Posts Tagged ‘Elvis Andrus’

2011 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Shortstop

Posted by Todd Lammi on January 8th, 2011

Here is the fourth article in the series for 2011 fantasy baseball rankings looking at the position of shortstop. As usual the position is top of heavy with only a couple of players with possible upside in the middle tiers with Ian Desmond, Starlin Castro and Elvis Andrus.

If you are looking for steals late in the draft, there are a few players that will be able to swipe close to 20 bases, such as Erick Aybar, Cliff Pennington and Ryan Theriot.

Just a reminder that you will be able to get player projections and more player rankings in the 2011 Fantasy Baseball Tools Draft Guide which will be released on February 1.

1. Hanley Ramirez – scored under 100 runs for the first time in his career and home runs dropped for the second consecutive season. Lost out on some RBI chances by getting 97 at bats from the leadoff spot. Combination of his position plus his ability still makes him the number two pick in fantasy baseball drafts and he will go number one in some leagues depending on the number of teams, roster size, etc.

2. Troy Tulowitzki – it’s interesting that statistically his season was better in 2009 in most categories except batting average, yet his ADP looks like he will be drafted higher in 2011. Saved his season stat wise with an incredible September, hitting 15 home runs and knocking in 40 runs in 115 at bats while hitting .322.

3. Jose Reyes – held up for a whole season, but made less effort to steal bases which hurts his value. Was only 11-for-19 on stolen bases the second half of the season. He went in the second to third rounds in most fantasy drafts last year when he was injured so don’t expect to get him at any type of discount in 2011.

4. Derek Jeter – the decline is finally starting to show for Jeter at age 36. Because of his team and where he hits in the lineup, he will still be good for runs scored. His .270 batting average was a career low as was his .340 slugging percentage. Power numbers were down after the All-Star break with just two home runs in 298 at bats. Struggled against right-handed pitching, bating .246 in 341 at bats.

5. Jimmy Rollins – Just turned 32 in November and batting average has dropped for three straight years. After suffering three different injuries to his legs last year in the form of strains and muscle pulls plus with him being a free agent at the end of this season, hopefully he has hit the weight room hard in the offseason to take of those potential issues in 2011. With an ADP that currently puts him in the middle of the third round, people picking at the front of the draft and going to have a good chance to grab him.

6. Alexei Ramirez – has had a pretty solid cluster grouping in three seasons in all stat categoires except for runs scored which has edged up slightly each season. Ran more on the bases the second half of the season, stealing 10 of his 13 bases.

7. Rafael Furcal – was on his way to a comeback season before injuries struck again. Has had less than 400 at bats in two of the last three years. Still managed to put up the same amount of home runs and RBI despite having 230 less at bats and his stolen bases were over 20 for the first time since 2007.

8. Elvis Andrus – caught a break when Julio Borbon could not cut it in the outfield and moved from last to first in the batting order. Got worse on the base paths in 2010 which is a slight concern going forward. Was only 9-for-14 on steals after the All-Star break.

9. Stephen Drew – maybe the expectations are too high based on the hype and his last name that he doesn’t get enough credit for having a decent season and others take it to be disappointing. Has kind of settled in to what he is, a mid-teen power guy with a couple of stolen bases. With Reynolds and LaRoche gone, this should be the year he finally cracks 70 RBI.

10. Starlin Castro – turns 21 in March so is still a few years away from any power showing. Should be close to a .300 hitter for his career, but steal needs to work on his base running. Was only 10-for-18 on stolen bases with the Cubs and had a success rate of 65% in the minor leagues.

11. Ian Desmond – not a bad rookie season for Desmond who will be close to 15 home runs and 20 steals if he can hit a few more home runs on the road after hitting just two in 263 at bats last year. Still needs work on his plate discipline as evidenced by his 28 to 109 walk to strikeout ratio. SO far his numbers in 607 total bats have been better than what he showed in 638 games in the minor leagues in terms of batting average and stolen base success.

12. Miguel Tejada – Tejada returns to the National League and the Bay Area at 36 years of age. Like Jeter, he also suffered a drop in batting average last season. He has been consistent with playing time, getting 600 at bats or more in nine of the last 10 seasons.

13. Jhonny Peralta – power picked up after being shipped to Detroit as did his plate discipline. Qualifies at SS and 3B but has much more value at SS or middle infield.

14. Marco Scutaro - don’t expect another 600 at season from Scutaro since he will be moving from hitting first to lower in the batting order in Boston. Will also qualify at 2b in leagues with a 10 game minimum.

15. Yunel Escobar – was awful in Atlanta the first half of the year with no home runs in 261 at bats with a .238 batting average before being shipped to Toronto where he hit .275 with four home runs in 60 games. Should bounce back like Kelly Johnson did when he left Atlanta but not quite to that extent.

16. Jason Bartlett – came back to earth as his power from 2009 did not carry over and he even ran less on the bases which left him with little value. Move to PETCO Park and the nation league will impact his stats as well.

17. J.J. Hardy – a wrist injury plus the pressure of playing for a new team and trying to bounce back from a disappointing 2009 impacted his performance at the plate. Was better after the All-Star break hitting .304 in 181 at bats vs. .226 the first half of the year.

18. Erick Aybar – season ended on a down note for Aybar after hitting .206 after the All-Star break. Managed to drive in only 16 runs in 325 at bats in the first half which almost seems impossible in the American League. Was pretty much useless hitting anywhere in the lineup but first, hitting .184 in 147 at bats in other parts of the lineup.

19. Cliff Pennington - batting average and power are always going to be low, but if you need steals late in the draft, could be worth a shot. It’s a pity he cannot get on base more because when he steals, he has great success, 40-for-51 career in the major leagues.

20. Ryan Theriot – wasn’t the same player once he left Chicago. Was only 4-for-9 on steals the second half of the season. His stats at Busch stadium are not too pretty, with a .220 average in 109 at bats. Qualifies at both second base and shortstop in 2011.

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2010 Fantasy Baseball Tiers – Shortstop

Posted by Todd Lammi on March 25th, 2010

In a fantasy baseball draft or auction, it is helpful to use average draft position reports along with tiered rankings in order to make sure you get a player you want from each group before there is a statistical drop off.

Here is a look at the 2010 fantasy baseball tiers for shortstop.

Tier 1:  rounds 1-3

1.  Hanley Ramirez
2.  Jimmy Rollins
3.  Troy Tulowitzki
4.  Jose Reyes
5.  Derek Jeter

Tier 2:  rounds 7-8

6.  Jason Bartlett
7.  Alexei Ramirez
8.   Elvis Andrus

Tier 3:  rounds 10-15

9.  Miguel Tejada
10. Yunel Escobar
11.  Asdrubal Cabrera
12.  Erick Aybar
13.  Stephen Drew
14.  Alcides Escobar
15.  Everth Cabrera
16.  Rafael Furcal

Tier 4:  rounds 16-20

17.  J.J. Hardy
18.  Marco Scutaro
19.  Orlando Cabrera
20.  Ryan Theriot

Tier 5:  bottom of the barrel

21.  Cliff Pennington
22.  Ian Desmond
23.  Julio Lugo
24.  Edgar Renteria

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2010 Fantasy Baseball ADP – Shortstops

Posted by Todd Lammi on February 13th, 2010

by Todd Lammi

This is the fourth article in the series looking at the current 2010 fantasy baseball ADP (average draft position) for players at shortstop. The data uses ADP numbers from Mock Draft Central using the NFBC scoring system.

The chart below lists players arranged by my 2010 fantasy baseball rankings with the current ADP broken down by where that player would fall in a 12 or 15 team league by round and pick. The one caveat being that the 12 team numbers may be skewed slightly as some players may go later than others due to the larger player pool to pick from.

Undervalued:

J.J Hardy is currently going off the board as the number 19 shortstop which is too low in my eyes. He had some issues last season like the increase in strikeouts and being demoted to Triple-A. But don’t fall into the trap that many fantasy baseball owners do. You are not drafting him based on last years performance, but are selecting him based on his future performance in 2010. If he hits second in the batting order after Denard Span and Joe Mauer, he is going to get pitches to hit and is going to score more runs that he would have in the National League.

Everth Cabrera / Alcides Escobar are undervalued depending on the makeup of your team. If you are short on stolen bases midway through the draft, you could wait on Elvis Andrus and grab Cabrera or Escobar several rounds later. Cabrera will get you more steals and Escobar will have fewer steals but a higher batting average between the two.

Overvalued:

People seem to be looking at Rafael Furcal as if it were still 2006. His days of 20-30 steals are over with his recent back problems. If you are going to take a shortstop at the spot in the draft where he is currently going, you need someone that performs much better in home runs and RBI or steals more bases than what Furcal is going to give you.

12 Teams 15 Teams
Rank Name ADP Round Pick Round Pick
1 Hanley Ramirez 1 1 1 1 1
2 Jimmy Rollins 21 2 9 2 6
3 Troy Tulowitzki 17 2 5 2 2
4 Jose Reyes 23 2 11 2 8
5 Derek Jeter 51 5 3 4 6
6 Alexei Ramirez 105 9 9 7 15
7 Miguel Tejada 142 12 10 10 7
8 Jason Bartlett 104 9 8 7 14
9 Asdrubal Cabrera 155 13 11 11 5
10 Elvis Andrus 160 14 4 11 10
11 Yunel Escobar 151 13 7 11 1
12 Stephen Drew 113 10 5 8 8
13 J.J. Hardy 247 21 7 17 7
14 Everth Cabrera 223 19 7 15 13
15 Alcides Escobar 251 21 11 17 11
16 Rafael Furcal 131 11 11 9 11
17 Marco Scutaro 203 17 11 14 8
18 Erick Aybar 198 17 6 14 3
19 Ryan Theriot 238 20 10 16 13
20 Orlando Cabrera 187 16 7 13 7

The FBT Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide is now available for purchase for just $9.99. You can view a sample here to see the template for the top 10 catchers and top 10 starting pitchers.

The Draft Guide includes the following:

  • Projections in Excel for 480 players using the standard 5 x 5 fantasy baseball categories
  • Cheat sheets already set up to be printed out
  • Expanded player rankings for all positions
  • Ages for all players as of opening day
  • Word / PDF document that explains how to use the projections and some tips for some neat things to do in Excel.
  • The first article that will be only available to subscribers (and not posted on the website) for “how to win your fantasy baseball draft league”. This is a seven page document with 3,500 words of fantasy baseball goodness based on my 20 years of playing in fantasy baseball leagues.
  • You will also receive weekly reports every Monday that feature updates to rankings and a new article all the way up to opening day.
  • Support for any questions you have in regards to Excel to ensure you get the most out of the data.

Order now to get the information you need to dominate the competition!!!

Next up in the 2010 Fantasy Baseball ADP rankings will be third basemen.

Read More »

2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Shortstops

Posted by Todd Lammi on January 30th, 2010

by Todd Lammi

This is the fourth report in the series of our 2010 fantasy baseball rankings looking at the position of shortstop. If you miss out on one of the top tier shortstops early, your options in the middle to later in the draft will offer you the potential to pick up some players with stolen bases but not much power.

This position features quite a few question marks as we head into fantasy baseball draft season. Will Jose Reyes rebound from surgery and still be able to steal 50+ bases? Can J.J. Hardy bounce back in a new environment after being demoted to AAA last season? Does rookie Ian Desmond get the chance to start at shortstop or does he start the season in the minor leagues?

Those of some of the questions to consider as you prepare for key players to focus in on. Let’s take a look at the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings to see where the value is.

1) Hanley Ramirez – the number one shortstop and the number two pick overall in fantasy baseball drafts. The stolen bases are trending downward going from 50 to 35 to 27 the last three seasons but the five-category package at a hard position to fill solidifies his status as the second best  player.

2) Jimmy Rollins – even in an off year he still went 21-77-31. He gets 670+ at bats every year and will score a ton of runs in the Philadelphia Phillies batting order. There had to something wrong with him the first half of the season that was never reported with the stat line he put up. The numbers then returned to normal after the All-Star break as he went 14-43-15.

3) Troy Tulowitzki – much like Aaron Hill, he bounced back after a subpar 2008 and put up stats similar to his 2007 numbers.  His career 57% success rate stealing bases means he might not run as much going forward. His 20 steals last year were 13 higher than his previous best total

4) Jose Reyes – the boom or bust pick of the shortstop position. His current fantasy baseball ADP has him going at the middle-to-end of the second round making him a potential steal IF he returns to form, as he was a top 5 pick in fantasy baseball drafts in previous seasons. Coming back from surgery due to a torn tendon in his hamstring and he has had some hamstring issues in the past make him a risky pick. He will be worth watching closely in spring training to see how well he is running.

5) Derek Jeter – he must not have liked what he heard about his regressing defense after the 2008 season. His new workout in the off-season  I think played a part in him boosting his offensive numbers, coupled with a new stadium that is kind to hitters. Still showing no sign of slowing down at age 35.

6) Alexei Ramirez – solid numbers across the board in his second season as he improved his plate discipline from 18 walks and 61 strikeouts to 49  and 66 in 62 more at bats.

7) Miguel Tejada – showed no signs of easing up at age 35 and even boosted his numbers last year, adding eight doubles, 20 more RBI and tacking on an additional 30 points in batting average. Age, coupled with moving back to the American East where the division is stacked with good pitching should give Tejada’s numbers a slight decrease across the board.

8.) Jason Bartlett – where did the power come from? Went from a single home run in 2008 to 14 last year. A change in the batting order helped to account for the increase in numbers. Hit lead-off 218 times, where he hit half of  his home runs from after batting ninth in all of 2008.

9) Asdrubal Cabrera – provides added flexibility of qualifying at second base and shortstop. Look for continued growth in 2010; should be bumped up a few spots in dynasty leagues.

10) Elvis Andrus – wow, nice season as 21-year-old rookie where he put up similar numbers in both halves of the season.  When doing fantasy baseball projections, it is important to keep in mind position in the batting order as noted with Bartlett above. If Andrus ends up hitting second like he did part of the year in 2009, 40 stolen bases is a good possibility.

11) Yunel Escobar – the second best hitter in the Atlanta Braves lineup. Much more consistent in all categories than the next two players after him on my 2010 fantasy baseball rankings.

12) Stephen Drew – struggled out the gate with an injury and never made up ground. His 2009 numbers look pretty much the same as 2007. When  I hear the name Drew, I just think of missed at bats. Another player that gets drafted much higher than he should based on name and “potential”.

13) J.J. Hardy – there was no hot streak in 2009 to carry him like he had in 2008 and 2007. After spending the end of the of the season in the minor leagues and traded to the Minnesota Twins in the off-season, Hardy should see an improvement in numbers, especially if he gets slotted second in the batting order. Of some concern to note is his strikeout rate, which has crept up 7 percentage points over the last two years.

14) Everth Cabrera – quite a jump for Cabrera, going from a Rule-V pick that had never played above Single-A,  to a solid shortstop for the San Diego Padres. Has some defensive issues but the team should let him work through them. An outside shot to lead all the shortstops in steals depending on the health of Reyes.

15) Alcides Escobar -  handled himself quite well in 125 at bats with Milwaukee, batting .304 with four steals. No real power to speak of but should provide solid batting average and stolen bases in his first full season.

16) Rafael Furcal – another shortstop getting drafted much too high. His back surgery last July seems to have robbed him of his wheels. Without the 25+ steals, he is just another guy.

17) Marco Scutaro – not too often you see guys in their mid-30′s become full-time starters and parlay that into a nice payday. Should be good for another season of slightly reduced numbers now with the Boston Red Sox.

18) Erick Aybar – add up his numbers from 2007 and 2008 and presto, you have his 2009 year. He has decent speed, but unfortunately he has not learned to steal bases correctly yet, as evidenced by his 65% success rate in the minor leagues and 59% rate in the Show.

19) Ryan Theriot – no power, but he is nice to own if you are looking for stolen bases late in your fantasy baseball draft.

20) Orlando Cabrera – assuming he has a starting job.

The FBT Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide is now available for purchase for just $9.99. You can view a sample here to see the template for the top 10 catchers and top 10 starting pitchers.

The Draft Guide includes the following:

  • Projections in Excel for 480 players using the standard 5 x 5 fantasy baseball categories
  • Cheat sheets already set up to be printed out
  • Expanded player rankings for all positions
  • Ages for all players as of opening day
  • Word / PDF document that explains how to use the projections and some tips for some neat things to do in Excel.
  • The first article that will be only available to subscribers (and not posted on the website) for “how to win your fantasy baseball draft league”. This is a seven page document with 3,500 words of fantasy baseball goodness based on my 20 years of playing in fantasy baseball leagues.
  • You will also receive weekly reports every Monday that feature updates to rankings and a new article all the way up to opening day.
  • Support for any questions you have in regards to Excel to ensure you get the most out of the data.

Order now to get the information you need to dominate the competition!!!

Next up in the series for the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings will be third basemen.

Read More »

Fantasy Baseball – the Daily Dirt for Wednesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 3rd, 2009

by Todd Lammi

If you are an Atlanta Braves fan, today has provided quite a swing of emotion. Three events happened which all somewhat coincided with each other depending on who’s version of the story you want to believe to shuffle the Atlanta roster. The first move was the Braves fleecing the Pittsburgh Pirates out of Nate McLouth for three prospects, none of whom were named, Tommy Hanson, Kris Medlen, Jason Heyward or Freddie Freeman. Even with the addition of McLouth who takes the spot of Jordan Schafer who was recently demoted, the Braves are still short a bat in their line up. At only $2 million, the Braves take on very little salary by adding McLouth this season.

The next move the Braves made frees up salary, by surprisingly releasing Tom Glavine who was due to return from the minor leagues on rehab assignment very shortly. The release of Glavine saves the Braves $3.5 million in salary, in addition to creating a roster spot for top prospect Tommy Hanson who was called up from Triple-A. Hanson will move into the Braves rotation Saturday and get the start against the Milwaukee Brewers. Kris Medlen gets a pat on the back for striking out nine in his six innings in his last start and a trip to the bullpen.

For the Pirates, the trade of McLouth opens up center field for Andrew McCutchen who should see the majority of starts for the rest of the season. McCutchen was hitting .303 with four home runs, 20 RBI and 10 stolen bases in 201 at bats in Triple-A.

If you are a fan on minor league players or have some on your team, these last two weeks have to feel like Christmas with Matt Wieters getting called up and then Hanson and McCutchen getting called up today. If that was not special enough, late Wednesday night it was announced that Gordon Beckham has been recalled by the Chicago White Sox.  If the White Sox are calling him up after just a week in Triple-A, it stands to reason he is going to be in the starting line up somewhere in the infield. Beckham was hitting .464 in Triple-A with three RBI and one steal in seven games. Between two levels on the season, he was at .326 with four home runs and 25 RBI. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Wednesday night…

Hitters:

Ben Zorbist, wow, where did all the power come from?  Zorbist should be a permanent fixture in the Tampa Bay Rays line up going forward, and is rewarding fantasy baseball owners, by connecting for home runs on consecutive days. Zorbist is currently on pace for a .300 average with 33 home runs, 105 RBI and 16 steals.

Nice to see Elvis Andrus finally turning on the jets a little bit, as he stole two bases and went 2 for 3 at the plate. With stolen bases in consecutive games, he is now on pace for 30 thefts on the season.

Jorge Posada homered for the second straight and has been on a nice roll since returning from the disabled list on May 29th with three home runs in six games with six RBI.

Bobby Abreu went 2 for 5 with 4 RBI including his second home run of the season. After being on a stolen base tear for the first month and a half of the season, Abreu has not stolen a base since May 19th.

Dan Uggla homered for the second consecutive day and is now up to 11 home runs with 39 RBI. His batting average is s-l-o-w-l-y creeping up t0 .219 after being around the Mendoza line for much of the season.

Hunter Pence went 4 for 5 with 3 RBI and slugged his sixth home run of the season. The home run Wednesday night matched Pence’s home run total for the entire month of May.

Ryan Howard hit home run number 16 and knocked in two runs giving him  45 RBI on the season. He has now driven in a run in five consecutive game, totaling 11 plated runners.

Laynce Nix hit two home runs and drove in four, giving him seven RBI in June which matches his total for the entire month of May. He should continue to get the majoirty of at bats against right-handed pitching.

Brandon Phillips went 3 for 5 with 3 RBI and two stolen bases and has homered three times in his last five games.

Scott Hairston was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained biceps. Will Venable was recalled from Triple-A and should see time along with Tony Gwynn Jr.

Asdrubal Cabrera was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained left shoulder and is expected to be out 2-4 weeks. Jamey Carroll should see time at third base with Jhonny Peralta moving over to shortstop. Carroll went 2 for 6 batting second on Wednesday. Peralta, back at his old position of shortstop went 3 for 5 with 3 RBI, including his second long ball of the year.

Pitchers:

Possibly there is light at the end of the tunnel for Jeff Niemann who tossed a complete game shutout with nine strikeouts to earn his fifth win of the season and lower his ERA to 3.77. Niemann has allowed two runs in his last 18 innings with 18 strikeouts and has seen his overall ERA decrease in his last five outings.

Jered Weaver hurled seven innings of one run ball with 10 strikeouts to improve his record to 5-2 on the year.  He has now allowed one run in five of his six last starts, although he only has two wins in those outings due to a lack of run support.

Ted Lilly allowed one run in seven innings with seven strikeouts in a no decision against the Atlanta Braves. He cost himself a win with a throwing error that caused an unearned run to score.

Josh Beckett tossed 7 2/3 shutout innings with nine strikeouts to up his record to 6-2 on the year.  He has allowed two runs or less in his last four starts while shaving two full runs off of his ERA.

Scott Feldman allowed two runs in 6 1/3 innings with five strikeouts to improve to a perfect 5-0 on the season. As a starter this season, remember that he had three relief appearances that threw his ERA out of whack, Feldman had an ERA of 2.59 heading into the game.

Josh Outman moved to 3-0, after allowing two runs in 6 2/3 innings with two strikeouts. Check out the top 2o in pitching for May, he ranked high in several statistics.

Cliff Lee allowed one run in eight innings with five strikeouts to notch his third victory of the year. Despite his 3-6 record, Lee has a 2.96 ERA as the Indians have been shut out or scored one run in six of his starts this year.

J.A. Happ tossed seven shutout innings with four strikeouts to earn his fourth win of the season and second in three starts.

Chad Billingsley hurled six shutout innings with nine strikeouts to up his mrk to 7-3 on the year. His numbers would be even more impressive if he managed to reduce his walks, after walking four or more batters in 5 of his last 7 starts.

Closers:

Jose Valverde is expected to go on a short rehab assignment next week and if all goes well is on track to return from the disabled list around June 12th.

Joakim Soria returned to action, facing two batters and throwing 13 pitches. I would still hold on to Juan Cruz for another week or two if you need saves, just in case.

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Fantasy Baseball – May Shortstop Rankings

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 1st, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Instead of using some complicated formula to review May fantasy baseball statistics, here is a breakdown for the numbers for the month sorted by RBI, for shortstops. It has been a pretty topsy-turvy year at shortstop with top three shortstops Jose Reyes and Jimmy Rollins under performing, and the breakouts of Jason Bartlett and Marco Scutaro.

Miguel Tejada looked dead in April with zero home runs and four RBI but bounced back nicely in May to lead all shortstops in RBI.  Jason Bartlett will miss at least the first two weeks of June on the disabled list with a sprained ankle. Jerry Hairston Jr. has been one of the bright spots on offense for the Cincinnati Red, playing six different positions already this season.

At least Jimmy Rollins is stealing bases, because he is not displaying signs of picking up his batting average or hitting home runs any time soon. Stephen Drew looks lost at the plate, striking out 19 times in 65 at bats in May. Missing time early in the season on the disabled list with a hamstring injury did not help. It also does not help the Arizona Diamondbacks continue to bat him clean up when he is struggling which puts more pressure on him to produce. He struck out eight times in the last three games of May. Juan Castro had more RBI than Rafael Furcal in May and is good insurance to have on the bench in National League only leagues as Furcal battles through minor injuries.

RK PLAYER TEAM AB BA R HR RBI SB
1 Miguel Tejada HOU 108 0.380 16 5 25 1
2 Jason Bartlett TAM 80 0.388 18 4 23 9
Yunel Escobar ATL 91 0.319 17 3 17 0
3 J.J. Hardy MIL 80 0.313 16 2 17 0
Ryan Theriot CHC 99 0.273 18 5 15 2
5 Jhonny Peralta CLE 95 0.316 8 1 15 0
7 Jerry Hairston Jr. CIN 102 0.294 25 6 14 4
Alexei Ramirez CHW 96 0.281 10 2 14 4
9 Derek Jeter NYY 112 0.321 17 3 13 6
Orlando Cabrera OAK 123 0.228 14 2 12 0
Jimmy Rollins PHI 126 0.238 22 2 12 8
Adam Everett DET 66 0.318 10 1 12 3
10 Edgar Renteria SFO 85 0.235 8 0 12 3
14 Hanley Ramirez FLA 103 0.359 21 6 11 5
Troy Tulowitzki COL 99 0.242 12 2 11 3
16 Alex Gonzalez CIN 67 0.254 3 1 10 0
Stephen Drew ARI 65 0.215 9 1 10 0
Marco Scutaro TOR 121 0.322 19 0 10 4
Ramon Santiago DET 43 0.349 9 2 9 0
19 Jack Wilson PIT 67 0.239 8 1 9 0
21 Cristian Guzman WAS 121 0.298 20 2 8 0
Jose Reyes NYM 59 0.271 9 1 8 7
Juan Uribe SFO 54 0.315 3 0 8 0
Nick Punto MIN 66 0.152 10 0 8 4
Nick Green BOS 53 0.321 5 0 8 1
26 Brendan Harris MIN 84 0.238 8 2 7 0
Elvis Andrus TEX 89 0.303 12 2 7 4
28 Juan Castro LAD 34 0.382 11 1 6 0
Khalil Greene STL 41 0.171 1 0 6 1
30 Omar Vizquel TEX 33 0.333 4 0 5 2
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Fantasy Baseball – the Daily Dirt for Friday

Posted by Todd Lammi on May 22nd, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Jimmy Rollins hit his third home run of the season and stole his sixth base of the year. He has raised his batting average 40 points in the last seven games up to .240. In addition to slumping at the plate, he has struggled on the base paths this season getting caught stealing four times in 10 attempts. As a point of reference, he was 47 for 50 on stolen bases last season and 41 for 47 in 2007. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Friday…

Hitters:

Brandon Inge hit is 12th home run of the season and drove in two runs giving him 31 RBI on the season. He is now on pace for 49 home runs for the year. And people still don’t believe in the juiced ball theory? Brandon Inge, 49 home runs in one year? His career high was 27 back in 2006.

Exhibit two of my juiced ball theory, Raul Ibanez, with his third home run in as many days, this one coming at Yankee Stadium and Ibanez is now on pace for 65 home runs and 166 RBI. He leads the National League with 16 home runs, 41 RBI and is second in runs scored with 36.

Speaking of the new Yankee Stadium, through the first 21 games, 82 home runs have been hit which is a major league record, breaking the mark of 77 hit at Houston’s Enron Field back in 2000.

Carlos Pena hit home run number 15 on the season and drove in three runs in a 15-2 victory over the Florida Marlins. Pena is currently third in the American League with 38 RBI.

Michael Cuddyer hit for the cycle, going 4 for 5 with 5 RBI and slugging his seventh home run of the season, giving him 30 RBI on the year.

Nolan Reimold went 2 for 5 and hit his second home run of the season and is now batting .313 on the year.

Elvis Andrus went 4 for 5, knocking out his third home run of the year and stealing his sixth base of the season. Andrus is now hitting .292 on the year.

Pitchers:

Johan Santana allowed two runs in seven innings with eight strikeouts to get his sixth won of the year. The 118 pitches he threw on Friday night were the most he had thrown this season.

Bronson Arroyo allowed one run in eight innings with two strikeouts to notch his 6th win of the season, good for a tie for first in the National League with Johan Santana and Chad Billingsley.

Kevin Slowey improved to 6-1, surrendering two runs in 7 1/3 innings with four strikeouts. It was the fourth straight start he has allowed three runs or fewer.

Rick Porcello allowed one run in six innings and struck out three to move to 5-3 on the season. He has now allowed three runs in his last 24 innings and has reeled off four consecutive wins.

Bret Myers allowed three runs in eight innings with five strikeouts to pick up win number four on the season.

Kenshin Kawakami picked up his third win of the year with a 1-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. Kawakami pitched eight shutout innings and struck out seven. Roy Halladay hurled seven shutout innings for the Blue Jays and fanned six.

Gavin Floyd tossed eight shutout innings with eight strikeouts to earn his first win in more than a month, in a 2-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Zach Duke suffered the loss, allowing two runs in eight innings with seven strikeouts.

Jordan Zimmermann allowed two runs in seven innings with seven strikeouts in a no decision against the Baltimore Orioles.

Todd Wellemeyer threw six scoreless innings with three strikeouts to even his mark at 4-4 on the season. He was much more effective with his pitches, needing only 85 to get through six innings.

Derek Holland made his first major league start for the Texas Rangers and allowed three runs in 5 2/3 innings with four strikeouts. With Vincente Padilla on the disabled list, Holland should see another start or two.

There has got to be an injury that Ricky Nolasco is hiding for him to be this bad. Nolasco allowed eight runs for the second consecutive start and now sports a 9.07 ERA.

Daisuke Matsuzaka returned from the disabled list and allowed four runs in five innings with four strikeouts in a 5-3 loss to the New York Mets.

Chien-Ming Wang returned to the New York Yankees and threw three innings from the bullpen, allowing six hits and two runs with two strikeouts.

David Price is expected to be recalled by the Tampa Bay Rays to take the rotation spot vacated by Scott Kazmir who was placed on the disabled list with a quadriceps strain. Price would likely get the start Monday against the Cleveland Indians.

Rich Harden was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a back strain. Carlos Zambrano returned from the disabled list Friday and will take Harden’s spot in the rotation.

Closers:

Troy Percival was placed on the 15-day disabled list with shoulder tendinitis. Tampa Bay Rays Manager Joe Maddon said he would go with the dreaded closer by committee in place of Percival.

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Fantasy Baseball – the Daily Dirt for Wednesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on May 6th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

New York Mets starter Johan Santana hurled seven shutout innings with 10 strikeouts to pick up his fourth win of the season in a 1-0 shutout of the Philadelphia Phillies. Santana was  dominant in his start, throwing 72% of his pitches for strikes. Jose Reyes added his seventh stolen base of the season for the Mets. Jon Niese is expected to get the start on Friday in place of Oliver Perez (15-day disabled list) for the Mets. Chan Ho Park kept his starting rotation spot for another week for the Phillies, allowing one hit in six scoreless innings with five strikeouts. In other fantasy baseball news from around the diamond on Wednesday…

National League:

The Colorado Rockies used three home runs to defeat the San Francisco Giants 11-1. Todd Helton (3), Matt Murton (1) and Yorvit Torrealba (2) all went deep for the Rockies. Ubaldo Jimenez went seven innings, allowing one run with six strikeouts to pick up the win…..The Milwaukee Brewers scored nine runs off of Cincinnati Red starter Bronson Arroyo in the first two innings, en route to a 15-3 win. Ryan Braun hit his sixth home run and had 6 RBI. J.J. Hardy added his fourth home run of the season and 3 RBI. Prince Fielder chipped in with his 5th home run of the season, off of shortstop turned mop up pitcher Paul Janish, in the ninth inning…..In his second game back from the disabled list, Garret Anderson drove in three runs to pace the Atlanta Braves to a 8-6 win over the Florida Marlins. Jordan Schafer went 0 for 4 with four strikeouts and is now hitting .227 on the season. Schafer has struck out 14 times in his last 19 at bats and although he has been drawing walks at a decent rate, striking out in 43% of his at bats is not going to cut it, especially for a guy who is not a home run / power hitter. Jorge Cantu hit his 8th home run of the season for the Marlins and drove in five runs. In attempts to get some additional offense, Cameron Maybin has been moved up to the second spot in the batting order and catcher John Baker has been dropped to the fifth slot…..Aramis Ramirez hit his fourth home run of the year and Reed Johnson drove in three runs to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 6-3 victory over the Houston Astros. Rich Harden allowed three runs in seven innings with four strikeouts to get his third win of the year. Lance Berkman hit home run number seven for the Astros, but his batting average still remains below the Mendoza Line at .194…..Albert Pujols, making his case early this season for the Triple Crown, blasted home run number 11 on the season to power the St. Louis Cardinals to a 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Pujols went 4 for 4 and is now hitting .364 on the year, and leads the National League in home runs, runs and RBI. Nyjer Morgan stole his seventh base of the season for the Pirates…. Justin Upton hit two home runs to propel the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 3-1 win over the San Diego Padres. Felipe Lopez added two stolen bases. Jon Garland tossed seven shutout innings with two strikeouts. Josh Whitesell was recalled from Triple-A and could split time at first base with Chad Tracy with Tony Clark going on the disabled list.  Jake Peavy took the loss, allowing two runs in seven innings with 12 strikeouts.

American League:

Carlos Pena hit the game winning home run in the 10th inning to give the Tampa Bay Rays a 4-3 win over the New York Yankees. Carl Crawford (20), B.J. Upton (7) and Evan Longoria (2) all swiped based for the Rays. Mark Teixeira went 2 for 5 with 3 RBI for the Yankees…..Victor Martinez went 3 for 5 with 4 RBI, including his sixth home run of the season to help the Cleveland Indians score a 9-2 win over the Boston Red Sox. Mark DeRosa also hit his sixth home run and drove in two runs.  Aaron Laffey, moved to the bullpen to make room for Jeremy Sowers in the rotation, picked up a three inning save…..Mark Teahan and Mike Jacobs each drove in three runs to lift the Kansas City Royals to a 9-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners. Billy Butler went 3 for 4 and has now raised his batting average 83 points in the last eight games. Sidney Ponson picked up the win, allowing one run in 7 1/3 innings…..Elvis Andrus hit his second home run of the season to help the Texas Rangers defeat the Oakland Athletics 3-2. Nelson Cruz stole his fourth base of the year. Jack Cust went 3 for 4 for the A’s and is now batting .299…..The Baltimore Orioles defeated the Minnesota Twins 4-1, in a game that was called in the top of he 6th inning due to rain. Nick Markakis (5) and Luke Scott (4) each homered for the Orioles. The Twins demoted second basemen Alexi Casilla to Triple-A. Matt Tolbert got the start Wednesday night and went 0 for 3. Brendan Harris will likely see the majority of time at second base unless Tolbert can go on a hot streak.

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