Posts Tagged ‘Matt Wieters’

2011 Fantasy Baseball: The Value of the Catcher

Posted by Todd Lammi on October 18th, 2010

In most instances, I am a proponent of position scarcity, not to the point where I will pass or reach for a player strictly based on position, but more often than not I prefer to have stronger players at weaker positions. This has been the case most seasons with the catcher position and 2010 for me was no different.

As I prepare for 2011 however, I am thinking about changing that strategy in mixed fantasy baseball leagues where two catchers are needed. The 2010 seasons was a mixture of under performance and injury coupled with catchers drafted at the end of the draft that ended up out performing many of the top players.

If you run down the list of the top picked catchers, almost each one of them came in under expectations. Joe Mauer’s power returned to pre-2009 levels. Victor Martinez’s runs and RBI were impacted by missing 20+ games due to injury.  Kurt Suzuki saw a drop in batting average as well as runs scored and RBI thanks to a weak Oakland A’s offense. Matt Wieters showed no real improvement from the previous season and Miquel Montero, Geovany Soto, Russell Martin and Carlos Santana (although to a lesser extent) all missed time due to injuries as did John Baker.

The only catcher in the top half of the draft that really held their value based on where they were drafted were Brian McCann and Mike Napoli, thanks to the injury to Kendry Morales which got him a lot more at bats than most people predicted before the season.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, there were several catchers that surprised, notably Buster Posey, only because he got many more at bats than expected. John Buck in Toronto who hit more home runs than the previous two years combined and set a career high in batting average at 34 points higher and John Jaso who came out of no where in Tampa Bay thanks to injuries to score 57 runs in 339 at bats.

Thinking out loud, the fact that the injury risk is higher at catcher for collisions at home plate in addition to the dings and dents from wild pitches and foul tips, combined with the fact that taking a catcher early in the draft, say the top 3 to 5 rounds, means you are likely sacrificing stolen bases or a solid starting pitcher with the catcher selection. Right now I feel it is time to move to more middle or end of the draft catchers instead of grabbing one in the top half.

Looking at 2011 fantasy baseball drafts, Posey figures to move up to the area where McCann is in the 3rd or 4th round range. Wieters likely falls back into the clump of Montero, Suzuki, Napoli, Soto that went in rounds 8-12 in 2010. Napoli’s value could be higher or lower depending if he is still with the Los Angeles Angels or not. It will be interesting to see where Carlos Santana goes since he missed a good chuck of the season, but based on what he did in 150 at bats, I would expect to see him go in the area that Wieters did in 2010 in rounds 5-6.

Read More »

2010 Fantasy Baseball ADP – Catchers

Posted by Todd Lammi on February 10th, 2010

by Todd Lammi

This is the first article in the series looking at the current 2010 fantasy baseball ADP (average draft position) for catchers. The data uses ADP numbers from Mock Draft Central using the NFBC scoring system.

I have played in the NFBC before and it has some of the best fantasy baseball owners in the industry so I find the ADP numbers to be much more accurate.  The NFBC has no trade leagues with 15 owners per league and standard fantasy baseball categories. The only difference in regards to roster size compared to some other fantasy baseball leagues is the use of two catchers.

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.

Also, position scarcity becomes much greater the larger your fantasy baseball league is. So in a 15 team league, the value of catcher is going to be much higher than in a 10 team league because there are more options to pick from. However, this does not mean you should pass on a catcher for a similar ranked outfielder even in a 10 team league. While there are many ways to win a fantasy baseball league, having the top player at a weak position regardless of league size is going to give you a step up on your competition.

If you agree with my rankings, or even if you use the grid and replace them with your own, it is easy to quickly get a look at where there is potential value. For instance in the chart below, Chris Ianetta has an ADP of 5 rounds higher than A.J. Pierzynski. With the possibility of a time share in Colorado and the downside to average the Ianetta brings, I don’t see there being a five round gap in value there.

12 Teams 15 Teams
Rank Name ADP Round Pick Round Pick
1 Joe Mauer 14 2 2 1 14
2 Victor Martinez 25 3 1 2 10
3 Brian McCann 43 4 7 3 13
4 Matt Wieters 108 9 12 8 3
5 Jorge Posada 121 11 1 9 1
6 Geovany Soto 131 11 11 9 11
7 Miguel Montero 139 12 7 10 4
8 Russell Martin 147 13 3 10 12
9 Kurt Suzuki 151 13 7 11 1
10 Bengie Molina 159 14 3 11 9
11 Mike Napoli 172 15 4 12 7
12 Ryan Doumit 191 16 11 13 11
13 A.J. Pierzynski 235 20 7 16 10
14 Chris Iannetta 173 15 5 12 8
15 Yadier Molina 222 19 6 15 12
16 Carlos Ruiz 281 24 5 19 11
17 John Baker 280 24 4 19 10
18 Nick Hundley 336 28 12 23 6
19 Kelly Shoppach 337 29 1 23 7
20 Ramon Hernandez 334 28 10 23 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 first basemen.

Read More »

The Daily Dirt for Wednesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 17th, 2009

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.

Read More »

Fantasy Baseball – the Daily Dirt for Saturday

Posted by Todd Lammi on May 30th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

If you read the minor league report earlier in the day, it looks like the winner is Antonio Bastardo for the Philadelphia Phillies. Bastardo will get the start on Tuesday against the San Diego Padres in place of the injured Brett Myers.

The Texas Rangers used 17 hits en route to a 14-1 pounding of the Oakland Athletics. Hank Blalock (12), Marlon Byrd (4) and Nelson Cruz (14) all went deep for the Rangers.  Ian Kinsler added four RBI as all starters had at least one hit and one RBI except for Andruw Jones who went 0 for 5. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Saturday…

Hitters:

Armando Rios went 4 for 4 with two RBI and Adam Lind went 2 for 3 with two RBI including his 8th home run of the season in a 5-3 win over the Boston Red Sox.  It was the first home run for Lind since May 17th, from  which he has seen a 30 point drop in his batting average to its current level of .289.

Jeremy Hermida went 3 for 5 with four RBI including his 5th home run of the year to power the Florida Marlins to a 7-3 win over the New York Mets.

Reed Johnson went 3 for 3 with two RBI and his third home run of the season. Johnson has homered three times in the last six games.

Carl Crawford went 3 for 4 with two RBI and collected his third home run of the season in a 5-2 win over the Minnesota Twins. The only negative for Crawford was he was caught stealing for the first time this season, ending his run of 30 consecutive steals this year.

Clete Thomas hitting lead off went 3 for 5 with three RBI and two home runs to lead the Detroit Tigers to a 6-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Curtis Granderson chipped in with his 12th home run of the year. Luke Scott continues to put on an offensive show for the Orioles, hitting a home run for the fourth consecutive day and driving in two runs. Rookie Matt Wieters went 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored.

Prince Fielder went 3 for 4 with three RBI and clubbed his 12th home run of the year to lift the Milwaukee Brewers to a 9-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds.

Ryan Howard blasted two home runs and drove in five in a 9-6 win over the Washington Nationals.

Brad Hawpe went 3 for 5 with three RBI and poked his seventh home run of the season. Hawpe raised his batting average to .343 and he now has 39 RBI on the year.

Adrian Gonzalez hit his 19th home run of the season and drove in three runs. For Gonzalez, it was the third home run this week with seven RBI.

Albert Pujols hit two home runs giving him 16 on the season to go along with 42 RBI to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-2 win over the San Francisco Giants.

Joey Votto was placed on the 15-day disabled list by the Cincinnati Reds in what the team is calling a “stress-related issue.”

Pitchers:

Josh Johnson allowed two runs in seven innings with five strikeouts to earn his fourth win of the season. Johnson has allowed two runs or less in six of his last seven starts.

David Price picked up his first win of the season, allowing one run in 5 2/3 innings with 11 strikeouts. Price was pulled after 108 pitches, 76 of which he threw for strikes.

Ryan Dempster tossed seven shutout innings with five strikeouts to improve his record to 4-3 on the year in a 7-0 defeat of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

CC Sabathia allowed three runs in seven innings and struck out eight to raise his record to 5-3 on the year.

Javier Vazquez and Doug Davis hooked up in a pitchers duel, that the Arizona Diamondbacks won 3-2 in 11 innings. Vazquez allowed one run in 6 1/3 innings with eight strikeouts. Davis allowed two runs in seven innings with six strikeouts. Davis continues to pitch much better when at home where he holds a 3.20 ERA compared to a 4.82 ERA on the road.

Jeff Karstens allowed two runs in seven innings with four strikeouts to even his record at 2-2.

Brandon McCarthy allowed one run in six innings with two strikeouts. It was the second good outing in a row for McCarthy who has shaved 1.25 runs off of his ERA in those two starts.

Matt Palmer tossed seven shutout innings with five strikeouts in a no decision against the Seattle Mariners. His counterpart Felix Hernandez was equally effective, hurling 6 1/3 shutout innings with six strikeouts.

Closers:

Leo Nunez picked up his first save of the season by replacing an ineffective Matt Lindstrom with two outs in the ninth inning. Lindstrom allowed one run and left runners on second and third for Nunez who struck out Fernando Martinez to end the game.

Randy Choate picked up his second save of the season since being recalled from Triple-A earlier in the week.

Heath Bell blew his first save of the season in an 8-7 loss to the Colorado Rockies.

Brian Fuentes blew his third save of the season, surrendering a three-run home run to Jose Lopez in the 9th inning, costing Matt Palmer a win.

Read More »

Fantasy Baseball – the Daily Dirt for Friday

Posted by Todd Lammi on May 29th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Luke Scott went 3 for 3 and delivered two home runs while driving in five runs in a 7-2 win over the Detroit Tigers. Scott has been on a tear since coming off the disabled list on Wednesday, with 5 home runs and 12 RBI in three games. Rookie Matt Wieters debuted as the starting catcher, going 0 for 4 with a strikeout. Wieters hit seventh and should see the majority of starts going forward. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Friday…

Hitters:

Nelson Cruz went 2 for 4 with 3 RBI including his 13th home run of the season in a 6-3 win over the Oakland A’s in the first game of a double header.

Jermaine Dye started the Chicago White Sox scoring with his 13th home run of the season, en route to an 11-2 win over the Kansas City Royals.  Alexei Ramirez, A.J. Pierzynski and Josh Fields each contributed three hits in the win.

Edwin Maysonet went 4 for 4 with RBI including his first home run of the season as the Houston Astros defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1. It was Maysonet’s second start of the season since being recalled on May 22.

Omir Santos hit his third home run of the season and drove in two runs in the New York Mets -21 win over the Florida Marlins in 11 innings. Santos will remain with the team when Brian Schneider returns from the disabled list, with the trade of backup catcher Ramon Castro to the Chicago White Sox.

Evan Longoria went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI, including his 13th home run of the season, to power the Tampa Bay Rays to a 5-3 win over the Minnesota Twins. Longoria increased his league leading RBI total to 54.

Carl Crawford went 2 for 4 with three runs scored and connected for his second home run of the season. The home run was Crawford’s first since May 7th.

Yunel Escobar went 2 for 5 with three RBI to pace the Atlanta Braves offense in a 10-6 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Escobar knocked out his fifth home run of the season and his second in the last four days.

Carlos Quentin was placed on the 15-day disabled list with plantar fasciitis in his foot. Quentin has been bothered by pain in his foot all season which helps explain his .229 batting average. Scott Podsednik will continue to see playing time in his place and is a good source for steals in American League only fantasy baseball leagues.

Pitchers:

Ted Lilly allowed one run in seven innings with five strikeouts to pick up his sixth win of the season in a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Chad Billingsley took the loss, allowing two runs in seven innings with seven strikeouts.

Josh Outman allowed three runs in 6 2/3 innings with nine strikeouts in a no decision. Outman has allowed three runs or less in all eight of his starts this season and currently sports a 3.06 ERA.

Andy Pettitte allowed one run in five innings to improve his record to 5-1 on the season in a 3-1 defeat of the Cleveland Indians. Pettitte was removed from the game in the sixth innings with stiffness in his lower back.

J.A. Happ allowed three runs in 5 1/3 innings to earn his first win since moving into the starting rotation in a 5-4 win over the Washington Nationals.

Brian Moehler allowed tossed a complete game allowing one run with four strikeouts to gain his second win of the year.

Casey Janssen picked up his first win in over two years, allowing three runs in seven innings with two strikeouts. For Janssen, who missed all of 2008 with shoulder surgery, it was his second start since being recalled from Triple-A last Friday.

Mike Pelfrey allowed one run in 7 2/3 innings with six strikeouts in a no decision. Pelfrey has allowed two runs or less in four consecutive starts while lowering his ERA by 1.5 runs. His counter part, rookie Sean West, allowed one run in seven innings with two strikeouts.

James Shields surrendered two runs in seven innings with five strikeouts to even his mark at 4-4 on the year.

Braden Looper allowed two runs in seven innings with four strikeouts to pick up his 5th win of the year in a 3-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds.

Scott Feldman allowed two runs in six innings with two strikeouts to boost his record to a perfect 4-0 on the year.  Feldman has a 2.59 ERA since moving into the starting rotation on April 25th.

Clayton Richard allowed two runs in seven innings with seven strikeouts for his third straight quality start. Richard has allowed three runs in his last 20 innings with 18 strikeouts.

Jason Marquis pitched eight innings of shutout ball with six strikeouts to pick up his seventh win of the year. It was the third consecutive win for Marquis who has allowed three earned runs in his last 23 2/3 innings.

Jason Vargas allowed two runs in 6 1/3 innings with two strikeouts to record his second win of the season in a 5-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels. The two runs were the most Vargas has allowed in his four starts this season.

Matt Cain improved to 6-1 by giving up one run in 6 1/3 innings with five punchouts in a 4-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. Cain has won his last three starts, while allowing two tuns in 21 1/3 innings.

Closers:

C.J. Wilson picked up a win and a save in the Texas Rangers double header. With Frank Francisco back as closer, Wilson should only see a few save opportunities going forward.

Huston Street picked up his 8th save of the season and has not allowed an earned run since April 24th. During that time he has lowered his ERA from 8.59 to his current number of 3.10.

Read More »

Fantasy Baseball – the Daily Dirt for Tuesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on May 27th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

There is rejoicing in fantasy baseball land Tuesday night as top prospect Matt Wieters of the Baltimore Orioles is expected to be recalled from Triple-A on Friday.  It should not take long for Wieters to ascend to the top tier of the catching ranks, based on his expected performance. With injuries to Ryan Doumit and Chris Ianetta and Geovany Soto off to a slow start, it is not inconceivable for Wieters to be a top 5 catcher the rest of the season, behind Victor Martinez, Joe Mauer, Brian McCann and Bengie Molina.

To give you an idea of the landscape at catcher from a fantasy baseball statistical purpose, Jorge Posada ranks six among catchers in RBI with 20 despite missing the last three weeks of action. Russell Martin still is stuck on zero home runs, although he does has six stolen bases and Mike Napoli should start to lose at bats with Vladimir Guerrero returning to action as Napoli was seeing time at designated hitter when not catching.

Wieters, who was the fifth overall selection in the 2007 June draft, will take over immediately as the Orioles starting catcher upon his arrival. Wieters is currently hitting .305 with 5 home runs and 30 RBI in 141 at bats with a 2o to 30 walk to strikeout ratio in Triple-A. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Tuesday…

Hitters:

Orioles hitters responded to the news of Wieters impending arrival by collecting 14 hits in a 7-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Adam Jones (11), Aubrey Huff (8) and Nolan Reimold (3) all hit home runs in the victory. With the young bats the Orioles have and the pitching in their farm system, they are probably 1 1/2 years away from competing for the division.

The Cleveland Indians used four home runs to defeat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-1. Mark DeRosa starting in left field hit his 8th home run of the year and is now up to 32 RBI on the season. It is nice the Indians are show casing DeRosa’s versatility in the outfield to boost his trade value, but that comes at the expense of playing time for Matt LaPorta who was sent back to Triple-A. LaPorta never got untracked with the Indians, batting .190 with one home run in 13 games.

Carlos Pena hit his 16th home run and knocked in his 40th RBI to provide the lone run of offense for the Rays.

Joey Votto hit a two-run home in the seventh inning to propel the Cincinnati Reds to a 6-4 win over the Houston Astros. The long ball was Votto’s 8th of the season to go along with his 33 RBI.

Gary Sheffield continues to pick up the slack offensively for the New York Mets with Jose Reyes, Ryan Church and Carlos Delgado all missing from the lineup due to injuries. Sheffield went 2 for 3 with 3 RBI and belted his fifth home run of the year to lead Mets to a 6-1 win over the Washington Nationals. He has now driven in nine runs in his last five games.

Also for the Mets, rookie Fernando Martinez was recalled from Triple-A with Church going on the disabled list. Martinez got the start in right field batting sixth and went 0 for 3 with an RBI. Martinez was hitting .291 with 8 home runs and 28 RBI in 165 at bats in Triple-A with two stolen bases.

Chris Davis hit two home runs to power the Texas Rangers to a 7-3 win over the New York Yankees. Davis now has 12 home runs on the season, but is only batting .208 on the year.

Justin Morneau went 2 for 3 with 3 RBI including his 14th home run of the season in a 5-2 win over the Boston Red Sox. Morneau has driven in 11 runs in his last five games.

Mark Reynolds hit his 13th home run of the year and knocked in two in a 6-5 win over the San Diego Padres. Reynolds is currently 5th in the National League in home runs and 7th in stolen bases with 10.

Jayson Nix hit two solo home runs to give the Chicago White Sox a 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels.

Pitchers:

Zack Greinke continued his amazing 2009 season, tossing a complete game against the Detroit Tigers in a 6-1 win. Greinke struck out eight while lowering his ERA to 0.84. He has still yet to allow more than two runs in any start this year and also has not given up a home run through 75 innings.

Joe Blanton tossed seven shutout innings with 11 strikeouts in a 5-3 win over the Florida Marlins. The victory evened Blanton’s record at 3-3  and easily surpassed his previous season high of six strikeouts.

Carl Pavano allowed one run in seven innings with six strikeouts to pick up his fifth win of the season. Pavano has now won 5 of his last 6 starts, while allowing four runs or less in all of them.

Livan Hernandez picked up a complete game win, allowing one run with six strikeouts. Hernandez has now allowed two runs or less in four of his last five starts.

Adam Wainwright allowed one run in seven innings with nine strikeouts in a 8-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Wainwright improved to 5-2 and has allowed one run in each of his last three starts, covering a total of 23 2/3 innings.

Nick Blackburn allowed one earned run in seven innings with seven strikeouts to move to 4-2 on the season. Blackburn has shaved 1 1/2 runs off his ERA in his last five starts to his current mark of 3.55

Eric Milton picked up his first win in almost three years, tossing five innings of one run ball in a 7-1 win over the Colorado Rockies. Milton allowed seven hits and struck out three in his second start since being recalled from Triple-A.

Sean Marshall allowed one run in five innings with six strikeouts to pick up a rain-shortened 6-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Marshall continues to keep pace with Randy Wells to see who will become the 5th starter once Rich Harden returns from the disabled list.

Max Scherzer allowed two runs in seven innings with 10 strikeouts to earn his second win of the season. Scherzer has had back-to-back 10 strikeout performances and will face the Atlanta Braves on Sunday.

Jarrod Washburn hurled six scoreless innings with four strikeouts in a 4-3 loss to the Oakland Athletics.

Tim Lincecum pitched eight shutout innings and fanned eight in a 4-0 defeat of the Atlanta Braves.  Lincecum lowered his ERA to 3.03 and has struck out eight or more in 7 of his last 8 starts.

Closers:

Brad Lidge was supposed to get the day off, but after the Marlins cut the lead to two in the ninth innings, he came in to record two outs for his ninth save of the season. Manager Charlie Manuel’s use of the bullpen on Tuesday night signifies he has little faith in Ryan Madson as the closer and why he continues to stick with Lidge in spite of Lidge’s recent blown saves. Instead of using Madson in the ninth inning and a different set up man in the eighth, he still pitched Madson in the eighth and had Chad Durbin come in to close the door in the ninth, which Durbin failed to do.

Read More »

Fantasy Baseball Minor League Report – week 7

Posted by Todd Lammi on May 23rd, 2009

by Todd Lammi

The Baltimore Orioles have several good arms making their way up the minor league ladder. One of the lesser known names, David Hernandez may be ready to join the O’s rotation by September if he continues at his current pace. Hernandez, currently in AAA, struck out 14 in 7 1/3 innings in his last start and now has 60 strikeouts in 43 1/3 innings on the season with a 2.91 ERA.

Brian Matusz (Orioles) in Advanced A, struck out nine in seven innings in his last start and has 60 strikeouts in 46 2/3 innings with a 3.09 ERA.

Matt Wieters (Orioles) in AAA has homered four times in his last eight games, and now stands at .288 with five home runs and 24 RBI.

Third basemen Brett Wallace (Cardinals) has been promoted to Triple-A. He is currently hitting .312 with six home runs and 19 RBI on the season.

Tommy Hanson (Braves) continues to cruise through AAA, allowing one hit in six shutout innings in his last start with nine strikeouts. He has now fanned 73 in 53 2/3 innings with a 1.51 ERA and is holding opposing hitters to a .160 batting average.

Catcher J.P. Arencibia (Blue Jays) has flashed power in AAA, but still needs work on controlling the strike zone to improve his batting average. Arencibia is hitting .250 with seven home runs and 27 RBI, but just nine walks in 144 at bats, although that is an improvement over his AA numbers with seven walks in 262 at bats.

Junichi Tazawa (Red Sox) pitched six shutout innings in his last start in AA and is now 4-3 with a 2.74 ERA. In 49 1/3 innings, he has struck out 47 while allowing only three home runs.

Matt Latos (Padres) is off to a great start in AA after starting the season shelved with an injury. Latos currently sports a 0.36 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 25 1/3 innings, while limiting batters to a .120 average.

One player who has not been part of the Triple-A shuttle for the Oakland Athletics as the major league team continues to juggle its pitching rotation has been Vin Mazzaro. Mazzaro in AAA has a 2.66 ERA with 38 strikeouts in 50 2/3 innings.  He has allowed two runs in his last 21 2/3 innings, including eight innings of shutout ball in his last start.

Carlos Torres (White Sox) is a little bit old for the AAA level at 26, but he is putting up numbers worthy of a look, with a 1.76 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 46 innings. He is holding opposing hitters to a .193 average and has yet to allow a home run this season.

With David Ortiz struggling in Boston, the Red Sox could use some more offense. Lars Anderson, the first baseman of the future, has been off to a slow start in AA, hitting .234 with five home runs and 23 RBI. He has struck out 35 times in 137 at bats.

Read More »

Fantasy Baseball – the Daily Dirt for Tuesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on May 5th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Rick Porcello picked up his second win of the season for the Detroit Tigers in a 9-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins. His season so far has been a typical rookie season, especially for someone pitching in the major leagues as the age of 20. Porcello tossed seven shutout innings with three strikeouts. Curtis Granderson blasted his 9th home run of the season. With Granderson displaying a power stroke early on in the season, he has been dropped down to 5th in the batting order. Miguel Cabrera hit his seventh home run of the season and is now batting .406 on the year. The Tigers placed Carlos Guillen on the 15-day disabled list with inflammation in his shoulder. Jeff Larish and Clete Thomas have been recalled from Triple-A and could see time in Guillen’s place. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Tuesday…

American League:

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Carl Crawford stole his 19th base of the season, and has now stolen a base in eight straight games, in a 6-3 defeat of the Baltimore Orioles. Evan Longoria went 2 for 4 with 3 RBI and now has 34 RBI on the season. The decision for the Orioles to go with Gregg Zaun at catcher over prospect Matt Wieters has not been the right move early on this season. Zaun hit his first home run of the season Tuesday, and is hitting just .162 for the year. Koji Uehara allowed three runs in 6 1/3 innings for the Orioles and struck out eight…..The Texas Rangers scored 6 runs in the top of the 10th inning to beat the Seattle Mariners 7-2. Nelson Cruz hit his seventh home run of the year for the Rangers and Jarrod Saltalamacchia added his third to go along with 4 RBI. Vincente Padilla allowed one hit through eight innings and one unearned run with four strikeouts. Erik Bedard pitched well for the Mariners, allowing one run in seven innings with seven strikeouts…..Adam Lind went 3 for 4 with 5 RBI to power the Toronto Blue Jays to a 10-6 win over the Cleveland Indians. Lind hit is sixth home run of the year and is now up to 29 RBI. Ben Francisco stole his fourth base of the year for the Indians. Rookie call up Brett Cecil pitched much better than he had been in Triple-A, allowing one run in six innings with six strikeouts for the Blue Jays…..Jason Bay hit his seventh home run of the season to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 7-3 win over the New York Yankees. Jacob Ellsbury stole base number 15 on the year. Joba Chamberlain suffered the loss, allowing four runs in 5 2/3 innings with 12 strikeouts. Johnny Damon hit his 6th home run and drove in three runs. Jorge Posada was placed on the 15-day disabled list by the New York Yankees with a hamstring strain. He is expected to miss 2-3 weeks.

National League:

The Houston Astros and Washington Nationals played to a 10-10 tie before play was suspended in the 11th inning due to rain. The game will be resumed on July 9th. Miguel Tejada went 3 for 6 with 3 RBI for the Astros. Elijah Dukes (4) and Christian Guzman (1) each homered for the Nationals. Nationals Manager Manny Acta said Joe Beimel who is coming off the disabled list will get a shot to claim the closers role…..Tim Lincecum allowed two runs in seven innings with seven strikeouts to pitch the San Francisco Giants past the Chicago Cubs 6-2. Bengie Molina hit his 5th home run of the season and drove in three runs. Emmanuel Burriss added his eighth stolen base of the year. Aaron Miles stole two bases for the Chicago Cubs geting the start in place of Ryan Theriot. Randy Wells will be promoted from Triple-A to start in place of Carlos Zambrano (out three weeks) on Friday against the Milwaukee Brewers….Edison Volquez hurled eight shutout innings, allowing three hits with seven strikeouts in a 7-0 win over the Florida Marlins. Brandon Phillips went 3 for 5 with 6 RBI, including his fourth home run of the season…..J.J. Hardy went 3 for 3 with 4 RBI to lead the Milwaukee Brewers to an 8-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Corey Hart went 2 for 4 with three runs scored and his third stolen base of the year. Pirates closer Matt Capps will be shelved until at least the weekend with discomfort in his elbow. Tyler Yates and John Grabow could see save opportunities in his absence…..Shane Victorino went 4 for 5 with 3 RBI and three runs scored to propel the Philadelphia Phillies to a 10-7 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. Jason Werth added his 4th home run of the season and 4 RBI. Ryan Ludwick hit his 7th home run of the year for the Cardinals and Albert Pujols added his 10th.

Read More »

 

Designed by: Free Cell Phones | Thanks to Highest CD Rates, Domain Registration and Registry Software