Posts Tagged ‘Trevor Cahill’

2011 Major League Baseball Winter Meetings – Day 5 News and Notes

Posted by Todd Lammi on December 9th, 2011

The big news of day five of the major league baseball winter meetings was a trade between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Oakland Athletics with the Diamondbacks acquiring starting pitcher Trevor Cahill and Craig Breslow and Oakland picking up starting pitcher Jarrod Parker, outfielder Collin Cowgill and relief pitcher Ryan Cook.

Parker has been the D-Backs number one prospect for the last couple of seasons, but his path to the major leagues was sidetracked in 2009 when he underwent Tommy John surgery. He has a 3.49 career minor league ERA in 346 innings with 8.4 strikeouts per nine innings. He should be able to earn a spot in the Athletics rotation but has value in AL-only leagues at this point until he can get another season removed from the Tommy John surgery.

With all spots open in the Oakland outfield, Cowgill should see a full season of at bats. Cowgill had 92 at bats in Arizona last season, hitting .239 with a home run and four stolen bases. He hit .299 in his minor league career and had a 82% success rate on stolen bases going 72-for-88. He doesn’t offer a lot of power with a high of 16 home runs in the minor leagues, but he will have solid value in AL-only formats.

For the Diamondbacks, Cahill becomes a solid number three starter after Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson and he is under control through 2015 with club options in 2016 and 2017 at $13 and $13.5 million. He should see an increase in his strikeout rate with the move to the National League which gives him a little more value in fantasy baseball mixed-league formats.

The Tampa Bay Rays locked up left-handed starting pitcher Matt Moore with a five-year deal at $14 million with club options in 2017 – 2019. Despite the Rays rotation currently filled with five capable starters, expect someone to be traded by spring training with Moore stepping in. The only downside to his fantasy baseball value in 2012 is the fact that the team will likely limit his innings at some point of the season.

 

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2010 Final Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Starting Pitchers

Posted by Todd Lammi on October 27th, 2010

Here is a look at my 2010 final fantasy baseball rankings for starting pitchers. These rankings base ERA and WHIP on innings pitched and not just a round number so player A who pitchers more or less innings with the same ratio as player B will be ranked differently.

1. Roy Halladay – Halladay was so good in the American League that the move to the NL did not impact his stats too much like it would for most pitchers. Dropped his ERA by a quarter of a run and won 20 games for the third time in his career. Tossed nine complete games for the third straight season.

2. Adam Wainwright - showed no effects from the jump in innings pitched from 2008 to 2009 as he put up pretty much the same numbers with a little bit lower whip as he was harder to hit in 2010. Won 20 games for the first time in his career.

3. Felix Hernandez - Hernandez was even better in 2010 outside of his win total. That was suppressed because he received the worst run support of any starting pitcher in baseball at 3.8 runs per game. Had ridiculous numbers after the All-Star break with a 1.53 ERA and a .94 WHIP.

4. Ubaldo Jimenez - it was a breakout season for Jimenez who saw a jump in runs and strikeouts while his ERA and WHIP dropped for a second consecutive season. Came back down to earth the second part of the year with a 4-7 record, a 3.80 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP.

5. CC Sabathia - finished the season as the only 20 game winner in the Amercian League. Stats from 2010 were right in line with his 2009 season.

6. Jered Weaver – Weaver took his game to another level in 2010, striking out more than one batter per inning and finishing with a 3.01 ERA and 1.07 WHIP. Was much more dominant in home starts with a 1.86 ERA vs. 4.14 on the road, mainly due to only six home runs allowed at Angel Stadium vs. 17 at away games.

7. David Price – another pitcher who enjoyed great success at home, with a 1.96 ERA and 1.05 WHIP vs. 3.64 and 1.37 on the road. Wins might be a little harder to come by in 2010 in the Tampa Bay rays slot him in as the first starter.

8. Roy Oswalt – Oswalt battled back from his injuries of 2009 and turned in a solid season, racking up 193 strikeouts, his highest total since 2004. Thrived after being traded to Philadelphia where he went 7-1 with a 1.74 ERA and a .90 WHIP.

9. Jon Lester – just missed out on 20 wins and struck out 225 hitters for the second straight season. Was harder to hit but then he walked for hitters so the WHIP gains were not as big as they could have been. Second half was not as strong as the first with a 3.89 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP.

10. Justin Verlander – ERA and WHIP was nearly identical in 2010 to 2009. Won close to 20 games again and he was harder to hit as well with a 15 point drop in batting average. Strikeouts were down from 2009, but he still punched out 219 batters.

11. Cliff Lee – impeccable control helped him improve his WHIP ratio as he walked just 18 batters in 212 1/3 innings. ERA was up 1.5 runs after moving to Texas and he actually won more games per start with Seattle than with the Rangers.

12. Mat Latos – as much as the San Diego Padres talked of him not making the team or being the 5th starter in spring, by the end of the season he was the team’s best pitcher. Struck out a batter per inning and was tough to hit, allowing only a .217 batting average against him.

13. Tim Hudson – it was quite a come back year for Hudson after making only seven starts in 2009. Doesn’t rack up quite the strikeouts you would like to see from a fantasy baseball perspective, but his 17 wins, 2.83 ERA and 1.15 WHIP made up for that.

14. Josh Johnson – missed a month worth of starts, but still managed to finish this high in the rankings because he was dominant when did pitch. If he is able to carry over his performance from the first half of the season1.70 ERA and .96 WHIP for an entire year, he will be close to the top of the list at the end of 2011.

15. Clayton Kershaw – showed good strides in his third season, cutting his walks which allowed him to go deeper in games. Has just one complete game in 83 career starts so there is still improvement to be made.

16. Matt Cain – dropped his walk rate for a second straight season as well as his batting average against. Control took a big step forward the second half of the year with just 19 walks in 102 innings, helping him to a 2.91 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP.

17. Chris Carpenter - ERA jumped almost a full run in 2010 as home runs allowed tripled, going from seven in 2009 to 21 this season. Good sign though at age 35 he held up for the entire year.

18. Trevor Cahill – started off most fantasy baseball leagues as a free agent that rewarded his owners that grabbed him early in the season. Still walks a lot of batters and his strikeout numbers are not too pretty, but he was very hard to hit, allowing a .220 average against. Was much better pitching at home with a 2.18 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP.

19. Tim Lincecum – had a decent year, but not good enough for a guy that went as the number one pitcher in most fantasy baseball drafts. Strikeout rate dropped due to losing a mile or two off of his fastball. Home runs jumped from 10 to 18 and his batting average against was 36 points higher.

20. Cole Hamels - his 2009 season looks like an outlier as 2010 was much the same as 2008 with a few more strikeouts thrown in. Was dynamite after the All-Star break with a 2.23 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP with more than a strikeout per inning.

21. Clay Buchholz
22. Jonathan Sanchez
23. Brett Myers
24. C.J. Wilson
25. Francisco Liriano
26. Shaun Marcum
27. Colby Lewis
28. Gio Gonzalez
29. Bronson Arroyo
30. John Danks
31. Johan Santana
32. Ted Lilly
33. Ryan Dempster
34. Tommy Hanson
35. Hiroki Kuroda
36. Carl Pavano
37. Max Scherzer
38. Phil Hughes
39. Dan Haren
40. Ervin Santana

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2010 Two Start Pitchers – Week 11

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 12th, 2010

Here is a complete look at the fantasy baseball two-start pitchers for week 11. 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 11: 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) ~ ARI (Kennedy), LAD (Billingsley)
CC Sabathia (NYY) ~ PHI (Halladay), NYM (Santana)
Trevor Cahill (OAK) ~ @CHC (Zambrano), @STL (Garcia)
David Price (TB) ~ @ATL (Kawakami), @FLA (Johnson)
C.J. Wilson (TEX) ~ @FLA (Johnson), @HOU (Paulino)
Shaun Marcum (TOR) ~ @SD (Latos), SF (Sanchez)

Cahill becomes a two-start starter with Dallas Braden pushed back to Thursday.

Roll the Dice:

Freddy Garcia (CHW) ~ @PIT (Lincoln), @WAS (Lannan)
Joe Saunders (LAA) ~ MIL (Wolf), @CHC (Zambrano)
Carl Pavano (MIN) ~ COL (Cook), @PHI (Halladay)

Pavano has put up pretty similar stats through 12 starts as he did after coming over to Minnesota last season. What is amazing about this season, besides the 1.17 WHIP is that he has gotten a decision in every single one of his starts so far this season, so if you are looking for wins for your team, that is a good thing, although he will have two tough tests against Colorado and at Philadelphia. Garcia has been on a good run, winning six of his last seven starts, allowing three runs or less all but one time.

Sit Them:

Chris Tillman (BAL) ~ @SF (Sanchez), @SD (Latos)
Justin Masterson (CLE) ~ NYM (Santana), @PIT (Lincoln)
Rick Porcello (DET) ~ WAS (Lannan), ARI (Kennedy)
Kyle Davies (KC) ~ HOU (Paulino), @ATL (Kawakami)
Luke  French (SEA) ~ @STL (Wainwright), CIN (Harang)

Luke French became a two-start pitcher in week 11 when he replaced Ian Snell in the rotation. French was 6-2 in Triple-A with a 1.93 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP with 41 strikeouts in 74 2/3 innings. Nothing has changed in my opinion regarding Tillman this time around in the majors. He has not shown the ability to strike out hitters on a consistent basis and his control takes a nosedive upon reaching the major leagues.

National League:

Start them:

Ian Kennedy (AZ) ~ @BOS (Buchholz), @DET (Porcello)
Josh Johnson (FLO) ~ TEX (Wilson), TB (Price)
Clayton Kershaw (LAD) ~ @CIN (Harang), @BOS (Buchholz)
Johan Santana (NYM) ~ @CLE (Masterson), @NYY (Sabathia)
Roy Halladay (PHI) ~ @NYY (Sabathia), MIN (Pavano)
Jon Garland (SD) ~ TOR (Marcum), BAL (Tillman)
Jonathan Sanchez (SF) ~ BAL (Tillman), @TOR (Marcum)
Adam Wainwright (STL) ~ SEA (French), OAK (Cahill)

Roll the Dice:

Kenshin Kawakami (ATL) ~ TB (Price), KC (Davies)
Aaron Harang (CIN) ~ LAD (Kershaw), @SEA (French)
Felipe Paulino (HOU) ~ @KC (Davies), TEX (Wilson)

Kawakami’s 0-8 record does not inspire much confidence, but has thrown better at home where he has two starts next week, with an ERA a full run lower. He has also allowed three runs or less in five of his last six starts. Harang is 3-0 in his last five starts and has allowed five runs in his last 19 innings of work. Paulino has been on a roll with a 1.75 ERA over his last five starts. After allowing 20 home runs in 97 2/3 innings last season, Paulino has allowed only two in 75 1/3 innings in 2010 so I would expect to see a small correction coming soon.

Sit Them:

Carlos Zambrano (CHC) ~ OAK (Cahill), LAA (Saunders)
Aaron Cook (COL) ~ @MIN (Pavano), MIL (Wolf)
Randy Wolf (MIL) ~ @LAA (Saunders), @COL (Cook)
Brad Lincoln (PIT) ~ CHW (Garcia), CLE (Masterson)
John Lannan (WAS) ~ @DET (Porcello), CWS (Garcia)

Zambrano has only had two starts since moving back into the rotation and struggled in both, walking 8 in 9 1/3 innings with only five strikeouts. His batting average against on the year is also 50 points higher than it was in 2009. It has been a dismal year for Wolf with a jump in home runs allowed, a decrease in strikeouts per nine and an increase in walks. He has really been too inconsistent to start on a weekly basis and faces a tough road test in his second start at Colorado.

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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.

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The Daily Dirt for Saturday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 6th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Andre Ethier hit two solo home runs, including a walk-off home run in the 12th inning to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Ethier has seen his average drop 54 points coming into Saturday’s game since Manny Ramirez was suspended. Rafael Furcal sent the game into extra innings with his second home run of the year in the ninth inning off Brad Lidge, who blew his sixth save of the season. In his second start back from the disabled list, Hiroki Kuroda tossed six shutout innings with five strikeouts. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Saturday night…

Hitters:

Ben Zorbist went 2 for 3 with two runs scored and connected on his 11th home run of the season. Zorbist has homered three times in his last four games.

Mark Teixeira went 2 for 5 with 3 RBI and smacked his 17th home run of the season. I think with Alex Rodriguez protecting him in the line up and the way the New York Yankees new stadium is playing, Teixeira could easily be the second best first basemen in fantasy baseball behind Albert Pujols the remainder of the season.

Teammate Alex Rodriguez hit his 8th home run of the season and also stole his first base of the year. The home run was A-Rod’s first in his last 12 games.

Prince Fielder hit two solo home runs giving him 15 total on the season to go with 54 RBI. Fielder has heated up in his last 10 games, boosting his batting average 34 points and hitting five home runs with 11 RBI.

Nick Johnson went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI and stroked his fifth home run of the season. Johnson is now batting .332 on the year with 30 RBI.

Ian Stewart banged out two home runs and drove in five while going 3 for 4 at the plate. Stewart has homered four times in his last four games with 12 RBI.

Josh Fields got the start over recent call up Gordon Beckham and went 2 for 4 with his third home run of the year. It was weird time to start Fields given that Beckham had only six at bats so far before sitting and Fields was hitting under .200 against left-handed pitching.

Pitchers:

Edwin Jackson picked up a complete game victory, allowing one run with five strikeouts. Jackson improved to 6-3 on the season and now ranks second in the American League in both ERA (2.16) and whip ratio (0.98).

Gavin Floyd allowed one run in 6 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts to up his mark to 4-5 on the year. Floyd has turned it around in his last four starts with six runs allowed in 29 2/3 innings and 31 strikeouts.

Jarrod Washburn allowed one run in six innings with six strikeouts in a no decision. Washburn has allowed two runs in his last 19 innings even though he does not have any wins to show for it. He is currently on pace to set a career high in strikeouts with 145 which would be his highest total since 2002.

Jon Lester pitched a complete game two-hitter to even his record at 5-5. Lester allowed one run and struck out 11 to give him double digit strikeouts in his second straight start.

Ryan Dempster threw six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts in a no decision. He could be finally past his blister problems, as he has not allowed a run in two straight contests.

Rookie Trevor Cahill allowed two runs in six innings with five strikeouts to notch his third win of the season. Cahill has allowed two runs in each of his last four starts.

Cincinnati Reds rookie Matt Maloney in his first major league start allowed two runs in six innings with four strikeouts in a no decision. He will face the Kansas City Royals in his next start.

John Lannan hurled a complete game shutout with two strikeouts to earn his third win of the season.

Making his first start since 2007, Kelvim Escobar allowed two runs in five innings with five strikeouts.

John Smoltz allowed one hit and one run in six innings in his rehab start in Triple-A on Saturday, while throwing 74 pitches. His next start in Triple-A will come on Thursday.

Closers:

Marian Rivera took a loss, allowing three runs in 2/3 of an inning against the Tampa Bay Rays. Rivera has suffered both of his losses against the Rays this season.

Randy Choate picked up his third save of the season for the Rays when Dan Wheeler was unable to close out the game in the ninth inning.

Leo Nunez picked up his second save of the year in relief of Matt Lindstrom. Lindstrom was charged with two runs in the ninth inning before being removed.

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Fantasy Baseball – The Daily Dirt from Tuesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 7th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

It is time to break out the bubbly, the Florida Marlins look like they are going to the World Series this year. Of course, they are beating up on the Washington Nationals, but still, with a solid lineup and two top of the rotation starters, the Marlins should be in the hunt for the playoffs if their bullpen can protect leads this season.  Now on to more important matters, fantasy baseball news and notes from Tuesday at the ballpark.

National League:

Josh Johnson, NL CY Young sleeper this year, health permitting. If Emilio Bonifacio keeps getting on base, Jorge Cantu is going to drive in a ton of runs this season. Cantu hit his second home run of the year on Tuesday. Cameron Maybin batting second got his first stolen base of the season. Austin Kearns hit his first home run for the Nationals. Still no sign of Josh Willingham or Elijah Dukes…..The San Francisco Giants beat the Milwaukee Brewers but the big news was ace Tim Lincecum leaving after three innings and only 78 pitches thrown. The Giants offense could be semi interesting this season with a lot of guys in the 10-15 home run range driving in 80-90 runs…..Seriously, isn’t there a class these managers could take on how to fill out a batting order to appease fantasy baseball players?  I really would like to know why Hunter Pence is batting behind Geoff Blum for the Houston Astros. Catcher Geovany Soto left in the sixth inning for the Chicago Cubs with soreness in his right shoulder. He is expected to be out of action until the weekend at the earliest…..Colby Rasmus got his first big league start for the St. Louis Cardinals and hit second in the batting order.  Joe Thurston got the start at 3b for the Cards as they continue to mix and match players to replace the injured Troy Glaus. Skip Schumaker got the start at second base and hit lead off…..Tory Tulowitzki hit his second home run in as many days as he looks to rebound from an injury plagued 2008. At least he moved up one spot in the lineup with Clint Barmes starting at second base sliding into the 8th spot in the batting order. Mark Reynolds and Justin Upton were in the lineup for the Arizona Diamondbacks with Tony Clark and Eric Byrnes on the bench…..Jody Gerut took a seat on the bench for the San Diego Padres with the Los Angeles Dodgers starting a lefty. Scott Hairston took his place in the lineup. Orlando Hudson stole his second base of the season for the Dodgers.

American League:

Alex Gordon keeps right on rolling. I recently posted about his numbers from spring training and his work with new batting coach Kevin Seitzer and the hot streak continued Tuesday with Gordon’s first home run of the season….. Josh Beckett was dominant for the Boston Red Sox, striking out 10 against the Tampa Bay Rays. Matt Joyce and Gabe Gross were both in the lineup for the Rays with B.J. Upton currently on the disabled list…..Brandon Lyon blew his first save opportunity of the season for the Detroit Tigers. Nothing ruins a fantasy baseball day more than getting a 5 whip ratio from your closer……Brandon Morrow also blew his first save attempt of the year for the Seattle Mariners. Delmon Young got the start for the Minnesota Twins in place of Jason Kubel with the Mariners starting a left-hander on the mound….Rookie Trevor Cahill got the start for the Oakland Athletics and struggled with his control, giving up 5 hits and 5 walks in 4+ innings. Matt Holliday was out of the lineup for Oakland due to an illness.

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2009 Fantasy Baseball ADP Movers

Posted by Todd Lammi on March 28th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

With the final two weekends of fantasy baseball drafts upon us, let’s take a look at the latest movers for average draft position, using the results from Mock Draft Central for the NFBC scoring system (which is 15 team leagues) for the previous week.

James McDonald (+91) – in the running for the 5th starter position for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Don’t know why the Dodgers wasted time having him pitch in relief in spring and are just now trying to stretch him out. Gets overlooked by scouts because he does not have dominating stuff, but he always seems to get the job done.

Brett Anderson / Trevor Cahill (+63/+61) – I wrote about both of these players in one of my earlier posts about rookies who would eventually have a job this season. With Gio Gonzalez recently sent down and Justin Duchscherer starting the season on the disabled list, it looks like Cahill and Anderson coudl slot into the number four and five spots in the rotation.

Leo Nunez (+50) – With Matt Lindstrom bothered by a strained rotator cuff, Nunez might have a chance to grab some saves in the early the season for the Flordia Marlins. If you own Lindstrom in a league, you should look to grab Nunez as a handcuff.

Brett Gardner (+43) – Gardner seems to be moving up the draft board every weel and the last wee has been no exception. The problem for him is Melky Cabrera has caught fire the last few weeks of spring training so the decision could go down to the final week. There is still a chance that Cabrera gets traded to someone in need of an outfielder at some point this year, regardless of where he starts the season for the New York Yankees.

Jordan Zimmerman (+42) – he is a sleeper no more, now it will take a  pick in the 15-17th round to get him in a 14-15 team mixed draft league. He starts the season as the number five starter for the Washington Nationals, but in all likelihood he will be the best pitcher by the end of the season, if he is not already.

Chris Getz (+42) – has been named the starting second basemen for the Chicago White Sox and his value get could a little bit more of a boost if he hits in the top two spots in the batting lineup as he has been the last few games. He is up to four stolen bases so far in spring.

Jordan Schafer (+38) – Schafer is hitting close to .400 this spring with five stolen bases and seems to have pulled ahead of Gregor Blanco and Josh Anderson the starting center field job with the Atlanta Braves. Schafer ended last year in AA so there is always the possiblity the Braves let him start the year in AAA if they feel his defense his below Blanco’s and Anderson’s.

Micah Owings (+35) - Owings seems to have locked up the fifth starter position with the Cincinatti Reds. He is a good late round pick if you are looking for strikeouts.

Emilio Bonifacio (+33) – Bonifacio has had a huge couple of games in spring training recently so people seem to be using that as a reason to draft him. Based on the current Florida Marlins roster however, he does not have a starting job, so if he makes the team, it will be as a utility man.

Ivan Rodriguez (+28) – recently signed by the Houston Astros, Rodriguez looks like he will start the season batting second. He should be able to squueze out another good season at age 37 and is one of the few sources for steals from the catcher position.

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2009 Fantasy Baseball Impact Rookies

Posted by Todd Lammi on March 1st, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Every year there are a few rookies that make a significant impact in fantasy baseball. Determining whether a rookie will be boom or bust depends on his opportunity plus a managers patience if the player struggles out of the gate. Let’s take a look at some of the top rookies to make an impact in 2009.

They have a job:

1) David Price - Price enters the year as the number 5 starter for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. In that slot in the rotation, there is a good chance he will be skipped on some starts due to days off or rainouts to keep the top four pitchers on schedule, plus it limits the amount of innings he will throw for the season. Look for 150+ strikeouts and 12 wins from him.

2) Cameron Maybin - Maybin is expected to start in center field for the Florida Marlins and is currently projected to hit leadoff. Negatives in 2009 are his batting average and lack of power, positives are his speed and if he gets on his base, he will score a bunch of runs. I expect something along the lines of a .240 batting average with 85 runs 9 home runs and 27 steals.

3) Travis Snider - Snider is expected to open the season as the Toronto Blue Jays starting left fielder. He worked his way from Double A to the majors last season so expect some growing pains this year as he justed turned 21 last month. Look for something along the lines of .260 with 15 home runs and 75 rbi’s.

4) Elvis Andrus - Andrus is currently penciled in as the opening day shortstop for the Texas Rangers. His has more value for the Rangers than he does in fantasy outside of his stolen base potential, which might get him 20 steals out of the 9th spot in the batting order. Expect little in the power department as his career high in the minor leagues is four home runs.

They will have a job soon:

1) Matt Wieters - unless he has a monster spring, it looks like he is ticketed to start the year in Triple-A since the Baltimore Orioles signed Greg Zaun. I would not be surprised to see Wieters in the majors by the end of May, similar to the path Evan Longoria took last season.

2) Trevor Cahill / Brett Anderson – both pitchers might start the season in Triple-A  for the Oakland A’s and will be first in line for a call up. Cahill does a good job of keeping the ball down in the strike zone, as he has allowed only 8 home runs in 220+ minor league innings. Anderson, a lefty, has averaged more than a strikeout per inning in the minors.

3) Colby Rasmus – Many people expected to see Rasmus patrolling the St. Louis Cardinals outfield last year, but a slow start in Triple-A coupled with multiple injuries kept him out of the big leagues. With a tremendous spring he could break camp as one of the Cardinals starting outfielders if Skip Schumaker makes the successful transition to second base. That would leave Rasmus to battle Chris Duncan for the third outfield spot.

4) Gaby Sanchez - Sanchez is in the running to be the Florida Marlins starting first baseman if he can perform up to the task in spring training.  Sanchez had eight at bats in the majors last season, but still has not spent any time in Triple-A. The Marlins have other options in Sanchez is not ready, by moving Jorge Cantu to first base and going with one of a number of candidates at third base, either Dallas McPherson, Wes Helms or Emilio Bonifacio.

5) Andrew McCutchen - McCutchen will begin the season in Triple-A for the Pittsburgh Pirates and await either an injury or trade to make his major league debut. He already has had 569 at bats in AAA so there is little to gain to make him repeat an entire season at the age of 22. One area for improvement is his stolen base percentage. Last season he was caught stealing 18 times in 52 attempts.

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