Posts Tagged ‘Ian Kinsler’

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.

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2010 Fantasy Baseball ADP – Second Base

Posted by Todd Lammi on February 12th, 2010

by Todd Lammi

This is the third article in the series looking at the current 2010 fantasy baseball ADP (average draft position) for players at second base. 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.

Ben Zobrist looks to have good value based on where I have him ranked at compared to his average draft position. The position flexibility plus his ability to steal bases slots him ahead of Robinson Cano and Aaron Hill in my eyes.  Speaking of Hill, I think he is going to high in drafts in relation to Dan Uggla. The numbers I have projected for Uggla and Hill will be pretty close to the same outside of batting average which should not place them that far apart in the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings for second base.

I think there is great value for Jose Lopez as well because he is not that far away from Hill and Uggla in terms of production. Kelly Johnson is primed for a bounce back season in Arizona and offers good value based on his current ADP. Orlando Hudson is the one player I see that is overvalued on the list as the 12th second basemen going off the draft board. He is solid across the board, but so is every player behind him at that point in the draft and he offers no upside to his numbers.

12 Teams 15 Teams
Rank Name ADP Round Pick Round Pick
1 Utley, Chase 4 1 4 1 4
2 Kinsler, Ian 16 2 4 2 1
3 Phillips, Brandon 30 3 6 2 15
4 Pedroia, Dustin 38 4 2 3 8
5 Roberts, Brian 40 4 4 3 10
6 Zobrist, Ben 59 5 11 4 14
7 Cano, Robinson 47 4 11 4 2
8 Hill, Aaron 48 4 12 4 3
9 Uggla, Dan 85 8 1 6 10
10 Lopez, Jose 120 10 12 8 15
11 Kendrick, Howie 134 12 2 9 14
12 Weeks, Rickie 192 16 12 13 12
13 Johnson, Kelly 280 24 4 19 10
14 Barmes, Clint 270 23 6 18 15
15 Polanco, Placido 243 21 3 17 3
16 Sizemore, Scott 249 21 9 17 9
17 Prado, Martin 245 21 5 17 5
18 Ellis, Mark 302 26 2 21 2
19 Hudson, Orlando 191 16 11 13 11
20 Lopez, Felipe 274 23 10 19 4

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 shortstops.

Read More »

2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Second Base

Posted by Todd Lammi on January 29th, 2010

by Todd Lammi

This is the third report in the series of fantasy baseball rankings looking at the position of second base. In 2010, second base and third base seem to be two of the thinnest positions to draft from. After the top 10 second basemen are off the board, there are some questions associated with quite a few of the players from that point forward.

Your best bet is to make sure you have secured a second basemen early in your fantasy baseball draft and not be worried about looking through the waiver wire during the course of the season because your player has either lost his job or is under performing.

Let’s take a look at the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings to see how the position stacks up.

1) Chase Utley – it was another solid season for Utley in 2009 as he stole a career-high 23 stolen bases. ADP has him as high as number three and as low as seven so if you are picking after the middle of the first round, don’t expect to see him sliding to you.

2) Ian Kinsler – he was the only 30-30 player in all of baseball last season. Home runs took a big jump as he raised his fly ball percentage 11 points. Batting average and his propensity to get injured are the two things that have him teetering on the edge of a first round status in fantasy baseball drafts.

3) Brandon Phillips – a lock for a 20/20 season in 2010 and this is the year he should break 100 RBI for the first time in his career with an improved lineup around him.

4) Dustin Pedroia – I have him rated very close to Phillips. Pedroia offers more runs scored and a better chance for a .300 batting average compared to the extra power and a few more steals that Phillips brings to the table.

5) Brian Roberts – the stolen bases are dropping each year he gets older, going from 50 in 2007 to 40 in 2008 and 30 last fantasy baseball season. Still should be good for 25-30 for another season or two.

6) Ben Zobrist – took advantage of injuries last season and became of one of the hottest free agent pickups of the season. Provides the extra flexibility of qualifying in the outfield in the 2010 fantasy baseball season. The stolen bases are not a surprise as much because Tampa Bay is a running team. I would expect some regression in his power numbers. In 1,330+ minor league at bats, he had a total of 23 home runs.

7) Robinson Cano – his new stadium helps the power numbers as a left-handed hitter although his splits were close in 2009 with 14 home runs at home and 11 on the road. Was consistent every month last year, hitting at least .270+ with three or more home runs.

8.) Aaron Hill – turned in a magical age 27 fantasy baseball season last year, by more than doubling him home run output from 2007. Turned some of those 47 doubles from ’07 into more home runs in ’09. Don’t pay for 35+ home runs in 2010; project him for the 25-30 range and you will be much better off.

9) Dan Uggla – as consistent as they come at second base. You can annually pencil him in for 30 home runs and 90 RBI. Needs to improve against left-handed pitching to get his average back up, hitting in the low .200′s the previous two years against southpaws.

10) Jose Lopez – continued to grow last season as he bumped up his home run total for the third straight year. Second year of 40+ doubles and he increased his home run output by eight. He is a great value pick, going a full two rounds later than Uggla in fantasy baseball drafts.

11) Howie Kendrick -  continues to tease fantasy baseball owners by putting up some nice stats in 375 at bats. Was sent to the minor leagues for a stretch last season but came back on fire, hitting .358 with six home runs and 36 RBI in only 165 at bats after the All-Star break. Always is drafted much higher than what his value really is.

12) Rickie Weeks – was off to a strong start before a wrist injury and surgery ended his 2009 season. Much like Kendrick, Weeks’ numbers look enticing if you project him out to 600 at bats, but injuries have held him back through his short career. Power usually suffers the following season after wrist injuries so don’t pro-rate out his 2009 numbers as a new home run level for him.

13) Kelly Johnson – great value pick because he will go after another 5-10 players on my fantasy baseball rankings based on current ADP numbers. Unfortunately too many fantasy baseball owners focus just on previous season’s numbers when forecasting stats and don’t look at a player’s body of work as a whole. Yes, he he had a rough year last season and eventually lost his job, thanks in part to some bad luck as evidenced by a nine percentage point drop in his hit rate last season. With the change of scenery to Arizona, look for him to return to his 2008 level.

14) Clint Barmes – doubled his home runs totals in 2009 as he swung for the fences. Strikeout rate has increased by a total of eight percentage points over the last two years as he looks for the long ball. Still should be good for another year of double digit home runs and stolen bases.

15) Placido Polanco – pretty stable numbers year-to-year which should continue with the high powered Philadelphia Phillies lineup. Will qualify at third base around the second to fourth week of the season depending on the position eligibility rules of your fantasy baseball league.

16) Scott Sizemore – heads into spring training as the starting second basemen for the Detroit Tigers. Should be good for double digit home runs and steals in his rookie season.

17) Martin Prado – qualifies at second base, shortstop and third base. Took over as the starting second basemen and never looked back last year. Nice to have as a middle infielder to support batting average. Prado holds a career batting avergae of .300 in the minor leagues and .307 in the Show.

18) Mark Ellis – should be able to reach double-digit home runs and steals assuming he can muster 450 at bats. In the last year of his contract with a club option for next season, there is a chance he could be dealt at the trade deadline if Oakland is out of the race.

19) Orlando Hudson – currently a free agent but should have a starting job by the time spring training starts. Does not stand out in any one category but is pretty solid across the board

20) Felipe Lopez – see Orlando Hudson

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 2010 fantasy baseball rankings will be shortstops.

Read More »

Fantasy Baseball – May Second Base 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 second basemen.

Brandon Phillips topped second basemen for the month of May. Knock on wood if you own him that he is able to continue playing with his injured thumb. Ian Kinsler ranked third in RBI despite his overall batting average dropping 43 points in the month of May. Pitchers were much more careful in the second month, as his walk total doubled from eight in April to 17 in May. Dan Uggla was in the doldrums for much of May until the last 12 days when he hit all five home runs and drove in 12 runs.

Dustin Pedroia is hitting for average with some steals thrown in, but the power from 2008 has not carried over into 2009 so far. Missing from the list that will see time in June are recent call ups Alexi Casilla of the Minnesota Twins and Edwin Maysonet, filling in for the injured Kaz Matsui in Houston. If Howie Kendrick continues to struggle, the Los Angeles Angels might reach down into Triple-A for Sean Rodriguez. Rodriguez is hitting .284 with 18 home runs, 54 RBI and six stolen bases.

RK PLAYER TEAM AB BA R HR RBI SB
1 Brandon Phillips CIN 88 0.352 13 7 29 0
Ian Kinsler TEX 111 0.243 20 6 19 3
2 Orlando Hudson LAD 116 0.328 19 0 19 0
4 A. Cabrera CLE 131 0.313 22 1 18 3
5 Aaron Hill TOR 127 0.307 16 7 17 1
Dan Uggla FLA 95 0.200 12 5 17 1
7 Adam Kennedy OAK 82 0.390 9 4 15 5
Brian Roberts BAL 117 0.256 24 4 15 7
Robinson Cano NYY 114 0.272 17 4 15 1
10 Chase Utley PHI 87 0.253 17 4 13 3
Jose Lopez SEA 112 0.214 11 3 13 0
Dustin Pedroia BOS 104 0.365 22 1 13 5
13 Clint Barmes COL 83 0.253 16 2 10 3
Alberto Callaspo KAN 100 0.260 12 1 10 0
Rickie Weeks MIL 58 0.259 12 4 9 1
Freddy Sanchez PIT 109 0.330 15 2 9 3
Kelly Johnson ATL 91 0.297 19 2 9 2
Willie Harris WAS 61 0.262 11 1 9 2
15 David Eckstein SDG 94 0.202 12 0 9 2
Matt Tolbert MIN 74 0.189 10 1 8 2
20 A. Hernandez WAS 72 0.250 8 0 8 1
Skip Schumaker STL 96 0.313 13 3 7 0
Placido Polanco DET 102 0.255 13 1 7 0
22 Mark Loretta LAD 34 0.235 6 0 7 0
Akinori Iwamura TAM 77 0.325 9 0 7 3
E. Burriss SFO 100 0.330 9 0 7 6
Bobby Scales CHC 46 0.239 10 2 6 0
27 Luis Castillo NYM 82 0.244 18 0 6 6
Jayson Nix CHW 44 0.205 5 4 5 2
29 Ronnie Belliard WAS 45 0.178 5 2 5 0
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Fantasy Baseball – the Daily Dirt for Saturday

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 25th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

The Detroit Tigers used three home runs to defeat the Kansas City Royals 9-1. Curtis Granderson hit his fourth home run of the week and sixth of the season to pace the offense. Magglio Ordonez added his first home run of the year, as did Gerald Laird. Josh Anderson stole his fifth base of the year for Tigers. Relief pitcher Joel Zumaya was activated from the disabled list and threw a scoreless innings for Detroit. Outfielder Jose Guillen was activated from the 15-day disabled list by the Royals. In other fantasy baseball news from around the diamond on Saturday…

American League:

Jason Giambi and Travis Buck each hit their first home run of the season to lift the Oakland Athletics over the Tampa Bay Rays 5-2. Dallas Braden allowed one run in 5 2/3 innings to pick up the win…..It was not a pretty day for your fantasy baseball staff if you had a starting pitcher in the New York Yankees – Boston Red Sox game. Both Josh Beckett and A.J. Burnett allowed eight earned runs in the Red Sox 16-11 victory. Jason Varitek and Mike Lowell each hit home run number four on the season for the Red Sox. Robinson Cano hit two home runs and drove in five runs for the Yankees…..Ian Kinsler hit two home runs and drove in three in the Texas Rangers 6-5 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Chris Davis chipped in with his fourth home run of the season. Ty Wigginton hit his first home run of the year for the Orioles…..Alexei Ramirez hit his first home run of the season and drove in five runs in the Chicago White Sox 10-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Jermaine Dye added his 5th home run of the year. Mark Buehrle picked up the win and is now 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA….Kevin Slowey allowed one run in eight innings with seven strikeouts to pick up his third win of the year in a 7-1 defeat of the Cleveland Indians. Jason Kubel hit two home runs for the Twins and Joe Crede hit his second home run of the season. Catcher Joe Mauer should be ready to return to action within the next 1-2 weeks. Victor Martinez went 3 for 4 for the Indians and is now hitting .405 on the season.

National League:

Yunel Escobar and ChipperJones each hit home runs and drove in four runs apiece in the Atlanta Braves 10-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds. Derek Lowe picked up the win allowing two runs in seven innings with eight strikeouts. Braves catcher Brian McCann was placed on the 15-day disabled list with an eye infection….The New York Mets, aided by four unearned runs defeated the Washington Nationals 8-2. Carlos Beltran went 3 for 5 with his first stolen base of the year and is now batting .415. The Nationals have now allowed 12 unearned runs in 16 games this season…..Albert Pujols hit a grand slam and new 5th starter Mitchell Boggs tossed 5 2/3 shutout innings to power the St. Louis Cardinals to a 8-2 win over the Chicago Cubs. Cubs relief pitcher Carlos Marmol is expected to miss the next four to five days of action with a knee strain….The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Florida Marlins 6-4 in 10 innings. Leo Nunez was given the chance to close for the Marlins in the 9th inning, but allowed a run to send the game to extra frames. Matt Lindstrom was unavailable to close after throwing 38 pitches the previous night. Ryan Howard his his third home run of the year for the Phillies. Jorge Cantu (3) and Dan Uggla (4) each went deep for the Marlins. Chris Volstad allowed two runs in seven innings with six strikeouts for Florida…..Russell Martin drove in four runs in the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-5 win over the Colorado Rockies. Ramon Troncoso picked up the rare four inning save. Rafael Furcal swiped two bases for the Dodgers. Garrett Atkins hit his third home run of the year for the Rockies…..Prince Fielder hit two home runs and drove in three runs to lead the Milwaukee Brewers to a 9-8 win over the Houston Astros. Bill Hall added his second home run of the season and drove in four runs. Closer Trevor Hoffman is expected to be activated from the disabled list tomorrow for the Brewers. Carlos Lee hit his fifth home run of the season for the Astros…..The San Francisco Giants used two RBI from Randy Winn and Edgar Renteria to defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-3. Eric Byrnes (3) and Justin Upton (1) each hit home runs for the D-Backs.

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Fantasy Baseball – the Daily Dirt for Tuesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 22nd, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Ryan Doumit of the Pittsburgh Pirates was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a fractured bone in his right wrist and will miss 8-10 weeks of action. Jason Jaramillo figures to see the majority of at bats as the new starting catcher. Robinzon Diaz was recalled from Triple-A and will serve as the backup…..Jed Lowrie of the Boston Red Sox underwent surgery on his left wrist and will be out six to eight weeks. Nick Green will continue to start until Julio Lugo retruns from his injury….Good news for Xavier Nady owners as he will not need to undergo surgery on his right elbow. Instead he is expected to miss four to six weeks with a partial ligament tear. The downside is even when he comes back, he does not have a spot to play assuming Nick Swisher continues to hit like he has the early part of the season…..Ryan Freel of the Baltimore Orioles was placed on the 15-day disabled list after getting hit in the head on a pickoff throw Monday. He should be ready to return the first day he is eligible….. Joey Devine of the Oakland A’s will miss the rest of the season after undergoing right elbow surgery. In other fantasy baseball happenings around the diamond on Tuesday…

National League:

Rick Ankiel went 3 for 5 and drove in the game winning run for the St. Louis Cardinals in their 6-4 win over the New York Mets. Ryan Franklin picked up his third save of the year. Manager Tony La Russa indicated that Mitchell Boggs would be replacing recent call up P.J. Walters as the 5th starter in the Cardinals rotation going forward. ….Adam Dunn hit his 4th home run of the year to help the Washington Nationals defeat the Atlanta Braves 4-3. After all of the bullpen moves by the Nationals on Sunday, Joel Hanrahan still received the save opportunity and converted it, despite allowing two base runners in the ninth inning……Pedro Feliz went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI and his first home run of the year in the Philadelphia Phillies 11-4 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Ryan Braun went 5 for 5 for the Brewers with two home runs…..Freddy Sanchez hit his second home run of the year to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a 3-2 win over the Florida Marlins. Jeff Karstens allowed one run in six innings with three strikeouts. Cameron Maybin hit his first home run of the season for the Marlins…..Rich Harden struck out eight in six innings and allowed two runs to pitch the Chicago Cubs past the Cincinnati Reds 7-2. Aramis Ramirez went 3 for 5 with 3 RBI to lead the Cubs on offense and has now driven in eight runs in his last three games. Jay Bruce hit his second home run of the season for the Reds…..Carlos Lee hit his third home run of the year for the Houston Astros in their 8-5 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Jose Valverde picked up his first save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning. Manny Ramirez hit home run number three on the season for the Dodgers…..Todd Helton went 3 for 5, including his first home run of the year in the Colorado Rockies 9-6 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Manny Corpas picked up his first save of the season for the Rockies. Rockies starter Franklin Morales left the game before the start of the third inning with a strained pitching shoulder. Mark Reynolds hit home run number four on the season for the D-Backs…..Matt Cain allowed two runs in six innings to lead the San Francisco Giants to a 8-3 victory over the San Diego Padres. Edgar Renteria hit his first home run of the season and drove in five runs.

American League:

Aubrey Huff hit two home runs and drove in four runs in the Baltimore Orioles 10-3 defeat of the Chicago White Sox. Nick Markakis went 4 for 4 for the Orioles and scored three runs. Alexei Ramirez stole his first base of the season for White Sox, but is still batting only .159 on the season…..Grady Sizemore and Victor Martinez each hit home run number five on the year to propel the Cleveland Indians to a 8-7 win over the Kasnas City Royals. Aaron Laffey allowed one run in seven innings to pick up the victory. David DeJesus hit his second home run of the season for the Royals and drove in three runs…..Johnny Damon hit his second home run of the year for the New York Yankees and Andy Pettite allowed two runs in seven innings to lift the Yankees over the Oakland Athletics 5-3. Brett Gardner stole his fourth base of the year for the Yankees.  Kurt Suzuki went 4 for 4 for the A’s and is now hitting .327 on the season…..Ian Kinsler hit his 5th home run and Nelson Cruz his 6th to lead the Texas Rangers to a 5-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Aaron Hill continued his power surge for the Blue Jays hitting his 5th home run of the season. Roy Halladay took the loss for the Blue Jays allowing five runs in eight innings, while striking out nine…..Jarrod Washburn improved to 3-0 by hurling seven stroing innings in the Seattle Mariners 4-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Washburn allowed two runs and struck out nine. Brandon Morrow picked up his fourth save of the season…..Torii Hunter hit his 5th home run of the season in the Los Angeles Angels 4-3 win over the Detroit Tigers. Jered Weaver, who did not factor into the decision for the Angels, allowed three runs in seven innings with six strikeouts. Brandon Wood was recalled from Triple-A but don’t rush out to pick him yet. Manager Mike Sciosia stated that Wood could be sent back to Triple-A later in the week. If you currently own Wood in your fantasy baseball league, I would keep him reserved for now. Curtis Granderson hit two home runs for the Detroit Tigers.

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Fantasy Baseball – the Daily Dirt for Sunday

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 19th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Ian Kinsler continues to justify his first round status from fantasy baseball drafts, hitting his 4th home run and steal his 5th and 6th bases of the season in the Texas Rangers 6-5 victory over the Kansas City Royals. Michael Young chipped in with his 3rd home run and second stole base of the year. Kyle Davies of the Royals did not factor in the decision, allowing three runs in six innings with eight strikeouts. Davies should be a consideration in mixed league formats with 21 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings and a 2.89 ERA. In other fantasy baseball news from around the diamond on Sunday…

American League:

The New York Yankees rallied for three runs in both the 7th and 8th inning to defeat the Cleveland Indians 7-3. Jorge Posada hit his 3rd home run of the season for the Yankees. Shin-Soo Choo hit home run number three for the Indians. It is going to be tough for Kerry Wood of the Indians to get saves this year if the key relievers in front of him continue to struggle. All three relievers that entered the game after starter Carl Pavano currently have an ERA over six…..Ricky Romero of the Toronto Blue Jays held the Oakland A’s scoreless for seven innings and struck out six in a 1-0 victory. Dallas Braden allowed one run for the Athletics in seven innings and now sports a 2.79 ERA. It is going to be hard to get wins if you own Oakland starting pitchers. The A’s are last or next to last in multiple offensive categories. Currently they are last in home runs, batting average, slugging percentage and second last in runs scored and RBI…..Jon Lester of the Boston Red Sox picked up his first win of the season, pitching seven shutout innings with nine strikeouts to give the Red Sox a 2-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Koji Uehara allowed two runs in seven innings with five strikeouts in the loss…..Carlos Quentin homered in his third consecutive game to lead the Chicago White Sox to a 12-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Jim Thome added his third home run for the White Sox. Gavin Floyd allowed two runs in seven innings with seven strikeouts. B.J. Upton stole his third base of the year for the Rays…..Glen Perkins allowed one run in eight innings with four k’s to pitch the Minnesota Twins past the Los Angeles Angels 3-1. Bobby Abreu stole a base for his fourth consecutive game, giving him seven on the season for the Angels…..Rookie Rick Porcello pitched seven strong innings, allowing one run in the Detroit Tigers 8-2 win over the Seattle Mariners. Shortstop Ramon Santiago continued his big week for the Tigers, driving in five runs. Santiago has been filling in for Adam Everett and should continue to start while he is hot at the plate.

National League:

The Florida Marlins rallied in the ninth inning for four runs off of Saul Rivera in a 7-4 win over the Washington Nationals. Cody Ross hit his 3rd home run of the season and drove in five runs, including the winning three runs in the ninth inning on a double…..Raul Ibanez hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the Philadelphia Phillies a 5-4 win over the San Diego Padres. Chase Utley hit his 4th home run and Jimmy Rollins his first, in a pinch hit appearance. Fantasy baseball owners have to hope that the home run by Rollins gets him going on a hot streak. Josh Greer starting in place of Walter Silva, who was placed on the 15-day DL with a strained forearm, tossed seven scoreless innings with four strikeouts. Adrian Gonzalez hit his 5th home run for the Padres…..Javier Vazquez pitched six shutout innings with eight strikeouts in the Atlanta Braves 11-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Chipper Jones returned to the lineup for the Braves and went 1 for 3…..Edison Volquez picked up his first win of the season for the Cincinnati Reds in a 4-2 win over the Houston Astros. Felipe Paulino starting in place of the injured Brian Moehler hurled six scoreless innings with six strikeouts…..Randy Johnson allowed one hit in seven shutout innings to give the San Francisco Giants a 2-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Max Scherzer allowed one run in five innings for the D-Backs with six strikeouts. Until Scherzer is able to command the strike zone better, he is a five to six inning pitcher at best at this point…..Matt Kemp hit two home runs and drove in five runs in the Los Angeles Dodgers 14-2 thumping of the Colorado Rockies. Orlando Hudson went 3 for 4 and drove in three runs.

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Fantasy Baseball – The Daily Dirt for Wednesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 15th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Injury updates:

Chris Carpenter of the St. Louis Cardinals will miss four to eight weeks with a strained rib cage. The Cardinals are expected to promote P.J. Walters to start on Friday against the Chicago Cubs. Ichiro Suzuki returned from the disabled list for the Seattle Mariners. Melvin Mora of the Baltimore Orioles was placed on the 15-day DL with a hamstring injury. Daisuke Matsuzaka of the Boston Red Sox was placed on the disabled list with arm fatigue. New York Yankees outfielder Xavier Nady is headed to the disabled list with a right elbow injury that could require Tommy John surgery. In other news around the diamond on Wednesday…

American League:

Scott Baker’s return to the Minnesota Twins from the DL did not go well, as he allowed six runs in four innings. On the other side, if you are looking for somebody to root for, Scott Richmond got the win for the Toronto Blue Jays. It was just two years ago that Richmond was pitching in the independent league for the Edmonton Cracker Cats. Aaron Hill hit his 3rd home run for the Blue Jays and Vernon Wells and Scott Rolen each hit their second…..Armando Galarraga threw 6 1/3 shutout innings with five strikeouts as the Detroit Tigers blanked the Chicago White Sox 9-0. Miguel Cabrera hit his fourth home run and also stole a base…..Aaron Laffey got the win for the Cleveland Indians, starting in place of the injured Scott Lewis. Kerry Wood picked up his first save of the season…..Tim Wakefield of the Boston Red Sox allowed two runs in a complete game win over the Oakland Athletics. Mike Lowell and J. D Drew each hit their second home run for the Red Sox. Rookie Brett Anderson of the A’s threw a solid seven innings, allowing two runs with five strikeouts…..Robinson Cano hit his second home run of the season to lift the New York Yankees over the Tampa Bay Rays. Andy Pettite allowed three runs in 7 1/3 innings pitched…..The Texas Rangers pounded out 19 hits in a 19-6 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Ian Kinsler had a dream day at the plate for the Rangers going 6 for 6 with 4 RBI and a stolen base. Marlon Byrd went 5 for 6 and outfielder Nelson Cruz drove in 6 RBI.

National League:

Jason Marquis allowed one run in seven innings as the Colorado Rockies defeated the Chicago Cubs 5-2. Jason Grilli got the save for the Rockies, after replacing closer Huston Street in the ninth inning. Street allowed a home run to Derek Lee and then put two more runners on base before being relieved. Catcher Geovany Soto returned to action for the Cubs…..Ryan Ludwick hit his third home run of the season for the St. Louis Cardinals. Chris Duncan went 3 for 4 and Yadier Molina went 3 for 3. Chris Perez returned from AAA and threw two shutout innings…..The Florida Marlins defeated the Atlanta Braves 10-4, as four players had two hits each. Cameron Maybin went 0 for 3 for the Marlins with three strikeouts. On the year, Maybin is hitting .214 with 12 strikeouts in 28 at bats. As long as the Marlins keep winning and he plays defense, he might be able to hold the position, but at some point the team is going to need to get some offense from him. Chipper Jones of the Braves re-aggravated his bruised thumb and missed the game and will likely sit out tomorrow as well…..Mike Hampton pitched six shutout innings with eight strikeouts as the Houston Astros defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-1…..Oliver Perez allowed one run in six innings to lead the New York Mets past the San Diego Padres 7-2. Jose Reyes stole his second base of the season for the Mets and Carlos Delgado hit his second home run of the year. Gary Sheffield got his first start as a Met and went 0 for 2. Scott Hairston stole his second base for the Padres…..Mike Cameron hit two home runs to power the Milwaukee Brewers past the Cincinnati Reds 9-3. Rickie Weeks hit his second home run. Shortstop Alex Gonzalez of the Reds picked up his first hit of the season and is now 1 for 19 on the year. Clayton Kershaw struck out 13 in seven innings for the Los Angeles Dodgers, while allowing only one hit.

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