Posts Tagged ‘Gio Gonzalez’

Oakland Trades Gio Gonzalez to Washington for Four Players

Posted by Todd Lammi on December 22nd, 2011

The Oakland Athletics continued to disassemble their pitching rotation by trading left-handed starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez to the Washington Nationals for starting pitchers Brad Peacock, Tom Milone, A.J. Cole and catcher Derek Norris. The Nationals paid a heavy price to get Gonzalez who they will control through 2015. It also gives the team a solid third starting pitcher to go with Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmerman. Gonzalez figures to get a boost in his fantasy baseball ranking with a move to the National League which should help him in all categories. He should be able to push his ERA close to the 3.00 mark and his strikeout rate per nine innings should be over 9.0.

For Oakland, the trades of Trevor Cahill and Gonzalez now leaves the Athletics with a top starting pitcher of Guillermo Moscoso, though Peacock and Milone should both be good candidates to break spring training in the A’s rotation. The left-handed Milone had five starts at the end of the season with the Nationals, posting a 3.81 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. For his minor league career, Milone had a 3.05 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP and 8.1 strikeouts per nine innings.

Right-handed starting pitcher Brad Peacock saw 12 innings of work with the Nationals last September and had a breakout season across two levels in the minor leagues with a 2.01 ERA in AA and a 3.19 ERA in Triple-A after his promotion. In 146 2/3 innings, Peacock struck out 176 batters with a 16-3 record. From a fantasy ranking, I prefer Peacock over Malone with his ability to miss bats and rack up strikeouts.

Norris figures to spend 2012 at Triple-A after hitting .210 at AA Harrisburg with 20 home runs and 46 RBI. It was the second consecutive season of a batting average drop for Norris who has already shown the type of plate discipline that the A’s management team likes with 344 walks and 421 strikeouts in his minor league career to date.

Cole was a 4th round selection in the 2010 MLB Amateur Draft and completed the season at High-A in 2011. He had a 4.04 ERA with a 1.25 WHIP while striking out 108 in 89 innings. In most organizations he would likely be 2-3 years away but given the lack of solid starters in the A’s rotation it is conceivable he could see time in 2013.

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2010 Two Start Pitchers – Week 9

Posted by Todd Lammi on May 28th, 2010

Here is a complete look at the fantasy baseball two-start pitchers for week 9. Obviously the top tier pitchers are going to be left in your line up, but here is a look at some of the more border line pitchers for mixed league starts and who they face in those starts.

Two-start pitchers week 9: remember again that the list below is more focused on mixed leagues since in AL or NL only leagues in most cases you do not have the option to rotate too many starting pitchers with the smaller player pool. The pitchers below are listed in alphabetical order by team name per category.

American League:

Start them:

John Lackey (BOS) ~ OAK (Gonzalez), at BAL (Matusz)
Justin Verlander (DET) ~ at OAK (Cahill), at KC (Hochevar)
Jeremy Bonderman (DET) ~ CLE (Westbrook), at KC (Bannister)
Ervin Santana (LAA) ~ at KC (Hochevar), at SEA (Fister)
Francisco Liriano (MIN) ~ at SEA (Fister), at OAK (Cahill)
Andy Pettitte (NYY) ~ CLE (Talbot), at TOR (Morrow)
Doug Fister (SEA) ~ MIN (Liriano), LAA (Santana)
Matt Garza (TB) ~ at TOR (Marcum), at TEX (Harden)
Shaun Marcum (TOR) ~ TB (Garza), NYY (Vazquez)

Roll the Dice:

Mark Buehrle (CHW) ~ TEX (Harden), CLE (Westbrook)
Brian Bannister (KC) ~ LAA (Pineiro), DET (Bonderman)
Luke Hochevar (KC) ~ LAA (Santana), DET (Verlander)
Joel Pineiro (LAA) ~ at KC (Bannister), at SEA (Vargas)
Nick Blackburn (MIN) ~ at SEA (Vargas), at OAK (Gonzalez)
Gio Gonzalez (OAK) ~ at BOS (Lackey), MIN (Blackburn)
Trevor Cahill (OAK) ~ at DET (Verlander), MIN (Liriano)
Jason Vargas (SEA) ~ BAL (Blackburn), at TOR (Pineiro)

Bannister has run off three good starts, allowing eight runs in 18 1/3 innings. He has faced Detroit already twice this year, allowing three runs in 12 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts. Blackburn has run off five straight wins, but if you look at the numbers, there is nothing especially impressive to see, with a 4.28 ERA, a 1.41 WHIP and a .305 batting average against. Add to it only 17 strikeouts in 61 innings and it makes his win streak all the more amazing.This will be Buehrle’s 4th start of the year against Cleveland already. He has allowed three earned runs in 15 1/3 innings against them. In an earlier start against Texas, he allowed four runs in seven innings.As I mentioned in an article several weeks ago, Pineiro has been good in all of his starts against a team for the first time this season, except for St. Louis who knew him since he pitched there last season. He gets KC and SEA each for the first time this year. Hochevar gets two home starts where he has a 3.45 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP this season.

Sit Them:

Brian Matusz (BAL) ~ at NYY (Vazquez), BOS (Lackey)
Jake Westbrook (CLE) ~ at DET (Bonderman), at CHW (Buehrle)
Mitch Talbot (CLE) ~ at NYY (Pettitte), at CHW (Peavy)
Javier Vazquez (NYY) ~ BLA (Matusz), at TOR (Marcum)
Rich Harden (TEX) ~ at CHW (Buehrle), TB (Garza)

Matusz has a 7.50 ERA in May and has allowed 38 hits in 24 innings. Westbrook has faced Chicago three times this year already and got hit hard in two of those starts.

National League:

Start them:

Tim Hudson (ATL) ~ PHI (Hamels), at LAD (Ely)
Tommy Hanson (ATL) ~ PHI (Blanton), at LAD (Billingsley)
Ubaldo Jimenez (COL) ~ at SF  (Lincecum), at ARI (Lopez)
Ricky Nolasco (FLA) ~ MIL (Bush), at NYM (Pelfrey)
Roy Oswalt (HOU) ~ WAS (Atilano), CHC (Dempster)
Chad Billingsley (LAD) ~ ARI (Lopez), ATL (Hanson)
John Ely (LAD) ~ ARI (Haren), ATL (Hudson)
Mike Pelfrey (NYM) ~ at SD (LeBlanc), FLA (Nolasco)
Hisanori Takahashi (NYM) ~ at SD (Correia), FLA (Robertson)
Tim Lincecum (SF) ~ COL (Jimenez), at PIT (Ohlendorf)
Jaime Garcia (STL) ~ CIN (Arroyo), MIL (Bush)

Roll the Dice:

Carlos Zambrano (CHC) ~ at PIT (Ohlendorf), at HOU (Myers)
Bronson Arroyo (CIN) ~ at STL (Garcia), at WAS (Stammen)
Brett Myers (HOU) ~ WAS (Stammen), CHC (Zambrano)
Joe Blanton (PHI) ~ at ATL (Hanson), SD (Correia)
Kevin Correia (SD) ~ NYM (Takahashi), at PHI (Blanton)

Arroyo has picked up wins in 5 of his last 6 starts and has cut his ERA by a full run over his last four outings. Despite losing three of his past four starts, Correia has not pitched that badly. Tossed six shutout innings in his last start against St. Louis.

Sit Them:

Rodrigo Lopez (ARI) ~ at LAD (Billingsley), COL (Jimenez)
Nate Robertson (FLA) ~ MIL (Narveson), at NYM (Takahashi)
Dave Bush (MIL) ~ at FLA (Nolasco), at STL (Garcia)
Chris Narveson (MIL) ~ at FLA (Robertson), at STL (Wainwright)
Ross Ohlendorf (PIT) ~ CHC (Zambrano), SF (Lincecum)
Craig Stammen (WAS) ~ at HOU (Myers), CIN (Arroyo)
Luis Atilano (WAS) ~ at HOU (Oswalt), CIN (Leake)

Hopefully if you are in a mixed league you don’t have any of these pitchers on your team so you don’t even have to think about starting any of them.

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2010 Waiver Wire – Week 2

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 10th, 2010

Here is a look at some of the players to target for pick up in week 2 of your fantasy baseball season.

12 / 15 team mixed league:

OF – John Bowker / Jim Edmonds – both look to be in platoon roles with their respective clubs although as both are left-handed hitters, they will see the majority of the at bats. Each has some power upside so if your team is short in projected home runs, either one would be worth grabbing.

SP – Ian Kennedy – looked like the real deal in his first start and minor league numbers support the foundation for success going forward.

SP – Gio Gonzalez – has always had the stuff to dominate and pile up strikeouts but control had always been an issue. If he is able to consistently duplicate his delivery like his first start, he could turn out to be a great pick up.

SP – C.J. Wilson – I believe for now; decent mix of pitches combined with the right mindset and a decent offense behind him leads me to believe he can win 13-14 games this year.

American League Only:

SS – Julio Lugo – depending on how long Brian Roberts is out, Lugo should get a chance to see extended playing time.

RP – Jim Johnson – Mike Gonzalez has been vunerable early in the season for the Baltimore Orioles. Johnson is a good handcuff if you own Gonzalez.

National League Only:

2B – Omar Infante - it was only a matter of time until Chipper Jones pulled up lame.

2B / 3B Jeff Keppinger – looks like he will see time at a variety of infield positions for the Houston Astros. Has 11 at bats already this week.

SS/3B/OF - Jerry Hairston Jr. – versatility means he will see a decent amount of at bats this week and chip in a few stolen bases. Has 10 at bats so far in week 1.

OF – Tyler Colvin – after his good start in spring training and with the Chicago Cubs offense not hot out of the gate, Lou Pinella has to give Colvin some extra player time, in addition to being able to justify keeping him in the major leagues and not stalling his development.

C – Miguel Olivo – depending on the number of catchers you need on your roster, Olivo has been getting equal time with Chris Ianetta.

SP - Rodrigo Lopez - had a successful first start and the move to National League should help his strikeout numbers.

RP – Sean Marshall – Lou Pinella seems to like him too much in the bullpen to give him a shot as a starter unless there are injuries, but I think he could have some success if he gets the opportunity. Worth stashing if you have quite a few reserve spots in your roster.

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The Daily Dirt from Friday

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 9th, 2010

Rick Porcello picked up the win for the Detroit Tigers allowing two runs in five innings with three strikeouts. It is a little disappointing to see management still coddling him as he was removed after a batter reached in the sixth inning despite being at only 87 pitches. If that continues to happen, it is going to end up costing him a few wins this season. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Friday…

Hitters:

Brian Roberts left the game after the first inning after straining his abdominal muscle after stealing second base.

Drew Stubbs hit a grand slam in the bottom of the 8th inning to lift the Cincinnati Reds to a 5-4 win over the Chicago Cubs.

Rafael Furcal continues to turn back the clock, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and his third stolen base of the season.

Who said that Citi Field is not a home run ballpark? Jeff Francoeur and Rod Barajas both tested that theory on Friday night, by each blasting two home runs.

Chris Young went 3-for-4 with five RBI and delivered his second home run of the season. More importantly he has struck out only one time so far in 15 at bats this season.

Pitchers:

Jorge De La Rosa was stellar for the Colorado Rockies, allowing one hit in seven scoreless innings while striking out nine. He helped his cause by tossing first-pitch strikes to 18 out of the 24 hitters he faced.

Hiroki Kuroda worked eight innings, allowing one unearned run with seven strikeouts. As always, the key to his performance going forward will be his health. If you can get 180+ innings out of him on your staff, he is going to be a big help to your team ERA and WHIP.

Colby Lewis worked seven strong innings, allowing one run while striking out three. It was his first win in the major leagues since April 7, 2004.

Rodrigo Lopez looks like he has found a home in the National League, working six innings, allowing one run with five strikeouts for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Gio Gonzalez picked up a win, allowing two runs in six innings with six strikeouts for the Oakland A’s.

There was nothing to like about the performance by Bud Norris on Friday night. Yes, he can throw hard, in the 94-95 mph range at times, but he could not locate his fastball in the strike zone on a consistent basis. He still has not shown the ability to develop a change up as a solid third pitch so until he does, he his going to have nights like these. He walked four in 2 2/3 innings while allowing six hits and four runs.

Closers:

It was another bad day for Mike Gonzalez of the Baltimore Orioles as he blew his second save of the season. The only save he converted this season came after he loaded the bases and escaped out of the jam. It might be a good time to grab Jim Johnson if you own Gonzalez just to hedge your bets.

Billy Wagner surrendered a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to Edgar Renteria to blow the win for Tim Hudson.

Trevor Hoffman gave up a two-run home run on a 1-2 pitch with two outs in the ninth inning to Nick Stavinoha as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-4.

Jon Rauch is making it easier for Twins fans to forget about Joe Nathan as  he picked up his third save of the season.

Kevin Gregg picked up a save for the Toronto Blue Jays with Jason Frasor given the night off after working the two previous games.

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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


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