Posts Tagged ‘Chris Carter’

2010 Waiver Wire – Week 20

Posted by Tony Mancini on August 12th, 2010

Here is a look at some potential players to target in your fantasy baseball league that might be out there on the waiver wire for upcoming week 20.

American League

OF  Gregor Blanco – Acquired from Atlanta as part the Rick Ankiel/Kyle Farnsworth deal, Blanco is playing everyday for Kansas City’s depleted outfield.  Blanco has never hit for power but will grab you a handful to a dozen steals for the rest of the season.

1B  Chris Carter – One of Oakland’s top prospects, Carter was called up earlier this week to give the team some much needed power.  Although he is hitless in his first nine at-bats in the majors, he had 27 home runs with 89 RBI in Triple-A while batting .261

C  Jarod Saltalamacchia – Salty was traded to the Red Sox at the deadline and with Jason Varitek and now Kevin Cash on the DL, Salty will back-up Victor Martinez for a few weeks and will start when V-Mart plays first base.  Martinez is a free agent at the end of the year so Salty could be the starter next year if you are in a keeper league.

National League

2B/3B  Mike Fontenot – With Edgar Renteria hitting the disabled list, the Giants traded for Fontenot last night.  He has made four starts at short this year along with 33 games at second and 13 at third.  He played 50 games at third last year.  He will be a nice fill in until Renteria comes back and then will likely be a super utility guy after that.  He could give you some power over the next couple of weeks as he hit nine home runs each of the last two years in limited at bats.

2B/3B/SS/OF  Jamey Carroll – another super utility guy for the Dodgers having played 40 games at second, 10 at third, 45 at short and five in the outfield.  Playing regularly all over the field, Carroll is hitting .276 with 40 runs scored and seven stolen bases and will see extended playing time with Rafael Furcal on the disabled list.

Mixed Leagues

SP  Jeremy Hellickson – The Rays do not seem to be too worried even though then placed 40% of their starting rotation on the disabled list this week with shoulder problems.  Hellickson has made two starts this season and has gone 14 innings with 13 strikeouts and a 1.28 ERA.  He’s going to be starting for at least the next two weeks and is a great keeper for next year as well.

2B/3B/SS/OF  Jerry Hairston – Hairston has been playing regularly for the Padres all over the field.  He has 37 games at second, two games at third, 60 at shortstop and 11 in the outfield.  Hairston has shown some nice power this year hitting his 10th home run last night and has eight steals on the year.

You can also find additional players to consider in the fantasy baseball buy or sell report for week 19.

Read More »

The Minor League Report – Week 11

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 16th, 2010

Pedro Alvarez became the latest top prospect in the minor leagues to be promoted when he was recalled by the Pittsburgh Pirates today. Alvarez started at third base and hit 6th, going o-for 2 with a walk and a strikeout against the Chicago White Sox. Alvarez was hitting .277 in Triple-A with 13 home runs and 53 RBI in 242 at bats. As much talk as there was about him learning to hit southpaws, he was hitting .323 against them in 62 at bats.

His number one issue that he will encounter in the major leagues will be his plate discipline and his strikeouts rate. His strikeout rate of 28% is somewhat high so his average will likely fluctuate some from year-to-year based on luck, but he will be a solid producer in home runs and RBI for years to come.

With the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox closing in on the Tampa Bay Rays and Wade Davis struggling, there is a good chance we will see Jeremy Hellickson some time in the second half. Hellickson is 8-2 in Triple-A with a 2.42 ERA and 1.11 WHIP with 84 strikeouts in 81 2/3 innings. He has worked scoreless outings in four of his last seven starts and has allowed only three home runs on the season.

With Jake Peavy struggling with injuries for the Chicago White Sox, Dan Hudson may be getting a call up soon to fill a role in the rotation. He has continued his strong run from May into June, where in three starts this month he has a 2.00 ERA with 24 strikeouts in 18 innings while holding hitters to a .175 batting average.

Third basemen Dayan Viciedo of the Chicago White Sox still has some work to do on his plate discipline before he is ready for a promotion to the major leagues. Viciedo is hitting .288 with 13 home runs and 31 RBI in 233 at bats to go along with only eight walks and 52 strikeouts.

First basemen Chris Carter of the Oakland A’s has struggled for most of the year with hi batting average, which currently stands at .249. In 233 at bats, Carter has 15 home runs and 47 RBI. Like most young power hitters, he needs to work on making contact as a 30% strikeout rate is going to make it hard to maintain a good batting average in the major leagues.

Jay Jackson of the Chicago Cubs started the season in the rotation in Triple-A, switched to relief for a short time as the club got him ready in case they needed bullpen help, but he has now gone back into the rotation. For the season, Jackson has a 2.90 ERA with a .98 WHIP and 45 strikeouts in 68 1/3 innings.

If the San Diego Padres trade Heath Bell at some point, Triple-A closer Ernesto Frieri could be in the mix for saves down the line. Frieri moved to closer in 2010 after being in the starting rotation  in 2009 and part of 2008. Frieri has a 2.00 ERA and a .93 ERA with 34 strikeouts in 27 innings while holding hitters to a .122 average.

Read More »

The Minor League Report – Oakland A’s Triple-A Roster

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 15th, 2010

Here is the minor league report for the 2010 Sacramento River Cats, the Triple-A affiliate for the Oakland A’s.

The key name to note on the roster is first basemen Chris Carter. The big guy can mash and with Oakland in serious need of power, it is only a matter of time until he is in the major leagues. As with most A’s hitters, he can draw a walk, getting on base via free pass 85 times last year. Carter has a minor league batting average of .290 and has hit 92 home runs over the last three years.

It will be interesting to follow the careers of Brett Wallace and Michael Taylor since they were traded even up for each other. Not too often you will see top prospects traded for each other like that. Taylor cuts an imposing figure at the plate at 6-6 and 250 pounds, but despite his frame, he has not generated a ton of power in the minor leagues yet. Taylor hit a career-high 20 home runs last year with 21 stolen bases. He has a minor league average of .312 in his career. The A’s will be getting two huge upgrades in the line up the second half of the season with the arrival of Carter and Taylor.

How they rank:

Baseball America: Carter (1), Taylor (2)
Keith Law: Taylor (1), Carter (2)
John Sickels: Carter (1), Taylor (2), Donaldson (9)

Here is a look at 2010 Sacramento River Cats roster by position:

Catchers:

Josh Donaldson
Landon Powell

Infielders:

1B Chris Carter
2B Eric Sogard
SS Steve Tolleson
3B Dallas McPherson
Tyler Ladendorf

Outfielders:

LF Corey Wimberly
CF Matt Carson
RF Michael Taylor
Jai Miller
Corey Brown

Designated Hitter:

Jack Cust

Starting Pitchers:

Vin Mazzaro
Graham Godfrey
Clay Mortensen
Kyle Middleton
Lenny DiNardo

Relief Pitchers:

Michael Benacka
Cedrick Bowers
Sam Demel
Fernando Hernandez
Jon Hunton
Brad Kilby
Marcus McBeth
Henry Rodriguez

Read More »

NFBC Draft Analysis

Posted by Todd Lammi on March 30th, 2010

This past Saturday I competed in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship (NFBC) in Las Vegas in a 15-team mixed league draft. It was a Rotisserie league format with standard 5 x 5 categories. Due to the cost of the entry fees and the prizes that are paid out, all of the NFBC leagues are no trade leagues in order to avoid possible collusion.

Heading into the draft with the #1 pick, I was still debating on Albert Pujols vs. Hanley Ramirez and also how I was going to cope with waiting 28 picks between rounds because of the snake draft. Here is a look at the team with the rounds they were drafted in parenthesis.

Hitters:

C – Victor Martinez (2) – same as in my auction, one of the guys I was targeting, as I have written many times before, I don’t believe in punting the catcher position.

C – Russell Martin (11) – again, same comment applies from my auction, I wasn’t looking to get Martin, but I needed his 10 stolen bases.

1B – Albert Pujols (1) – despite the numerous fantasy baseball leagues I play in each year, I have not owned Pujols a full year since his rookie season. I was debating on Hanley Ramirez, but I took Pujols and hoped that Jose Reyes would make it back to me at the end of round two, but unfortunately he did not.

2B – Brandon Phillips (2) – in my mock drafts I was debating between him and Dustin Pedroia. Since Pedroia was off the board at my pick, it made the decision easier.

SS – Asdrubal Cabrera (10) – high average, should steal a few bases and should score a lot of runs hitting lead off.

3B – Chone Figgins (6) – Not sure I really wanted him, but with Juan Pierre my outfield target already off the board I figured I better grab the stolen bases while I could.

Cor – Paul Konerko (14) – I was very happy he slid back to me.

Mid – Jose Lopez (8) – was happy to get 20 home runs from a middle infielder

OF – Shin-Soo Choo (4) – one of my targets, love to get 20-20 outfielders.

OF – Franklin Gutierrez (12) – hoping that he gets up to 20-20 this season.

OF – Lastings Milledge (16) – same comment as on my auction team, not a huge fan of his, but needed 20 steals and he was the best fit. He is only 25 so there is still some upside there.

OF – Cody Ross (18) – mmm, not much to say.

OF – Will Venable (20) – for some reason I like him, not sure why, I think he has the chance to steal 20 bases with a little bit of power.

UT – Aaron Rowand (22) – really embarrassed to have to type that.

Overall, I am short on power unless Pujols hits 50 and Brandon Phillips hits 30. My outfield is in bad shape, but somehow the rest of my other categories I seem to have met my targets on, although my batting average might be a percentage or two lower than what I need.

Pitchers:

P – Tommy Hanson (5) – picking at #1, I knew that if I did not take a pitcher here, there was not going to be anyone in the top tier left at my next pick.

P – Chad Billingsley (7) – I like him and am willing to discount his second half of last season.

P – Randy Wolf  (15) – decent strikeouts, ERA and WHIP should be higher than in 2009, but still a guy I like in round 15.

P – Brian Matusz (17) – has been getting some hype this spring, but still pitches in the American League East which limits his upside slightly.

P – Ian Kennedy (19) – despite his injuries in the past, I still believe in his minor league numbers and the move to the National League should help, despite his new home ballpark.

P – Bronson Arroyo (21) – just have to keep reminding him, “no guitar, no guitar”.

P – Bud Norris (23) – still a pitch short of being a successful starting pitcher. I like him for his strikeouts, will have to spot start him.

RP – Jose Valverde (9) – I think he is in the second tier of closers after the top 3-4.

RP – Bobby Jenks (13) – crossing my fingers he holds it together for the full season.

I like my staff a lot more than the staff from my auction team. I think Hanson and Billingsley are two solid anchors and Kennedy and Matusz have some upside. I have some work to do on my ratios based on my projections unless Matusz, Kennedy and Norris are able to make some improvements.

Reserves:

Rd 1 – Jeremy Hellickson – I expect him up by the middle of the season although it is hard to see who he would replace based on the current Tampa Bay rotation.

Rd 2 – Jose Guillen – not sure if this is better or worse than Aaron Rowand

Rd 3 – Mike Adams – when / if Heath Bell gets traded, I think Adams takes over.

Rd 4 – C.J. Wilson – a flier

Rd 5 – Chris Carter (Oakland) – with Oakland short on power, I think he is up in July.

Rd 6 – Ramon Ortiz – late round gamble on him winning the 5th starter job with the Dodgers

Rd 7 – David Bush – Rick Peterson will work his magic with at least one Milwaukee Brewers pitcher, hopefully I picked the right one.

Read More »

2010 Oakland Athletics Team Preview

Posted by Todd Lammi on March 14th, 2010

This is the fourth part our series of 2010 fantasy baseball team previews looking at the American League West. The team previews will include the projected batting order, projected rotation, rookies that could make an impact in 2010 as well as each players current ADP for a 15 team mixed fantasy baseball league.

2010 Oakland Athletics Projected Batting Order:

1.  LF Rajai Davis (ADP 154)
2.  2B Mark Ellis (ADP 368)
3.  C Kurt Suzuki (ADP 139)
4.  3B Kevin Kouzmanoff (ADP 282)
5.  1B Daric Barton (ADP 393)
6.  DH Jack Cust (ADP 242)
7.  RF Ryan Sweeney (ADP 245)
8.  CF Coco Crisp (ADP 360)
9.  SS Cliff Pennington (ADP 491)

2010 Oakland Athletics Projected Rotation & Bullpen:

1.  Ben Sheets (ADP 227)
2.  Justin Duchscherer (ADP 347)
3.  Brett Anderson (ADP 160)
4.  Dallas Braden (ADP 498)
5.  Trevor Cahill / Gio Gonzalez (ADP 479/429)

Closer – Andrew Bailey (ADP 128)
Handcuff – Michael Wuertz / Brad Ziegler

2010 Oakland Athletics Prospects with potential impact this year:

1.  Michael Taylor – OF
2. Chris Carter – 1B


Read More »

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.

Read More »

 

Designed by: Free Cell Phones | Thanks to Highest CD Rates, Domain Registration and Registry Software