Posts Tagged ‘Mark Reynolds’

2010 Final Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Third Base

Here is a look at my 2010 final fantasy baseball rankings for the position of third base. Several players are included in the list that did not start the year at third base, based either on games played or where I expect them to play in 2011.

1. Jose Bautista – hit .237 the first half with 24 home runs and was even better after the break, hitting .287 with 30 home runs in 73 games. Attributed a change in his swing that saw him hit 8 home runs in September of 2009 as the reason for the jump in home runs. Could go anywhere from round 1 to 3 in 2011 mixed fantasy baseball leagues.

2. David Wright - Wright was much better in his second year in Citi Field as his power rebounded. Still of some concern going forward is his rising strikeout rate which will hinder his batting average somewhat.

3. Evan Longoria - home runs dropped by 11, stolen bases and batting average were both up for a second straight season. Expect home runs to bounce back up in 2011; still a solid first round pick.

4. Adrian Beltre - bounced back from an injury marred 2009 to turn in the second best season of his career since his 2004 year. Managed 28 home runs despite hitting none in the month or April.

5. Alex Rodriguez - turned 35 in July and the numbers are starting to slow down. Third straight season he failed to play in more than 140 games. Also the third straight year his stolen base totals and batting average have declined. Based on his name alone most people will still consider him a first round pick next year but based on age and some other young players rising up the board, that should not be a guarantee.

6. Ryan Zimmerman – nothing to really nit pick on regarding his performance. Missed 20 games, otherwise his numbers would have been a little bit closer to 2009.

7. Michael Young – numbers similar to 2008 when he played close to the same amount of games. Now at age 34, his days of double digit steals are likely over.

8. Casey McGehee – built upon his rookie season and held up over a full season of at bats, hitting .285 with 23 home runs. His play has kept prospect Mat Gamel stuck in the minor leagues and he seems well suited to hit 5th in the lineup going forward.

9. Chase Headley – his value is somewhat inflated because of his number of stolen bases at a position where not too many occur. Has not shown the ability to hit for power yet in the major leagues, managing to his just three home runs at home this year.

10. Scott Rolen – Rolen was on fire the first half of the season, hitting .290 with 17 home runs in 79 games. Managed just three after the All-Star break, getting only 188 at bats as he battled injuries. The 20 home runs he hit were the most since 2006 when he hit 22.

11. Mark Reynolds – by fay the biggest fantasy bust at third base based on draft position. Rising strikeout rate hit 42% this season, leading to a drop in numbers across the board. Hit just .176 after the All-Star break and went homerless in September.

12. Placido Polanco – similar numbers to when he was in Detroit, batting average close to .300 with five or six home runs and stolen bases. No real upside but you always know what to expect when you own him.

13. Aramis Ramirez – Second straight year he missed significant time due to injuries. Has not played in more than 150 games since 2006. Still flashed power but low batting average dragged his value down.

14. Ian Stewart – was on his way to 20+ home runs before being limited the second half of the season to only 130 at bats. Likely remains in a platoon role in 2011 which limits his upside.

15. Pablo Sandoval – had a sharp drop off in performance in 2010. Could have been partly due to weight issues as well as the league adjusting to him. Second biggest bust at 3b after Reynolds.

16. Alberto Callaspo – was much better stats wise in Kansas City then with the Los Angeles Angels after being traded. Hit only two home runs in 213 at bats after being dealt.

17. Kevin Kouzmanoff - the move to the American League had little impact on his numbers as he put up similar stats to 2009. The home ballpark still seems to affect his power numbers even in a new location as he only hit five home runs at the Oakland Coliseum.

18. Chris Johnson – solid rookie campaign in 341 at bats with a .308 average and 11 home runs. Will not to improve his plate discipline going forward if he wants to maintain that same level of performance. Had only 15 walks against 98 strikeouts this year.

19. Brandon Inge – predictable fall off from his 27 home runs, much like it was from the 2006 to 2007 season. His .247 batting avergae was the highest it has been seen 2006.

20. Casey Blake - power numbers were there but batting average dropped by 32 points and runs scored fell by 28. Turned 37 in August so this could be the start of the end for him.

The Daily Dirt for Wednesday

by Todd Lammi

After being bumped from the rotation, Scott Richmond returned to the hill as a starter on Wednesday night in grand fashion. Richmond allowed one run in eight innings and struck out a season-high 11 hitters to notch his 5th win of the year. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Wednesday…

Hitters:

Mark Reynolds homered for the 18th time this season, connecting off of Zack Greinke. Reynolds has homered five times in his last 10 games while collecting 14 RBI during that stretch.

Aaron Hill went 3-for-5 and slugged his 15th home run of the season. Hill drove in three runs giving him 47 on the season and he is now batting .315 on the year.

Corey Hart went 3-for-5 with three RBI and belted his ninth home run of the year. Hart has now driven in 1o runs in his last seven games while raising his batting average 21 points.

Curtis Granderson returned to the lead-off spot, going 3-for-4 with two home runs and a stolen base. Granderson now has 16 home runs on the season to go along with 11 stolen bases.

Aubrey Huff went 2-for-3 with three RBI and delivered his ninth home run of the season. Huff has a modest five game hitting streak going and is now up to 44 RBI on the year.

Matt Wieters hit his first career home run, taking Tim Redding deep for a two-run blast in the second inning. Wieters is now hitting .240 on the season.

Rookie Andrew McCutchen hit his first major league home run, connecting for a two-run shot off of Francisco Liriano. McCutchen is now hitting .339 since being recalled from Triple-A.

Troy Tulowitzki hit a three-run home run off of David PRice for his ninth home run of the season. Tulowitzki has four home runs in his last 10 games with eight RBI during that stretch.

Evan Longoria homered for the second consecutive game, giving him 16 home runs on the season. Longoria is second in the American League with 60 RBI, leaving him three behind Jason Bay.

Jose Lopez homered for the fifth time in his last nine games, giving him 10 home runs on the year. Lopez has knocked in 13 RBI during that span, plating runners in eight out of nine games.

Jason Werth hit a solo home run, number 11 on the season, and has now homered three times in his last four games.

Pitchers:

John Danks allowed one run in seven innings with nine strikeouts to even his mark at 5-5. The win broke a two game losing streak for Danks who has allowed three runs in his last 14 1/3 innings.

John Lannan allowed two runs in 8 1/3 innings with four strikeouts to pick up his fourth win of the season. Lannan has allowed two runs or less in his last three starts, going 2-0 during that span.

Brad Penny tossed five shutout innings and struck out three to improve his record to 6-2 on the year. Penny picked up his 100th career win and will remain in the rotation with John Smoltz returning to action next week as the Boston Red Sox for now are saying they will go with a six-man pitching rotation.

Max Scherzer allowed two runs in six innings with five strikeouts to even his record at 4-4. Despite allowing runs for the first time in his last three starts, he still managed to lower his ERA for a third straight start.

Ian Snell picked up his first win since April 18th, allowing two runs in six innings with six strikeouts. It seemed like he had turned the corner in 2007, but his stats have been trending downward the last two years. His control has gradually deteriorated, going from a 2.6 K/BB ratio in 2007, to 1.52 in 2008 to his current number of 1.29.

Trevor Cahill hurled 5 1/3 scoreless innings with three strikeouts to earn his fourth win of the year. Cahill continues to whittle away at his overall ERA, lowering it for a six consecutive start.

Closers:

Trevor Hoffman blew his first save of the season, allowing two runs in the ninth inning against the Cleveland Indians.

Mike MacDougal picked up his forst save of the season for the Washington Nationals. McDougal’s line has been much better since coming over to the National League at the end of May. MacDougal currently has a 1.29 ERA in 6 2/3 innings.

The Daily Dirt for Friday

by Todd Lammi

The New York Yankees hit four home runs, but in the end, they needed a little luck to defeat the New York Mets 9-8. The Yankees rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning on a two-out dropped pop up by Luis Castillo. Mark Teixeira (20), Robinson Cano (10), Derek Jeter (9) and Hideki Matsui (9) all went deep for the Yankees. Gary Sheffield delivered his sixth home run of the season for the Mets. Joba Chamberlain needed 100 pitches to make it through four innings, allowing one hit with five walks. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Friday…

Hitters:

Joe Mauer went 2-for-4 with three RBI and hit his 13th home run of the season. Mauer has tied his career-high for home runs that he set back in 2006.

Mark Reynolds went 4-for-5 with 5 RBI, including his 16th home run of the season. Reynolds also picked up his 13th stolen base of the year.

Brian McCann went 4-for-4 with two RBI, raising his batting average to .331 on the year. McCann has driven in seven runs in his last six games.

Albert Pujols connected for his 2oth home run of the season and stole his ninth base of the year. Pujols is batting .321 for the year with 55 RBI.

Troy Tulowitzki hit his eighth home run of the season and swiped his six base in addition to scoring three runs. Tulowitzki has now homered three times in his last five games.

Kevin Kouzmanoff went 3-for-4 with three RBI and belted his sixth home run of the season. Kouzmanoff has been on fire his last five game with 11 RBI.

Pitchers:

San Diego Padres pitcher Jake Peavy will miss eight to 12 weeks with a partially torn tendon in his right ankle. Peavy had struggled since suffering the injury, with a 6.28 ERA in three starts. The Padres have several internal options to replace Peavy although none are very exciting from a fantasy baseball standpoint.  Top minor league prospect Mat Latos would probably be a long shot to get the call to replace Peavy. Latos is currently in Double-A with a 0.79 ERA through four starts.

Dan Haren picked up his fifth win of the year in a complete game seven strikeout performance. Haren has allowed one run in each of his last three outings with 19 strikeouts in 23 innings.

Tim Lincecum pitched a complete game shutout with eight strikeouts to notch his 6th win of the year. Lincecum lowered his ERA for his fifth straight start to its current mark of 2.66

Kevin Slowey allowed struck out a season-high 10 in six innings to pick up his ninth win of the season. Slowey has been getting hit at a much higher rate in 2009 vs. 2008, allowing batters to hit over .300 against him this season. Heading into Friday’s game, he has been much tougher out of the stretch and even harder to hit with men in scoring position.

No one on base: .351 avg.

Runners on: .271 avg.

In scoring position: .200 avg.

Tommy Hanson picked up his first major league win, although it was not pretty, allowing 14 base runners in 5 2/3 innings and two earned runs. The damage could have been worse as Hanson left the game with the bases loaded, but Peter Moylan struck out Adam Jones to end the inning.

Jon Lester allowed one run in seven innings with 11 strikeouts in a no decision. It was Lester’s third straight start with double digit strikeouts, giving him 34 strikeouts in his last 22 innings, with only seven hits and three runs allowed in that span.

Rick Porcello allowed one run in seven innings with two strikeouts to collect his seventh win of the season. The seven innings marked his longest outing since back on May 5th. The Detroit Tigers coaching staff has been limiting his pitch count for most of the year. The 99 pitches Porcello threw on Friday was a season high.

Ricky Nolasco turned in his best start of the season in a no decision, allowing two runs in six innings with nine strikeouts. It was his second straight effective start since being recalled from Triple-A. He should be safe to move back into fantasy baseball rotations in mixed leagues for the time being.

Vincente Padilla tossed five shutout innings with two strikeouts to earn his fifth win of the season. It was the second straight win for Padilla since the Texas Rangers requested waivers on him back on June 3rd.

Luke Hochevar hurled a complete game, allowing one win with three strikeouts, to even his record at 2-2. Hochevar has won both of his starts since being recalled from Triple-A on June 6th.

Recent Double-A call up Aaron Poreda of the Chicago White Sox threw 1 2/3 innings of relief, allowing one run with three strikeouts.

Fantasy Baseball – the Daily Dirt for Thursday

by Todd Lammi

The Philadelphia Phillies, with the top offense in the National League, continue to club home runs as they now have three players in double digits. Chase Utley went 3 for 4 with 4 RBI and hit his 11th home run of the season. Raul Ibanez (15) drove in three runs and has now driven in 14 runs in his last seven games and Ryan Howard (10) hit a solo shot. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Thursday…

Hitters:

The Minnesota Twins erupted for 20 runs against the Chicago White Sox in a 20-1 victory. Joe Mauer went 3 for 4 with 6 RBI including his eighth home run of the season and is now hitting .417 on the year. Michael Cuddyer went 4 for 6 and hit his sixth home run of the season while adding 3 RBI and Matt Tolbert added his  first long ball of the year and drove in four.

Todd Helton went 3 for 5 with 5 RBI and hit his fifth home run of the season. Helton is now hitting .338 on the season.

Robinson Cano went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI and hit his eighth home run of the season. Cano is now batting .317 on the year with 25 RBI.

Jason Bay hit his 13th home run of the season and drove in two runs, jacking his RBI total up to 44, two behind Evan Longoria in the American League.

Mary Reynolds went 2 for 3 and drove in three runs, with two coming on his 12th home run of the year. Reynolds also stole his 10th base of the year and is currently on pace for a 40-40 season.

Pitchers:

Edwin Jackson allowed three runs in eight innings and struck out seven to pick up his fourth win of the season.

Nick Blackburn threw seven shutout innings and struck out two to pick up his third win of the year.

Carl Pavano allowed three runs in six innings and struck out eight to move to 4-4 on the season.

Matt Garza allowed two runs in 6 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts in a no decision. Garza has allowed three runs or less in his last five starts.

Kris Medlen’s first major league start was not a good one for the Atlanta Braves. Medlen walked five and allowed five runs in three innings to suffer the loss and seemed overwhelmed by nerves in the start. He also hit a batter, threw two wild pitches and had a balk called against him. His counterpart Aaron Cook of the Colorado Rockies tossed a complete game shutout with three strikeouts.

Joba Chamberlain left his start in the first inning after taking a line drive from Adam Jones above his right knee. Chamberlain faced two more batters before being removed from the game. X-Rays were negative on the knee and his status for his next start is up in the air.

Jon Lester allowed one run in 6 1/3 innings with four strikeouts to pick up his third win of the year.

Adam Wainwright allowed one run in 8 2/3 innings and struck out seven to move to 4-2 on the year. Wainwright has allowed one run in back-to-back starts.

Two young guns squared off in the Arizona Diamondbacks – Florida Marlins game, although both starting pitchers did not factor in the decision. Max Scherzer allowed three runs in six innings and struck out 10, while Andrew Miller had his second good start in a row since returning from the disabled list, surrendering two runs in seven innings with nine punchouts.

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