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Colorado Rockies News & Notes

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 27th, 2010

Lots of things going on from a fantasy baseball perspective of late with the Colorado Rockies in regards to recent call ups and injuries.

Eric Young Jr. got the start at second base Tuesday night and hit lead off, going 2-for-4 with two RBI. Clint Barmes is struggling this season hitting just .189 and a permanent switch to Young would mean the potential for anywhere from 25-40 plus steals and a plethora of runs atop the Rockies batting order.

Miguel Olivo has taken over as the starting catcher with Chris Ianetta being sent down to Triple-A. Olivo went 1-for-2 with two RBI and is hitting .319 on the season with five home runs and 12 RBI.

Seth Smith has some value over the next two weeks while filling in for Brad Hawpe who was placed on the disabled list. I would love to see Smith get 500+ at bats one of these seasons, knowing he would hit 280+ with 20+ home runs.

Recent call up Jhoulys Chacin threw a scoreless inning of relief with two strikeouts and will get the start on Sunday against San Francisco. While he might rack up some strikeouts, I think his other numbers will suffer until he is able to fix his control. In 21 1/3 innings in Triple-A this year he had walked 11 hitters.

Jorge De La Rosa and Jason Hammel both hit the 15-day disabled list with injuries. De La Rosa with a torn tendon on a finger on his throwing hand and Hammel with a strained groin. It has been an injury marred season so far for Colorado’s staff with Huston Street and Jeff Francis already out of action, although both are throwing as they work their way back.

Opening Day News & Notes

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 5th, 2010

John Bowker will get the start in right field for the San Francisco Giants after leading the team in home runs and RBI during spring training. Bowker hit .312 in 77 at bats with six home runs and 23 RBI. With the Giants short on power in the line up, it will be interesting to see how much time Bowker gets.

He made drastic improvement in his pitch recognition at Triple-A last season with 74 walks and 64 strikeouts after going 41 and 103 the previous season in Double-A. He has a lifetime minor league batting average of .301 so he can hit, it is a matter if he can carry over his patience at the plate to the major leagues now. He finished spring training with 10 walks and 11 strikeouts. I grabbed him in a couple of my deep leagues where I needed some power this past weekend.

We saw what happened when Nelson Cruz of the Texas Rangers finally discovered some plate discipline. Not that Bowker has the power of Cruz, but I think he is definitely worth a pick up from the waiver wire if the Giants are going to stick with him for more than a few weeks.

Seth Smith got the start for the Colorado Rockies and hit second today over Dexter Fowler. Smith hit .352 in spring with 12 RBI while Fowler hit only .229. I had Smith projected for around 375 at bats this year and I love his bat for average and power.

We saw a similar situation in Cincinnati where Dusty Baker gave the start to Chris Dickerson over Drew Stubbs in center field. Dickerson hit .288 with two home runs and four stolen bases in spring compared to Stubbs at .300, five home runs and three steals. I don’t think it is going to be a strict platoon, but if it was, that would be bad news for Stubbs owners with him being the right-handed hitter.

The talk of Matt Kemp being the second hitter in the batting order did not carry over into the regular season as the Los Angeles Dodgers have Russell Martin hitting second and Kemp hitting fifth.

Mike Jacobs filling in for the injured Daniel Murphy got slotted as the clean up hitter in the New York Mets line up with Jason Bay hitting fifth.

Gary Matthews Jr. got the start in center field over Angel Pagan and hit sixth for the Mets.

2010 Spring Training Stats

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 3rd, 2010

With the opening day of baseball right around the corner, here is a look at some of the 2010 spring training stats.

Hitting:

Home Runs:

1. Chris Johnson – 8
2. John Bowker – 6
3. Aaron Hill – 6
4. Mike Napoli – 6
5. Sean Rodriguez – 6
6. Justin Upton – 6
7. Delwyn Young – 6
8. Ryan Zimmerman – 6
9. Jose Bautista – 5
10. Nelson Cruz – 5

RBI:

1. Chase Headley – 23
2. John Bowker – 22
3. Chris Johnson – 22
4. Nelson Cruz – 20
5. Justin Upton – 20
6. Mitch Maier – 19
7. Reid Brignac – 18
8. Tyler Colvin – 18
9. Hunter Pence – 18
10. Delwyn Young – 18

Stolen Bases:

1. Carlos Gomez – 11
2. Peter Bourjos – 9
3. Luis Durango – 9
4. Will Venable – 9
5. Nyjer Morgan – 8
6. Aaron Cunningham – 7
7. Ichiro Suzuki – 7
8. Michael Bourn – 6
9. Eric Bruntlett – 6
10. Ian Desmond – 6

Pitching:

Strikeouts:

1. Francisco Liriano – 30
2. Matt Garza – 27
3. Ryan Dempster – 25
4. Jorge De La Rosa – 24
5. Jeff Niemann – 24
6. Jonathan Sanchez – 24
7. John Danks – 23
8. Scott Baker – 22
9. Josh Beckett – 22
10. Gavin Floyd – 22

Spring Training News & Notes – Final Weekend

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 1st, 2010

As we head into the final weekend of fantasy baseball league drafts and auction, here are the latest news and notes impacting position rankings.

Injuries:

Joe Blanton will start the year on the disabled list and miss 3-6 weeks with an oblique injury. The move opens a spot for Kyle Kendrick in the rotation. Kendrick has a 1.66 ERA with eight strikeouts in 21 2/3 innings thus far in spring.

Huston Street stopped his throwing program after experiencing some issues on Wednesday which likely puts him out until sometime in May. Franklin Morales is the favorite for saves while Street is out of action.

Marc Rzepczynski fractured a finger on his pitching hand and will possibly miss up to six weeks. Rzepczynski had a 6.10 ERA in 20 2/3 innings with 14 strikeouts.

Brandon Webb still looks to be on track for a return in May after meeting with the team doctor and receiving no bad news in regards to his recent MRI.

Daniel Murphy will miss 2-6 weeks after spraining his knee. Mike Jacobs will fill in at first base with top prospect Ike Davis lurking in the wings. Davis will present an interesting challenge for those in FAAB leagues if he is recalled the first week of the season.

Ian Kinsler is still recovering from his sprained ankle and could begin the season on the disabled list, returning around the middle of April.

Lance Berkman, recovering from recent knee surgery, will begin the season on the disabled list and likely miss the first two weeks of the season.

Brad Lidge will begin the season on the disabled list since his elbow has not responded well from surgery. Ryan Madson will take over as closer in his absence.

Hitters:

It looks like Chris Johnson will see some time at third base against left-handed pitching while Lance Berkman is on the disabled list with Pedro Feliz sliding over to first base. Johnson is hitting .383 in spring with six home runs and 17 RBI in 53 at bats

Willy Taveras looks set to begin the year in a platoon role, hitting against left-handed pitching. That gives him some value in N.L. only leagues with the potential for 200+ at bats and 15-20 stolen bases.

I have a sneaky suspicion that Jim Edmonds ends the season with close to 400 at bats. I originally thought he might split time with Carlos Gomez, but the the way Corey Hart is hitting (.158 batting average), or should I say not hitting, it looks like Edmonds might platoon with him and as the left-handed hitter, he would see the majority of at bats. Edmonds is hitting .360 with 12 RBI in 44 at bats.

The injury to Russell Branyan makes Michael Brantley the starting left fielder for the Cleveland Indians. Brantley should have a solid batting average and could steal anywhere from 15-30 bases depending on how many at bats he gets this season.

Starting Rotations:

The Toronto Blue Jays have awarded the final two spots in their rotation to Dana Eveland and Brian Tallet. Brett Cecil was sent to Triple-A. Eveland has a 1.23 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 22 innings, while Tallet has a 5.06 ERA and 11 K’s in 16 innings.

The Cincinnati Reds won’t need a 5th starter until April 11th but it looks like Mike Leake might have pulled into the lead after his most recent outing. Leake has worked 18 innings with a 3.00 ERA and 10 strikeouts. Travis Wood meanwhile has a 3.50 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 18 innings but with 12 walks. Aroldis Chapman has a 1.69 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 10 2/3 innings, but has allowed seven walks.

Mat Latos won the 5th starter job with the San Diego Padres. No surprise there as he has the most talent of anyone on their staff. The only downside to him is the possible innings limitation in the 150-170 range. Latos currently has a 1.59 ERA with 14 strikeouts in 17 innings.

Spring Training News & Notes – Mon. & Tues.

Posted by Todd Lammi on March 17th, 2010

Here is a look at the Spring Training News & Notes from the past few days. 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:

Elijah Dukes was cut by the Washington Nationals today. No reason was given for his release and from a fantasy perspective, there are not a whole lot of interesting choices behind him (Mike Morse, Jason Maxwell, Mike Morse, etc.) to have an impact unless the Nationals decide to move Ian Desmond from SS to the outfield.

If you are in a deep AL only league, Mark Kotsay is worth going $1 on as he could see 200 at bats between the outfield, first base and designated hitter. He stole his third base of the spring on Tuesday.

The San Francisco Giants stopped their waffling and tried Buster Posey at first base. He becomes more draftable in mixed league formats with two catchers if the Giants are committed to giving him time at multiple positions.

Michael Stanton hit his third home run of the spring for the Florida Marlins, and is making things interesting in the outfield picture.

Pitchers:

Jaime Garcia is still in the running for the 5th starter spot with St. Louis after striking out seven in three scoreless innings on Tuesday.

With no one stepping up at the back of the rotation, the Texas Rangers moved C.J. Wilson from relief pitcher into the mix. Wilson worked four innings, allowing one run with five strikeouts on Tuesday.

Phil Hughes matched the performance of Alfredo Aceves from earlier in the week by tossing four shutout innings with two strikeouts.

In a blast from the past, Ramon Ortiz who last pitched in the major leagues with the Colorado Rockies in 2007, tossed four shutout innings with five strikeouts for the Los Angeles Dodgers in his bid to claim the final rotation spot.

Ben Sheets, zero innings, eight hits, nine runs and one walk. That’s a good way to drop your draft value by three to five rounds.

Closers:

Franklin Morales picked up a save Monday for the Colorado Rockies and could see some action in that role to start the season with Huston Street likely to begin the season the disabled list.

A couple of sleepers to take note of at closer though they may not have an impact until later in the season.

Pat Neshek is returning from Tommy John surgery in 2008 and could be an option for saves after the All-Star break as the Minnesota Twins wait before throwing him possibly into the fire. He excelled in 2007 with a 2.94 ERA and 1.01 WHIP with more than a strikeout per inning.

Koji Uehara was moved to the bullpen to make way for all the young arms the Baltimore Orioles had coming up through the farm system and will serve in a set up role this year. Given the injury history of Mike Gonzalez, he could be an option for saves at some point this season. He is definitely worth a flier in an AL only leagues as is Neshek.

Spring Training News & Notes from the weekend

Posted by Todd Lammi on March 15th, 2010

Here is a look at the Spring Training News & Notes from the weekend. 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 hit his 4th home run of the spring as is solidifying a spot on the Tampa Bay Rays roster. His ability to play all over the diamond could get him 300-400 at bats this year.

Chris Davis of the Texas Rangers seems to have a much better approach at the plate in early spring with only four strikeouts in 26 at bats.

Logan Morrison of the Florida Marlins is hitting his way out of a job in his battle with Gaby Sanchez at first base. Morrison is hitting .087 with two hits in 23 at bats.

Pitchers:

Stephen Strasburg tossed three shutout innings with two strikeouts on Sunday. As mentioned in earlier columns, I still expect him to open the season in the major leagues. He has been going in the 12-15 round range in 15 team league drafts this past week.

With all the hype around Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes as the New York Yankees 5th starter, Alfredo Aceves may be quietly sneaking in the back door. Aceves tossed four innings of one-run ball on Saturday and is in the mix to grab the last rotation spot.

Milwaukee got back-to-back good outings from the end of the rotation over the weekend with Manny Parra tossing four innings, allowing one run with three strikeouts and David Bush also going four innings with four strikeouts and giving up a lone run. While maybe not the magic worker like Dave Duncan is, you have to think that new pitching coach Rick Peterson is going to be able to make improvements to some of the Milwaukee starters that struggled last season.

With Madison Bumgarner struggling in camp, it looks like the San Francisco Giants may have two other options in Todd Wellemeyer and rookie Kevin Pucetas. Pucetas tossed three shutout innings on Sunday with a strikeout and Wellemeyer tossed four scoreless innings on Friday.

Closers:

Jon Rauch was touched up for two runs in an inning of work while Matt Guerrier pitched a scoreless inning as the current top two contenders to replace Joe Nathan barring a trade.

Jason Frasor allowed four runs in 1/3 of an inning while Kevin Gregg tossed a scoreless inning as the battle continues for the Toronto Blue Jays closer role.

Spring Training News & Notes from Thursday

Posted by Todd Lammi on March 12th, 2010

Here is a look at the Spring Training News & Notes from Thursday. 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:

Angel Pagan stole his third base of the spring and should have some value the first month of the season in NL only leagues while Carlos Beltran is out of action.

Lorenzo Cain stole his third base of spring for the Milwaukee Brewers and is someone worth stashing on reserve in NL only dynasty leagues. He had a chance to open the season as the starting center fielder this season before he suffered a partially torn MCL in 2009. With no guarantee that Carlos Gomez is able to hold up as the starting center fielder, Cain could possibly see time later this season.

It looks like the position switch of Jose Lopez (to 3B) and Chone Figgins (to 2B) could grant extra flexibility for your fantasy baseball line up several weeks into the season.

As much as Chicago Cubs manager Lou Pinella wants to see Starlin Castro spend time at Triple-A, I still think he makes it to the major leagues sooner than later this season. Castro went two for three with three runs scored on Thursday, including his first home run of spring.

Pitchers:

Shaun Marcum had another solid outing for the Toronto Blue Jays with three shutout innings and two strikeouts. Marcum who missed the 2009 season after Tommy John surgery is a good late round option draft choice.

Keep an eye on Madison Bumgarner of the San Francisco Giants as he was supposed to open the season as the 5th starter. His velocity that dropped at the end of 2009 has reportedly not bounced back and he struggled on Thursday walking four in two innings and allowing two runs with no strikeouts.

James McDonald has been unable to take control of one of the rotation spots for the Los Angeles Dodgers so far this spring. He allowed three runs and five base runners in two innings.

Spring Training News & Notes from Wednesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on March 11th, 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:

Jose Bautista hit his third home run of the spring and is a good source of late game power in a draft as the starting right fielder for the Toronto Blue Jays if you team can support his low batting average.

Marlon Byrd might be able to retain his breakout numbers from last season as it looks like he will be hitting second in the Chicago Cubs line up after Ryan Theriot and in front of Derrek Lee.

After seeing 200 at bats in the one slot in the batting order in 2009, it looks like Aaron Rowand will be taking up full-time residence there in 2010, which should give him a boost in runs scored this season.

Pitchers:

Kris Medlen tossed three shutout innings with two strikeouts. I wrote about him last week in 2010 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers. The talent is there and he will get an opportunity at some point this year as a starter.

Joba Chamberlain was bombed, allowing six runs in 2 1/3 innings with three walks. History has shown that his numbers are much better as a relief pitcher so I have Phil Hughes penciled in for the fifth starter spot.

I put Neftali Feliz in the same boat as Joba right now. It does not look like Feliz will be making the transition to starter which limits his value if he is only a seventh or eighth inning set up man. He allowed four runs on four hits in two innings on Wednesday.

It looks like Ben Sheets still has some rust to shake off after allowing five runs in 2 2/3 innings for the Oakland A’s.

After missing part of the 2008 season and all of 2009, Jeff Francis is back on the hill for the Colorado Rockies. He tossed three shutout innings with two strikeouts on Wednesday.

Spring Training News & Notes from Tuesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on March 10th, 2010

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.

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