by Todd Lammi
There is a secret club that has been forming in major league baseball. Not a lot of people know of its existence except for its members. If you have a member of this club on your fantasy baseball team, it could help explain why your team is low in the home run category. Much like the representing of the zip code was all the rage a few years ago, the new rage in 2009 is the 04 club. As in, hey David Ortiz, how many home runs do you have this season? I am 04 the season. Here is a look at the some of the members of the current club…
David Ortiz, zero home runs, 12 RBI, .220 average. Ortiz missed seven weeks last season with a wrist injury and has not looked like the same player since. Yes he did hit some home runs in September and in spring training, but with his build and age, the power could go quickly. It is funny to see his projected stats on ESPN, zero home runs and 85 RBI. Of course I don’t expect him to end the season with zero home runs, but I think the expectation of him hitting 30-35+ should be tempered.
Bobby Abreu, zero home runs, 11 stolen bases (2 Friday night), .356 batting average. The steals are a nice surprise, he only had one last year through the month of April with three home runs. Now at age 35, the power expectation should be the mid teens.
Carl Crawford, zero home runs, 10 stolen bases, .284 batting average. The stolen bases were expected to rebound after he battled hamstring injuries last season. At the age of 27, some thought this was the year he was going to finally hit 20 home runs, but it does not appear that way. He had two home runs in the month of April last season.
James Loney, zero home runs, 16 RBI, .309 average. His numbers in 2007 with 15 home runs in 344 at bats set the wrong expectations for fantasy owners. The 13 home runs he hit last season were more in line with realistic expectations. It is tough to roster him at a power position like first base with his lack of power. He had two home runs in the month of April last season.
Adrian Beltre, zero home runs, 10 RBI, .213 batting average. Has gotten off to a slow start so far this season. Nothing out of the ordinary when checking his various stat lines compared to years past. He has had shoulder problems in past years and back in March had complained of a sore shoulder so that could be affecting him. He had five home runs a year ago at this time.
Miguel Tejada, zero home runs, 4 RBI, .304 average. He suffered a drop in power last season and it looks like it is not coming back. At age 34, it looks like his run as a power hitting middle infielder is over. Three of his four RBI he plated in one game. He had four home runs through April last season.
Jhonny Peralta was a member of the club until he hit his first home run Friday night. It was not for a lack of effort though, as he has went down on strikes 26 times in his 81 at bats this season.
