Posts Tagged ‘Jayson Nix’

Second Half Preview – Players Losing Value

Posted by Todd Lammi on July 11th, 2010

With the first half of the season now complete after today’s games, now is the time to assess where your team is in the standings in your fantasy baseball league and make the necessary adjustments either through pickups or trades to help your team move up in the standings.

As the season goes on it becomes easy to lose focus sometimes on forward thinking if you have a player that is performing well or if you have multiple teams to focus on. One of the ways to separate yourself from the competition and improve as a fantasy baseball owner is having the foresight to know when a player is going to lose value. That way you are not counting on stats for the second half of the season that you are truly not going to get.

Just as those owners that had the foresight to reserve Daniel Hudson and Chris Davis early before they were called up so they did not get stuck in a bidding war for leagues that have FAAB, you need to have those same kinds of thoughts when looking at the players that are already on your roster.

Here is a look at some of the players that may be currently on your roster that you were not planning on replacing the second half of the season but at some point you may have to start considering other alternatives. In no particular order:

Hitters:

Jayson Nix / Jason Donald – Nix has been a source of power since being picked up by Cleveland with six home runs in 15 games. The power is not a surprise since he has flashed it in previous stops, but the average is always going to be in the .250 range or below. Donald as acquitted himself well at shortstop with a .274 average in 146 at bats. Starting shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera is expected to start his rehab assignment next week meaning he should be back by the end of July. Since Cabrera has played second base and shortstop before, the Indians will have the option of slotting him into the line up in place of either player.

Casey Kotchman / Michael Saunders – the trade addition of Justin Smoak from Texas plus the recent acquisition of Russell Branyan puts Kotchman on the bench for the time being. Saunders has been filling in for Milton Bradley out with injury, but the addition of two new hitters makes it harder for either player to get extra at bats from the designated hitter slot which Branyan now occupies.

Jeff Francoeur – the return of Carlos Beltran to the New York Mets line up coupled with the surprising play of Angel Pagan this season moves Francoeur into a reserve role after the All-Star Break.

Pitchers:

Vin Mazzaro – Mazzaro has stepped into the Oakland rotation thanks to injuries and has held his own with a 3.81 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP ratio. With Brett Anderson and Dallas Braden soon to be back from the disabled list, he then becomes the odd man out in the rotation until / if the A’s trade Ben Sheets.

Jhoulys Chacin – Chacin turned in some nice numbers as a fill in for the Colorado Rockies staff when the team faced injuries but now with a healthy staff in place, he has already been shifted to the bullpen which leaves him with little value for the second half of the season barring an injury in the rotation.

The Cincinnati Reds Rotation – the Reds have been able to patchwork their rotation because the depth of their starting pitching that when healthy will have seven starting pitchers available to choose from in Johnny Cueto, Bronson Arroyo, Mike Leake, Travis Wood and three pitchers currently on the disabled list in Aaron Harang, Edison Volquez and Homer Bailey. Volquez and Harang are both supposed to be ready after the All-Star break and Bailey by the end of the month. Next season the logjam will be cleared with Harang and Arroyo free agents but for now, it has fantasy baseball ramifications. With youngsters Wood and Leake possibly on an innings limit and Volquez coming back from Tommy John surgery, the Reds could feature a six-man rotation at some point that would have an immediate impact on pitchers losing out on two-start weeks at some points of the remainder of the season.

Young Pitchers: As teams focus on limiting the innings on young pitchers, it will have a fantasy baseball impact as you juggle the roster over the remaining weeks of the season. Some players are knowingly going to get such down early such as Stephen Strasburg of Washington while others might have a start or two skipped depending on how well their team is doing in the playoff race. Other young pitchers to keep an eye on:

Mat Latos - San Diego – currently sits at 106 2/3 innings and is on an innings limit with a high of possibly 180, is being pushed back in the rotation to start the second half and will likely not start until the middle to end of the week in the week after next. Currently averaging 6.3 innings per start, if he matches that in the second half, that would leave him with roughly 12 more starts the rest of the way although the Padres are going to be in a dilemma if they stay in the playoff race the entire second half.

Phil Hughes - New York – already had one start skipped at the end of June to limit his innings which currently sit at 101. The team has not announced a rough number for innings for him but you can bet they are monitoring it closely. If they team remains in the playoff chase and clinches a spot early, he may miss a start or two at the end of the year as well.

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2010 Waiver Wire – Week 15

Posted by Tony Mancini on July 8th, 2010

Here is a look at some potential players to target in your fantasy baseball league that might be out there on the waiver wire in week 15.

American League only:

2B/SS/3B – Jayson Nix – since being claimed off of waivers by the Cleveland Indians, Nix has been on a hot streak. Nix has boosted his overall average to .230 with five home runs and eight RBI since coming to Cleveland. He is a nice middle infield play in mixed leagues if he continues to hit. Qualifies at second base but may also qualify at shortstop (15 games in 2009) and third base (16 games in 2010) depending on your league requirements.

2B / OF – Eric Patterson – Patterson is nothing flashy, but I expect him to play at least two or three days a week while Dustin Pedroia is injured.  I feel his main asset is his speed, but if he can get you a few homers and runs, then even better. He has seven games at second base this season and played five games there last year so he may or may not yet be eligible to play thee in your fantasy baseball league depending on your league requirements.

OF – Michael Brantley – Brantley was called up a few days ago and should see extensive playing time while Shin-Soo Choo is on the disabled list. In 28 major league games in 2009 Brantley hit .313 with 11 RBI with 4 SB’s and had 46 steals in Triple-A in 2009.  After starting 2010 in the majors, Brantley was sent down in mid April after being unable to maintain a .200 average.  While at Triple-A, Brantley hit .319 with 26 RBI and 11 steals.  Brantley is still struggling to hit with his average now under .150.  If you have a spot on your bench for him until he can figure things out, he’s worth the gamble.

RP – Matt Thornton – Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen made things interesting by having Thornton close out Sunday’s game with Bobby Jenks back from his bereavement leave.  Guillen had Jenks then pitch in the 8th inning in Monday’s game with a seven run lead.    Although Jenks got the save on Tuesday, Thornton should still continue to get save chances from time to time.  Also keep on eye on J.J. Putz who could see some save opportunities if one of the three is moved at the trade deadline.

National League only:

3B – Greg Dobbs – Dobbs was recently called up from Triple-A will serve as the third basemen in Philadelphia while Placido Polanco is on the disabled list. Dobbs has a little bit of power and is worth a short-term pick up in the meantime.

C – Justin Thole – Thole is seeing extended action behind the plate for the New York Mets. The team could be showcasing him for a trade as his name has come up in several rumors. If you have to start two catchers in your league, Thole is not going to hurt you in any category.

12/15 Team Mixed League:

OF – Dexter Fowler – the best thing to happen to Fowler was to be sent down to Triple-A which served as a reality check. There, Fowler hit 340 in 106 at bats with two home runs and 13 RBI. Colorado has four outfielders they can rotate so I can see Fowler playing at least four times per week. With his speed and if he continues to bat at the top of the order, Fowler is a great player to spot start depending on how your league transaction work.

SP - Marc Rzepczynski – Rzepczynski was projected as a starter for the Toronto Blue Jays before breaking his finger at the end of spring training. He may have some control issues but I think he has promise as a back end of the rotation guy. In his first start of the season this week against Minnesota, he worked 5 /23 innings with four runs allowed and seven strikeouts.

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2010 Lineup Planner – Week 9

Posted by Todd Lammi on May 30th, 2010

Here is a look at the latest news and notes from around the diamond to help you set your fantasy baseball lineup for week 9.

American League:

Max Scherzer returned to the major leagues after two starts in Triple-A and proceeded to strike out 14 of 17 hitters on Sunday, while working 5 2/3 shutout innings against the Oakland A’s. His next start will come against Kansas City next weekend so I would have him active in a mixed league format.

Outfielder Nelson Cruz of the Texas Rangers is headed back to the 15-day disabled list again, meaning David Murphy will see more at bats over the next two weeks. Craig Gentry was recalled from Triple-A in a corresponding roster move but he is nothing more than a backup outfielder.

Third basemen Mark Teahen of the Chicago White Sox possibly suffered a broken finger on Sunday and will have X-Rays on Monday, making it unlikely he will see action next week. Jayson Nix took over Sunday and hit a pinch-hit grand slam and should see additional starts in week nine.

With Kendry Morales likely lost for the remainder of the fantasy baseball season after getting injured Saturday in the winning celebration, Mike Napoli got the start at first base on Sunday. Robb Quinlan was recalled from the minor leagues and could see time there as well, although neither of those options is necessarily long term. With Lyle Overbay heating up the last few weeks and Brett Wallace ready in the minor leagues, Overbay could be a possible trade target for the Los Angeles Angels.

National League:

Buster Posey was called up by the San Francisco Giants and got starts at first base over the weekend. He should see five to six starts per week between first base and catcher so he should be active in all formats going forward.

Carlos Zambrano and Tom Gorzelanny are flip-flopping roles between the starting rotation and bullpen this week with Zambrano getting the start on Wednesday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. With Randy Wells also struggling, I would still hold onto Gorzelanny for another week or two to see how that shakes out.

With Joey Votto missing another game this week due to a stiff neck, his status is questionable for next week. It seems a long period of time to miss for a stiff neck and with some of the personal issues he went through last season, hopefully there is nothing more to the situation that is not being reported at this time. Miguel Cairo has done a good job filling in for him this week and is a decent option in NL only leagues for next week.

Andre Ethier is expected to return to the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup on Monday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, sending Xavier Paul back to the bench.

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