struck out five to notch his ninth win of the season. Despite winning for the first time in his last five starts, Greinke continues to lead the American League in ERA (1.90), whip ratio (1.02) innings pitched (109) and complete games (5).

Tim Lincecum tossed a complete game, allowing one run while striking out 12 to pick up win number seven on the season. It marked the fourth time that Lincecum has had double digit strikeouts in 2009.

Hiroki Kuroda picked up his first win in five starts since returning from the disabled list on June 1st, allowing two runs in 8 2/3 innings with nine strikeouts.

Max Scherzer allowed two runs in six innings with seven strikeouts to improve his record to 5-4 on the year. Scherzer has allowed two runs or less in four straight starts while going 3-0 during that span.

Brian Tallet tossed six scoreless innings up his mark to 5-4 on the year. He matched his season high with seven strikeouts while allowing only three hits and one walk.

Chad Gaudin allowed two runs in seven innings and struck out 11 for his third win of the season. Gaudin has struck out 19 in his last 13 innings while allowing five runs.

Adam Miller allowed one hit and one run in seven innings in a no decision. Miller struck out four and lowered his ERA to 4.17 on the season.

Closers:

Matt Lindstrom allowed four hits and three runs in 2/3 of an inning. Despite his 14 saves, his other numbers have been a killer to fantasy baseball staffs , with a 6.52 ERA and 1.90 whip ratio on the season.

Joakim Soria worked a scoreless ninth inning to pick up his 8th save of the season, and his first since May 7th.

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The Art of Trading

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 23rd, 2009

by Todd Lammi

With almost three months into the baseball season, you should have a clear idea whether your fantasy baseball team is a contender or a pretender in the standings. If you are a contender, you should be looking to make trades to improve your team in the standings. If your team is at the bottom of the pack, now is the time to be focusing on rebuilding your team if you have not done so already.

For some fantasy baseball owners that are unfamiliar with being at the top of the standings and not used to trading, here are some basic guidelines to help get you through the process.

1) Communication skills count – the trade landscape has changed in fantasy baseball over the last 10 years from phone based trading when fantasy baseball was not as prevalent on the web to now where the majority of trades are made online or through email. When communicating through email, be sure to spell out all of the particulars of the trade, including the player’s full name, position and team. For example, there are multiple players with the last name Davis in baseball. You want to make sure the other fantasy baseball owner knows you are trading Doug Davis and not Chris Davis to him. If you are using a trading tool to offer a trade through a website, if there is a place for a comment, it helps to put a note of why you are offering a trade or rejecting a trade so the other owner has some idea of what you are looking to do.

2) Determine the needs of the other owners – the easiest way to get trades made are by making trades that help both teams. If you see an owner is low in saves and you have an extra closer, offering a closer may make sense. Offering a first basemen to a team that has two already plus one sitting on his bench, unless you are offering Albert Pujols, is going get you a quick rejection or worst of all no response.

3) Win the league, not the trade – far too often fantasy baseball owners get caught up in trying to win a trade or getting the most value for their players. Which is fine, but at the end of the season, the most important stat is now how many trades you win, but if you won your league. At some point during the year, you might be low in one category like steals, and you might have to give up a guy like Carlos Lee for Michael Bourn. Lee might be worth more than Bourn in terms of value, but if you have excess power and can win your league by gaining three points in steals which Bourn gives you, then it is a trade that has to be made.

4) Never burn your bridges - there will always be one or two owners in every league that will value players much much differently than you do. So much so that their trade offers to you will make it seem like they have either never played fantasy baseball before, or else they are trying to rob you. It is always best to respond in the the nicest way possible, as eventually down the road, one of their trade offers might eventually make sense. There was one five year league I played in, I never traded with the owner for four years because I could not see eye to eye with him on any offers. Then it my last year we ended up making a trade that helped me with the league, so you just never know.

5) Play for the win whenever possible - anytime you have a chance to win a league, I think a fantasy baseball owner needs to take that chance. It boggles my mind how many owners will not make a trade and their response is, I cannot trade him because he is one of my keepers. Don’t let a possible keeper stand in the way of you losing out on winning. There is some much turnover in the off season with trades, free agent signings, manager changes, injuries, etc. that there are always new keepers that pop up that you did not envision when in season.

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Minor League Report – week 11

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 21st, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Here is a review of the top pitchers in Triple-A that could potentially have an impact in major league baseball the second half of the season, but more importantly impact your fantasy baseball league standings.

Franklin Morales (Rockies) has strung together two good starts after an eight-run shellacking on June 11th. Morales has allowed two runs in his last 12 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts as he continues to rehab from a strained shoulder that sidelined him back in April.

Bud Norris (Astros) has a 2.11 ERA with 82 strikeouts in 81 innings. He is holding hitters to a .222 average with only five home runs surrendered on the season. The Astros are only 5.5 games out of first place despite running Brian Moehler, Russ Ortiz and Brandon Backe out every fifth day. If the Astros don’t call him up after the All-Star break once they are able to reset their pitching rotation, he would most likely be in Triple-A until after September first when rosters expand.

The Baltimore Orioles have a plethora of starters to choose from in Triple-A if they need any help. Chris Tillman currently has a 2.55 ERA with 67 strikeouts in 60 innings, while holding hitters to a .229 batting average. In his last three starts, he has a 4.24 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 17 innings.

Jake Arrieta was promoted to Triple-A and had an excellent first start with one run allowed in six innings and six strikeouts, but struggled in his second start. In start number two, Arrieta allowed five runs in 4 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts. On the season, Arrieta has a 2.97 ERA with 83 strikeouts in 69 2/3 innings.

Troy Patton allowed one run in six innings with one strikeout in his second start since being promoted to Triple-A. On the season, Patton has a 2.39 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 75 1/3 innings.

David Hernandez is back in Triple-A after a cup of coffee in the big leagues. He has not fared as well in his two starts back in the minor leagues, with a 6.30 ERA, despite fanning 15 in 10 innings.

Carlos Torres (White Sox) is a bit older for Triple-A at 26, but he is putting up numbers worthy of a call up. Torres has a 2.38 ERA in 72 innings with 78 strikeouts.

Wade Davis (Rays) has a 3.00 ERA with 65 strikeouts in 78 innings. It does not look like the Rays will have an opening in their rotation unless one of their current starters goes down with an injury. The Rays also have Scott Kazmir on the disabled list, so at this point Davis is their seventh best starter.

Brad Lincoln has been promoted to Triple-A by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Lincoln had a 2.28 ERA in Double-A with 65 strikeouts in 75 innings. With the Pirates not in the playoff race, he will most likely be called up September 1st when rosters expand.

Homer Baily (Reds) still has not been able to prove he is more than a Quadruple-A player; someone that is stuck between Triple-A and the major league level. He has turned it up a notch in his last four starts in Triple-A, allowing one run in 33 1/3 innings with 30 strikeouts. There doesn’t seem to be a spot in the Reds rotation for him with the way the other starters are pitching and Edison Volquez on the disabled list.

There is really nothing left for Clay Buchholz to do in Triple-A. Unfortunately for him, the Boston Red Sox rotation is stacked with the return of John Smoltz. The only way he appears before September 1st is if the Red Sox trade Brad Penny or one of the current starters get injured. Buchholz has a 1.90 ERA and is holding hitters to a .165 batting average. In 71 innings, he has struck out 65 hitters, while walking only 17. The one difference in regard to Buchholz compared to some of the other prospect pitchers in Triple-A is that Buchholz will turn 25 in August.

Michael Bowden (see Buchholz). Bowden is behind Buchholz in the Red Sox pecking order. He has gotten hit hard in two of his last four starts, allowing six runs twice. On the season, he has a 3.26 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 66 1/3 innings.

J.D. Martin in 2002 was the #5 prospect in the Cleveland Indians farm system. Several years later, now at age 26, he is in Triple-A pitching for the Washington Nationals. Martin has a 2.35 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 65 innings while allowing only six walks! With Scott Olsen due to return from the disabled list, the Nationals will be sending one of their current starters to the bullpen or to Triple-A so Martin seems to be looking at a September call up in a best case scenario.

Trevor Bell (Angels) was recently promoted to Triple-A after going 4-3 with a 2.23 ERA in Double-A. Bell has not been scored upon in two starts in Triple-A while striking out eight. With the iffy health statuses of John Lackey and Ervin Santana, Bell might be an option the second half of the season.

Kevin Pucetas (Giants) has a 3.59 ERA with 52 strikeouts in 82 2/3 innings. He should be first in line if any of the current starters suffer an injury or Jonathan Sanchez gets traded.

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The Daily Dirt for Sunday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 21st, 2009

by Todd Lammi

After a slow start to the month of June, interleague play has lit a fire under Albert Pujols. Pujols went 4-for-5 on Sunday and smacked two home runs while driving in six runs. Pujols has hit eight home runs in his last 10 games with 17 RBI. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Sunday…

Hitters:

B.J. Upton went 4-for-6 with three runs scored and four RBI. Upton, who hit his fifth home run of the season, has really started to pick up his offense the last 10 days. In that span, Upton has raised his batting average 28 points, drove in nine runs and stole eight bases.

Brandon Inge went 2-for-3  with three RBI and slugged his 16th home run of the season. Inge has homered three times in his last nine games while driving in seven runs. Currently at 47 RBI, Inge is on pace for his first 100 RBI season.

Lyle Overbay went 3-for-5 with five RBI, including his ninth home run of the season. Like Inge, Overbay is also on pace for his first 100 RBI season plus a potential career high in home runs. Part of the reason for Overbay’s improvement this year has been an increase in his walk rate, going from a walk every 8.4 plate appearances in 2008 to a rate of 5.8 this season, as well as a reduction in his strikeout rate, going from a strikeout rate of 5.3 in 2008 to 6.9 this year.

Clint Barmes went 2-for-4 with two RBI and connected for his eighth home run of the season. Barmes has driven in eight runs in his last eight games and is currently on pace for a 19 home run, 88 RBI, 12 steal season.

Hanley Ramirez homered for the first time since May 22nd, going deep for a two-run home run off of Brett Tomko. Despite the lack of power, he has surpassed his RBI total of 11 for the month of May with several games left to play in June.

Pitchers:

CC Sabathia left his start against the Florida Marlins in the second inning with bicep tightness. Sabathia was removed after 1 1/3 innings and 28 pitches thrown. It would be best to bench him in fantasy baseball leagues until the severity of his injury is determined.

Justin Verlander allowed two runs in 7 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts to pick up his 8th win of the season. The win at home for Verlander continued a season long trend. He entered Sunday’s game with a 0.82 ERA in five home starts, compared to a 4.87 ERA on in nine road starts.

Ricky Romero allowed two runs in seven innings with six strikeouts. Romero has a 2.59 ERA in his last 31 1/3 innings with 31 strikeouts.

Mark Buehrle tossed seven shutout innings with three strikeouts to notch his 7th win of the year. The win for Buehrle was his first since May 19th.

Cole Hamels allowed two runs in eight innings with 10 strikeouts in a hard-luck loss to the Baltimore Orioles. Hamels has allowed two runs in each of his last two starts with 16 strikeouts in 14 innings. Hamels is still getting hit at too high of a rate for a pitcher of his caliber. After limiting batters to a .227 average in 2008, Hamels batting average against is currently .297.

Wandy Rodriguez allowed one run in seven innings with eight strikeouts to even his mark at 6-6. The win stopped his losing streak at four, giving him his first win since May 20th.

Randy Wells allowed two runs in 6 2/3 innings with three strikeouts to get his first win of the season. The win was well deserved for Wells who has allowed three runs or less in seven of his eight starts this season.

Kevin Correia allowed one run in 6 2/3 inning with seven strikeouts. Correia is 3-1 in his last four starts with a 2.03 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 26 2/3 innings.

Closers:

Brian Wilson picked up his 19th save of the season, giving him 12 consecutive scoreless appearances. Since May 21st, Wilson has lowered his ERA from 4.87 to 2.94, while picking up 10 saves.

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The Daily Dirt for Friday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 19th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Looking to add some power to their offense, the San Diego Padres recalled their top minor slugger Kyle Blanks from Triple-A. The Padres face left-handed starters in five of their next six games and will be playing American League clubs, giving Blanks the possibility of starting at first base, the outfield or at designated hitter. Blanks hit .283 with 12 home runs and 38 RBI in 66 games at Triple-A., while batting .424 over his last 10 games. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Friday…

Hitters:

Derek Lee continues to roll, going 3-for-5 with two home runs and two RBI. Lee sent the game into extra innings with his home run off of Kerry Wood in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Brad Hawpe went 3-for-4 with three RBI, including his 10th home run of the season. Hawpe is currently second in the National League with a .343 batting average and fifth in RBI with 50 on the season.

Victor Martinez smacked his 12th home run of the season and drove in three runs, giving him 53 RBI on the season. Martinez has now driven in 12 runs in his last eight games.

Prince Fielder went 2-for-4 and clubbed his 17th home run of the season. Fielder also drove in three runs, giving him a RBI in five consecutive games., totaling 12 plated runners.

Jason Bay collected his 18th home run on the season and drove in two runs giving him 65 RBI on the season, good for second place behind Fielder’s 67. Bay has driven in 10 runs in his last nine game.

Miguel Olivo went 2-or-4 and blasted his 10th home run of the season. Olivo has certainly taken advantage of John Buck being out of action, by hitting five home runs and driving in 11 runs in his last nine games.

Aaron Rowand went 3-for-3 and hit his seventh home run of the season. After batting fifth for the majority of the season last year, he has found a home lately atop the batting order as the lead-off hitter, where is batting .346.

Marcus Thames went 2-for-4, knocking out two home runs and driving in four runs. Thames now has three home runs in his last two games.

Garret Anderson went 3-for-3 with four RBI in an Atlanta Braves 8-2 win over the Boston Red Sox. Nate McLouth went 2-for-4 with two RBI and added his 12th home run on the season.

Pitchers:

Fernando Nieve picked up his second win of the year, allowing one run in six innings with four strikeouts. Nieve has now allowed three runs in 14 2/3 innings since being recalled on June 6th. His next start will come against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday.

Andy Pettite allowed one run in seven innings with seven strikeouts to up his mark to 7-3 on the season. It was no surprise the win came on the road for Pettite, where he has a 2.59 ERA and is holding opposing hitters to a .226 average compared to his home splits of a 5.77 ERA and a .332 average allowed. Fantasy baseball owners might want to consider benching him for his home starts.

Kevin Slowey allowed one run in six innings with six strikeouts to notch his 10th win of the season. Slowey moved into a tie with Roy Halladay for the win lead in the American League.

Jon Garland tossed seven shutout innings, allowing seven hits with three strikeouts. The no decision snapped his five game losing streak.

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The Daily Dirt for Thursday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 18th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Adrian Gonzalez went 4-for-4 with two RBI and blasted his 23rd home run of the season. The home run was Gonzalez’s first since June 2nd as teams have continued to pitch around him more. Gonzalez already has 21 walks in June after walking 17 times in May. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Thursday…

Hitters:

Nate McLouth went 2-for-5 and drove in four runs, including his 11th home run of the season. It remains to be seen whether there is any drag on McLouth’s batting average after hitting .315 at PNC Park before is trade.

Adam Lind went 3-for-4 with two RBI and blasted his 14th home run of the season. Lind has homered five times in his last nine games with nine RBI during that stretch.

Derek Lee smacked a three-run home run and drove in four runs, boosting his RBI total to 31 for the season. Lee has driven in 10 runs in his last nine games and extended his hitting streak to 15 games.

Alexei Ramirez homered for the second consecutive game, giving him seven bombs on the season. His batting average however still remains locked in the .250 range. Until he improves his batting average against right-handed pitching, he is going to be in that range for awhile. After hitting .281 against right-handed pitching in 2008, Ramirez has struggled this season, batting only .203.

Clint Barmes has found a home in the number two spot in the batting order. Barmes has had six multi-hit games in his last 10 starts, while knocking in eight runs. Barmes is hitting .351 in 94 at bats while hitting seconds this season.

Chris Young is starting to show some signs of life for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Young went 4-for-4 with his 11th stolen base of the year and now has five hits in his last six at bats. He has also walked four times with zero strikeouts in his last three games.

Franklin Gutierrez swatted two home runs, giving him three home runs in his last four games.  He has a nice little trend line going, homering once in April, twice in May and currently has three home runs in June.

Chris Davis broke a long home drought, homering for the first time since May 26th. The strikeouts continue to pile up for Davis who has only one game in June that he did not strike out in.

John Mayberry Jr. returned from Triple-A with Raul Ibanez being placed on the disabled list, and homered for the second time this season on Thursday.

Michael Cuddyer went 2-for-4 and delivered his 10th home run of the season. The home run was Cuddyer’s first since May 29th.

Pitchers:

Tommy Hanson was a little better in his third start for the Atlanta Braves, tossing six shutout innings to pick up his second win of the year. After dominating the minor leagues and striking out a ton of hitters, it is disappointing if he is on your fantasy baseball team that his walk strikeout ratio sits at 10 / 12 in 17 2/3 innings.

Dan Haren allowed two runs in seven innings and struck out six to up his mark to 6-4 on the year. Haren has allowed two runs or less in his last five starts.

Nick Blackburn allowed one run in a complete game effort and struck out two to improve his record to 6-2 on the year. Blackburn has run off six straight starts allowing three runs or less, while shaving more than a run off of his ERA.

Gavin Floyd allowed one run in seven innings with two strikeouts in a no decision. Floyd has run off three straight starts with only one run allowed in each outing.

Ubaldo Jimenez won his third straight start, allowing one run in 6 2/3 innings while fanning seven. Jimenez will have his next start at home against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Ricky Nolasco picked up a rain-shortened win, allowing one run in five innings with five strikeouts. Nolasco now has a 2.50 ERA in his last three starts.

Craig Stammen was rewarded with his first major league win after tossing 6 1/3 shutout innings with two strikeouts.

Closers:

Mike MacDougal picked up his second save in as many days, working a scoreless ninth inning.

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The Daily Dirt for Wednesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 17th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

After being bumped from the rotation, Scott Richmond returned to the hill as a starter on Wednesday night in grand fashion. Richmond allowed one run in eight innings and struck out a season-high 11 hitters to notch his 5th win of the year. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Wednesday…

Hitters:

Mark Reynolds homered for the 18th time this season, connecting off of Zack Greinke. Reynolds has homered five times in his last 10 games while collecting 14 RBI during that stretch.

Aaron Hill went 3-for-5 and slugged his 15th home run of the season. Hill drove in three runs giving him 47 on the season and he is now batting .315 on the year.

Corey Hart went 3-for-5 with three RBI and belted his ninth home run of the year. Hart has now driven in 1o runs in his last seven games while raising his batting average 21 points.

Curtis Granderson returned to the lead-off spot, going 3-for-4 with two home runs and a stolen base. Granderson now has 16 home runs on the season to go along with 11 stolen bases.

Aubrey Huff went 2-for-3 with three RBI and delivered his ninth home run of the season. Huff has a modest five game hitting streak going and is now up to 44 RBI on the year.

Matt Wieters hit his first career home run, taking Tim Redding deep for a two-run blast in the second inning. Wieters is now hitting .240 on the season.

Rookie Andrew McCutchen hit his first major league home run, connecting for a two-run shot off of Francisco Liriano. McCutchen is now hitting .339 since being recalled from Triple-A.

Troy Tulowitzki hit a three-run home run off of David PRice for his ninth home run of the season. Tulowitzki has four home runs in his last 10 games with eight RBI during that stretch.

Evan Longoria homered for the second consecutive game, giving him 16 home runs on the season. Longoria is second in the American League with 60 RBI, leaving him three behind Jason Bay.

Jose Lopez homered for the fifth time in his last nine games, giving him 10 home runs on the year. Lopez has knocked in 13 RBI during that span, plating runners in eight out of nine games.

Jason Werth hit a solo home run, number 11 on the season, and has now homered three times in his last four games.

Pitchers:

John Danks allowed one run in seven innings with nine strikeouts to even his mark at 5-5. The win broke a two game losing streak for Danks who has allowed three runs in his last 14 1/3 innings.

John Lannan allowed two runs in 8 1/3 innings with four strikeouts to pick up his fourth win of the season. Lannan has allowed two runs or less in his last three starts, going 2-0 during that span.

Brad Penny tossed five shutout innings and struck out three to improve his record to 6-2 on the year. Penny picked up his 100th career win and will remain in the rotation with John Smoltz returning to action next week as the Boston Red Sox for now are saying they will go with a six-man pitching rotation.

Max Scherzer allowed two runs in six innings with five strikeouts to even his record at 4-4. Despite allowing runs for the first time in his last three starts, he still managed to lower his ERA for a third straight start.

Ian Snell picked up his first win since April 18th, allowing two runs in six innings with six strikeouts. It seemed like he had turned the corner in 2007, but his stats have been trending downward the last two years. His control has gradually deteriorated, going from a 2.6 K/BB ratio in 2007, to 1.52 in 2008 to his current number of 1.29.

Trevor Cahill hurled 5 1/3 scoreless innings with three strikeouts to earn his fourth win of the year. Cahill continues to whittle away at his overall ERA, lowering it for a six consecutive start.

Closers:

Trevor Hoffman blew his first save of the season, allowing two runs in the ninth inning against the Cleveland Indians.

Mike MacDougal picked up his forst save of the season for the Washington Nationals. McDougal’s line has been much better since coming over to the National League at the end of May. MacDougal currently has a 1.29 ERA in 6 2/3 innings.

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The Daily Dirt for Sunday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 14th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

It was a good day for the New York Yankees offense on Sunday, as it scored nine runs off of Johan Santana in three innings en route to a 15-0 victory over the New York Mets. The Yankees scored 15 runs without receiving a RBI from Mark Teixeira or Alex Rodriguez. Robinson Cano went 3-for-4 with three RBI, including his 11th home run of the season. Hideki Matsui hit his 1oth home run of the year and Derek Jeter went 4-for-4 to raise his batting average to .310. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Sunday…

Hitters:

B.J. Upton is not delivering at the plate, but at least he is stealing bases in bunches to provide help in one fantasy baseball category. Upton stole two bases again on Sunday giving him three consecutive games with two steals.

Ty Wigginton went 3-for-4 and clubbed two home runs, giving him five on the season.  Wigginton isn’t much of an option in fantasy baseball leagues with his reduced playing time. Since May 26th, Wigginton has started only six out of the last 17 games.

There must be some kind of curse on National League East third basemen this year that have stripped them of their power and turned them into high batting average hitters. Much like David Wright and Andy LaRoche, Pedro Feliz has followed suit in 2009, reducing his home runs and jacking up his batting average. Feliz went 3-for-5 on Sunday with two RBI and is now hitting .318 on the season.

Casey McGehee went 3-for-4 and hit his first home run of the season. He is definitely an option in National League only leagues with Rickie Weeks out for the season. McGehee has raised his batting average 82 points in the last 10 days to its current level of .338.

Corey Hart hit two solo home runs giving him eight on the season, in what has been a disappointing year so far. All he needs is the correct slot in the batting order for him to turn his season around. Batting first or seventh, Hart is hitting only .170 this year in 65 at bats. Compare that to the second or sixth spots in the line up and Hart is batting .290. Memo to Ken Macha, please adjust your batting line up accordingly!

Juan Rivera went 2-for-4 and belted two solo home runs. Rivera has hit three home runs and driven in nine runs in his last seven games.

Miguel Olivo continued his week 10 power surge, going 2-for-4 and hitting his ninth home run of the season. The home run was the fourth this week for Olivo who knocked in eight runs in six games.

Casey Blake went 2-for-4 with four RBI and collected his 10th home run of the season. The home run ended an almost month long drought for Blake who last homered on May 19th.

Ronny Paulino went 4-for-5 and delivered two home runs while driving in three. Paulino has gotten off to a good start in June, as he is now hitting .379 for the month.

Pitchers:

Jered Weaver tossed a complete game shutout with five strikeouts to improve to 7-2 on the year. Weaver has allowed two runs or less in his last five starts while going 4-0 in that stretch.

Matt Cain tossed a complete game, allowing one run with a season-high nine strikeouts.  Cain, who has battled control problems in several starts this season,  did not walk a batter for the third time this year.

A.J. Burnett tossed seven scoreless innings with eight strikeouts to pick up win number five on the year. Burnett’s inconsistencies have been a direct result of his increase in walks and lack of control compared to previous seasons. His strikeout to walk ratio of 1.78 is currently the lowest it has been since 2003 and his batting average against of .261 is the highest since 2006.

Josh Johnson picked up a complete game victory, allowing three runs with six strikeouts to improve to 6-1 on the season. Johnson has been amazingly consistent this season. Outside of his start on April 18th, he has allowed three runs or fewer in every other start this year.

Chad Billingsley allowed two runs in seven innings with three strikeouts to up his mark to 9-3. It was the third consecutive win for Billingsley who moved into a tie for first place in wins in the National League with Matt Cain.

Brian Bannister hurled eight scoreless innings and fanned four to gain his fifth victory of the season. Bannister has allowed two earned runs in his last 13 innings.

Scott Baker allowed two runs in seven innings with five strikeouts in a no decision. Baker now has a 2.87 ERA in his last three starts with 23 strikeouts in 22 innings.

Jason Hammel allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings with six strikeouts to pick up his fourth win of the year. Hammel has reeled off three straight wins with a 2.46 ERA in those outings.

Ross Ohlendorf allowed one run in six innings with two strikeouts to pick up his sixth win of the season. The win for Ohlendorf was his first since May 13th.

Closers:

Trevor Hoffman allowed a run for the first time this season, taking the loss against the Chicago White Sox. Hoffman had worked 18 scoreless innings coming into Sunday’s game.

Jose Valverde returned from the disabled list and worked a scoreless inning with three strikeouts.

Frank Francisco was placed on the disabled list with right shoulder tendinitis. C.J. Wilson will take over as closer while Francisco is out.


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The Daily Dirt for Saturday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 13th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Torii Hunter hit three solo home runs, giving him four home runs in his last two games, in a 9-1 win over the San Diego Padres. Kendry Morales added his 10th home run of the season for the Los Angeles Angels.  Joe Saunders allowed one run in 8 1/3 innings with five strikeouts to up his record to 7-4. The win was the first for Saunders in his last four starts. The Angels made a couple of roster moves, sending Howie Kendrick to Triple-A and recalling second basemen Sean Rodriguez. Kevin Kouzmanoff was the lone offense for the Padres as he collected his seventh home run of the season. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Saturday…

Hitters:

Albert Pujols went 3-for-4 and blasted two more home runs, giving him four home runs in his last three days.

Gary Sheffield went 2-for-5 and homered for the second consecutive day, giving him seven on the season. What fantasy baseball owner would have thought that Gary Sheffield would have more home runs than teammate David Wright at this point in the season?

Armando Rios went 4-for-4 with two RBI and delivered his 8th home run of the season. The home run was Rios’ second in the month of June, who also added his 10th stolen base of the season.

Cody Ross went 3-for-4 and homered for the second consecutive day. Ross now has 10 home runs on the season with 39 RBI.

Jeremy Hermida homered for the third time in five games and drove in two runs. Hermida has five consecutive multi-hit games and six RBI during that time.

Ryan Zimmerman picked up his 12th home run of the season, homering for this first time in his last 19 games. Zimmerman has seen his batting average fall 34 points since his 11th home run back on May 22nd.

Brian Roberts went 4-for-5 with two RBI and collected a double in his fifth straight game. Roberts is currently on pace for a 16 home run, 65 RBI, 31 steal season.

Adam Jones homered for the first time since May 26th and drove in three runs. Jones is now batting .324 on the season with 41 RBI.

Jose Lopez went 3-for-4 and homered for the fourth time this week, giving him nine home runs on the season.

Pitchers:

Rich Harden returned from the disabled list after missing three weeks with a mid-back strain, allowing two runs in six innings with nine strikeouts.

Anthony Swarzak tossed seven shutout innings and struck out six to even his mark at 2-2. After the game Swarzak was sent back to Triple-A so the Minnesota Twins could recall a position player.

Jose Contreras hurled eight innings of shutout ball, allowing two hits while striking out eight. It was the second straight scoreless start for Contreras since he returned from Triple-A on June 8th.

Zach Duke picked up his seventh win of the season, allowing three runs in eight innings with three strikeouts. Duke has been a work horse this year, as he currently sits second in the National League in innings pitched.

Pitching on two extra days rest due to a sore wrist, Roy Oswalt notched his third win of the season, allowing one run in seven innings with five strikeouts.

Randy Johnson allowed two runs in seven innings with three strikeouts to earn his sixth win of the season. Johnson has a 2.15 ERA in his last five starts.

Joe Saunders allowed one run in 8 1/3 innings with five strikeouts to up his record to 7-4. The win was the first for Saunders in his last four starts.

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Minor League Report – week 10

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 13th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Second basemen Sean Rodriguez was recalled by the Los Angeles Angels from Triple-A to replace Howie Kendrick who was demoted. Rodriguez was hitting .273 with 21 home runs, 60 RBI and six stolen bases.

First basemen Logan Morrison (Marlins), out since April 10 with a fractured wrist, returned to action this week.

Jake Arrieta (Orioles) was promoted to Triple-A and tossed six innings with one run allowed and six strikeouts. On the season, Arrieta has a 2.49 ERA with 76 strikeouts in 65 innings.

Tobi Stoner (Mets) was promoted to Triple-A after going 2-2 with a 2.68 ERA in Double-A. Stoner held hitters to a .170 average while striking out 28 in 47 innings.

The move to second bases is not affecting the offense of Alcides Escobar (Brewers) as he continues to excel at the plate. Escobar has hit .400 over his last 10 games with one home run, six RBI and four stolen bases.

Catcher Jason Castro (Astros) was recently promoted to Double-A after hitting .309 with seven home runs and 44 RI.

Outfielder Jordan Danks (White Sox) could be playing with brother John in the major leagues in 2010. Danks, currently in Double-A is batting .318 with six home runs, 32 RBI and eight steals between two levels.

Zach Stewart (Reds) has been even better since his promotion to Double-A, going 3-0 with a 0.62 ERA in five starts. For the season, Stewart has a 1.51 ERA with 56 strikeouts in 71 1/3 innings.

Travis Wood (Reds) is currently 6-3 in Double-A with a 1.11 ERA. Wood is holding opposing batters to an .181 average and has struck out 69 in 81 innings.

Third basemen Dayan Viciedo (White Sox) is slowly starting to turn his season around in Double-A. Viciedo is now hitting .277 on the season with four home runs and 37 RBI. After only three walks and 26 strikeouts in 116 at bats in May, Viciedo has three walks and three strikeouts in 45 at bats so far in June.

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The Daily Dirt for Friday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 13th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

The New York Yankees hit four home runs, but in the end, they needed a little luck to defeat the New York Mets 9-8. The Yankees rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning on a two-out dropped pop up by Luis Castillo. Mark Teixeira (20), Robinson Cano (10), Derek Jeter (9) and Hideki Matsui (9) all went deep for the Yankees. Gary Sheffield delivered his sixth home run of the season for the Mets. Joba Chamberlain needed 100 pitches to make it through four innings, allowing one hit with five walks. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Friday…

Hitters:

Joe Mauer went 2-for-4 with three RBI and hit his 13th home run of the season. Mauer has tied his career-high for home runs that he set back in 2006.

Mark Reynolds went 4-for-5 with 5 RBI, including his 16th home run of the season. Reynolds also picked up his 13th stolen base of the year.

Brian McCann went 4-for-4 with two RBI, raising his batting average to .331 on the year. McCann has driven in seven runs in his last six games.

Albert Pujols connected for his 2oth home run of the season and stole his ninth base of the year. Pujols is batting .321 for the year with 55 RBI.

Troy Tulowitzki hit his eighth home run of the season and swiped his six base in addition to scoring three runs. Tulowitzki has now homered three times in his last five games.

Kevin Kouzmanoff went 3-for-4 with three RBI and belted his sixth home run of the season. Kouzmanoff has been on fire his last five game with 11 RBI.

Pitchers:

San Diego Padres pitcher Jake Peavy will miss eight to 12 weeks with a partially torn tendon in his right ankle. Peavy had struggled since suffering the injury, with a 6.28 ERA in three starts. The Padres have several internal options to replace Peavy although none are very exciting from a fantasy baseball standpoint.  Top minor league prospect Mat Latos would probably be a long shot to get the call to replace Peavy. Latos is currently in Double-A with a 0.79 ERA through four starts.

Dan Haren picked up his fifth win of the year in a complete game seven strikeout performance. Haren has allowed one run in each of his last three outings with 19 strikeouts in 23 innings.

Tim Lincecum pitched a complete game shutout with eight strikeouts to notch his 6th win of the year. Lincecum lowered his ERA for his fifth straight start to its current mark of 2.66

Kevin Slowey allowed struck out a season-high 10 in six innings to pick up his ninth win of the season. Slowey has been getting hit at a much higher rate in 2009 vs. 2008, allowing batters to hit over .300 against him this season. Heading into Friday’s game, he has been much tougher out of the stretch and even harder to hit with men in scoring position.

No one on base: .351 avg.

Runners on: .271 avg.

In scoring position: .200 avg.

Tommy Hanson picked up his first major league win, although it was not pretty, allowing 14 base runners in 5 2/3 innings and two earned runs. The damage could have been worse as Hanson left the game with the bases loaded, but Peter Moylan struck out Adam Jones to end the inning.

Jon Lester allowed one run in seven innings with 11 strikeouts in a no decision. It was Lester’s third straight start with double digit strikeouts, giving him 34 strikeouts in his last 22 innings, with only seven hits and three runs allowed in that span.

Rick Porcello allowed one run in seven innings with two strikeouts to collect his seventh win of the season. The seven innings marked his longest outing since back on May 5th. The Detroit Tigers coaching staff has been limiting his pitch count for most of the year. The 99 pitches Porcello threw on Friday was a season high.

Ricky Nolasco turned in his best start of the season in a no decision, allowing two runs in six innings with nine strikeouts. It was his second straight effective start since being recalled from Triple-A. He should be safe to move back into fantasy baseball rotations in mixed leagues for the time being.

Vincente Padilla tossed five shutout innings with two strikeouts to earn his fifth win of the season. It was the second straight win for Padilla since the Texas Rangers requested waivers on him back on June 3rd.

Luke Hochevar hurled a complete game, allowing one win with three strikeouts, to even his record at 2-2. Hochevar has won both of his starts since being recalled from Triple-A on June 6th.

Recent Double-A call up Aaron Poreda of the Chicago White Sox threw 1 2/3 innings of relief, allowing one run with three strikeouts.

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The Daily Dirt for Thursday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 11th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

The Tampa Bay Rays used four home runs to defeat the Los Angeles Angels 11-1. Carlos Pena (19), Evan Longoria (14), Carl Crawford (5) and Dioner Navarro (4) all went deep for the Rays. David Price was pulled after 4 1/3 innings due to a high pitch count. Price who threw 105 pitches, allowed one run with six walks and six strikeouts. Angels starter Ervin Santana was pounded for the third time in six starts since returning from the disabled list, allowing six runs in 4 2/3 innings. The Angels announced that starter Kelvim Escobar would be moving to the bullpen after experiencing soreness in his surgically repaired shoulder. Matt Palmer will return to the rotation, starting on Friday against the San Diego Padres. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Thursday…

Hitters:

Justin Upton connected for his 12th home run of the season, drove in two runs and stole his ninth base of the year. Upton is now batting .317 with 37 RBI on the season.

Albert Pujols hit his 19th home run of the year and plated two runners. Pujols has now driven in 10 runs in his last 10 games.

Jim Thome homered for the third time in his last four games, during which time he has driven in seven runs. Thome is now hitting .258 with 12 home runs and 39 RBI on the year. Unfortunately for Thome who had just started to heat up, he will be out of the lineup the next week and a half as the Chicago White Sox go on the road to National League parks.

Curtis Granderson went 3-for-4 with two RBI, including his 14t home run of the year. It was the first home run for Granderson in the month of June.

Ian Stewart went 2-for-4 with three runs scored , while delivering his 12th home run of the season. Stewart has five home runs and 13 RBI in his last nine games, while boosting his batting average 52 points.

Ryan Braun went 3-for-5 with 3 RBI and belted his 13th home run of the season. Braun has hit three home runs in his last four games with eight RBI.

Russell Branyan went 2-for-4 with three RBI and collected his 14th home run of the season. Branyan is now hitting .317 with 29 RBI on the year.

Derek Lee hit his seventh home run of the season and is showing a little bit of life at the plate lately. He has a modest 10 game hitting streak which has raised his batting average 23 points.

Raul Ibanez hit a game-winning three-run home run in the top of the 10th inning to give the Philadelphia Phillies a 6-3 win over the New York Mets. Ibanez has now driven in 12 runs in his last nine games and is hitting .322 on the season.

David Ortiz hit his third home run in five games and has now driven in seven RBI in his last seven games. With the Red Sox going into interleague play on the road, it remains to be seen whether Ortiz will be in the lineup, with Mike Lowell or Kevin Youkilis sitting on the bench.

Pitchers:

Max Scherzer tossed 7 2/3 shutout innings with six strikeouts to pick up his third win of the season. Scherzer has not allowed a run in his last two starts covering 12 2/3 innings.

Kevin Millwood hurled 7 2/3 scoreless innings with one strikeout to notch is sixth win of the season. Millwood has not allowed a run in his last two outings totaling 14 2/3 innings of work.

Javier Vazquez struck out 12 in eight innings while allowing one run in a no decision. Vazquez momentarily took over the National League strikeout lead with 105 now on the season. He has allowed four runs in his last 20 1/3 innings but has no wins to show for it.

Ryan Dempster allowed one run in seven innings with four strikeouts in a no decision. This marks the first time since his opening day start that Dempster’s ERA has fallen below four. Dempster has allowed one earned run in his last 20 innings with 16 strikeouts.

Ricky Romero allowed one run in 6 1/3 innings with six strikeouts in a tough luck 1-0 loss. Romero did not allow a home run after allowing seven in his previous three starts.

Brad Penny turned in six scoreless innings with five strikeouts in a no decision. Despite his ERA not being that pretty, Penny has picked up the strikeout pace in his last four starts, striking out 22 in his last 23 innings.

Gavin Floyd had his fifth consecutive solid start, allowing one run in eight innings with five strikeouts, before Bobby Jenks blew his win in the ninth inning. Floyd has a 1.67 ERA in his last 37 2/3 innings with 36 strikeouts.

Closers:

Joe Beimel picked up his first save of the season for the Washington Nationals, working a scoreless ninth inning.

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The Daily Dirt for Wednesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 10th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Chase Utley delivered two solo home runs, including the game winning home run in the 11th inning to give the Philadelphia Phillies a 5-4 win over the New York Mets. Utley now has 15 home runs on the season with 41 RBI. Ryan Madson picked up his third save of the season, in place of the injured Brad Lidge. David Wright went 3-for-5 for the Mets with two stolen bases. Wright is now batting .354 with 16 stolen bases on the season. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Wendesday…

Hitters:

Mark Teixeira went 4-for-5 with two runs scored and delivered his 19th home run of the season. Teixeira is up to .296 on the season with 52 RBI, including 12 in his last 10 games.

Jose Lopez belted two home runs and collected three RBI, to give him 35 runs batted in on the season. Lopez has homered three times in his last four games, giving him eight home runs on the year.

Colby Rasmus went 2-for-5 with three RBI and slugged his 7th home run of the season. Rasmus has a nine game hitting streak that has raised his batting average 40 points during that time. Teammate Rick Ankiel went 3- for-5 with three runs scored and his fourth home run of the year. Ankiel has now driven in six runs in his last six games.

Alberto Callaspo went 4-for-4 and drove in four runs on a grand slam, giving him three home runs on the year. The home run ended an RBI drought for Callaspo going back to May 16th.

Willy Aybar went 2-for-3 with three RBI, including his fifth home run of the season. Aybar has homered twice with six RBI over his last three starts.

Bengie Molina went 2-for-5 with three RBI and hit his ninth home run of the season. It might be tough for Molina to get his batting average above .260 the rest of the season unless he turns his strikeout rate around. Molina’s strikeout total is currently on pace to double from 2008.

Catcher Chris Ianetta returned from the disabled list and went 0-for-2 for the Colorado Rockies. He should be safe to activate for your fantasy baseball lineup next week.

Pitchers:

Justin Verlander earned his seventh win of the season, tossing a complete game with one run allowed while striking out seven. Verlander, who has not lost a start in almost two months, currently leads the major leagues with 106 strikeouts.

Gil Meche hurled seven scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts to pick up his third win of the year. For Meche, it was his first victory in his last seven starts. He has now allowed three runs in his last 20 innings of work.

Felix Hernandez allowed one run in seven innings with five strikeouts to up his record to 6-3 on the season. Hernandez has allowed three runs in his last 28 2/3 innings.

Carlos Zambrano allowed one run in eight innings with three strikeouts in a no decision. Zambrano has allowed two earned runs in his last 21 innings. His counterpart Wandy Rodriguez allowed one run in seven innings with six strikeouts.

Aaron Harang pitched 7 2/3 shutout innings with two strikeouts in a no decision. The outing marked a second consecutive good start for Harang, as he had previously allowed 14 runs in his previous 17 1/3 innings.

Jair Jurrjens allowed two runs in six innings with seven strikeouts, but suffered his fourth loss of the season. It is the second loss already for the month of June for Jurrjens. who was a perfect 3-0 in May.

Recently traded Charlie Morton got the start against his old team the Atlanta Braves, making it through only one inning before being removed with tightness in his hamstring.

Closers:

Francisco Cordero blew his first save of the season, allowing two runs in the ninth inning against the Washington Nationals.

Chris Sampson is someone to keep an eye on in National League only fantasy baseball leagues. After picking up his third win Wednesday, Sampson is a perfect 3-0 with three saves and a 1.70 ERA. With the possiblity of Jose Valverde and or LaTroy Hawkins getting traded if the Houston Astros don’t improve their position in the standings, Sampson, could be in line for some saves the second half of the year.

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The Daily Dirt for Sunday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 7th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Chipper Jones smacked two home runs and went 4 for 4 with 5 RBI to lead the Atlanta Braves to an 8-7 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Yunel Escobar went 3 for 5 and drove in the game-winning run in the 8th inning. Rookie Tommy Hanson was taken deep three times in his debut, allowing six runs in six innings with five strikeouts. Ryan Braun went 2 for 4 with two home runs and four RBI for Milwaukee. Braun now has 38 RBI on the season to go with his 12 home runs. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Sunday…

Hitters:

Nelson Cruz moved into a tie in the American League home run race after clubbing his 17th home run of the season. Cruz went 3 for 4 with three runs scored. Since May 20th, he has not gone more than three games without hitting a home run.

Shane Victorino went 2 for 5 with two RBI including his fifth home run of the season. Victorino is now hitting .295 on the season with 29 RBI and 9 stolen bases.

Juan Rivera went 3 for 5 with three RBI and his sixth home run of the year, giving him 25 runs knocked in on the season. Rivera has driven in a run in 7 of his last 8 games, giving him nine RBI during that period.

Aaron Hill broke out of an 0-for-25 rut by connecting for his 13th home run of the season and boosting his RBI total to 40. Despite a roughly 60 point drop in batting average from the beginning of May to the start of June, Hill still hit .307 for the month of May.

Alexei Ramirez went 2 for 5 with three RBI and delivered his fourth home run of the year. After ending May on a high note by hitting .281 for the month, he has started off slow in June batting .174.

Clint Barmes has been on a roll, going 3 for 4 with two RBI on Sunday, which gave him five consecutive games with two or more hits. He has now driven in seven runs in his last four games.

Jose Lopez went 3 for 5 with two RBI and hit his sixth home run of the season. Despite batting only .236 on the season, Lopez has still managed to drive in 31 runs so far this year.

Rookie Andrew McCutchen went 3 for 5 with an RBI and is batting .333 early on since his promotion from Triple-A this week.

Mark Reynolds finally put an end to an 18 inning game, delivering a three-run home run off of position player Josh Wilson. The home run was the 14th of the season for Reynolds who had struck out four times earlier in the game.

Pitchers:

Roy Halladay pitched a complete game shutout, allowing seven hits and no walks with six strikeouts, to improve to 10-1 on the season. More impressive is that the shutout comes on the heels of throwing a season-high 133 pitches in his last start. Halladay has been a true workhorse this season, pitching at least seven innings in every start he has made.

Rookie Antonio Bastardo moved to 2-0 after allowing two runs in five innings with four strikeouts. He had some control problems, as he only managed first pitch strikes to 7 out of 23 hitters, but he pitched well with men on base to minimize the potential damage.

Livan Hernandez improved to 5-1 by hurling seven shutout innings with four strikeouts. Hernandez has dropped his ERA almost 3.5 runs since his only loss of the season back on April 23rd.

Ubaldo Jimenez allowed two runs in eight innings with nine strikeouts to notch his fourth win of the season. Take away his three starts against the Los Angeles Dodgers, a team that has pounded him for a 10.20 ERA this season, and his numbers would be even better.

Rookie Vin Mazzaro improved to 2-0 by pitching 7 1/3 scoreless innings with four strikeouts. Mazzaro has yet to allow a run in 13 2/3 innings since being recalled from Triple-A.

Erik Bedard allowed two runs in five innings with four strikeouts to up his mark to 5-2 on the year. Despite his good record and low ERA of 2.47, he has not made it to the seventh inning in a start since May 5th.

Ricky Nolasco pitched better in his return from Triple-A, allowing two earned runs in seven innings with four strikeout, but was still tagged with his sixth loss of the season.

Closers:

Chad Qualls blew his third save of the season, allowing two runs in 2/3 of an inning. Qualls, who complained of  forearm stiffness this past week has blown two of his last three save opportunities.

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