Posts Tagged ‘Jaime Garcia’

2010 Two Start Pitchers – Week 24

Posted by Todd Lammi on September 10th, 2010

Here is a complete look at the fantasy baseball two-start pitchers for week 24. 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.

2 start pitchers week 24: 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:

Jon Lester (BOS) ~ @SEA (Fister), TOR (Rzepczynski)
John Danks (CHW) ~ MIN (Liriano), DET (Verlander)
Francisco Liriano (MIN) ~ @CWS (Danks), OAK (Gonzalez)
CC Sabathia (NYY) ~ @TB (Price), @BAL (Matusz)
Gio Gonzalez (OAK) ~ @KC (Bannister), @MIN (Liriano)
David Price (TB) ~ NYY (Sabathia), LAA (Bell)

Roll the Dice:

Brian Matusz (BAL) ~ TOR (Rzepczynski), NYY (Sabathia)
Justin Masterson (CLE) ~ LAA (Bell), @KC (Bannister)
Doug Fister (SEA) ~ BOS (Lester), TEX (Lee)

Masterson has rattled off three quality starts in a row with four runs allowed in 20 2/3 innings with 15 strikeouts. He allowed one run in seven innings against the Angels and two runs in five innings against the royals in his lone starts against each of them. Fister has been much better at home where he has two starts next week and owns a 3.21 ERA and 1.07 WHIP vs 4.96 and 1.61 on the road. On the downside, his ERA is 4.87 and WHIP 1.54 since the All-Star break and he has two tough teams to face. Start him only if you have to. Matusz had a 2.43 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in August and has won four straight starts.

Sit Them:

Brian Bannister (KC) ~ OAK (Gonzalez), CLE (Masterson)
Marc Rzepczynski (TOR) ~ @BAL (Matusz), @BOS (Lester)
Trevor Bell (LAA) ~ @CLE (Masterson), @TB (Price)

Bannister has lost six straight starts and has not won since June 23, also the last time he allowed less than four runs in a start. Rzepczynski has only made it to five innings in two of his last five starts and has not collected a win since August 13th. Bell has three straight starts with two runs or less allowed but there is nothing else in his past to suggest success next week.

National League:

Start them:

Travis Wood (CIN) ~ ARI (Hudson), @HOU (Myers)
Brett Myers (HOU) ~ MIL (Narveson), CIN (Wood)
Clayton Kershaw (LAD) ~ @SF (Zito), COL (Chacin)
R.A. Dickey (NYM) ~ PIT (McDonald), ATL (Lowe)
Jon Garland (SD) ~ @COL (Hammel), @STL (Wainwright)
Jaime Garcia (STL) ~ CHC (Silva), SD (Luebke)
Adam Wainwright (STL) ~ CHC (Wells), SD (Garland)

Roll the Dice:

Barry Enright (ARI) ~ @CIN (Arroyo), @PIT (McDonald)
Dan Hudson (ARI) ~ @CIN (Wood), @PIT (Duke)
Bronson Arroyo (CIN) ~ ARI (Enright), @HOU (Figueroa)
Chris Narveson (MIL) ~ @HOU (Myers), @SF (Zito)
Joe Blanton (PHI) ~ @FLA (Miller), @WAS (Maya)
James McDonald (PIT) ~ @NYM (TBD), ARI (Enright)
Barry Zito (SF) ~ LAD (Kershaw), MIL (Narveson)

McDonald is still too inconsistent for my tastes to start on a weekly basis, but he has some value with two starts if you are looking to pick up extra strikeouts. Narveson has made some strides the second half of the season with a 3.95 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. Couple that with his strikeout rate and I am rolling the dice on him this week. I think Blanton is trending in the right direction with a 3.67 ERA and 1.38 WHIP since the break with an up tick in his strikeout rate. Throw out his recent start at Coors Field and the numbers get even a little better. Zito is morphing back into the Zito we have grown accustomed to the last few years. He has not won in almost two months so I guess you could start him on the fact he may be due, but then again he has lost six straight starts. He does have the benefit of pitching at home next week where his ERA is a run and a half lower than on the road.

Sit Them:

Derek Lowe (ATL) ~ @WAS (Maya), @NYM (Dickey)
Carlos Silva (CHC) ~ @STL (Garcia), @FLA (Miller)
Andrew Miller (FLA) ~ PHI (Blanton), CHC (Silva)
Zach Duke (PIT) ~ @NYM (Dickey), ARI (Hudson)
Cory Luebke (SD) ~ @COL (Francis), @STL (Garcia)
Yunesky Maya (WAS) ~ @ATL (Lowe), @PHI (Blanton)

Maya has very little background in the U.S. so far with only 21 1/3 innings in the minor leagues before he was promoted and now one start in the major leagues. He is facing two teams in a fight for a post season berth so unless your only other option is Brian Bannister in a mixed league, then I think you have to sit Maya. I think Luebke has some value but a start at Coors Field plus a tough road start against St. Louis and Garcia is enough to keep him reserved for the week. Nothing in Lowe’s numbers says to start him though he has been better against the Mets with a 2.95 ERA and 1,25 WHIP in three starts. On the flip side, the Nationals have hung a 6.11 ERA on him. Miller has too little control of the strike zone to ever see a start in a mixed league. Silva since the All-Star break, 23 hits and 14 runs allowed in 11 1/3 innings.

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The Daily Dirt from Saturday

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 10th, 2010

The first week of the baseball season just re-affirms the rule of not wasting a high draft pick on a closer because of the good chance you can find saves late in the draft or through free agency. The leader in the clubhouse with week one almost complete, Jon Rauch of the Minnesota Twins who saved his 4th game in the Twins 2-1 win over the Chicago White Sox. In other fantasy baseball news from around the diamond on Saturday…

Hitters:

Jose Reyes returned from the disabled list for the New York Mets and went 1-for-4 hitting lead off. It is safe to get him active in all formats for next week.

Not the way you want your first start in the major leagues to go, Juan Francisco went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts for the Cincinnati Reds.

Jason Varitek played for the first time this season and delivered two solo home runs to power the Boston Red Sox offense.

Ryan Howard went 2-for-4 with three RBI and is well on his way to another 40+ home run season with his third dinger of the year.

Nelson Cruz slugged his 4th home of the season and looks ready to duplicate his 30+ home runs from last year.

I have caught two of the Atlanta Braves games this season and in each one I have seen Troy Glaus made a terrible play at first base. I know the Braves have him there for offense and not his defense, but if he is not slugging home runs by May and still playing that type of defense and if the team is in the race for the playoffs, I have to think they make a move at that position.

Pitchers:

Scott Baker was much better in his second start, allowing one run in seven innings with three strikeouts.

Jeremy Bonderman picked up his first win in almost two years, allowing one hit in five innings with five strikeouts.

Carlos Zambrano allowed three runs in seven innings with nine strikeouts to notch his first win of the season.

Rookie Jaime Garcia worked six solid innings, allowing one run with five strikeouts to pick up the win. Garcia struggled with his control throughout the game, pitching first-pitch strikes to only 9 of 25 hitters, but helped his cause by recording 10 ground ball outs.

CC Sabathia lost a no-hitter in the 8th inning and finished with 7 2/3 scoreless innings of one-hit ball with five strikeouts. It would have been interesting to see if he had made it through the eighth without allowing a hit if the Yankees would have send him back out for the ninth as he threw 111 pitches.

Dana Eveland tossed 7 1/3 shutout innings with two strikeouts to pick up the win for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Jered Weaver allowed one run in six innings with seven strikeouts but received a no decision.

Closers:

Ryan Perry picked up a save for the Detroit Tigers with Jose Valverde getting the night off after already working in four games this week.

Matt Capps sure does like to make hings interesting as he loaded the bases in the ninth innings before getting Rod Barajas to line out to save his second game of the season.

It looks like Neftali Feliz might have some value after all this year after Frank Francisco blew his second save of the season. Francisco has given up three runs in each of his last two appearances, leaving him with a 27 ERA.

George Sherrill got the chance to close out the Los Angeles Dodgers win after Jonathan Broxton pitched the previous two days, but he was not up to the task, has the Florida Marlins rallied for the win with three runs in the ninth inning

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2010 St. Louis Cardinals Team Preview

Posted by Todd Lammi on March 20th, 2010

This is the second part our series of 2010 fantasy baseball team previews looking at the National League Central. 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 St. Louis Cardinals Projected Batting Order:

1.  2B Skip Schumaker (ADP 330)
2.  SS Julio Lugo  (ADP ND)
3.  1B Albert Pujols (ADP 1)
4.  LF Matt Holliday (ADP 21)
5.  CF Colby Rasmus (ADP 178)
6.  RF Ryan Ludwick (ADP 161)
7.  C Yadier Molina (ADP 206)
8.  3B David Freese (ADP 346)

2010 St. Louis Cardinals Projected Rotation & Bullpen:

1.  Chris Carpenter (ADP 73)
2.  Adam Wainwright (ADP 56)
3.  Brad Penny (ADP 334)
4.  Kyle Lohse (ADP 411)
5.  Jaime Garcia / Kyle McClellan (ADP ND)

Closer – Ryan Franklin (ADP 153)
Handcuff – Jason Motte

2010 St. Louis Cardinals prospects with potential impact this year:

1.  Jaime Garcia – SP
2.  Lance Lynn – SP


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Spring Training News & Notes – Mon. & Tues.

Posted by Todd Lammi on March 17th, 2010

Here is a look at the Spring Training News & Notes from the past few days. The news & notes are focused on changes that affect players value as well as players coming back off of injuries or rookies that might make an impact.

Hitters:

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

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

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

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

Pitchers:

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

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

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

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

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

Closers:

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

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

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

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

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Spring Training News & Notes – Saturday & Sunday

Posted by Todd Lammi on March 7th, 2010

With a lot of the actual fantasy baseball draft preparation now completed, let’s take a look at some of the happenings around the baseball diamond over the weekend. These news & notes will be more focused on changes that affect players value as well as players coming back off of injuries or rookies that might make an impact.

For example, I don’t care that Fernando Martinez hit two home runs this weekend because it really means nothing in 2010 with Jeff Francoeur, Carlos Beltran (when healthy) and Jason Bay in the New York Mets outfield.

Injuries:

Catcher Russell Martin of the Los Angeles Dodger has an injured groin and is expected to miss four-to-six weeks which means he will likely miss opening day. I would knock 50 at bats from his projections just to be safe.

Third basemen Alex Gordon will be out for three-to-four weeks with a broken thumb. With Gordon usually being drafted two to three rounds earlier than he should every year, the injury just puts him back to where he should have been all along.

Hitters:

For those people concerned about Justin Morneau and his back problems from last year affecting his power in 2010, it was nice to see him get his first home run of the spring today.

The recent signing of Orlando Hudson by the Minnesota Twins bumped J.J. Hardy from the second spot in the batting order. On Sunday, Hudson was hitting second with Hardy in the sixth spot.

Value going up for Jason Bartlett as it looks like he might open the year as the lead off hitter for the Tampa Bay Rays. Value going down for B.J. Upton who was hitting seventh in the order on Saturday.

Mmmm, Matt Kemp as the new number two hitter for the Los Angeles Dodgers? Not sure I like that. In 55 at bats in the number two hole last year, he hit two home runs with only five RBI. It definitely means he is going to have a hard time breaking 100 RBI if he stays in that slot the entire season.

Pitchers:

Kyle McClellan threw three shutout innings with four strikeouts in his bid to secure one of the St. Louis Cardinals starting rotation spots. The magic of Dave Duncan continues.

Ian Kennedy threw two scoreless innings for Arizona and is a good late game play in National League only formats after missing the majority of the 2009 season.

While spring training numbers are usually not that important for the majority of pitchers as they work on new pitches, get used to being stretched out, etc., for some coming back from injury it does has some impact to their draft status. Jeremy Bonderman of the Detroit Tigers was pounded on Sunday, allowing six runs in only 2/3 of an inning.

Shaun Marcum tossed two scoreless innings on Saturday with two strikeouts. He is a great end game option in mixed league formats in 2010.

Francisco Liriano hurled two scoreless innings with three strikeouts as he looks to carry over his strong performance from the winter league. Another outing or two like this and he is going to start rocketing up draft boards.

At some point this season Jaime Garcia is going to have some value for the St. Louis Cardinals. He might have to start the season in Triple-A to build up arm strength after missing part of 2008-09 with Tommy John surgery, but he is worth holding onto in NL only leagues. He tossed three hitless innings on Saturday with three strikeouts.

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