Posts Tagged ‘Tommy Hanson’

2010 Two Start Pitchers – Week 17

Posted by Todd Lammi on July 23rd, 2010

Here is a complete look at the fantasy baseball two-start pitchers for week 17. 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.

Two-start pitchers week 17: 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:

Clay Buchholz (BOS) ~ @LAA (Pineiro), DET (Verlander)
John Danks (CHW) ~ SEA (Hernandez), OAK (Anderson)
Gavin Floyd (CHW) ~ SEA (Rowland-Smith), OAK (Braden)
Justin Verlander (DET) ~ @TB (Shields), @BOS (Buchholz)
Zack Greinke (KC) ~ MIN (Liriano), BAL (Bergesen)
Francisco Liriano (MIN) ~ @KC (Greinke), SEA (Rowland-Smith)
CC Sabathia (NYY) ~ @CLE (TBD), @TB (Shields)
Felix Hernandez (SEA) ~ @CWS (Danks), @MIN (Slowey)
Colby Lewis (TEX) ~ OAK (Braden), @LAA (Pineiro)

Roll the Dice:

Max Scherzer (DET) ~ @TB (Garza), @BOS (Matsuzaka)
Joel Pineiro (LAA) ~ BOS (Buchholz), TEX (Lewis)
Javier Vazquez (NYY) ~ @CLE (Westbrook), @TB (Garza)
Matt Garza (TB) ~ DET (Scherzer), NYY (Vazquez)
James Shields (TB) ~ DET (Verlander), NYY (Sabathia)
Brandon Morrow (TOR) ~ BAL (Bergesen), CLE (Westbrook)

Although he has two tough match ups, Scherzer is 5-1 in his last seven starts and has a 2.00 ERA with a 1.11 WHIP through four starts in July. Pineiro had won seven starts without loss before getting hit hard in last start against the New York Yankees. He allowed two runs in six innings against Boston earlier this year and three runs in six innings versus Texas. Vazquez has had an inflated ERA thanks to 17 home runs through 100 innings this year compared to only 20 allowed on 219 1/3 innings in Atlanta last season. He had a 3.23 ERA with a .97 WHIP in June and is 2.84, 1.00 so far in July. Shields has been sliding after starting the season with two goods months. His ERA was 7.67 in June and is 5.47 so far in July. In three starts against New York this year, he has a 3.86 ERA and has yet to face Detroit this season. Morrow has regressed in July after dominating in June. In July he has a 5.82 ERA with a 1.59 WHIP. If you own him, I think there has to be concern for him the rest of the season. He is at 107 innings on the year which is already close to his career high of 124 2/3 between Triple-A and the major leagues last season.

Sit Them:

Kevin Millwood (BAL) ~ @TOR (Romero), @KC (Chen)
Brad Bergesen (BAL) ~ @TOR (Morrow), @KC (Greinke)
Jake Westbrook (CLE) ~ NYY (Vazquez), @TOR (Morrow)
Bruce Chen (KC) ~ MIN (Pavano), BAL (Millwood)
Dallas Braden (OAK) ~ @TEX (Lewis), @CWS (Floyd)
Ryan Rowland-Smith (SEA) ~ @CWS (Floyd), @MIN (Liriano)

Braden has not won since his perfect game back on May 9th and has allowed 20 hits in his last 10 2/3 innings. Rowland-Smith’s last win came back on June 20th. Since that time, he has allowed five runs in his three of his last seven starts. Chen was decent in June but has since come back down to earth in July with a 5.24 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP ratio. Westbrook has gone six innings in four of his last five starts with a 2-2 record during that time. He has a 3.72 ERA against Toronto in his two starts this season. One thing to keep in mind is that he has been mentioned in trade rumors and with the deadline next Saturday, there is a slight chance he could miss the second start of the week.

National League:

Start them:

Ryan Dempster (CHC) ~ @HOU (Wright), @COL (De La Rosa)
Josh Johnson (FLA) ~ @SF (Cain), @SD (Garland)
Jon Niese (NYM) ~ STL (Garcia), ATL (Haren)
Cole Hamels (PHI) ~ ARI (Haren), @WAS (Strasburg)
Barry Zito (SF) ~ FLA (Nolasco), LAD (Kershaw)
Matt Cain (SF) ~ FLA (Johnson), LAD (Billingsley)
Jaime Garcia (STL) ~ @NYM (Niese), PIT (Duke)
Stephen Strasburg (WAS) ~ ATL (Hanson), PHI (Hamels)

Roll the Dice:

Dan Haren (AZ) ~ @PHI (Hamels), @NYM (Niese)
Tommy Hanson (ATL) ~ @WAS (Strasburg), @CIN (Arroyo)
Bronson Arroyo (CIN) ~ @MIL (Wolf), ATL (Hanson)
Jason Hammel (COL) ~ @PHI (Blanton), CHC (Silva)
Ricky Nolasco (FLA) ~ @SF (Zito), @SD (LeBlanc)
Chad Billingsley (LAD) ~ @SD (Garland), @SF (Cain)
Jon Garland (SD) ~ LAD (Billingsley), FLA (Johnson)

Haren is a risky play this week with the possibility of being traded and missing a start in addition to him not winning a start since June 12th. He is still racking up strikeouts, but his batting average against is 61 points higher than it was last season. Throw out Hanson’s two interleague bombings and he has not given up more than two runs in a start since back on May 20th when he gave up eight against Cincinnati. Hammel had not lost since May 21st before dropping his last two decisions although he was not too bad in them. He has yet to face either team he pitches against next week this season. Nolasco has won five of his last six starts with four runs allowed or less in all of them. He owns a 3.29 ERA in July with a 1.10 WHIP.  Garland’s ERA has risen a run and a half since May 30th when he had a 2.15 ERA. He has a tough second start against Josh Johnson and Florida.

Sit Them:

Jorge De La Rosa (COL) ~ PIT (Duke), CHC (Dempster)
Wesley Wright (HOU) ~ CHC (Dempster), MIL (Wolf)
Randy Wolf (MIL) ~ CIN (Arroyo), @HOU (Wright)
Joe Blanton (PHI) ~ COL (Hammel), @WAS (Lannan)
Zach Duke (PIT) ~ @COL (De La Rosa), @STL (Garcia)

Wolf has had an ERA over 5.50 each of the last three months and a WHIP over 1.52. I don’t need to remind you how brutal his last start was. De La Rosa has been bad in two of his three starts since returning to action with his last start much better, allowing two runs in six innings against Florida. Duke had lost five straight starts before breaking into the win column in his last game against Milwaukee. Blanton has allowed exactly three runs in five of his last seven starts while surrendering five runs each in the other two.

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The Daily Dirt from Wednesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 14th, 2010

Through the first two weeks of the season, the biggest news to date has been the number of key players already on the disabled list plus the changing of closers so early in the season. Here is a look at both issues with the latest news.

Injuries:

Miguel Montero is only expected to miss 4-6 weeks of action which puts his return at the end of May. That makes him worth holding on to still in all fantasy baseball league formats.

Jimmy Rollins will be on the shelf for the next 2-4 weeks with a calf strain. Juan Castro will assume shortstop duties in his absence.

Closer news:

Kevin Gregg was named new closer in Toronto by manager Cito Gaston. If you own Jason Frasor, I would still hold on to him. This could be a role that flip-flops several times during the course of the season.

Mike Gonzalez of the Baltimore Orioles was placed on the disabled list with a strained shoulder. That would account for the drop in velocity we were seeing from Gonzalez this year. Jim Johnson will take over as closer until Gonzalez returns to action.

Fernando Rodney picked up his first save of the season as the fill-in closer for Brian Fuentes who was placed on the disabled list Wednesday with a strained back

Hitters:

Jose Guillen went 3-for-4 and hit his fifth home of the season giving him five home runs in his last four games.

It looks like Dustin Pedroia can talk the talk and walk the walk. After spinning tales in spring training of hitting 20 home runs in 2010, Pedroia is well on his way after banging out his 4th home run of the season Wednesday night.

B.J. Upton drove four runs on his first two home runs of the season.

Nelson Cruz hit his 6th home run of the season giving him 12 RBI on the year. If the first two hitters in the order were hitting over .200, he might have 20 RBI by now.

Chase Utley went 2-for-4 with four RBI and hit two home runs giving four overall on the season.

Carlos Quentin went 2-for-5 and drove in six runs, four of them coming on a grand slam.

Jorge Cantu hit his third home run of the season and became the first player in the history of the major leagues to chalk up at least one hit and RBI in the team’s first nine games of the season.

Pitchers:

Joel Pineiro allowed one run in seven innings with seven strikeouts to pick up his first win of the season.

David Price allowed one run in seven innings with seven strikeouts to notch his second win of the season.

Jonathan Sanchez worked eight shutout innings with 11 strikeouts to gain his first win of the season.

Colby Lewis struck out 10 in 5 1/3 innings of work while allowing two runs. The downside was it took him 117 pitches to record those outs.

John Danks allowed one run in seven innings while recording six strikeouts to get his first victory of the season.

Brad Penny tossed seven shutout innings with four strikeouts to claim his first win of the year.

Tommy Hanson evened his record at 1-1, hurling six innings of one-run ball with seven strikeouts.

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NFBC Draft Analysis

Posted by Todd Lammi on March 30th, 2010

This past Saturday I competed in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship (NFBC) in Las Vegas in a 15-team mixed league draft. It was a Rotisserie league format with standard 5 x 5 categories. Due to the cost of the entry fees and the prizes that are paid out, all of the NFBC leagues are no trade leagues in order to avoid possible collusion.

Heading into the draft with the #1 pick, I was still debating on Albert Pujols vs. Hanley Ramirez and also how I was going to cope with waiting 28 picks between rounds because of the snake draft. Here is a look at the team with the rounds they were drafted in parenthesis.

Hitters:

C – Victor Martinez (2) – same as in my auction, one of the guys I was targeting, as I have written many times before, I don’t believe in punting the catcher position.

C – Russell Martin (11) – again, same comment applies from my auction, I wasn’t looking to get Martin, but I needed his 10 stolen bases.

1B – Albert Pujols (1) – despite the numerous fantasy baseball leagues I play in each year, I have not owned Pujols a full year since his rookie season. I was debating on Hanley Ramirez, but I took Pujols and hoped that Jose Reyes would make it back to me at the end of round two, but unfortunately he did not.

2B – Brandon Phillips (2) – in my mock drafts I was debating between him and Dustin Pedroia. Since Pedroia was off the board at my pick, it made the decision easier.

SS – Asdrubal Cabrera (10) – high average, should steal a few bases and should score a lot of runs hitting lead off.

3B – Chone Figgins (6) – Not sure I really wanted him, but with Juan Pierre my outfield target already off the board I figured I better grab the stolen bases while I could.

Cor – Paul Konerko (14) – I was very happy he slid back to me.

Mid – Jose Lopez (8) – was happy to get 20 home runs from a middle infielder

OF – Shin-Soo Choo (4) – one of my targets, love to get 20-20 outfielders.

OF – Franklin Gutierrez (12) – hoping that he gets up to 20-20 this season.

OF – Lastings Milledge (16) – same comment as on my auction team, not a huge fan of his, but needed 20 steals and he was the best fit. He is only 25 so there is still some upside there.

OF – Cody Ross (18) – mmm, not much to say.

OF – Will Venable (20) – for some reason I like him, not sure why, I think he has the chance to steal 20 bases with a little bit of power.

UT – Aaron Rowand (22) – really embarrassed to have to type that.

Overall, I am short on power unless Pujols hits 50 and Brandon Phillips hits 30. My outfield is in bad shape, but somehow the rest of my other categories I seem to have met my targets on, although my batting average might be a percentage or two lower than what I need.

Pitchers:

P – Tommy Hanson (5) – picking at #1, I knew that if I did not take a pitcher here, there was not going to be anyone in the top tier left at my next pick.

P – Chad Billingsley (7) – I like him and am willing to discount his second half of last season.

P – Randy Wolf  (15) – decent strikeouts, ERA and WHIP should be higher than in 2009, but still a guy I like in round 15.

P – Brian Matusz (17) – has been getting some hype this spring, but still pitches in the American League East which limits his upside slightly.

P – Ian Kennedy (19) – despite his injuries in the past, I still believe in his minor league numbers and the move to the National League should help, despite his new home ballpark.

P – Bronson Arroyo (21) – just have to keep reminding him, “no guitar, no guitar”.

P – Bud Norris (23) – still a pitch short of being a successful starting pitcher. I like him for his strikeouts, will have to spot start him.

RP – Jose Valverde (9) – I think he is in the second tier of closers after the top 3-4.

RP – Bobby Jenks (13) – crossing my fingers he holds it together for the full season.

I like my staff a lot more than the staff from my auction team. I think Hanson and Billingsley are two solid anchors and Kennedy and Matusz have some upside. I have some work to do on my ratios based on my projections unless Matusz, Kennedy and Norris are able to make some improvements.

Reserves:

Rd 1 – Jeremy Hellickson – I expect him up by the middle of the season although it is hard to see who he would replace based on the current Tampa Bay rotation.

Rd 2 – Jose Guillen – not sure if this is better or worse than Aaron Rowand

Rd 3 – Mike Adams – when / if Heath Bell gets traded, I think Adams takes over.

Rd 4 – C.J. Wilson – a flier

Rd 5 – Chris Carter (Oakland) – with Oakland short on power, I think he is up in July.

Rd 6 – Ramon Ortiz – late round gamble on him winning the 5th starter job with the Dodgers

Rd 7 – David Bush – Rick Peterson will work his magic with at least one Milwaukee Brewers pitcher, hopefully I picked the right one.

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2010 Atlanta Braves Team Preview

Posted by Todd Lammi on March 22nd, 2010

This is the second part our series of 2010 fantasy baseball team previews looking at the National League East. 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 Atlanta Braves Projected Batting Order:

1.  CF Nate McLouth (ADP 82)
2.  2B Martin Prado  (ADP 208)
3.  3B Chipper Jones (ADP 128)
4.  1B Troy Glaus (ADP 261)
5.  C Brian McCann (ADP 42)
6.  SS Yunel Escobar (ADP 149)
7.  RF Jason Heyward (ADP 244)
8.  LF Melky Cabrera (ADP 307)

2010 Atlanta Braves Projected Rotation & Bullpen:

1.  Tim Hudson (ADP 211)
2.  Derek Lowe (ADP 334)
3.  Jair Jurrjens (ADP 138)
4.  Tommy Hanson (ADP 85)
5.  Kenshin Kawakami (ADP 388)

Closer – Billy Wagner (ADP 142)
Handcuff – Takashi Saito

2010 Atlanta Braves prospects with potential impact this year:

1.  Jason Heyward – RF


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2010 Fantasy Baseball ADP – Starting Pitchers

Posted by Todd Lammi on February 18th, 2010

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

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.

Undervalued:

I have Ryan Dempster 11 spots higher on my starting pitcher list than his current ADP ranking. Numbers from 2008 and 2009 were pretty close to the same except for a drop in wins and some regression to his ERA that was to be expected. Has a much better percent chance of striking out 175+, having an ERA under 3.7 and a WHIP under 1.3 than quite a few people that are currently being drafted ahead of him.

Gavin Floyd was a top prospect for the Philadelphia Phillies and one of the top 50 prospects in the minor leagues when he was coming up through the farm system. It took him a little over 170 innings at the major league level before finally settling into a groove so the struggles he encountered still have some people not giving him enough credit. Bumped up his strikeout rate 1.3 per nine last season and decreased his home run rate. ERA went up slightly only because of the ineffectiveness of the bullpen behind him.

Hiroki Kuroda is ranked 50th on my list and is 66th according to his current average draft position. Injuries kept his innings down in 2009 which might partially explain his current standing. But in the innings he did pitch, he improved his strikeout per nine ratio by a batter.

Overvalued:

Starting pitchers in general. Last year in the NFBC, there were only three pitchers drafted in the first 50 picks on average. Those were Tim Lincecum, Johan Santana and CC Sabathia. This season there are eight pitchers with a current fantasy baseball ADP in the top 50.

If you look at the top 15 pitchers based on where they were drafted in the NFBC last season, you could argue that half of them were busts or went too high, either based on injury or performance. Those would include Santana, Jake Peavy, Cole Hamels, Francisco Liriano, Roy Oswalt and John Lackey. Even though they did not have terrible seasons, you could add Chad Billingsley and James Shields to that list as well as their actual value turned out to be much lower than where they were drafted.

Cliff Lee seems to scream overvalued to me based on where he is going in fantasy baseball mock drafts. Moves back to the American League where his control was not as sharp as it was in the NL. Will see a drop in his strikeout rate and if his strand rate which was higher than average the last two seasons regresses, his ERA is going to jump as well. Now, I am not saying to stay away from him, just that there several better options than him when you are on the clock to make your draft choice.

As I wrote about Javier Vazquez in the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings for pitchers, I just don’t see how he is being drafted as high as he is. The move back to the American League (drop in strikeouts, higher ERA and WHIP) coupled with the move to the Eastern division and playing in New York (4.91 ERA and 1.29 WHIP when last with Yankees) means there is some regression coming to his 2009 numbers. Remember that you should be drafting players based on what they will do in 2010 and not what they did last season. I still see way too many people doing that. There are variables every year that impact performance and you need to be able to take these into account when the information is available to you.

A.J. Burnett I have ranked as the 37th pitcher compared to his ADP that places him at 29. An ERA over 4, plus a WHIP that hit 1.40 last season combined with a past injury history makes me leery of grabbing him too high in a mixed league draft. If  you wait to draft starting pitchers and he is one of the top two pitchers on your team, you are going to need to surround with him low ratio pitchers so you don’t feel the full impact of his lack of control.

12 Teams 15 Teams
Rank Name ADP Round Pick Round Pick
1 Tim Lincecum 13 2 1 1 13
2 Roy Halladay 31 3 7 3 1
3 Dan Haren 41 4 5 3 11
4 Zack Greinke 31 3 7 3 1
5 Felix Hernandez 32 3 8 3 2
6 CC Sabathia 29 3 5 2 14
7 Justin Verlander 47 4 11 4 2
8 Johan Santana 46 4 10 4 1
9 Adam Wainwright 61 6 1 5 1
10 Josh Johnson 80 7 8 6 5
11 Jon Lester 62 6 2 5 2
12 Tommy Hanson 87 8 3 6 12
13 Chris Carpenter 81 7 9 6 6
14 Cliff Lee 56 5 8 4 11
15 Josh Beckett 86 8 2 6 11
16 Yovani Gallardo 98 9 2 7 8
17 Matt Cain 95 8 11 7 5
18 Cole Hamels 105 9 9 7 15
19 Jake Peavy 86 8 2 6 11
20 Ubaldo Jimenez 106 9 10 8 1
21 Clayton Kershaw 105 9 9 7 15
22 Javier Vazquez 63 6 3 5 3
23 Ricky Nolasco 111 10 3 8 6
24 Chad Billingsley 126 11 6 9 6
25 Wandy Rodriguez 122 11 2 9 2
26 Brandon Webb 142 12 10 10 7
27 Jair Jurrjens 140 12 8 10 5
28 Ryan Dempster 169 15 1 12 4
29 Brett Anderson 175 15 7 12 10
30 James Shields 133 12 1 9 13
31 Jered Weaver 139 12 7 10 4
32 John Lackey 128 11 8 9 8
33 Matt Garza 129 11 9 9 9
34 Scott Baker 158 14 2 11 8
35 Gavin Floyd 194 17 2 13 14
36 Max Scherzer 150 13 6 10 15
37 A.J. Burnett 132 11 12 9 12
38 Ted Lilly 156 13 12 11 6
39 Roy Oswalt 158 14 2 11 8
40 John Danks 168 14 12 12 3
41 David Price 185 16 5 13 5
42 Carlos Zambrano 171 15 3 12 6
43 Tim Hudson 219 19 3 15 9
44 Rich Harden 226 19 10 16 1
45 Clay Buchholz 211 18 7 15 1
46 Kevin Slowey 225 19 9 15 15
47 Scott Kazmir 185 16 5 13 5
48 Jonathan Sanchez 240 20 12 16 15
49 J.A. Happ 254 22 2 17 14
50 Hiroki Kuroda 261 22 9 18 6
51 Randy Wolf 193 17 1 13 13
52 Francisco Liriano 247 21 7 17 7
53 Johnny Cueto 239 20 11 16 14
54 Rick Porcello 222 19 6 15 12
55 Jorge de la Rosa 202 17 10 14 7
56 Daisuke Matsuzaka 203 17 11 14 8
57 Jeff Niemann 230 20 2 16 5
58 Ervin Santana 243 21 3 17 3
59 Mark Buehrle 248 21 8 17 8
60 Joe Blanton 283 24 7 19 13

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.

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  • Projections in Excel for 480 players using the standard 5 x 5 fantasy baseball categories
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  • 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.
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  • Support for any questions you have in regards to Excel to ensure you get the most out of the data.

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Next up in the 2010 Fantasy Baseball ADP rankings will be closers.

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2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Starting Pitcher strikeouts

Posted by Todd Lammi on February 9th, 2010

by Todd Lammi

One of the things I look at when I am doing the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings for pitchers is strikeouts. While I use that category in conjunction with several others, I think to pick one category and have it stand alone by itself, strikeouts are the most important.

The biggest reason is because strikeouts limit the damage to ERA numbers. Once the ball is hit and put in play, the pitcher becomes subjective to too many things out of his control. He has to worry about his defense being able to field the ball, the luck of where the ball is placed when hit, in addition to possibly giving up a home run which factors in the weather for the day as well as the dimensions of the ballpark among other things.

It also limits the ERA in respect to staying out of the big inning. If there is man on third base and as a pitcher you cannot afford to give up a hit anywhere on the diamond, be it fly ball or ground ball, you need to have the stuff to be able to bear down and strike out a hitter when needed.

With that said, here is a listing of the top starting pitchers from 2009 with the highest percentage of swing and miss strikes.

1) Rich Harden – 26%

2) Francisco Liriano – 20%

3) Jorge de la Rosa – 19%

4) Ryan Dempster – 19%

5) Jonathan Sanchez – 19%

6) Javier Vazquez – 19%

7) Chad Billingsley – 18%

8.) Neftali Feliz – 18%

9) Gio Gonzalez – 18%

10) Cole Hamels – 18%

11) Felix Hernandez – 18%

12) Mat Latos – 18%

13) Jon Lester – 18%

14) Tim Lincecum – 18%

15) Bud Norris – 18%

16) CC Sabathia – 18%

17) Justin Verlander – 18%

18) Clay Buchholz – 17%

19) Gavin Floyd – 17%

20) Tommy Hanson – 17%

I included Feliz assuming he will be a starting pitcher this year. Interesting to see a few rookies like Latos and Norris appear. Liriano in second position shows he still has good stuff, just a matter of his confidence improving. Two guys that people are discounting this season according to their fantasy baseball ADP are Hamels and Billingsley who are both on the list so I expect them to bounce back from seasons that were below expectations.

Take note that on Monday, 2/15 I will be releasing the FBT Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide for just $9.99. It’s better than any magazine you will find on the stands because the information will be updated weekly up until Opening Day and the data will be in excel format so it will be easy to use. For that low price, you will get:

  • Over 450 player projections – easily sortable by league or position. Includes all player ages as of Opening Day.
  • All of the player notes that have been posted on the website as a quick cheat sheet to use during your draft.
  • Expanded player rankings for all positions.
  • A weekly article (that will not appear on the website) in regards to fantasy strategy for winning an auction or draft league.
  • An in-depth article on how to use the player projections. Player rankings and projections are great, but if they are not used correctly, you are not getting the most out of them.
  • Advice and guidance from someone that has been in the trenches and won leagues before. A lot of people writing articles or doing projections are just that, writers that have not been able to successfully win at fantasy baseball. In the 20 years that I have been playing fantasy baseball, I have won draft and auction leagues in multiple formats and can relate that information to you the reader.
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2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Starting Pitchers (Part I)

Posted by Todd Lammi on February 4th, 2010

by Todd Lammi

This is the eighth report in the series of our 2010 fantasy baseball rankings looking at the starting pitchers.

1) Tim Lincecum – totaled 260+ strikeouts for the second straight season. People worry about his size and that he might break down, but the pitching motion taught to him by his dad seems to be working out so far. Has replaced John Santana as the one pitcher that will go in the first round in fantasy baseball drafts.

2) Roy Halladay – has turned up the strikeouts the last two seasons boosting his K/9 ratio by two per game. Has won 16+ games four consecutive years with an offense not as good as the new one he will be playing for in Philadelphia. Also gets the benefit of moving from the American League East to National League East which should only help his numbers. Great chance that he gets his third 20 win season this year. To fully the realize the impact of what a move from the American League to the National League means, check out the numbers for Cliff Lee and Javier Vazquez last season.

3) Dan Haren – mirror seasons almost between his 2008 and 2009 numbers. Three consecutive years of almost 200 strikeouts and a tight range of numbers for his ERA and WHIP ratio. Second straight year of improvement in batting average allowed to right-handed hitters. As consistent as they come.

4) Zack Greinke – the mental part of his game finally caught up to the talent and a star was realized. A phenomenal season in 2009 but I don’t want to pay for a repeat that is not likely happening in 2010. Did not allow more than three earned runs in a start until the beginning of June. Let’s see what happens if he faces some adversity this season and how he copes with it.

5) Felix Hernandez – third straight season of falling ERA as he has now shaved a full two earned runs from his mark in 2006. High strand rate kept his ERA under three so expect some correction there. Second straight year of improvement in batting average allowed to right-handed hitters.

6) CC Sabathia – concerns about workload early in his career never materialized as he has been a workhorse every season. Best chance in the American League to crack 20 wins with the offense around him and a stud closer. Much better the second half of the season with a 2.74 ERA and a strikeout per inning.

7) Justin Verlander – a combination of lowering his walk rate by 1.5 per nine innings and boosting his strikeout rate by 2.8 per nine allowed him to edge out Lincecum for the strikeout title. Much better pitcher at home last season with 2.81 ERA and 1.08 WHIP at Comerica Park vs. 4.04 and 1.26 on the road.

8.) Johan Santana – underwent arthroscopic surgery on his elbow in September and is supposed to be ready for spring training. Can’t assume an automatic bounce back to 2007 as his strikeout was down the last two years upon moving to the National League which is not a good sign. Usually a move to the league with no designate hitter boosts a pitchers strikeout numbers. Watch his stats in spring training to see how he is performing.

9) Adam Wainwright – was death on right-handed hitters last year, holding them to a .217 batting average. Dominant after the All-Star break with a 2.10 ERA and 1.10 WHIP ratio. Should be good for more of the same in 2010 if his arm can handle the 100 inning jump.

10) Josh Johnson – really not that far off from his 2006 season when he was last healthy except with better command. Like Wainwright, had a 100 innings jump from 2008 to 2009. Does having undergone Tommy John surgery already preclude him from future injury risk? I guess only time will tell.

11) Jon Lester – HUGE jump in strikeout numbers, boosting his K/9 rate by 3.5. After an awful first two months of the season, he was dominant the rest of the way with a 2.37 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP.

12) Tommy Hanson – his .225 batting average against would have been seventh best if he had enough innings to qualify. Took some time to adjust to the major leagues the first half of the season. Flashed his stuff after the All-Star break with a 2.91 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and more than a strikeout per inning. Right-handed hitters had no chance against him, batting a meager .192.

13) Chris Carpenter – numbers are terrific but age (will be 35 in April) plus his injury history makes him less than reliable. Has spent time on the disabled list four straight seasons. May be worth owning only if he falls a few rounds in the draft or you can get him at a discount in an auction. Tough to own him at full price knowing the odds are stacked against you.

14) Cliff Lee – fantasy baseball ADP slightly higher than where I see him. Sure, he was a beast in Philadelphia, but now he is back in the American League. Before the trade, control in Cleveland was worse than 2008 with 1.30 WHIP in ‘09 vs. 1.11 in ‘08. Strikeout rate was also slightly down with 6.9 in ‘08 and 6.3 in ‘09 in American League. When is off, the numbers can be tough to stomach. Had five starts where he gave up six or more earned runs in a game.

15) Josh Beckett – numbers turn out fine at the end of the season, but always seems to have a month or two each year where he gets clobbered so keep that in mind if you own him for the first time. Set a career high in innings pitched and strikeouts in 2009. Has only manged to toss 200 innings or more in three of eight seasons.

16) Yovani Gallardo – despite missing all of 2008, turned in a good season in 2009. Win total held in check due to control issues and pitch count numbers that keep him from working deeper in games. Managed to make it to six innings or more in just 17 of his 30 starts. Splits seem to show that he wore down the second half of the season. Had a 3.22 ERA and 1.23 WHIP the first half and went 4.56 and 1.45 after the All-Star break.

17) Matt Cain – got his head back in the game in 2009 after struggling with lack of run support in 2008. Had the lowest run support of any starting pitcher in 2008 and it affected him on the mound. Got an extra 1.24 runs per mound appearance in ‘09 and pitched much better. Strand rate kept his ERA low so expect a little regression this season.

18) Cole Hamels – not much difference in 2008 vs. 2009 except for being much more hittable by right-handed hitters. After allowing a .215 batting average in ‘08, that number rocketed up to .282 in ‘09. Much better after the All-Star break with a 3.76 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and a 7.8 K/9 rate. First half featured elbow issues in March and an injured ankle in May that probably accounted for the higher numbers. No reason for him not to return to 2008 levels.

19) Jake Peavy – some risk to him,  having thrown 200 innings in only three of six seasons. Loses the comfort of Petco Park which helped to surpress his ERA. Strikeout rate probably drops by at least one per game with the move to the American League.

20) Ubaldo Jimenez – how much the world has changed that a Colorado Rockies pitcher would crack the top 20 starters. Ground ball rate of 53% helps to limit some of the impact of Coors Field. Limits damage by keeping hits in the ballpark. Ranked seventh in home runs allowed in ‘09 and tied for second in long balls surrendered in ‘08.

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Order now to get the information you need to dominate the competition!!!

Next up in the series for the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings will be starting pitchers 21-40.

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The Daily Dirt for Tuesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 24th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Brandon Inge homered for the second consecutive day and drove in two runs, giving him four home runs and nine RBI in his last 10 games. Inge has already surpassed his second highest total for home runs in his career and is now taking aim at his season best mark of 27. He should have no problem breaking that level if he continues at his current home run rate of one every 14 at bats compared to his 2006 rate of one home run every 20 at bats. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Tuesday…

Hitters:

Chase Utley went 3-for-5 with four RBI and homered for the 16th time in 2009. The home run was the fourth in June for Utley who remains on pace to possibly set career best marks in home runs (39) and RBI (119).

Jason Bay went 4-for-6 with three runs scored and three RBI. Bay blasted his 19th home run of the year and now has 69 RBI in 69 games played.

Brian McCann went 3-for-4 with two RBI and connected for his seventh home run on the season. The home run for McCann was his first in the last two weeks, leaving him on pace for 19 home runs and 83 RBI.

Jacob Ellsbury went 4-for-4 with three RBI and stole his 30th base of the season. Ellsbury has hit two of his three home runs on the year in his last 10 games, driving in eight runs and stealing seven bases during that period.

Matt Wieters went 2-for-4 with his second home in five games. Wieters has driven in six runs in his last 10 games while raising his batting average almost 70 points.

Troy Tulowitzki homered twice and drove in three runs to account for all of the offense for the Colorado Rockies. Tulowitzki has seven home runs in June with 14 RBI, five steals and a .350+ batting average.

Rod Barrajas homered for the third time in his last five games, giving him seven home runs on the season. Barrajas has knocked in a run in five of his last six games.

Grady Sizemore returned from a three week stint on the disabled list, going 2-for-5 with two RBI and a triple.

Pitchers:

Tommy Hanson worked 5 1/3 scoreless innings and struck out four to remain perfect on the season at 3-0. His ERA has been good (3.13) but his whip ratio has been not so great (1.61). He had some control problems back in 2008 after being promoted to Double-A walking 3.8 hitters in nine innings. His current walk ratio sits at 5.9 per nine innings after his start on Tuesday.

Joel Piniero tossed a complete game shutout, allowing two hits while striking out one to earn his sixth victory of the season. Despite allowing three runs or less in his last four starts, Piniero only has a 1-3 record to show for it during that span. His current 3.40 ERA is being aided by his minuscule home run rate, allowing only two home runs so far on the season through 92 2/3 innings,  after surrendering 20+ long balls in each of the past five years.

It took him a few starts to get acclimated to the major league, but David Huff seems to have turned it around after hurling eight scoreless innings with two strikeouts on Tuesday. Huff has allowed three runs or less in his last four starts while going 3-0 during that stretch. He should be an option in American League only fantasy baseball leagues.

Zack Greinke allowed one run in eight innings and struck out five to notch his ninth win of the season. Despite winning for the first time in his last five starts, Greinke continues to lead the American League in ERA (1.90), whip ratio (1.02) innings pitched (109) and complete games (5).

Tim Lincecum tossed a complete game, allowing one run while striking out 12 to pick up win number seven on the season. It marked the fourth time that Lincecum has had double digit strikeouts in 2009.

Hiroki Kuroda picked up his first win in five starts since returning from the disabled list on June 1st, allowing two runs in 8 2/3 innings with nine strikeouts.

Max Scherzer allowed two runs in six innings with seven strikeouts to improve his record to 5-4 on the year. Scherzer has allowed two runs or less in four straight starts while going 3-0 during that span.

Brian Tallet tossed six scoreless innings up his mark to 5-4 on the year. He matched his season high with seven strikeouts while allowing only three hits and one walk.

Chad Gaudin allowed two runs in seven innings and struck out 11 for his third win of the season. Gaudin has struck out 19 in his last 13 innings while allowing five runs.

Adam Miller allowed one hit and one run in seven innings in a no decision. Miller struck out four and lowered his ERA to 4.17 on the season.

Closers:

Matt Lindstrom allowed four hits and three runs in 2/3 of an inning. Despite his 14 saves, his other numbers have been a killer to fantasy baseball staffs , with a 6.52 ERA and 1.90 whip ratio on the season.

Joakim Soria worked a scoreless ninth inning to pick up his 8th save of the season, and his first since May 7th.

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The Daily Dirt for Thursday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 18th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Adrian Gonzalez went 4-for-4 with two RBI and blasted his 23rd home run of the season. The home run was Gonzalez’s first since June 2nd as teams have continued to pitch around him more. Gonzalez already has 21 walks in June after walking 17 times in May. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Thursday…

Hitters:

Nate McLouth went 2-for-5 and drove in four runs, including his 11th home run of the season. It remains to be seen whether there is any drag on McLouth’s batting average after hitting .315 at PNC Park before is trade.

Adam Lind went 3-for-4 with two RBI and blasted his 14th home run of the season. Lind has homered five times in his last nine games with nine RBI during that stretch.

Derek Lee smacked a three-run home run and drove in four runs, boosting his RBI total to 31 for the season. Lee has driven in 10 runs in his last nine games and extended his hitting streak to 15 games.

Alexei Ramirez homered for the second consecutive game, giving him seven bombs on the season. His batting average however still remains locked in the .250 range. Until he improves his batting average against right-handed pitching, he is going to be in that range for awhile. After hitting .281 against right-handed pitching in 2008, Ramirez has struggled this season, batting only .203.

Clint Barmes has found a home in the number two spot in the batting order. Barmes has had six multi-hit games in his last 10 starts, while knocking in eight runs. Barmes is hitting .351 in 94 at bats while hitting seconds this season.

Chris Young is starting to show some signs of life for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Young went 4-for-4 with his 11th stolen base of the year and now has five hits in his last six at bats. He has also walked four times with zero strikeouts in his last three games.

Franklin Gutierrez swatted two home runs, giving him three home runs in his last four games.  He has a nice little trend line going, homering once in April, twice in May and currently has three home runs in June.

Chris Davis broke a long home drought, homering for the first time since May 26th. The strikeouts continue to pile up for Davis who has only one game in June that he did not strike out in.

John Mayberry Jr. returned from Triple-A with Raul Ibanez being placed on the disabled list, and homered for the second time this season on Thursday.

Michael Cuddyer went 2-for-4 and delivered his 10th home run of the season. The home run was Cuddyer’s first since May 29th.

Pitchers:

Tommy Hanson was a little better in his third start for the Atlanta Braves, tossing six shutout innings to pick up his second win of the year. After dominating the minor leagues and striking out a ton of hitters, it is disappointing if he is on your fantasy baseball team that his walk strikeout ratio sits at 10 / 12 in 17 2/3 innings.

Dan Haren allowed two runs in seven innings and struck out six to up his mark to 6-4 on the year. Haren has allowed two runs or less in his last five starts.

Nick Blackburn allowed one run in a complete game effort and struck out two to improve his record to 6-2 on the year. Blackburn has run off six straight starts allowing three runs or less, while shaving more than a run off of his ERA.

Gavin Floyd allowed one run in seven innings with two strikeouts in a no decision. Floyd has run off three straight starts with only one run allowed in each outing.

Ubaldo Jimenez won his third straight start, allowing one run in 6 2/3 innings while fanning seven. Jimenez will have his next start at home against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Ricky Nolasco picked up a rain-shortened win, allowing one run in five innings with five strikeouts. Nolasco now has a 2.50 ERA in his last three starts.

Craig Stammen was rewarded with his first major league win after tossing 6 1/3 shutout innings with two strikeouts.

Closers:

Mike MacDougal picked up his second save in as many days, working a scoreless ninth inning.

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The Daily Dirt for Friday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 13th, 2009

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.

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The Daily Dirt for Sunday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 7th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Chipper Jones smacked two home runs and went 4 for 4 with 5 RBI to lead the Atlanta Braves to an 8-7 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Yunel Escobar went 3 for 5 and drove in the game-winning run in the 8th inning. Rookie Tommy Hanson was taken deep three times in his debut, allowing six runs in six innings with five strikeouts. Ryan Braun went 2 for 4 with two home runs and four RBI for Milwaukee. Braun now has 38 RBI on the season to go with his 12 home runs. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Sunday…

Hitters:

Nelson Cruz moved into a tie in the American League home run race after clubbing his 17th home run of the season. Cruz went 3 for 4 with three runs scored. Since May 20th, he has not gone more than three games without hitting a home run.

Shane Victorino went 2 for 5 with two RBI including his fifth home run of the season. Victorino is now hitting .295 on the season with 29 RBI and 9 stolen bases.

Juan Rivera went 3 for 5 with three RBI and his sixth home run of the year, giving him 25 runs knocked in on the season. Rivera has driven in a run in 7 of his last 8 games, giving him nine RBI during that period.

Aaron Hill broke out of an 0-for-25 rut by connecting for his 13th home run of the season and boosting his RBI total to 40. Despite a roughly 60 point drop in batting average from the beginning of May to the start of June, Hill still hit .307 for the month of May.

Alexei Ramirez went 2 for 5 with three RBI and delivered his fourth home run of the year. After ending May on a high note by hitting .281 for the month, he has started off slow in June batting .174.

Clint Barmes has been on a roll, going 3 for 4 with two RBI on Sunday, which gave him five consecutive games with two or more hits. He has now driven in seven runs in his last four games.

Jose Lopez went 3 for 5 with two RBI and hit his sixth home run of the season. Despite batting only .236 on the season, Lopez has still managed to drive in 31 runs so far this year.

Rookie Andrew McCutchen went 3 for 5 with an RBI and is batting .333 early on since his promotion from Triple-A this week.

Mark Reynolds finally put an end to an 18 inning game, delivering a three-run home run off of position player Josh Wilson. The home run was the 14th of the season for Reynolds who had struck out four times earlier in the game.

Pitchers:

Roy Halladay pitched a complete game shutout, allowing seven hits and no walks with six strikeouts, to improve to 10-1 on the season. More impressive is that the shutout comes on the heels of throwing a season-high 133 pitches in his last start. Halladay has been a true workhorse this season, pitching at least seven innings in every start he has made.

Rookie Antonio Bastardo moved to 2-0 after allowing two runs in five innings with four strikeouts. He had some control problems, as he only managed first pitch strikes to 7 out of 23 hitters, but he pitched well with men on base to minimize the potential damage.

Livan Hernandez improved to 5-1 by hurling seven shutout innings with four strikeouts. Hernandez has dropped his ERA almost 3.5 runs since his only loss of the season back on April 23rd.

Ubaldo Jimenez allowed two runs in eight innings with nine strikeouts to notch his fourth win of the season. Take away his three starts against the Los Angeles Dodgers, a team that has pounded him for a 10.20 ERA this season, and his numbers would be even better.

Rookie Vin Mazzaro improved to 2-0 by pitching 7 1/3 scoreless innings with four strikeouts. Mazzaro has yet to allow a run in 13 2/3 innings since being recalled from Triple-A.

Erik Bedard allowed two runs in five innings with four strikeouts to up his mark to 5-2 on the year. Despite his good record and low ERA of 2.47, he has not made it to the seventh inning in a start since May 5th.

Ricky Nolasco pitched better in his return from Triple-A, allowing two earned runs in seven innings with four strikeout, but was still tagged with his sixth loss of the season.

Closers:

Chad Qualls blew his third save of the season, allowing two runs in 2/3 of an inning. Qualls, who complained of  forearm stiffness this past week has blown two of his last three save opportunities.

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Fantasy Baseball – the Daily Dirt for Wednesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 3rd, 2009

by Todd Lammi

If you are an Atlanta Braves fan, today has provided quite a swing of emotion. Three events happened which all somewhat coincided with each other depending on who’s version of the story you want to believe to shuffle the Atlanta roster. The first move was the Braves fleecing the Pittsburgh Pirates out of Nate McLouth for three prospects, none of whom were named, Tommy Hanson, Kris Medlen, Jason Heyward or Freddie Freeman. Even with the addition of McLouth who takes the spot of Jordan Schafer who was recently demoted, the Braves are still short a bat in their line up. At only $2 million, the Braves take on very little salary by adding McLouth this season.

The next move the Braves made frees up salary, by surprisingly releasing Tom Glavine who was due to return from the minor leagues on rehab assignment very shortly. The release of Glavine saves the Braves $3.5 million in salary, in addition to creating a roster spot for top prospect Tommy Hanson who was called up from Triple-A. Hanson will move into the Braves rotation Saturday and get the start against the Milwaukee Brewers. Kris Medlen gets a pat on the back for striking out nine in his six innings in his last start and a trip to the bullpen.

For the Pirates, the trade of McLouth opens up center field for Andrew McCutchen who should see the majority of starts for the rest of the season. McCutchen was hitting .303 with four home runs, 20 RBI and 10 stolen bases in 201 at bats in Triple-A.

If you are a fan on minor league players or have some on your team, these last two weeks have to feel like Christmas with Matt Wieters getting called up and then Hanson and McCutchen getting called up today. If that was not special enough, late Wednesday night it was announced that Gordon Beckham has been recalled by the Chicago White Sox.  If the White Sox are calling him up after just a week in Triple-A, it stands to reason he is going to be in the starting line up somewhere in the infield. Beckham was hitting .464 in Triple-A with three RBI and one steal in seven games. Between two levels on the season, he was at .326 with four home runs and 25 RBI. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Wednesday night…

Hitters:

Ben Zorbist, wow, where did all the power come from?  Zorbist should be a permanent fixture in the Tampa Bay Rays line up going forward, and is rewarding fantasy baseball owners, by connecting for home runs on consecutive days. Zorbist is currently on pace for a .300 average with 33 home runs, 105 RBI and 16 steals.

Nice to see Elvis Andrus finally turning on the jets a little bit, as he stole two bases and went 2 for 3 at the plate. With stolen bases in consecutive games, he is now on pace for 30 thefts on the season.

Jorge Posada homered for the second straight and has been on a nice roll since returning from the disabled list on May 29th with three home runs in six games with six RBI.

Bobby Abreu went 2 for 5 with 4 RBI including his second home run of the season. After being on a stolen base tear for the first month and a half of the season, Abreu has not stolen a base since May 19th.

Dan Uggla homered for the second consecutive day and is now up to 11 home runs with 39 RBI. His batting average is s-l-o-w-l-y creeping up t0 .219 after being around the Mendoza line for much of the season.

Hunter Pence went 4 for 5 with 3 RBI and slugged his sixth home run of the season. The home run Wednesday night matched Pence’s home run total for the entire month of May.

Ryan Howard hit home run number 16 and knocked in two runs giving him  45 RBI on the season. He has now driven in a run in five consecutive game, totaling 11 plated runners.

Laynce Nix hit two home runs and drove in four, giving him seven RBI in June which matches his total for the entire month of May. He should continue to get the majoirty of at bats against right-handed pitching.

Brandon Phillips went 3 for 5 with 3 RBI and two stolen bases and has homered three times in his last five games.

Scott Hairston was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained biceps. Will Venable was recalled from Triple-A and should see time along with Tony Gwynn Jr.

Asdrubal Cabrera was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained left shoulder and is expected to be out 2-4 weeks. Jamey Carroll should see time at third base with Jhonny Peralta moving over to shortstop. Carroll went 2 for 6 batting second on Wednesday. Peralta, back at his old position of shortstop went 3 for 5 with 3 RBI, including his second long ball of the year.

Pitchers:

Possibly there is light at the end of the tunnel for Jeff Niemann who tossed a complete game shutout with nine strikeouts to earn his fifth win of the season and lower his ERA to 3.77. Niemann has allowed two runs in his last 18 innings with 18 strikeouts and has seen his overall ERA decrease in his last five outings.

Jered Weaver hurled seven innings of one run ball with 10 strikeouts to improve his record to 5-2 on the year.  He has now allowed one run in five of his six last starts, although he only has two wins in those outings due to a lack of run support.

Ted Lilly allowed one run in seven innings with seven strikeouts in a no decision against the Atlanta Braves. He cost himself a win with a throwing error that caused an unearned run to score.

Josh Beckett tossed 7 2/3 shutout innings with nine strikeouts to up his record to 6-2 on the year.  He has allowed two runs or less in his last four starts while shaving two full runs off of his ERA.

Scott Feldman allowed two runs in 6 1/3 innings with five strikeouts to improve to a perfect 5-0 on the season. As a starter this season, remember that he had three relief appearances that threw his ERA out of whack, Feldman had an ERA of 2.59 heading into the game.

Josh Outman moved to 3-0, after allowing two runs in 6 2/3 innings with two strikeouts. Check out the top 2o in pitching for May, he ranked high in several statistics.

Cliff Lee allowed one run in eight innings with five strikeouts to notch his third victory of the year. Despite his 3-6 record, Lee has a 2.96 ERA as the Indians have been shut out or scored one run in six of his starts this year.

J.A. Happ tossed seven shutout innings with four strikeouts to earn his fourth win of the season and second in three starts.

Chad Billingsley hurled six shutout innings with nine strikeouts to up his mrk to 7-3 on the year. His numbers would be even more impressive if he managed to reduce his walks, after walking four or more batters in 5 of his last 7 starts.

Closers:

Jose Valverde is expected to go on a short rehab assignment next week and if all goes well is on track to return from the disabled list around June 12th.

Joakim Soria returned to action, facing two batters and throwing 13 pitches. I would still hold on to Juan Cruz for another week or two if you need saves, just in case.

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Fantasy Baseball Minor League Report – week 8

Posted by Todd Lammi on May 30th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

With Brett Myers of the Philadelphia Phillies scheduled to have surgery on his right hip that will likely end his season, let’s take a look at some the internal options the Phillies have to fill that void either by call up or via trade.

Carlos Carrasco was the minor league pitcher closest to the majors when the season started, beginning the year in Triple-A. He has been off to a disappointing start so far this season at 0-6 with a 5.40 ERA. In 55 innings, he has allowed 63 hits with 58 strikeouts and opposing batters are hitting .281 against him. He has been better in his last three starts with 7 runs allowed in 19 2/3 innings with 21 strikeouts that the Phillies might be willing to give him a shot while he has momentum.

Antonio Bastardo was recently promoted to Triple-A where he has made two starts, allowing three runs in 13 innings with 12 strikeouts. In 34 2/3 innings at AA, he had a 1.82 with 39 strikeouts while holding batters to a .178 average.

Kyle Kendrick has done nothing to distinguish himself in Triple-A, with a 4.25 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 53 innings, but he could be an option because of his past big league experience.

The longest of long shots is Kyle Drabek in Advanced A ball. Drabek currently holds a 2.48 ERA with 74 strikeouts in 61 2/3 innings. If nothing else, the injury to Myers should have him bumped up to AA very shortly.

If the Phillies look to trade for a starter, they might move shortstop Jason Donald who is currently in AAA blocked by Jimmy Rollins. Donald has been off to a slow start with a .234 average with one home run and four steals. In AA in 2008, Donald hit .307 with 14 home runs and 11 stolen bases.

Outfielder Michael Taylor in AA could also be a trade target of other teams. Taylor is hitting .342 with 9 home runs, 37 RBI and 8 stolen bases with a low 19 strikeouts in 152 at bats.

In other minor league news from week 8…

Tommy Hanson continues to dominate in Triple-A, allowing one run in seven innings with nine strikeouts. Opposing hitters are batting a paltry .164 on the season against him.

Gordon Beckham was promoted to Triple-A and is seeing time at third base. It looks like the White Sox are intent to get his bat into the line up at any position they can. Beckham hit .299 with 4 home runs and 22 RBI in 38 games in AA before the promotion. He has gone 3 for 7 in two games with the Charlotte Knights.

Wade Davis should be next in line the next time the Tampa Bay Rays need a starting pitcher from the minors. Davis in Triple-A currently has a 3.40 ERA in 53 innings with 32 strikeouts. His AAA numbers were actually better in 2008 following his promotion from AA.

2008 ERA – 2.72 Innings – 53 Hits – 39 Strikeouts – 55
2009 ERA – 3.40 Innings – 53 Hits – 44 Strikeouts – 32

The Cleveland Indians have several promising arms they could turn to in AA in the second half of the season. Jeanmar Gomez has a 1.29 ERA in five starts with 0.57 whip ratio and 3o strikeouts in 35 innings.
Teammate Chuck Lofgren was just promoted to Triple-A after posting a 1.42 ERA with 31 strikeouts in 42 2/3 innings.

Mat Latos (Padres) tossed seven shutout innings with seven strikeouts and could see a promotion to Triple-A in another month or two. Latos has a 0.50 ERA with 38 strikeouts in 36 1/3 innings on the season.

Madison Bumgarner (Giants) is heating up in AA, running off four straight wins since his promotion. Between his two minor league stops, Bumgarner is 7-1 with a 1.14 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 47 1/3 innings with zero home runs allowed.

Brad Lincoln (Pirates) should be ready for a move up to Triple-A in the near future. Lincoln has a 2.05 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 52 2/3 innings of work. He has allowed only two home runs and 12 walks on the season.

Alcides Escobar (Brewers) has been working at second base since the injury to Rickie Weeks and his hitting has taken off. He has boosted his average to .290 with two home runs and 21 steals. It remains to be seen whether the Milwaukee Brewers promote him the second half of the season or use him as the main trade bait to try to get Jake Peavy from the San Diego Padres.

Catcher Carlos Santana is hitting .292 with 7 home runs and 29 RBI in AA. He also has a 31 to 22 walk to strikeout ratio. If the Cleveland Indians go into fire sale mode and trade Victor Martinez or Kelly Shoppach, Santana could see time in the second half of the season.

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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.

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Fantasy Baseball Minor League Report – week 6

Posted by Todd Lammi on May 16th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

The big news from the minor leagues this week was not the promotion of Tommy Hanson from Triple-A, but rather the promotion of his teammate Kris Medlen. Medlen will start for the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday against the Colorado Rockies and could see potentially three starts before Tom Glavine is ready to return to the rotation. Depending how Medlen fares, there is a chance once Glavine returns that Kenshin Kawakami, 2-5 with a 5.73 ERA, would be bumped from the rotation for Medlen if Medlen is able to carry over his performance from Triple-A.

Braves general manager Frank Wren admitted if there was a long term opening in the rotation, Hanson would have been the one that was tabbed for the call up. So for now, Medlen gets the first opportunity to crack the Braves rotation. Hanson started on Saturday and tossed seven scoreless innings with seven strikeouts.

The San Jose Giants promoted their top two pitchers as Madison Bumgarner and Tim Alderson were moved up to AA. Alderson pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings in his first start while striking out 10. In Bumgarner’s first start, he allowed one run in six innings with two strikeouts.

Outfielder Michael Taylor (Phillies) is hitting .308 in AA with six home runs and six stolen bases. The way the Philadelphia outfield is set, Taylor could be trade bait as the deadline approaches.

Jake Arrieta (Orioles) moved to 4-1 with seven shutout innings and 10 strikeouts on Saturday.

Trevor Reckling is moving quickly for the Los Angeles Angels, as he is now currently in AA. Reckling who turns 20 next week is 4-2 with a 1.01 ERA in 44 2/3 innings with 36 strikeouts between two levels.

Hector Rondon (Indians) is 5-1 with a 1.95 ERA in AA. Rondon has struck out 28 hitters in 32 1/3 innings.

Brad Lincoln (Pirates) is slowly working his way back to prospect status. After being selected 4th overall in the 2006 draft, Lincoln missed all of 2007 after having Tommy John surgery. He is currently 0-3 in AA with a 2.87 ERA. Lincoln has struck out 36 in 37 2/3 innings.

Also working his way back to form is Troy Patton (Orioles). Patton was acquired from the Houston Astros in the Miguel Tejada trade. After spending time with the Astros in 2007, Patton missed last season after shoulder surgery. Now down in AA, Patton is 3-1 with a 1.31 ERA, with 23 strikeouts in 34 1/3 innings.

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Fantasy Baseball – the Daily Dirt for Sunday

Posted by Todd Lammi on May 10th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Cameron Maybin was sent to Triple-A by the Florida Marlins. He will get a chance to play every day and rebuild his confidence after being rushed to the major leagues last season by the Detroit Tigers and by the Marlins this year. Maybin needs to work on reducing his strikeout rate, after fanning 31 times in 84 at bats this season. In other fantasy baseball news from around the diamond on Sunday…

Hitters:

Albert Pujols hit his 12th home run of the season, scored three runs and stole his fifth base.

Jay Bruce hit his 10th home run of the season, giving him four home runs in his last five games. His batting average has been hovering in the .260 range for most of the season, because of his inability to hit lefties so far, as he holds a .172 average against southpaws.

Jose Reyes went 2 for 4 and stole his 10th base of the season. Reyes started picking up the pace on the base paths this past week, stealing six bases in seven games.

Nate McLouth hit his fifth home run of the season, and has been one of the few offensive bright spots for the Pittsburgh Pirates this year. McLouth is hitting .292 with 22 RBI for the year.

Johnny Damon hit a three-run home run, his 9th of the season to power the New York Yankees to a 5-3 win. Damon is batting .314 on the year with 25 RBI.

Hank Blalock hit two solo home runs giving him nine on the season.  He is now batting .257 with 21 RBI.

Alfonso Soriano hit a two-run home run, his 10th of the season to go along with 20 RBI.

The Chicago Cubs seem content going with Aaron Miles at second base (.205 avg.) and Mike Fontenot (.229) at third base with Aramis Ramirez sidelined. Recently acquired Ryan Freel pinch hit on Sunday.

The Houston Astros had multiple offensive stars on Sunday. Carlos Lee went 3 for 4 with 4 RBI and his 6th home run of the season. Miguel Tejada went 3 for 5 with 4 RBI and his second home run of the year and Ivan Rodriguez went 4 for 3 and knocked out his fourth home run of the season.

Armando Rios went 2 for 4 with 3 RBI and his third home run of the year. Cito Gaston and Gene Tenace have done a great job with the Toronto Blue Jays hitters since taking over last June. The Blue Jays had six hitters batting over .300 in their lineup on Sunday.

Juan Pierre went 3 for 5 and stole his third base of the season for the Los Angeles Dodgers. With Manny Ramirez now sidelined the next two months, Pierre is a good source of runs scored and stolen bases.

Adam Dunn went 3 for 5 with 3 RBI including two home runs, numbers 10 & 11 on the season. Dunn is now hitting .311 with 28 RBI. Teammate Josh Willingham also added two home runs for the Washington Nationals.

Chipper Jones left Sunday’s game in the seventh inning with a sore elbow and is considered day to day.

Pitchers:

Kenshin Kawakami picked up his second win of the season, allowing two runs in six innings with six strikeouts.

Rick Porcello picked up win number three on the season, allowing one run in five innings with five strikeouts. Despite his inconsistencies from start to start, he still sports a respectable 4.28 EAR and 1.31 whip ratio on the season.

Rookie Brett Cecil tossed eight shutout innings, allowing five hits with six strikeouts to pick up his first win of the season.

Nick Blackburn pitched seven shutout innings with six strikeouts, olny to see his win blown by the Minnesota Twins bullpen in the 8th inning.

Matt Garza allowed three runs in seven innings with six strikeouts in a no decision. He has now allowed five runs in his last 22 2/3 innings.

Luke Hochevar was recalled from Triple-A to replace Sidney Ponson in the rotation and will start on Tuesday for the Kansas City Royals.

Bryan Augenstien is expected to be recalled from AA to start for the Arizona Diamondbacks against the Cincinnati Reds.  Augenstein is 5-0 with a 0.78 ERA, with 31 strikeouts in 34 2/3 innings.

Closers:

Rafael Soriano picked up his third save of the season with Mike Gonzalez working the 8th inning. I don’t think it was a permanent closer change as the Phillies had left-handed hitters Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez and Matt Stairs up in the 8th inning to hit and I think Boby Cox feels confident that either Gonzalez or Soriano could close as needed.

Ryan Franklin blew his first save of the season, giving up home runs in the ninth inning to Jerry Hairston and pitcher Micah Owings.

Brandon Morrow, in his first appearance since April 23rd, allowed one run and loaded the bases in the ninth inning before getting Brendan Harris to ground out to preserve the save.

Huston Street picked up his fourth save of the season, and has not allowed a run in his last seven appearances.

Joakim Soria was placed on the disabled list by the Kansas City Royals with a strained rotator cuff. Juan Cruz will take over as closer while Soria is out of action.

Minor Leagues:

Tommy Hanson had his longest outing of the season, pitching eight innings with nine strikeouts. He did allow three home runs but they were all solo shots.

Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched four scoreless innings, allowing four hits and two walks, but did not strike out a batter. There is a chance he could be recalled by the Boston Red Sox to start next weekend.

John Lackey allowed three runs in five innings with five strikeouts and could be ready to return to the Los Angeles Angels rotation by the weekend.

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Fantasy Baseball Minor League Report – week 5

Posted by Todd Lammi on May 9th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Although he is not yet in the minor leagues, in fact, he may never spend a day there, keeper league owners should be tracking Stephen Strasburg, the pitcher from San Diego State who should be the first pick by the Washington Nationals in the  June draft. Strasburg threw a no-hitter on Friday night against Air Force with 17 strikeouts in a 5-0 victory. On the year, Strasburg’s record stands at 11-0 with 164 strikeouts in 87 1/3 innings. There is a good chance, depending on when he signs his contract after being drafted, that he could head right into a major league rotation. In other fantasy baseball news from the minor leagues…

Chris Coghlan was recalled from Triple-A by the Florida Marlins and will have a chance to earn a starting role while playing a variety of positions. Coghlan was hitting .344 with three home runs, 22 RBI and nine stolen bases in 96 at bats. He showed a good eye at the plate, with 12 walks and only 10 strikeouts. He started at second base on Friday, going 2 for 4, but should see the majority of time in left field initially.

Xavier Paul was recalled by the Los Angeles Dodgers to fill the roster spot for the suspended Manny Ramirez. Paul was hitting .344 with two home runs and eight stolen bases and will serve as the fourth outfielder for the next fifty games until Ramirez returns.

Nolan Reimold could be one of the next call ups from the minor leagues if the Baltimore Orioles ever get serious about improving their outfield. Although a bit older at 25, Reimold has been hitting non-stop since the season started. He currently holds a batting average of .387 with eight home runs, 25 RBI and five stolen bases.

Tommy Hanson struck out 10 in six innings while allowing one run in his last start. With David Price struggling with his command in Triple-A, Hanson seems to have taken over the spot as top pitching prospect currently in the minors. I liked the comparison Baseball America had on their weekly Hot Sheet from a statistics standpoint between Hanson and Tim Lincecum from his time in Triple-A.

Hanson       IP: 32 2/3      Walks: 11     Strikeouts: 48

Lincecum  IP: 31               Walks: 11     Strikeouts: 46

Kris Medlen (Braves) is still managing to keep pace with his teammate Hanson in Triple-A, striking out 10 in seven innings in his last start. Medlen now has a 1.17 ERA and 0.78 whip ratio, while holding batters to .167 average. In 30 2/3 innings, he has struck out 38 hitters.

Could he be hiding an injury? David Price (Rays) has run into command problems in his last three starts, walking 12 in 11 innings. His whip ratio has climbed to 1.62 on the year and he has struck out only two batters in his last two starts.

Luke Hochevar is patiently waiting for a call up from the Kansas City Royals as he continues to dominate in Triple-A. Hochevar struck out nine in eight shutout innings on Thursday, and is now 5-0 on the season. Hochevar’s ERA is now a sparkling 0.90, with 30 strikeouts in 40 innings of work.

Also biding his time in Triple-A is Clay Buchholz (Red Sox). Buchholz hurled seven shutout innings on Friday in a 4-0 win. Buchholz allowed one hit and struck out eight in seven innings. On the season, his ERA is now 1.33 with 26 strikeouts in 27 innings.

Desmond Jennings (Rays) continues to rake in AA, at one point putting together six consecutive multi-hit games, raising his batting average to .400 on the season. Jennings has three home runs with 22 RBI and nine stolen bases.

Aaron Poreda (White Sox) currently carries an 1.65 ERA in AA with 28 strikeouts in 27 1/3 innings. With Jose Contreras and Bartolo Colon in the major league rotation, Poreda will see starts in the major leagues at some point this season.

Jarrod Parker (Diamondbacks) who jumped to AA at the beginning of May has found the hitters a little tougher in his two starts there. In 10 1/3 innings, he has allowed 16 hits with 11 strikeouts.

Ian Kennedy (Yankees) will undergo surgery on Tuesday, after being diagnosed with an aneurysm under his right armpit. Kennedy, 24, will have the surgery performed by the same doctor who did David Cone’s procedure for an aneurysm back in 1996.

Neftali Feliz (Rangers) missed his start on Friday after complaining of shoulder soreness. Feliz has struggled with his control this year, allowing 16 walking and 23 hits in 19 2/3 innings.

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Fantasy Baseball Minor League Report – week 4

Posted by Todd Lammi on May 1st, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Tommy Hanson picked up his first win of the season Thursday, tossing six shutout innings with nine strikeouts. Hanson threw 92 pitches, 58 for strikes, and allowed an even split of four ground ball and four fly outs. He is just waiting for the Atlanta Braves to make the call as he is major league ready right now. Other top prospects making a mark in minor league baseball in week 4…

Gordon Beckham has been in the news quite a bit recently with questions being asked of Chicago White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen about the potential for a Beckham call up. Beckham is hitting .300 in AA with two home runs and 10 doubles, plus a stolen base. He still has some work to do defensively before he is promoted to the major leagues.

Justin Smoak – the way he has been hitting, you might as well change his last name to Smoke. Currently in AA for the Texas Rangers, Smoak is hitting .351 with four home runs in 76 at bats. More importantly, check out the walk to strikeout ratio. With 16 walks against only 10 strikeouts, Smoak is displaying a great eye at the plate.

Jake Arrieta - in AA for the Baltimore Orioles, Arrieta struck out six in six innings for his last start. On the season, Arrieta has a 2.00 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 18 innings.

Madison Bumgarner – Bumgarner, part of the loaded team that is the San Jose Giants is off to a good start in 2009 with a 1.40 ERA, with 19 strikeouts in 19 1/3 innings. His last start was the first time he allowed more than one run.

Buster Posey – Bumgarner’s teammate in San Jose, the catcher is hitting .366 with five home runs and an 11 to 13 walk to strikeout ratio.

Jarrod Parker – Parker made a quick move this season, blazing through high Class A up to Double-A for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Parker in his four starts in A ball, had a 0.95 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 19 innings.

Gerardo Parra – among the leaders in batting average in AA for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Parra is hitting .342 with a home run and five stolen bases. He has shown good plate discipline with 15 walks versus nine strikeouts.

Bud Norris - could be next in line when the Houston Astros need a starting pitcher. Norris has a 2.28 ERA in AAA with 25 strikeouts in 23 2/3 innings. He still needs some work on his control, with 15 walks on the season, including six in his last start.

Dayan Viciedo – Viciedo was hot in spring training and there was some that thought he was close to the major leagues for the Chicago White Sox. The team sent him to AA and he has struggled there so far in the first month of the season, batting .221 with 20 strikeouts in 77 at bats.

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Fantasy Baseball – the Daily Dirt for Tuesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 28th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Jorge Cantu was a one man wrecking crew for the Florida Marlins, going 3 for 3 with two home runs and 5 RBI, to snap the teams’ seven-game losing streak. Hanley Ramirez missed the game for the Marlins after being hit by a pitch on Monday. Catcher John Baker slid into the third spot in the batting order with Ramirez out and Cameron Maybin was bumped up to the number two hole. In other news around major league baseball on Tuesday…

Hitters:

Colorado Rockies rookie center fielder Dexter Fowler has been named the full time starter by manager Clint Hurdle. The move means that Seth Smith will lose out on the majority of at bats, and Ryan Spillborghs will see a slight reduction in at bats for the days that Smith plays.

Edwin Encarnacion was placed on the 15-day disabled list by the Cincinnati Reds with a fracture in his wrist. Adam Rosales was recalled from Triple-A and should see time at third base along with Jerry Hairston Jr.

Russell Branyan went 5 for 5 in the second game of the Seattle Mariners doubleheader and is now hitting .358 on the season.

Chone Figgins went 2 for 3 with two runs scored and two stolen bases. The stolen bases were his first in the last 10 days.

Mark DeRosa went 4 for 5, including his fourth home run of the season and scored four runs. He has made his hits count this year, despite batting only .235, he has driven in 17 runs on the season.

Chase Utley continues to reward those fantasy baseball owners that took him in the first round of their drafts with two more home runs on Tuesday. Utley is hitting .357 on the season with 20 RBI.

Alfonso Soriano hit his 7th home run of the season and drove in four runs. The one downside to having a guy with that much power of course is the limitation to his RBI numbers. Soriano only has 14 RBI for the year to go with his seven home runs.

Pitchers:

Felix Hernandez moved to 4-0 with eight innings of shutout work and nine strikeouts. Hernandez took over the American League strikeout lead with 36 now on the season.

Jo-Jo Reyes allowed one run in seven innings with seven strikeouts. His start means that Tommy Hanson will most likely remain in Triple-A for a little longer.

Kyle Lohse continued the magic for another week, tossing six shutout innings with six strikeouts. Lohse is normally a fly ball pitcher, but benefited from getting 10 ground ball outs compared to only two fly outs.

Phil Hughes returned to the major leagues, tossing six shutout innings with six strikeouts. Hughes recently recalled from Triple-A is currently replacing the injured Chien-Ming Wang in the rotation.

Edwin Jackson pitched six shutout innings with four strikeouts. Lucky for his fantasy baseball owners he was gone the inning before the New York Yankees put a 10 spot on the board in the 7th inning.

Wandy Rodriguez hurled seven strong innings, allowing one run with five strikeouts. It marked the fourth time in five starts he has allowed one run or less.

Cole Hamels lost out on a chance for a victory when he left his start in the fifth inning with a sprained ankle after trying to field a bunt. Hamels had went 4 1/3 scoreless innings before leaving the game.

The amazing success story of  Scott Richmond continued after moving to 3-0 against the Kansas City Royals. Richmond, a 29-year-old rookie who two seasons ago was pitching in the independent leagues, allowed one run in seven innings with five strikeouts.

Chad Gaudin got the start for the San Diego Padres and tossed five scoreless innings with five strikeouts. He is someone worth grabbing in NL-only leagues pitching in Petco park.

Closers:

Frank Francisco has quietly been one of the more effective closers in the American League so far this season. Francisco picked up his sixth save of the season in six chances for the Texas Rangers Tuesday night. He has allowed only six base runners in 10 2/3 innings on the season.

Brian Fuentes picked up his fourth save of the year but has been less than dominant this season. He has not had a 1-2-3 innings since opening day and allowed a solo home run tonight.

Trevor Hoffman fresh off the disabled list got his first save of the season for the Milwaukee Brewers. Todd Coffey set him up with a scoreless eighth inning.

Joel Hanrahan has been removed as closer of the Washington Nationals. Julian Tavarez and Kip Wells could form part of the closer-by-committee to try and get the job done.

Brad Lidge could be looking at potential time on the disabled list if his right knee does not get better. The pain is in the same knee that he had surgery on twice before the start of the 2008 season. If Lidge has to miss any time, Ryan Madson would take over as closer.

Jose Valverde was place on the 15-day disabled list with a strained calf. LaTroy Hawkins will take over as closer for the next two weeks.

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Fantasy Baseball Minor League Report – week 3

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 22nd, 2009

by Todd Lammi

With all of the hype surrounding up and coming fantasy baseball players in the minor leagues, it is easy to forget about the once hot prospects that fizzled in their first go round in the major leagues.

Such is the case for a guy like Phil Hughes, now pitching for the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees in Triple-A. Hughes picked up his third win of the season Wednesday night and his ERA now stands at 1.86. In 19 1/3 innings of work, he has walked only three and struck out 19. Also in the same boat as Hughes, Ian Kennedy has a 2.00 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 18 innings. Another player to watch on that same team is 22-year-old outfielder Austin Jackson. Jackson is off to an early hot start, batting .424 with four stolen bases.

Besides Tommy Hanson, the Gwinnett Braves (AAA) have another starting pitcher to keep an eye on, Kris Medlen. Medlen, 22, started his career as a relief pitcher before moving into the rotation for part of the season in Double-A last year. So far in Triple-A, he has a 1.32 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 13 2/3 innings with only one walk allowed.

Carlos Gonzalez of the Colorado Springs Sky Sox (Rockies), has not displayed much power yet with only one home run in 52 at bats, but he does lead the team with 16 RBI. Teammate Eric Young (2B) has nine stolen bases on the early season.

First basemen Gaby Sanchez is hitting .327 for the New Orleans Zephyrs (Marlins) with one home run and nine RBI.

Mat Gamel has been on fire for the Nashville Sounds (Brewers), with five home runs and 19 RBI in only 48 at bats. The downside is that he is still struggling defensively with five errors on the season. Teammate Alcides Escobar (SS) is hitting .271 with six stolen bases. Catcher Angel Salome is off to a slow start batting .188 with four RBI.

Fernando Martinez of the Buffalo Bisons (Mets) is hitting .291 with one home run and seven RBI. Even though it seems like he has been around for a few years, he is still only 20 years old.

Kyle Blanks of the Portland Beavers (Padres) is batting .340 with two home runs and 11 RBI.

The Pawtucket Paw Sox (Red Sox) have several pitchers of note in Triple-A. Michael Bowden is 3-0 with a 0.64 ERA. Bowden has struck out 15 in 14 innings on the season. Teammate Clay Bucholz has a 3.12 ERA after two starts. Relief pitcher Daniel Bard has 16 strikeouts in nine innings.

Anthony Swarzak of the Rochester Red Wings (Twins) has a 0.82 ERA after two starts with nine strikeouts in 11 innings.

Mike Carp of the Tacoma Rainiers (Mariners) is hitting .304 with three home runs and nine RBI. Teammate Jeff Clement (C) has gotten off to a slow start, batting .175 on the season.

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