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Spring Training News & Notes from Tuesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on March 10th, 2010

Here is a look at the Spring Training News & Notes from Tuesday. The news & notes are focused on changes that affect players value as well as players coming back off of injuries or rookies that might make an impact.

Hitters:

Sean Rodriguez has been seeing time all over the diamond in spring training and could turn into a super utility player for the Tampa Bay Rays like Ben Zobrist was last season.

Garrett Jones went two-for-three with three RBI and his first home run of the spring. I like him more as a first basemen where you can get more value from his stolen bases.

Ian Desmond got a start in right field and stole his second base of spring for the Washington Nationals as he too could be looking at a super utility role backing up shortstop, second base and the outfield corner spots.

He struggled with injuries and a drop in power in 2009, but Rick Ankiel is a sneaky choice for late draft power if he can stay healthy for 450 at bats in 2010. He hit his first home run of the spring on Tuesday and should be able to hit 20+ home runs this season.

After hitting lead off 79% of the time in 2009, it looks like Ian Kinsler is set to enter the season hitting fifth in the order with Julio Borbon installed atop the lineup. It should mean an upgrade in RBI for Kinsler and push him into the 90+ range in 2010.

Pitchers:

I said last week I expect Stephen Strasburg to open the season in the major leagues and he took his first step toward doing that on Tuesday with two shutout innings and two strikeouts. Other people seem to be thinking that as well as I saw him go in the 12th round of a 15 team mock draft yesterday.

Chris Young of the San Diego Padres had an encouraging start after missing a good portion of 2009 due to surgery, tossing three shutout innings with two strikeouts.

Spring Training News & Notes – Saturday & Sunday

Posted by Todd Lammi on March 7th, 2010

With a lot of the actual fantasy baseball draft preparation now completed, let’s take a look at some of the happenings around the baseball diamond over the weekend. These news & notes will be more focused on changes that affect players value as well as players coming back off of injuries or rookies that might make an impact.

For example, I don’t care that Fernando Martinez hit two home runs this weekend because it really means nothing in 2010 with Jeff Francoeur, Carlos Beltran (when healthy) and Jason Bay in the New York Mets outfield.

Injuries:

Catcher Russell Martin of the Los Angeles Dodger has an injured groin and is expected to miss four-to-six weeks which means he will likely miss opening day. I would knock 50 at bats from his projections just to be safe.

Third basemen Alex Gordon will be out for three-to-four weeks with a broken thumb. With Gordon usually being drafted two to three rounds earlier than he should every year, the injury just puts him back to where he should have been all along.

Hitters:

For those people concerned about Justin Morneau and his back problems from last year affecting his power in 2010, it was nice to see him get his first home run of the spring today.

The recent signing of Orlando Hudson by the Minnesota Twins bumped J.J. Hardy from the second spot in the batting order. On Sunday, Hudson was hitting second with Hardy in the sixth spot.

Value going up for Jason Bartlett as it looks like he might open the year as the lead off hitter for the Tampa Bay Rays. Value going down for B.J. Upton who was hitting seventh in the order on Saturday.

Mmmm, Matt Kemp as the new number two hitter for the Los Angeles Dodgers? Not sure I like that. In 55 at bats in the number two hole last year, he hit two home runs with only five RBI. It definitely means he is going to have a hard time breaking 100 RBI if he stays in that slot the entire season.

Pitchers:

Kyle McClellan threw three shutout innings with four strikeouts in his bid to secure one of the St. Louis Cardinals starting rotation spots. The magic of Dave Duncan continues.

Ian Kennedy threw two scoreless innings for Arizona and is a good late game play in National League only formats after missing the majority of the 2009 season.

While spring training numbers are usually not that important for the majority of pitchers as they work on new pitches, get used to being stretched out, etc., for some coming back from injury it does has some impact to their draft status. Jeremy Bonderman of the Detroit Tigers was pounded on Sunday, allowing six runs in only 2/3 of an inning.

Shaun Marcum tossed two scoreless innings on Saturday with two strikeouts. He is a great end game option in mixed league formats in 2010.

Francisco Liriano hurled two scoreless innings with three strikeouts as he looks to carry over his strong performance from the winter league. Another outing or two like this and he is going to start rocketing up draft boards.

At some point this season Jaime Garcia is going to have some value for the St. Louis Cardinals. He might have to start the season in Triple-A to build up arm strength after missing part of 2008-09 with Tommy John surgery, but he is worth holding onto in NL only leagues. He tossed three hitless innings on Saturday with three strikeouts.

Fantasy Baseball – The Secret Club

Posted by Todd Lammi on May 1st, 2009

by Todd Lammi

There is a secret club that has been forming in major league baseball. Not a lot of people know of its existence except for its members. If you have a member of this club on your fantasy baseball team, it could help explain why your team is low in the home run category. Much like the representing of the zip code was all the rage a few years ago, the new rage in 2009 is the 04 club. As in, hey David Ortiz, how many home runs do you have this season? I am 04 the season. Here is a look at the some of the members of the current club…

David Ortiz, zero home runs, 12 RBI, .220 average. Ortiz missed seven weeks last season with a wrist injury and has not looked like the same player since. Yes he did hit some home runs in September and in spring training, but with his build and age, the power could go quickly. It is funny to see his projected stats on ESPN, zero home runs and 85 RBI. Of course I don’t expect him to end the season with zero home runs, but I think the expectation of him hitting 30-35+ should be tempered.

Bobby Abreu, zero home runs, 11 stolen bases (2 Friday night), .356 batting average. The steals are a nice surprise, he only had one last year through the month of April with three home runs. Now at age 35, the power expectation should be the mid teens.

Carl Crawford, zero home runs, 10 stolen bases, .284 batting average. The stolen bases were expected to rebound after he battled hamstring injuries last season. At the age of 27, some thought this was the year he was going to finally hit 20 home runs, but it does not appear that way. He had two home runs in the month of April last season.

James Loney, zero home runs, 16 RBI, .309 average. His numbers in 2007 with 15 home runs in 344 at bats set the wrong expectations for fantasy owners. The 13 home runs he hit last season were more in line with realistic expectations. It is tough to roster him at a power position like first base with his lack of power. He had two home runs in the month of April last season.

Adrian Beltre, zero home runs, 10 RBI, .213 batting average. Has gotten off to a slow start so far this season. Nothing out of the ordinary when checking his various stat lines compared to years past. He has had shoulder problems in past years and back in March had complained of a sore shoulder so that could be affecting him. He had five home runs a year ago at this time.

Miguel Tejada, zero home runs, 4 RBI, .304 average. He suffered a drop in power last season and it looks like it is not coming back. At age 34, it looks like his run as a power hitting middle infielder is over. Three of his four RBI he plated in one game. He had four home runs through April last season.

Jhonny Peralta was a member of the club until he hit his first home run Friday night. It was not for a lack of effort though, as he has went down on strikes 26 times in his 81 at bats this season.

2009 Fantasy Baseball – Spring Training Review

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 5th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Opening day is finally here, now that all of the fantasy baseball drafts have been completed, here is a run down of some of the highlights and lowlights from the spring training stats.

Catcher: Pablo Sandoval might qualify at this position by the All-Star break. As of right now the San Francisco Giants are going without a back up catcher and will use Sandoval in that role. It makes sense if Sandoval can handle the job at the major league level; the Giants cannot afford to have his bat out of the lineup. Sandoval blistered the ball in spring training to a tune of a .442 average. The average and rbi will be there, but the power might take another year or two to develop. I was loving John Baker as a second catcher until the Florida Marlins decided to bring in Ronny Paulino to platoon with. At least Baker owns the majority of the at bats as the left-handed hitter and when he plays he will be batting second so he still should put up decent numbers. Baker is hitting .340 this spring.

First Base: Micah Hoffpauir of the Chicago Cubs is worth stashing in N.L only leagues after his power show this spring. Hoffpauir has hit six home runs with 26 rbi and will see time backing up Derrek Lee and possibly getting some at bats in the outfield. Travis Ishikawa hit seven home runs to go along with a .316 batting average and looks ready to provide the San Francisco Giants lineup with some much needed power. For those of you in keeper leagues, keep an eye on Kyle Blanks of the San Diego Padres. The first basemen hit .319 with four home runs. Either he or Adrian Gonzalez will find themselves as trade bait by 2010.

Second Base: Emilio Bonifacio opens the season as the Florida Marlins third basemen, but for fantasy baseball purposes he qualifies at second base. Bonifacio hit .279 with 5 stolen bases . Rickie Weeks hit .312 for the Milwaukee Brewers, supposedly new coach Willie Randolph has been helping Weeks with his all-around game. One of these seasons Weeks is going to be injury free and get 600 at bats and hit over .260. He turns the fantasy baseball magical age of 27 in September. Chris Getz of the Chicago White Sox hit .333 with four stolen bases. Emmanuel Burriss of the SanFrancisco Giants hit .341. He qualifies at second base and shortstop in fantasy baseball leagues. His one category of help is stolen bases. In 194 career minor league games, he has only one home run but 105 stolen bases. He stole 13 with the Giants last season in 95 games and could easily steal over 30 this year. He ended the spring with 6 stolen bases in 8 attempts.

Shortstop: Jed Lowrie of the Boston Red Sox ended spring training with a .343 average with three home runs and 16 rbi. I don’t see Julio Lugo ever getting his starting job back with the Red Sox. For those in NL only leagues, keep an eye on Everth Cabrera. Cabrera has never played above class A and was a rule 5 pick by the San Diego Padres. He still needs work offensively and defensively, but he has a ton of speed, witness his 73 stolen bases in 121 games. If he can shore up his defense, he might see some extended playing time in September with the likes of Luis Rodriguez and David Eckstein ahead of him in the middle infield. Even in a reserve role it is possible for him to get 15-20 steals this season. He was 9 for 11 in stolen bases this spring.

Third Base: It looks like the work that new Kansas City Royals batting coach Kevin Seitzer has been doing with Alex Gordon has been paying dividends. Gordon finished the spring with a .320 average and 6 home runs with 14 rbi. Casey McGehee won the final spot on the Milwaukee Brewers bench following the release of Mike Lamb. Although he hit .328 with 6 home runs and 16 rbi, he is still behind Bill Hall on the depth chart with top prospect Matt Gamel waiting in the wings in AAA.

Outfield: Mark Teahen of the Kansas City Royals finished spring training hitting .433 with 7 home runs and 3 stolen bases. With him making the move to second base, he will qualify at second base and outfield in either the second or fourth week of the season, depending if your league rule is 10 or 20 games for position eligibility. Alfonso Soriano ended spring 0 for 3 in stolen base attempts. I think the over / under on his stolen bases for the year is 20. Nelson Cruz has carried over his performance from the end of 2008 into spring training with 6 home runs, but more importantly only 9 strikeouts in 55 at bats. Ryan Spillborghs of the Colorado Rockies hit .318 with 5 home runs and 6 stolen bases. The decision to carry rookie Dexter Fowler on the major league roster means Spillborghs could sit a few extra game this season. Fowler hit .291 with 8 stolen bases in 79 at bats.

Starting Pitchers: For NL only leagues, Chan Ho Park seems to have had a re-birth at the age of 35, winning the 5th starter job with the Philadelphia Phillies. Park ended with 25 strikeouts in 21 innings and a 2.53 earned run average. Homer Bailey sported a 2.61 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 20 2/3 innings. If Bronson Arroyo has to miss any time due to the problems he has been having with carpal tunnel, Bailey will be first in line to replace him. Micah Owings ended spring with a 1.52 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 23 2/3 innings. Owings started off 2008 with four straight wins before things went downhill, I believe due to an unannounced injury. I would not be surprised to see him put up numbers similar to his 2007 season with Arizona. I expect big things from Kevin Slowey of the Minnesota Twins this season. Slowey had a 2.13 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 25.1 innings pitched.

Relief Pitchers: Francisco Cordero of the Cincinatti Reds was bombed all spring long to the tune of a 12.10 ERA. If you own Cordero, I would make sure to grab David Weathers as insurance.

2009 Fantasy Baseball – News & Notes

Posted by Todd Lammi on March 30th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

A lot has been happening in the last few days around the major leagues, so let’s examine some of the stories and how they relate to fantasy baseball.

Closer watch - Kevin Gregg was named closer of the Chicago Cubs over Carlos Marmol. If you have an auction league this weekend, I still bid for Marmol and assume he will get his share of saves once Gregg falters. I see Marmol ending with around 20 saves and Gregg maybe 15. Tony Larussa confirmed that Jason Motte will see save save chances, but Motte has not been officially name the outright closer. Ryan Franklin should still see time in the ninth inning. Chris Perez was sent to AAA so you can scratch him from your draft sheet. Brandon Morrow has been moved into the closer role for the Seattle Mariners. That’s good for fantasy owners who spent many a sleepless night debating between the four to five other options the Mariners had. Trevor Hoffman will start the season on the disabled list for the Milwaukee Brewers with Carlos Villanueva filling in for the first week of the year. Joey Devine could be headed to the DL with tightness in his elbow bumping up the value of Brad Ziegler for saves.

Late round fliers AL / NL only leagues - I like Casey McGehee with the Milwaukee Brewers. I would be happy with the Brew Crew letting Bill Hall and Mike Lamb go and see what McGehee could do until Matt Gamel was ready. Livan Hernadez was named the New York Mets fifth starter. I don’t care what his numbers are in spring training, stay far, far away from him. Ross Ohlendorf has secured a spot in the Pittsburgh Pirates rotation, I would be willing to pay a $1 for him.

Position Battles – Brett Gardner was named the starting cetner fielder for the New York Yankees. Gardner has a chance to steal 30-35 bases this season. Speaking of speed, DeWayne Wise looks to have secured the starting center field job for the Chicago White Sox and will be the lead off hitter. I don’t expect that to last for more than two months of the season. In the meantime, enjoy a few stolen bases while Wise is in the lineup.

Rookie Watch - Jordan Schafer took one more step closer to locking down the center field job with the Atlanta Braves with the trade of Josh Anderson to the Detroit Tigers. Brett Anderson of the Oakland A’s had a nice outing on Monday. He looks to be solid play in AL only leagues. Two words, Jason McDonald, pick him up now, he should be the fifth starter for the Los Angeles Dodgers and should put up some decent numbers.

Lineup announcements – It looks like David Murphy starts the season hitting second for the New York Mets which gives him a bump up in runs scored. Luis Castillo looks to be hitting eight which will reduce his stolen base attempts batting in front of the pitcher.