Fantasy Baseball News Dispatch

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2010-04-29T17:45:00.001-07:00

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Add your articles with links to Fantasy Baseball Directory News Dispatch

2010-03-05T18:40:00.000-08:00

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First Impressions

2009-06-11T12:09:00.000-07:00

If you missed it (and if you're fantasy baseball fanatic, you didn't), the Matt Wieters Era finally began on May 29. His sidekick in hype, David Price, made his season debut just a scant four days earlier. Perhaps inspired by seeing Orioles and Rays fans stampeding to the ticket counter, the New York Mets, Atlanta Braves and Chicago White Sox all followed suit by calling up their own franchise saviors, Fernando Martinez, Tommy Hanson and Gordon Beckman seemingly within minutes of each other. Let's take a look at the first impressions these kids are making on the fantasy baseball owners burning up the waiver wires to add them to their own rosters... Matt Wieters: I'll leave the hyperbole up to the folks at the hilarious Matt Wieters Facts website, but let's just say that those possessing a Y chromosome haven't been this excited since Jessica Biel finally revealed her true talents in Powder Blue. But don't start casting that Hall-of-Fame plaque just yet. Wieters was batting just .229 as of this writing, without a homerun or RBI to his name. He does sport an unsightly 8:1 K:BB ratio, mildly surprising given his minor league track record of patience. Those expecting "Joe Mauer with power" to be their fantasy savior this season may be sorely disappointed. He plays the most physically and mentally demanding defensive position on the diamond, so any extra work he does this summer will be dedicated to learning about the Orioles pitchers and opposing hitters, not adjusting his own swing. He'll have to survive in the batter's box on talent alone and, while that talent is prodigious, that may not be enough for a 23 year old with barely a season's worth of professional experience. For perspective, here's how some of the best hitting catchers in major league history fared in their real exposure to the big show: Mike Piazza - 21G, .232 1 HR 7 RBI Carlton Fisk - 16G, .283 2 HR 6 RBI Johnny Bench - 26G, .163 1 HR 6 RBI There are exceptions (both Mauer and Brian McCann got their careers off to solid statistical starts), but regardless, patience will be the order of business for Wieters owners. They may have to wait until 2010 for their investment to truly pay off. David Price: Though he made is major league debut last season, Price is still a rookie and, perhaps excepting Hanson, the most hyped pitching prospect in all of baseball. Rays fans and fantasy baseball owners surely questioned Tampa's decision to send Price to Triple-A Durham to open to the season, but the prudence may well have paid off. Not only did the Rays delay Price's service time clock (no small factor for a small market team like the Rays), not only did Price gain valuable experience while pitching for the Bulls, not only will they be better able to control Price's innings load this season, but they also got a good look at what Jeff Niemann and Andy Sonnanstine could offer the big club this season. Since in Sonnanstine's case the answer is "not much," expect Price to stick around Tampa even after Scott Kazmir returns from his injury prompted hiatus. That said, don't expect miracles. Other recent, similarly talented young arms have experienced plenty of growing pains once they started facing major league hitters: Max Scherzer - 115.1 IP, 2-8, 3.59 ERA Clayton Kershaw - 171.2 IP, 8-10, 4.35 ERA Going back a little farther, we begin to see a trend developing: Jon Lester - 81.1 IP, 7-2, 4.76 ERA Chad Billingsley - 90 IP, 7-4, 3.80 ERA And how about some future Hall-of-Famers: Tom Glavine - 50.1 IP, 2-4, 5.54 ERA Greg Maddux - 31 IP, 2-4, 5.52 ERA Frankly, it almost behooves Price to start slowly as many pitchers who came out of the gate dominating (Dwight Gooden, Fernando Valenzuela) ultimately flamed out more rapidly than Paris Hilton's "acting" career. Since this post is already obscenely long and I'm running out of clever celebrity comparisons, we'll cover Martinez, Hanson and Beckman in the next edition of Fantasy Tipster's First Impressions early next week.

The Daily Dirt for Sunday

2009-06-07T21:56:00.000-07:00

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. To get more fantasy baseball insight and analysis, go to Fantasy Baseball Tools

The Daily Dirt for Saturday

2009-06-06T21:25:00.000-07:00

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. To get more fantasy baseball insight and analysis, go to Fantasy Baseball Tools

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Wednesday

2009-06-03T22:33:00.000-07:00

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. To get more fantasy baseball insight and analysis, go to Fantasy Baseball Tools

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Sunday

2009-06-01T05:37:00.000-07:00

by Todd Lammi Adrian Gonzalez stayed scorching hot, hitting his 20th home run and driving in three runs. What is mind boggling to me is how he was only 12th in the league in walks heading into Sunday's game. The four hitters batting behind him on Sunday had averages of .228, .236, .172, .209. Why would he not be walked every time he came up to bat? He has homered against every team he has played against this season except for the San Francisco Giants. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Sunday... Hitters: Mark Teixeira hit his 16th home run of the season and drove in all four runs for the New York Yankees on Sunday. He ends the week with three home runs and 10 RBI as he knocked in a run in 5 out of 6 games for the week. Kevin Youkilis hit two solo home runs and scored three runs. Despite having nine home runs on the season, Youkilis leads the American League in slugging percentage as well as on base percentage. David Wright stole his 12th base of the season. Despite hitting .333, he is off to a slow start in the power department with only three home runs. I have to wonder if he is hiding an injury as two stats give me warning flags 48 games into the season. One, he is on pace for 178 strikeouts which would be 60 higher than his career high of 118 last season. Second, he has already been thrown out stealing seven times, which is more than each of the three previous three seasons when he was caught five times each year. Ben Francisco went 2 for 3 and stole his ninth base of the season. Francisco is quietly putting together a nice season, and is now on pace for 18 home runs, 70 RBI and 32 steals. Josh Willingham hit two solo home runs giving him nine on the season. He seems to enjoy hitting with no men on base, because despite having nine home runs, he only has 12 RBI on the season. Carlos Pena looks to be locked in the home run mode as he continues to swing for the fences. Pena hit his 17th home run of the season, but continues to strike out at a high rate, making it tougher for him to boost his .231 batting average. Pena has 66 strikeouts on the year, good for a 204 pace. Mike Cameron homered for the second consecutive day and now has 11 long balls on the season. Despite being the 20th player to reach the 250-250 home run - steal level, his stolen bases are a thing of a past in 2009. He has two stolen bases for the season and both of those came on opening day. Brandon Phillips homered for the second straight day as he continues to play through the the injury to his thumb. Phillips is up to 9 home runs and 36 RBI on the season. Adam Kennedy went 3 for 5 with three runs scored and hit two home runs to give him four on the season. Since the Oakland Athletics acquired Kennedy from the Tampa Bay Rays on May 10th for a player to be named later, Kennedy has hit .390 with four home runs, 15 RBI and five steals in 82 at bats. Edwin Maysonet went 2 for 4 and is now hitting .450 for the Houston Astros. With Kaz Matsui on the disabled list, Maysonet should have some value in National League only leagues the next few weeks. Scott Hairston hit his seventh home run of the season and stole his sixth base of the year. With Jody Gerut now out of the picture, I see a possible 20-20 season out of Hairston. Torii Hunter blasted his 12th home run of the season and knock in two runs to boost his RBI total to 42. Hunter is currently on pace for his first 30-30 season of his career with 12 home runs and 10 stolen bases year to date. Matt Kemp hit his sixth home run of the year and stole his 12th base of the season. Despite being slotted 7th in the batting order for the majority of the season, Kemp still is on pace to drive in close to 100 runs this year. Pitchers: Edwin Jackson hurled eight shutout innings with seven strikeouts to up his mark to 5-3 on the year. Jackson has allowed three earned runs or less in his last five starts, going 4-1 during that period. It took him three starts but Kris Medlen finally picked up his first win of the season, allowing one run in six innings with nine strikeouts. The win most likely extended his stay in the rotation until Tom Glavine is ready to return. Chad Gaudin allowed one run in 6 1/3 innings with nine strikeouts to notch his second win of the year. It was the first start this season for Gaudin where he did not walk a batter, after previously walking a minimum of three hitters in every start. Jon Lester allowed one run in six innings with 12 strikeouts to pick up his fourth win of the season. Despite an increase in his strikeout rate, Lester has seen opponents bat 50 points higher against him in 2009 and his home run rate is 2.8 times higher than it was in 2008. Eric Milton allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings with four strikeouts to improve his record to 2-0. The 33-year-old Milton has solidified the Los Angeles Dodgers 5th starter slot, and one could argue his three starts should make him the fourth starter ahead of Eric Stults. Yovani Gallardo allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings with nine strikeouts to boost his record to 5-2. Heading into Sunday's start, Gallardo had the lowest batting average against for starting pitchers in all of baseball at .193. Closers: A painful way to end the week for David Aardsma owners, as he allowed six base runners in 2/3 of an inning with three runs scored to blow his first save of the year. To get more fantasy baseball insight and analysis, go to Fantasy Baseball Tools

Fantasy Baseball Minor League Report - week 8

2009-05-30T15:22:00.000-07:00

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. To get more minor league baseball insight and analysis, see the Minor League Report

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Friday

2009-05-29T22:48:00.000-07:00

by Todd Lammi Luke Scott went 3 for 3 and delivered two home runs while driving in five runs in a 7-2 win over the Detroit Tigers. Scott has been on a tear since coming off the disabled list on Wednesday, with 5 home runs and 12 RBI in three games. Rookie Matt Wieters debuted as the starting catcher, going 0 for 4 with a strikeout. Wieters hit seventh and should see the majority of starts going forward. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Friday... Hitters: Nelson Cruz went 2 for 4 with 3 RBI including his 13th home run of the season in a 6-3 win over the Oakland A's in the first game of a double header. Jermaine Dye started the Chicago White Sox scoring with his 13th home run of the season, en route to an 11-2 win over the Kansas City Royals. Alexei Ramirez, A.J. Pierzynski and Josh Fields each contributed three hits in the win. Edwin Maysonet went 4 for 4 with RBI including his first home run of the season as the Houston Astros defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1. It was Maysonet's second start of the season since being recalled on May 22. Omir Santos hit his third home run of the season and drove in two runs in the New York Mets -21 win over the Florida Marlins in 11 innings. Santos will remain with the team when Brian Schneider returns from the disabled list, with the trade of backup catcher Ramon Castro to the Chicago White Sox. Evan Longoria went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI, including his 13th home run of the season, to power the Tampa Bay Rays to a 5-3 win over the Minnesota Twins. Longoria increased his league leading RBI total to 54. Carl Crawford went 2 for 4 with three runs scored and connected for his second home run of the season. The home run was Crawford's first since May 7th. Yunel Escobar went 2 for 5 with three RBI to pace the Atlanta Braves offense in a 10-6 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Escobar knocked out his fifth home run of the season and his second in the last four days. Carlos Quentin was placed on the 15-day disabled list with plantar fasciitis in his foot. Quentin has been bothered by pain in his foot all season which helps explain his .229 batting average. Scott Podsednik will continue to see playing time in his place and is a good source for steals in American League only fantasy baseball leagues. Pitchers: Ted Lilly allowed one run in seven innings with five strikeouts to pick up his sixth win of the season in a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Chad Billingsley took the loss, allowing two runs in seven innings with seven strikeouts. Josh Outman allowed three runs in 6 2/3 innings with nine strikeouts in a no decision. Outman has allowed three runs or less in all eight of his starts this season and currently sports a 3.06 ERA. Andy Pettitte allowed one run in five innings to improve his record to 5-1 on the season in a 3-1 defeat of the Cleveland Indians. Pettitte was removed from the game in the sixth innings with stiffness in his lower back. J.A. Happ allowed three runs in 5 1/3 innings to earn his first win since moving into the starting rotation in a 5-4 win over the Washington Nationals. Brian Moehler allowed tossed a complete game allowing one run with four strikeouts to gain his second win of the year. Casey Janssen picked up his first win in over two years, allowing three runs in seven innings with two strikeouts. For Janssen, who missed all of 2008 with shoulder surgery, it was his second start since being recalled from Triple-A last Friday. Mike Pelfrey allowed one run in 7 2/3 innings with six strikeouts in a no decision. Pelfrey has allowed two runs or less in four consecutive starts while lowering his ERA by 1.5 runs. His counter part, rookie Sean West, allowed one run in seven innings with two strikeouts. James Shields surrendered two runs in seven innings with five strikeouts to even his mark at 4-4 on the year. Braden Looper allowed two runs in seven innings with four strikeouts to pick up his 5th win of the year in a 3-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds. Scott Feldman allowed two runs in six innings with two strikeouts to boost his record to a perfect 4-0 on the year. Feldman has a 2.59 ERA since moving into the starting rotation on April 25th. Clayton Richard allowed two runs in seven innings with seven strikeouts for his third straight quality start. Richard has allowed three runs in his last 20 innings with 18 strikeouts. Jason Marquis pitched eight innings of shutout ball with six strikeouts to pick up his seventh win of the year. It was the third consecutive win for Marquis who has allowed three earned runs in his last 23 2/3 innings. Jason Vargas allowed two runs in 6 1/3 innings with two strikeouts to record his second win of the season in a 5-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels. The two runs were the most Vargas has allowed in his four starts this season. Matt Cain improved to 6-1 by giving up one run in 6 1/3 innings with five punchouts in a 4-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. Cain has won his last three starts, while allowing two tuns in 21 1/3 innings. Closers: C.J. Wilson picked up a win and a save in the Texas Rangers double header. With Frank Francisco back as closer, Wilson should only see a few save opportunities going forward. Huston Street picked up his 8th save of the season and has not allowed an earned run since April 24th. During that time he has lowered his ERA from 8.59 to his current number of 3.10. To get more fantasy baseball insight and analysis, go to Fantasy Baseball Tools

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Wednesday 5/27

2009-05-27T21:36:00.000-07:00

by Todd Lammi

I am always torn whether St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa is somewhat smart, just a little nutty, or a combination of both. In the Cardinals 3-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers, La Russa had Nick Stavinoha batting clean up. Stavinoha is only playing because Ryan Ludwick and Rick Ankiel are out with injuries, so Stavinoha is basically the team's 6th outfielder. Yet he delivers two RBI to help the Cardinals win. For some reason, the Brewers don't seem to like Corey Hart, regardless of who the manager is. First it was Ned Yost, now it is Ken Macha, who gave a start to Frank Catalanotto on Wednesday. With Hart off to a slow start, it would not surprise me to see the Brewers give him more time off. If the Brew Crew has no interest in Hart, they might as well trade him for pitching and stick Mat Gamel in the outfield now. Of course it would help if Gamel was hitting higher than .174, but it would also help if he received consistent at bats, something that has not happened since he was called up two weeks ago. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Wednesday...

Hitters:

Nolan Reimold hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to help the Baltimore Orioles pull of a come from behind win. Reimold's home run was his second in as many days.

Aaron Hill went 2 for 6 with two RBI and connected for his 12th home run of the season. Hill, who homered for the first time since May 17th is now up to 37 RBI on the year.

James Loney went 2 for 5 with 4 RBI to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 8-6 win over the Colorado Rockies. Despite having only two home runs on the season, Loney ranks in the top five in RBI in the National League with 36 runs driven in.

Russell Branyan went 2 for 4 with two RBI and belted his 11th home run of the season. Branyan is batting .311 on the season with 23 RBI.

Daniel Murphy went 3 for 4 with 5 RBI including his fourth home run of the season in the New York Mets 7-4 win over the Washington Nationals. The left-handed Murphy should see the majority of at bats at first base as part of a platoon with Fernando Tatis.

Trade rumors sometimes seem to perk up a player when they are struggling. Case in point is Dan Uggla of the Florida Marlins. Uggla went 3 for 4 with two RBI to lead the Marlins to a 6-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Uggla has now homered five times in his last nine games.

The New York Yankees used four home runs to defeat the Texas Rangers 9-2. Mark Teixeira (15), Hideki Matsui (6 & 7) and Robinson Cano (9) all left the yard for New York. Ian Kinsler was the only offense for the Rangers, knocking out his 13th home run of the season.

Jay Bruce smashed two home runs and a triple while collecting four RBI. The power is legit, with 14 home runs and only 5 doubles, the majority of fly balls he hits are going over the fence.

Denard Span went 4 for 4 with two runs scored and stole his 11th base of the season. Span is now hitting .316 with 28 runs scored for the year.

Pitchers:

Rick Porcello picked up his 6th win of the year, allowing two runs in six inning with four strikeouts in a 8-3 win over the Kansas City Royals. Porcello has allowed 5 runs in his last 30 innings while reeling off five straight victories.

Carlos Zambrano allowed one earned run in 6 1/3 innings with six strikeouts in a no decision. Zambrano was ejected in the 7th inning after bumping an umpire and making the ejection gesture and could be facing a possible suspension.

Erik Bedard allowed one run in 6 2/3 innings with five strikeouts to up his record to 3-2 on the season. He is now a perfect 3-0 on the road and 0-2 at home this season.

Bronson Arroyo picked up his 7th win of the season, tossing a complete gem against the Houston Astros in a 6-1 victory. Arroyo scattered five hits while striking out three and has given up one run in back-to-back starts.

Johan Santana battled through control problems to notch his 7th win of the year, allowing three runs in six innings with 11 strikeouts. Santana walked six batters in the game, the first time he has done that since 2002 with the Minnesota Twins.

Kevin Slowey netted his seventh win of the season in a 4-2 defeat of the Boston Red Sox. Slowey allowed two runs in six innings with five strikeouts and has now allowed two runs or less in four straight starts.

Jered Weaver allowed one run in eight innings with eight strikeouts to improve his record to 4-2 in a 3-1 win over the Chicago White Sox. Weaver has now allowed one run in 4 of his last 5 starts.

A. J. Burnett hurled six shutout innings and struck out seven to improve his record to 3-2.

To get more fantasy baseball insight and analysis, go to Fantasy Baseball Tools

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Tuesday

2009-05-26T23:36:00.000-07:00

by Todd Lammi There is rejoicing in fantasy baseball land Tuesday night as top prospect Matt Wieters of the Baltimore Orioles is expected to be recalled from Triple-A on Friday. It should not take long for Wieters to ascend to the top tier of the catching ranks, based on his expected performance. With injuries to Ryan Doumit and Chris Ianetta and Geovany Soto off to a slow start, it is not inconceivable for Wieters to be a top 5 catcher the rest of the season, behind Victor Martinez, Joe Mauer, Brian McCann and Bengie Molina. To give you an idea of the landscape at catcher from a fantasy baseball statistical purpose, Jorge Posada ranks six among catchers in RBI with 20 despite missing the last three weeks of action. Russell Martin still is stuck on zero home runs, although he does has six stolen bases and Mike Napoli should start to lose at bats with Vladimir Guerrero returning to action as Napoli was seeing time at designated hitter when not catching. Wieters, who was the fifth overall selection in the 2007 June draft, will take over immediately as the Orioles starting catcher upon his arrival. Wieters is currently hitting .305 with 5 home runs and 30 RBI in 141 at bats with a 2o to 30 walk to strikeout ratio in Triple-A. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Tuesday... Hitters: Orioles hitters responded to the news of Wieters impending arrival by collecting 14 hits in a 7-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Adam Jones (11), Aubrey Huff (8) and Nolan Reimold (3) all hit home runs in the victory. With the young bats the Orioles have and the pitching in their farm system, they are probably 1 1/2 years away from competing for the division. The Cleveland Indians used four home runs to defeat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-1. Mark DeRosa starting in left field hit his 8th home run of the year and is now up to 32 RBI on the season. It is nice the Indians are show casing DeRosa's versatility in the outfield to boost his trade value, but that comes at the expense of playing time for Matt LaPorta who was sent back to Triple-A. LaPorta never got untracked with the Indians, batting .190 with one home run in 13 games. Carlos Pena hit his 16th home run and knocked in his 40th RBI to provide the lone run of offense for the Rays. Joey Votto hit a two-run home in the seventh inning to propel the Cincinnati Reds to a 6-4 win over the Houston Astros. The long ball was Votto's 8th of the season to go along with his 33 RBI. Gary Sheffield continues to pick up the slack offensively for the New York Mets with Jose Reyes, Ryan Church and Carlos Delgado all missing from the lineup due to injuries. Sheffield went 2 for 3 with 3 RBI and belted his fifth home run of the year to lead Mets to a 6-1 win over the Washington Nationals. He has now driven in nine runs in his last five games. Also for the Mets, rookie Fernando Martinez was recalled from Triple-A with Church going on the disabled list. Martinez got the start in right field batting sixth and went 0 for 3 with an RBI. Martinez was hitting .291 with 8 home runs and 28 RBI in 165 at bats in Triple-A with two stolen bases. Chris Davis hit two home runs to power the Texas Rangers to a 7-3 win over the New York Yankees. Davis now has 12 home runs on the season, but is only batting .208 on the year. Justin Morneau went 2 for 3 with 3 RBI including his 14th home run of the season in a 5-2 win over the Boston Red Sox. Morneau has driven in 11 runs in his last five games. Mark Reynolds hit his 13th home run of the year and knocked in two in a 6-5 win over the San Diego Padres. Reynolds is currently 5th in the National League in home runs and 7th in stolen bases with 10. Jayson Nix hit two solo home runs to give the Chicago White Sox a 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels. Pitchers: Zack Greinke continued his amazing 2009 season, tossing a complete game against the Detroit Tigers in a 6-1 win. Greinke struck out eight while lowering his ERA to 0.84. He has still yet to allow more than two runs in any start this year and also has not given up a home run through 75 innings. Joe Blanton tossed seven shutout innings with 11 strikeouts in a 5-3 win over the Florida Marlins. The victory evened Blanton's record at 3-3 and easily surpassed his previous season high of six strikeouts. Carl Pavano allowed one run in seven innings with six strikeouts to pick up his fifth win of the season. Pavano has now won 5 of his last 6 starts, while allowing four runs or less in all of them. Livan Hernandez picked up a complete game win, allowing one run with six strikeouts. Hernandez has now allowed two runs or less in four of his last five starts. Adam Wainwright allowed one run in seven innings with nine strikeouts in a 8-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Wainwright improved to 5-2 and has allowed one run in each of his last three starts, covering a total of 23 2/3 innings. Nick Blackburn allowed one earned run in seven innings with seven strikeouts to move to 4-2 on the season. Blackburn has shaved 1 1/2 runs off his ERA in his last five starts to his current mark of 3.55 Eric Milton picked up his first win in almost three years, tossing five innings of one run ball in a 7-1 win over the Colorado Rockies. Milton allowed seven hits and struck out three in his second start since being recalled from Triple-A. Sean Marshall allowed one run in five innings with six strikeouts to pick up a rain-shortened 6-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Marshall continues to keep pace with Randy Wells to see who will become the 5th starter once Rich Harden returns from the disabled list. Max Scherzer allowed two runs in seven innings with 10 strikeouts to earn his second win of the season. Scherzer has had back-to-back 10 strikeout performances and will face the Atlanta Braves on Sunday. Jarrod Washburn hurled six scoreless innings with four strikeouts in a 4-3 loss to the Oakland Athletics. Tim Lincecum pitched eight shutout innings and fanned eight in a 4-0 defeat of the Atlanta Braves. Lincecum lowered his ERA to 3.03 and has struck out eight or more in 7 of his last 8 starts. Closers: Brad Lidge was supposed to get the day off, but after the Marlins cut the lead to two in the ninth innings, he came in to record two outs for his ninth save of the season. Manager Charlie Manuel's use of the bullpen on Tuesday night signifies he has little faith in Ryan Madson as the closer and why he continues to stick with Lidge in spite of Lidge's recent blown saves. Instead of using Madson in the ninth inning and a different set up man in the eighth, he still pitched Madson in the eighth and had Chad Durbin come in to close the door in the ninth, which Durbin failed to do. To get more fantasy baseball insight and analysis, go to Fantasy Baseball Tools

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Monday, 5/25

2009-05-25T21:39:00.000-07:00

by Todd Lammi

It was a painful loss for the Tampa Bay Rays, as the blew a 10-0 lead in an 11-10 loss to the Cleveland Indians. The blown lead was the largest in team history. The Rays used four relievers in the ninth inning, the last one being Jason Isringhausen, but none of them could stop the bleeding as the Indians rallied for seven runs to pull out the come from behind win. Rookie David Price, getting the start for the injured Scott Kazmir, displayed the same wildness that had been plaguing him in the minor leagues, as he walked five and allowed four hits in 3 1/3 innings while throwing 100 pitches. He did manage to strike out six and only allowed two runs, but his high pitch count limited his innings. Ryan Garko hit two home runs for the Indians and drove in five runs to pace the Tribe's offense. In other fantasy baseball happenings around the diamond on Monday...

Hitters:

Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira continue to lead the surging New York Yankees offense, as the team pounded out 19 hits in an 11-1 win over the Texas Rangers. A-Rod went 5 for 5 with 4 RBI and Teixeira went 2 for 4 with three runs scored and two RBI.

Who needs Manny Ramirez? The Los Angeles Dodgers pounded out 19 hits en route to a 16-6 pasting of the Colorado Rockies. Matt Kemp, Juan Castro and Juan Pierre each knocked in three runs.

The Chicago White Sox made short work of Ervin Santana, banging out 23 hits on their way to a 17-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels. Jermaine Dye (12), Jim Thome (8) and Paul Konerko (7) all went deep for the White Sox. The lone bright spot for the Angles was the return of Vladimir Guerrero to the line up.

Nelson Cruz hit his 12th home run of the year for the lone score for the Rangers. Cruz has homered 5 times in his last six games while driving in 10 runs. He has now collected an RBI in six consecutive games.

Ryan Howard hit two home runs and drove in three to provide all the offense for the Philadelphia Phillies in a 5-3 loss to the Florida Marlins. Howard now has 12 home runs on the season and 33 RBI.

Jonny Gomes went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI for the Cincinnati Reds in their 8-5 win over the Houston Astros. Gomes is a good pickup in National League only leagues as he should see playing time against left-handed starters.

Adrian Gonzalez hit his 17th home run of the season in the San Diego Padres 9-7 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in 10 innings. Scott Hairston went 3 for 5 and is now batting .333. With the trade of Jody Gerut to Milwaukee earlier in the week, Hairston should be someone to target if he is still on the waiver wire in your fantasy baseball league.

It took him 100 at bats but Travis Ishikawa finally hit his first home run of the season in the San Francisco Giants 8-2 win over the Atlanta Braves. Ishikawa went 4 for 4 and drove in three runs. He is going to need more games like that if he does not want to lose at bats to recent call up Jesus Guzman.

Freddy Sanchez went 6 for 6 and scored four times to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 10-8 win over the Chicago Cubs. Sanchez drove in three runs and hit his fourth home run of the season.

Pitchers:

Justin Verlander pitched seven shutout innings with eight strikeouts in a 13-1 win over the Kansas City Royals. It marked the sixth consecutive game that Verlander has notched eight or more strikeouts. The outing was the most economical Verlander has been with his pitches all season, making it through seven innings on 96 pitches.

Jeremy Guthrie allowed one run in seven innings with four strikeouts to pitch the Baltimore Orioles past the Toronto Blue Jays 4-1. Guthrie's biggest problem this season has been the home run, allowing 11 in 53 2/3 innings before his start on Monday.

The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 1-0 in 10 innings on a RBI single by Bill Hall. Both starting pitchers were superb in the game, with Chris Carpenter tossing eight scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts for the Cardinals, and Yovani Gallardo hurling eight shutout innings for the Brewers with six strikeouts.

Phil Hughes scattered three hits in eight shutout innings to pick up his third win of the season. Hughes struck out six while allowing only one walk to lower his ERA to 5.16.

Brett Anderson allowed one run in six innings with four strikeouts to gain his second win of the season. It marks the second consecutive good start for the rookie who may be on the verge of turning things around for good.

Jonathan Sanchez, subject to some trade rumors earlier in the week, allowed two runs in five innings with six strikeouts to earn his second win of the year.

John Maine allowed one run in six innings with four strikeouts to get his fourth win of the season. Despite his 4.18 ERA he continues to be bothered by walks. With a 30 to 36 walk to strikeout ratio, Maine is on pace for 108 walks this season which would be a career high.

Closers:

Jonathan Papelbon picked up his 12th save of the season, but it marked back-to-back games that he surrendered two runs and a home run.

Francisco Rodriguez (back spasms) returned to action for the New York Mets and picked up his 13th save of the season.

To get all of the latest fantasy baseball insight, go to http://fantasybaseballtools.com.

Fantasy Baseball Minor League Report - week 7

2009-05-23T16:14:00.000-07:00

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.

Go to the Minor League Report.

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Friday

2009-05-22T21:22:00.000-07:00

by Todd Lammi

Jimmy Rollins hit his third home run of the season and stole his sixth base of the year. He has raised his batting average 40 points in the last seven games up to .240. In addition to slumping at the plate, he has struggled on the base paths this season getting caught stealing four times in 10 attempts. As a point of reference, he was 47 for 50 on stolen bases last season and 41 for 47 in 2007. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Friday...

Hitters:

Brandon Inge hit is 12th home run of the season and drove in two runs giving him 31 RBI on the season. He is now on pace for 49 home runs for the year. And people still don't believe in the juiced ball theory? Brandon Inge, 49 home runs in one year? His career high was 27 back in 2006.

Exhibit two of my juiced ball theory, Raul Ibanez, with his third home run in as many days, this one coming at Yankee Stadium and Ibanez is now on pace for 65 home runs and 166 RBI. He leads the National League with 16 home runs, 41 RBI and is second in runs scored with 36.

Speaking of the new Yankee Stadium, through the first 21 games, 82 home runs have been hit which is a major league record, breaking the mark of 77 hit at Houston's Enron Field back in 2000.

Carlos Pena hit home run number 15 on the season and drove in three runs in a 15-2 victory over the Florida Marlins. Pena is currently third in the American League with 38 RBI.

Michael Cuddyer hit for the cycle, going 4 for 5 with 5 RBI and slugging his seventh home run of the season, giving him 30 RBI on the year.

Nolan Reimold went 2 for 5 and hit his second home run of the season and is now batting .313 on the year.

Elvis Andrus went 4 for 5, knocking out his third home run of the year and stealing his sixth base of the season. Andrus is now hitting .292 on the year.

Pitchers:

Johan Santana allowed two runs in seven innings with eight strikeouts to get his sixth won of the year. The 118 pitches he threw on Friday night were the most he had thrown this season.

Bronson Arroyo allowed one run in eight innings with two strikeouts to notch his 6th win of the season, good for a tie for first in the National League with Johan Santana and Chad Billingsley.

Kevin Slowey improved to 6-1, surrendering two runs in 7 1/3 innings with four strikeouts. It was the fourth straight start he has allowed three runs or fewer.

Rick Porcello allowed one run in six innings and struck out three to move to 5-3 on the season. He has now allowed three runs in his last 24 innings and has reeled off four consecutive wins.

Bret Myers allowed three runs in eight innings with five strikeouts to pick up win number four on the season.

Kenshin Kawakami picked up his third win of the year with a 1-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. Kawakami pitched eight shutout innings and struck out seven. Roy Halladay hurled seven shutout innings for the Blue Jays and fanned six.

Gavin Floyd tossed eight shutout innings with eight strikeouts to earn his first win in more than a month, in a 2-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Zach Duke suffered the loss, allowing two runs in eight innings with seven strikeouts.

Jordan Zimmermann allowed two runs in seven innings with seven strikeouts in a no decision against the Baltimore Orioles.

Todd Wellemeyer threw six scoreless innings with three strikeouts to even his mark at 4-4 on the season. He was much more effective with his pitches, needing only 85 to get through six innings.

Derek Holland made his first major league start for the Texas Rangers and allowed three runs in 5 2/3 innings with four strikeouts. With Vincente Padilla on the disabled list, Holland should see another start or two.

There has got to be an injury that Ricky Nolasco is hiding for him to be this bad. Nolasco allowed eight runs for the second consecutive start and now sports a 9.07 ERA.

Daisuke Matsuzaka returned from the disabled list and allowed four runs in five innings with four strikeouts in a 5-3 loss to the New York Mets.

Chien-Ming Wang returned to the New York Yankees and threw three innings from the bullpen, allowing six hits and two runs with two strikeouts.

David Price is expected to be recalled by the Tampa Bay Rays to take the rotation spot vacated by Scott Kazmir who was placed on the disabled list with a quadriceps strain. Price would likely get the start Monday against the Cleveland Indians.

Rich Harden was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a back strain. Carlos Zambrano returned from the disabled list Friday and will take Harden's spot in the rotation.

Closers:

Troy Percival was placed on the 15-day disabled list with shoulder tendinitis. Tampa Bay Rays Manager Joe Maddon said he would go with the dreaded closer by committee in place of Percival.

To get more fantasy baseball insight, go to http://fantasybaseballtools.com.

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Sunday

2009-05-17T20:18:00.000-07:00

by Todd Lammi

The Toronto Blue Jays, first in all of baseball in runs scored, continue to plate runners in bunches, scoring eight runs on Sunday. Adam Lind hit his seventh home run and now has 35 RBI on the year. Aaron Hill hit his 11th home run of the season and is up to 33 RBI on the season. Roy Halladay allowed one run in seven innings and struck out eight to move to 8-1 on the season. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Sunday...

Hitters:

It was going to good to be true for Rickie Weeks owners. Weeks is scheduled to see a specialist after injuring his left wrist after striking out in the first inning on Sunday. He will be seeing the same doctor that operated on his wrist back in 2006.

Ramon Santiago went 4 for 4 with three runs scored and four RBI, including his third home run of the year. Santiago has driven in eight runs in his last five games.

Curtis Granderson hit his 10th home run of the year and drove in three runs. It was Granderson's first home run since May 5th.

Johnny Damon hit a walk-off home run to give the New York Yankees a 3-2 win over the Minnesota Twins. Damon now has 10 home runs on the season and is hitting .324.

Nate McLouth went 3 for 5 with 4 RBI and collected his seventh home run of the season. He knocked in three runs in a 10-run seventh inning in two plate appearances.

Ben Francisco hit two home runs and drove in four runs. He is currently batting .248, with his average being suppressed by his .207 average against right-handed pitching.

Prince Fielder hit his ninth home run of the season and drove in three runs in the Milwaukee Brewers 8-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Ivan Rodriguez hit his fifth home run of the season and his 300th of his career. He currently sits seventh on the all-time list for home runs by a catcher.

Pitchers:

Clayton Kershaw had his no-hit bid broken up in the eighth inning by a Cody Ross double. Kershaw allowed one run in seven innings with nine strikeouts to gain his second win of the year.

Jake Peavy picked up a complete game victory, allowing one run with eight strikeouts against the Cincinnati Reds. Peavy has struck out eight or more in four consecutive starts.

Kevin Slowey allowed two runs in 7 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts in a no decision against the Yankees.

Scott Feldman tossed six shutout innings with three strikeouts, lowering his ERA to 4.04 on the year. He has now allowed three runs in his last 18 1/3 innings.

Matt Cain hurled six scoreless innings and struck out two to move to 4-1 on the season. He currently holds a 2.65 ERA, but he is going to have trouble maintaining that going forward if he cannot improve his control. He currently is fourth in the National League for most walks, with 25 in 51 innings.

Recent call up David Huff (Indians) was shelled in his major league debut, allowing seven runs in 3 2/3 innings. He allowed four walks and seven hits while recording two strikeouts.

Ross Detwiler was recalled from AA by the Washington Nationals and will start on Monday, replacing Scott Olsen who was placed on the disabled list.

Closers:

Brad Lidge pitching his fourth consecutive day picked up his seventh save of the year.

Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella confirmed that closer Kevin Gregg is still his closer, a day after Gregg allowed four runs without recording an out.

To get mre fantasy baseball news, go to http://fantasybaseballtools.com.

Fantasy Baseball Minor League Report - week 6

2009-05-16T20:30:00.000-07:00

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.

Get the Minor League Report

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Thursday

2009-05-14T23:01:00.000-07:00

by Todd Lammi

Milwaukee Brewers top prospect Mat Gamel was recalled from Triple-A, but don't rush to pick him up just yet. It looks Gamel was brought up strictly to serve as the designated hitter in upcoming interleague games and as a pinch hitter off the bench. He struck out as a pinch hitter in his only at bat Thursday night. In other fantasy baseball news from around the diamond on Thursday...

Hitters:

Recent call up Nolan Reimold went 1 for 5 for the Baltimore Orioles. Reimold started in left field and hit seventh. With Adam Jones and Luke Scott out with injuries, Reimold should see consistent at bats the next few weeks.

Aubrey Huff hit his seventh home run of the season and now is second on the team with 32 RBI, one behind Nick Markakis.

Prince Fielder hit home run number eight on the season. Fielder has now driven in 12 runs in his last eight games and is up to 32 RBI on the year.

Torii Hunter, trying to carry the Los Angeles Angels on offense with Vladimir Guerrero out, went 3 for 5 with 3 RBI and stole two bases.

The Cleveland Indians had an offensive outburst as three players had four hits in their 11-7 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Asdrubal Cabrera 4 for 5, four runs scored, Victor Martinez, 4 for 5 with 4 RBI and Shin-Soo Choo, 4 for 5 with 3 RBI and home run number four on the year.

David Wright went 3 for 3 with two RBI and stole four bases, bringing his season steal total up to nine.

David Ortiz, 0 for 7 with 12 runners left on base. Not a good sign for a power hitter when your on base percentage (.318) is higher than your slugging percentage (.300). With zero home runs midway through week 6, in 2009 his nickname has become "Big Floppy".

Pitchers:

Josh Johnson only made it through four innings for the Florida Marlins, before being removed with shoulder issues. Not a good sign for a guy who has had injury problems in the past, although Johnson said he expects to make his next start.

David Bush allowed two runs in seven innings and struck out seven to pick up his second win of the year. Bush has now tossed seven innings in three consecutive starts.

Chad Billingsley and Cole Hamels matched each other pitch for pitch for seven innings with neither pitcher factoring into the outcome. Billingsley allowed one run and struck out nine. Hamels allowed one earned run and also struck out nine.

Justin Verlander allowed two runs in 6 1/3 innings and struck out 13, but did not factor into the decision. He has now racked up double digit figures in strikeouts in three consecutive starts, but at the same time, those three starts have produced his highest pitch count totals of the season, at 121, 118, and 122 on Thursday.

Matt Harrison picked up a complete game win, allowing two runs and striking out seven. Harrison has now allowed two runs in his last 23 innings.

Ryan Dempster allowed two runs in seven innings with five strikeouts to move to 3-2 on the season. The difference in numbers for Dempster in 2009 has been an increase in both his walk rate and home run rate.

Wandy Rodriguez allowed two run sin seven innings and struck out 11 to pick up his 4th win of the season and lower his ERA to 1.90.

CC Sabathia allowed two runs in eight innings and struck out five., lowering his ERA to 3.70.

Eric Milton is expected to start in place of Jeff Weaver for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday. James McDonald was sent to Triple-A with Milton being recalled. Milton was 3-2 with a 2.83 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 35 innings. He last pitched in the major leagues in 2007, finishing with a 5.17 ERA in 31 1/3 innings.

Closers:

Brad Lidge allowed a run in the ninth inning and has now given up a run in five straight appearances.

Brandon Morrow blew a win for Felix Hernandez, surrendering home runs to Hank Blalock (10) and Chris Davis (10) in the bottom of the ninth inning. Morrow has now given up six runs in his last three appearances.

To get more fantasy baseball insight, go to http://fantasybaseballtools.com.

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Wednesday

2009-05-13T21:38:00.000-07:00

by Todd Lammi

Could we be seeing the return of the juiced ball? It is not too often you see multiple players breaking their career high in home runs a fifth of the way into the season, regardless of how low the bar is set. Such was the case Wednesday night, as Jason Bartlett has now matched his career high in home runs with 5 at game 33 on the season. Bartlett went 3 for 4 and is now hitting .369 on the year. Ryan Theriot hit two home runs giving him five on the season, two better than his career high. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Wednesday...

Hitters:

Victor Martinez went 3 for 4 and connected for his seventh home run of the season. Martinez is now hitting .385 on the year.

Fernando Tatis went 3 for 5 and drove in four runs on his second home run of the year. Tatis should see additional at bats at first base with Carlos Delgado out of the line up.

Nick Johnson went 4 for 5 and drove in two runs, boosting his batting average to .333. Knowing the injury risk he carries, it might be time to sell high on him. His career high for at bats in a season is 500 back in 2006.

James Loney erased the goose egg from the home run column, hitting a three-run shot off of Jamie Moyer. Loney went 3 for 5 with 4 RBI in the game.

Brian Roberts went 3 for 4 with two runs and two RBI coming on his 5th home run of the year. He also stole his fifth base of the season.

Rickie Weeks went 3 for 5 with three runs score and slugged his ninth home of the season.

Adrian Gonzalez hit two home runs and has now homered four time in the last three games.

The Houston Astros exploded for 24 hits and 15 runs against the Colorado Rockies. Lance Berkman went 4 for 4 with three runs, Miquel Tejada went 3 for 5 with 3 RBI and Geoff Blum knocked in five runs.

Chris Ianetta went 3 for 4 with five RBI and hit his seventh home run of the season.

Gerardo Parra was recalled from AA by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Parra started in centerfield and homered in his first at bat.

Nolan Reimold will be called up tomorrow by the Baltimore Orioles with Adam Jones and Luke Scott nursing injuries.

Pitchers:

Cliff Lee tossed seven shutout innings with nine strikeouts to pick up his second win of the season. Despite a 2-5 record, he sports a 3.00 ERA and has only allowed more than three runs in two starts this year.

Shairon Martis allowed one run in seven innings and struck out two to move to 5-0 on the season.

Randy Wolf allowed one run in six innings with eight strikeouts to pick up his second win of the year. Wolf is holding opposing batters to a .198 batting average so far on the year.

Ross Ohlendorf allowed one run in six innings with five strikeouts to pick up his fourth win of the year. Ohlendorf's whip ratio of 1.07 ranks 10th in the National League.

Closers:

Troy Percival saw his ERA balloon from 2.00 to 6.00 after allowing four runs in 1/3 of an inning.

For more fantasy baseball insight, go to http://fantasybaseballtools.com.

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Sunday

2009-05-10T22:58:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-09T13:32:00.000-07:00

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.

Go to the Minor League Report

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Wednesday

2009-05-06T22:05:00.000-07:00

by Todd Lammi

New York Mets starter Johan Santana hurled seven shutout innings with 10 strikeouts to pick up his fourth win of the season in a 1-0 shutout of the Philadelphia Phillies. Santana was dominant in his start, throwing 72% of his pitches for strikes. Jose Reyes added his seventh stolen base of the season for the Mets. Jon Niese is expected to get the start on Friday in place of Oliver Perez (15-day disabled list) for the Mets. Chan Ho Park kept his starting rotation spot for another week for the Phillies, allowing one hit in six scoreless innings with five strikeouts. In other fantasy baseball news from around the diamond on Wednesday...

National League:

The Colorado Rockies used three home runs to defeat the San Francisco Giants 11-1. Todd Helton (3), Matt Murton (1) and Yorvit Torrealba (2) all went deep for the Rockies. Ubaldo Jimenez went seven innings, allowing one run with six strikeouts to pick up the win.....The Milwaukee Brewers scored nine runs off of Cincinnati Red starter Bronson Arroyo in the first two innings, en route to a 15-3 win. Ryan Braun hit his sixth home run and had 6 RBI. J.J. Hardy added his fourth home run of the season and 3 RBI. Prince Fielder chipped in with his 5th home run of the season, off of shortstop turned mop up pitcher Paul Janish, in the ninth inning.....In his second game back from the disabled list, Garret Anderson drove in three runs to pace the Atlanta Braves to a 8-6 win over the Florida Marlins. Jordan Schafer went 0 for 4 with four strikeouts and is now hitting .227 on the season. Schafer has struck out 14 times in his last 19 at bats and although he has been drawing walks at a decent rate, striking out in 43% of his at bats is not going to cut it, especially for a guy who is not a home run / power hitter. Jorge Cantu hit his 8th home run of the season for the Marlins and drove in five runs. In attempts to get some additional offense, Cameron Maybin has been moved up to the second spot in the batting order and catcher John Baker has been dropped to the fifth slot.....Aramis Ramirez hit his fourth home run of the year and Reed Johnson drove in three runs to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 6-3 victory over the Houston Astros. Rich Harden allowed three runs in seven innings with four strikeouts to get his third win of the year. Lance Berkman hit home run number seven for the Astros, but his batting average still remains below the Mendoza Line at .194.....Albert Pujols, making his case early this season for the Triple Crown, blasted home run number 11 on the season to power the St. Louis Cardinals to a 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Pujols went 4 for 4 and is now hitting .364 on the year, and leads the National League in home runs, runs and RBI. Nyjer Morgan stole his seventh base of the season for the Pirates.... Justin Upton hit two home runs to propel the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 3-1 win over the San Diego Padres. Felipe Lopez added two stolen bases. Jon Garland tossed seven shutout innings with two strikeouts. Josh Whitesell was recalled from Triple-A and could split time at first base with Chad Tracy with Tony Clark going on the disabled list. Jake Peavy took the loss, allowing two runs in seven innings with 12 strikeouts.

American League:

Carlos Pena hit the game winning home run in the 10th inning to give the Tampa Bay Rays a 4-3 win over the New York Yankees. Carl Crawford (20), B.J. Upton (7) and Evan Longoria (2) all swiped based for the Rays. Mark Teixeira went 2 for 5 with 3 RBI for the Yankees.....Victor Martinez went 3 for 5 with 4 RBI, including his sixth home run of the season to help the Cleveland Indians score a 9-2 win over the Boston Red Sox. Mark DeRosa also hit his sixth home run and drove in two runs. Aaron Laffey, moved to the bullpen to make room for Jeremy Sowers in the rotation, picked up a three inning save.....Mark Teahan and Mike Jacobs each drove in three runs to lift the Kansas City Royals to a 9-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners. Billy Butler went 3 for 4 and has now raised his batting average 83 points in the last eight games. Sidney Ponson picked up the win, allowing one run in 7 1/3 innings.....Elvis Andrus hit his second home run of the season to help the Texas Rangers defeat the Oakland Athletics 3-2. Nelson Cruz stole his fourth base of the year. Jack Cust went 3 for 4 for the A's and is now batting .299.....The Baltimore Orioles defeated the Minnesota Twins 4-1, in a game that was called in the top of he 6th inning due to rain. Nick Markakis (5) and Luke Scott (4) each homered for the Orioles. The Twins demoted second basemen Alexi Casilla to Triple-A. Matt Tolbert got the start Wednesday night and went 0 for 3. Brendan Harris will likely see the majority of time at second base unless Tolbert can go on a hot streak.

For more fantasy baseball insight, check out the Daily Dirt.

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Tuesday

2009-05-05T20:23:00.000-07:00

by Todd Lammi

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

American League:

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

National League:

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

For more fantasy baseball insight, check out the Daily Dirt.

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Sunday

2009-05-03T17:28:00.000-07:00

by Todd Lammi

Matt LaPorta was recalled from Triple-A by the Cleveland Indians and will get a chance to play with Travis Hafner on the disabled list. LaPorta started in right field batting eighth on Sunday and went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Sunday...

Hitters:

Carl Crawford went 4 for 4 and stole six bases, giving him 17 steals on the season in 17 attempts.

Michael Bourn is having quite a bounce back season so far compared to his disappointing 2008 year. Bourn stole two bases on Sunday to give him eight for the season and his batting average is now up to .301.

Justin Upton is starting to heat up for the Arizona Diamondbacks now that he is getting regular playing time. Upton hit his fourth home run of the season on Sunday and has now hit four home runs in his last nine games. During that stretch, he has raised his batting average 78 points.

National League only players should look to grab Fernando Tatis who has been playing in place of Carlos Delgado, out with an injured hip. Delgado was supposed to return to action on Sunday after missing five games before it was rained out. With Delgado's injury expected to linger throughout the season, Tatis could be in line for some additional at bats.

Brandon Wood got his second start on Saturday since being recalled April 21, playing third base and batting eighth. Wood went 2 for 4, but it looks like the Los Angeles Angels are not going to commit to giving him a full season of at bats at any point in 2009. A trade would probably be the best for both parties at this time.

Kyle Blanks has started working in the outfield in Triple-A for the San Diego Padres. With Adrian Gonzalez blocking his way at first base, the Padres are looking at other alternatives to get Blanks' bat in the lineup.

Pitchers:

Chad Billingsley moved to a perfect 5-0 after allowing two runs in seven innings with eight strikeouts. Billingsley has now allowed two runs or fewer in five of his six starts this season.

Justin Verlander allowed one run in seven innings with 11 strikeouts. He continues to dominate at home, where he has now allowed two runs in 19 innings with 28 strikeouts.

Scott Richmond picked up win number four on the year, allowing two runs in seven innings with six strikeouts. Richmond has now become an option in mixed league formats with several consecutive good outings.

Johnny Cueto hurled eight shutout innings with nine strikeouts . Part of the reason for his improvement so far in 2009 is his reduction in home runs. After allowing 29 in 174 innings last season, he has only allowed two in 32 2/3 innings this season.

Carlos Zambrano left his start in the bottom of the fifth inning with a strained hamstring after attempting to beat out a throw on a bunt. Zambrano allowed two runs in five innings before leaving the game, but still managed to notch his third win of the year.

Barry Zito tossed seven scoreless innings with four strikeouts in a no decision. Zito has now allowed three runs in his last 20 1/3 innings.

Roy Oswalt let his start early on Saturday due to a rain delay after throwing only 17 pitches. Because of the short outing, Oswalt will return to the hill against the Washington Nationals on Tuesday.

Cole Hamels is still feeling soreness in his ankle and with Sunday's game rained out, it means his start will be pushed back to Friday.

Oliver Perez most likely made his last start for the New York Mets for awhile. After talk of accepting a possible demotion to the minors, Perez said Sunday he has been bothered by a sore knee and could be headed to the disabled list.

Jeff Weaver has taken over the 5th starter role for the Los Angeles Dodgers in place of James McDonald. Weaver will start on Tuesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Gio Gonzalez was recalled from Triple-A by the Oakland Athletics but will work out of the bullpen for the time being.

Closer:

Brandon Morrow was placed on the 15-day disabled list with bicep tendinitis. David Aardsma will replace Morrow as the Seattle Mariners closer for the time being. Hopefully if you had handcuffed Aardsma to Morrow as I mentioned in several previous articles, you fantasy baseball team should be covered.

George Sherrill may have lost his job as closer for the Baltimore Orioles after blowing his second save of the season. Manager Dave Trembley said for the time being, the decision on who will close could vary from day to day. Chris Ray has still been struggling so he is not the permanent answer quite yet either. Jim Johnson could also see a save opportunity as well.

LaTroy Hawkins picked up his third save of the year for the Houston Astros. With Jose Valverde out three to five weeks, Hawkins is a good pick up for saves.

Joakim Soria returned to action this weekend with back-to-back appearances that netted a win and a save so he should be safe to activate for next week.

To get more fantasy baseball insight, go to http://fantasybaseballtools.com.

Fantasy Baseball - The Secret Club

2009-05-01T20:51:00.000-07:00

by Todd Lammi

There is a secret club that has been forming in major league baseball. Not a lot of people know of its existence except for its members. If you have a member of this club on your fantasy baseball team, it could help explain why your team is low in the home run category. Much like the representing of the zip code was all the rage a few years ago, the new rage in 2009 is the 04 club. As in, hey David Ortiz, how many home runs do you have this season? I am 04 the season. Here is a look at the some of the members of the current club...

David Ortiz, zero home runs, 12 RBI, .220 average. Ortiz missed seven weeks last season with a wrist injury and has not looked like the same player since. Yes he did hit some home runs in September and in spring training, but with his build and age, the power could go quickly. It is funny to see his projected stats on ESPN, zero home runs and 85 RBI. Of course I don't expect him to end the season with zero home runs, but I think the expectation of him hitting 30-35+ should be tempered.

Bobby Abreu, zero home runs, 11 stolen bases (2 Friday night), .356 batting average. The steals are a nice surprise, he only had one last year through the month of April with three home runs. Now at age 35, the power expectation should be the mid teens.

Carl Crawford, zero home runs, 10 stolen bases, .284 batting average. The stolen bases were expected to rebound after he battled hamstring injuries last season. At the age of 27, some thought this was the year he was going to finally hit 20 home runs, but it does not appear that way. He had two home runs in the month of April last season.

James Loney, zero home runs, 16 RBI, .309 average. His numbers in 2007 with 15 home runs in 344 at bats set the wrong expectations for fantasy owners. The 13 home runs he hit last season were more in line with realistic expectations.It is tough to roster him at a power position like first base with his lack of power. He had two home runs in the month of April last season.

Adrian Beltre, zero home runs, 10 RBI, .213 batting average. Has gotten off to a slow start so far this season. Nothing out of the ordinary when checking his various stat lines compared to years past. He has had shoulder problems in past years and back in March had complained of a sore shoulder so that could be affecting him. He had five home runs a year ago at this time.

Miguel Tejada, zero home runs, 4 RBI, .304 average. He suffered a drop in power last season and it looks like it is not coming back. At age 34, it looks like his run as a power hitting middle infielder is over. Three of his four RBI he plated in one game. He had four home runs through April last season.

Jhonny Peralta was a member of the club until he hit his first home run Friday night. It was not for a lack of effort though, as he has went down on strikes 26 times in his 81 at bats this season. For more fantasy baseball insight, go to http://fantasybaseballtools.com.

Fantasy Baseball Minor League Report - week 4

2009-05-01T18:15:00.000-07:00

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.

Check out the Minor League Report

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Wednesday

2009-04-29T21:03:00.000-07:00

by Todd Lammi

Travis Hafner of the Cleveland Indians was placed on the 15-day disabled list with soreness in his right shoulder. There is a chance that rookie Matt LaPorta could be recalled for the weekend games if the Cleveland Indians decide they need a jolt of offense. In other news around the fantasy baseball diamond on Wednesday...

Hitters:

Torii Hunter hit his 8th home run of the season and is now hitting .329 on the year. With Vladimir Guerrero out of the lineup, Hunter has become the main RBI man for the Los Angeles Angels as he has driven in runs in 7 of his last 8 games.

Jorge Cantu hit his third home run in two nights giving him six long balls on the season with 18 RBI. Cantu currently leads the National League is slugging percentage at .741.

Carlos Quentin hit his 8th home run of the season and drove in two runs in a Chicago White Sox win. The home run was the first for Quentin in the last 10 days.

Adrian Gonzalez hit two home runs and drove in three runs in a San Diego Padres loss. Gonzalez is now hitting .329 on the season with 19 RBI. It will be interesting to see if the Padres fall out of the race if Gonzalez is moved at the trade deadline.

Nick Swisher is heating up again for the New York Yankees. Swisher hit two home runs and drove in four runs Wednesday. Swisher now has seven home runs on the season and 19 RBI.

Threes were wild for the Minnesota Twins as the top three hitters in their lineup knocked out three hits apiece; Denard Span, Brendan Harris and Justin Morneau. All three are batting over .300 on the season plus Jason Kubel.

Billy Butler went 4 for 5 with four runs scored and four RBI, including his first two home runs of the season.

The Oakland A's placed both Mark Ellis and Nomar Garciaparra on the disabled list. Eric Patterson was recalled from Triple-A to fill in.

Pitchers:

Zack Greinke's scoreless inning streak came to an end at 29 when he allowed a run in the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays. For the game, Greinke allowed two runs in seven innings with eight strikeouts.

Yvoni Gallardo tossed eight scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts and helped his cause by hitting a home run in a 1-0 win. Gallardo's whip ratio now stands at 0.87.

Johan Santana pitched seven innings, allowing two runs and seven strikeouts in a no decision. He was in line for the win before J.J. Putz allowed two runs in the 8th inning. Santana currently leads the NL in strikeouts with 44 on the year.

Doug Davis hurled seven scoreless innings with seven strikeouts to pick up his second win of the season. The control problems that have occurred the previous two seasons have not surfaced yet in 2009, leaving Davis with a current whip ratio of 1.18.

Joba Chamberlain picked up his first win of the season, allowing one run in seven innings with six strikeouts. His ERA stands at 3.13 but he has been less than dominant with a 13/17 walk to strikeout ratio.

It's a good thing Edison Volquez reads my website and decided to pick up his performance. Volquez allowed one hit in eight scoreless innings to go with six strikeouts.

Closers:

Carlos Villanueva picked up the save for the Milwaukee Brewers instead of Trevor Hoffman closing back to back games since he just returned from the disabled list.

Huston Street struck out the side in the ninth inning for his second save of the year in place of Manny Corpas who was getting a day off. With Corpas suffering losses in two of his last four appearances, the closer role could change hands once again.

Carlos Marmol returning after missing time with a sore knee did not look 100% in his outing Wednesday. Marmol walked 4 batters in a third of an inning. Of the 22 pitches he threw, only five were for strikes. Kevin Gregg also struggled in a mop up role, walking three and allowing a hit in the eight inning before he was pulled.

Ryan Franklin continues to roll, picking up his 5th save in the last nine days. Jason Motte continues to set up in the 8th inning so if Franklin ever needs a night off, Motte might get that chance.

Julian Tavarez picked up his first save of the year for the Washington Nationals. Kip Wells set him up with a scoreless eighth inning. It is nice to see the Nationals are trying to solve their bullpen woes, trading for Logan Kensing of the Florida Marlins and demoting Jason Bergmann to Triple-A. Kensing currently has a 9.82 ERA for Florida, while Bergmann's ERA was 3.60.

For more fantasy baseball news and analysis, go to http://fantasybaseballtools.com.

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Tuesday

2009-04-28T21:27:00.000-07:00

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.

For more fantasy baseball news and analysis, go to http://fantasybaseballtools.com.

Fantasy Baseball Pitchers - Buy / Sell Week 4

2009-04-27T21:15:00.000-07:00

by Todd Lammi

Now that we are several weeks into the fantasy baseball season and playing time and rotations have started to take shape, let's take a look at some of the pitchers to be targeting to either trade for (buy) or trade away (sell).

Buy:

Armando Galarraga - he is showing that last year was not a fluke, as he currently owns a 1.85 ERA and 1.23 whip ratio. His batting average against of .218 is similar to last season's number of .226 and he has allowed only one home run in 24 1/3 innings this season.

Kevin Slowey - he had two rough starts to begin the season, but has pitched great in his two starts since then, allowing three runs in 15 innings. This will be the cheapest you can get him for the remainder of the season.

Koji Uehara - had a slow start to the year, striking out zero in his first start and walking four in his second start, but since then he has held two of the better offenses in the Boston Red Sox and the Texas Rangers to two runs each. As he gets more acclimated to the American League, his numbers will continue to get better.

Scott Downs - His numbers were close to identical in 2007 and 2008 and the same story has continued in 2009. He is the current closer for the Toronto Blue Jays and should remain there even when B.J. Ryan returns from injury.

Sell:

CC Sabathia - it really should have been sell from the moment spring training started, as there was no possible way he could have duplicated what he did last year, pitching in the National League (no designated hitter) and driven by a new contract and the heat of the pennant race. He has had a problem with control early on, allowing 14 walks against 12 strikeouts.

Edison Volquez - he had command problems in spring training and it seems to have followed him into the regular season. Volquez has walked 20 in 20 1/3 innings so far this season, which has been a big contributor to his 6.20 ERA. He is still holding batters to a .228 average which is in line with his 2008 numbers.

Fausto Carmona - has not been the same pitcher since 2007, with a lack of control and a propensity for home runs in 2009. Carmona has already allowed five home runs in 22 innings this year compared to seven in 120 2/3 innings last season.

Ubaldo Jiminez - another pitcher having control issues so far this year. He said he had fixed a flaw in his delivery prior to his last start, but then walked four in four innings. He has allowed 17 walks in 19 innings this year, which puts him at a 2.11 whip ratio on the season.

Todd Wellemeyer - he has allowed 37 hits in a mere 22 innings this year, good for a .389 batting average against. Add in six walks and it puts his whip ratio at 1.95.

Aaron Cook - doesn't strike out enough hitters to control his own fate so he becomes at the mercy of the batted ball. So far things are not going his way, with 29 hits allowed in 18 1/3 innings, good for a .377 batting average against. Couple that with five home runs already in 18 1/3 innings and it is easy to see why his ERA is 8.35.

Aaron Laffey - he currently sports a.241 ERA but he is not that good. He has allowed 10 walks vs. 9 strikeouts and has fattened up on the Kansas City Royals twice and the Minnesota Twins.

Brett Myers - his name always seems to carry more weight than it should in rankings and trades because his stats are just not that great. He has allowed eight home runs on the season in only 25 2/3 innings.

To get all of the latest fantasy baseball news and analysis, go to http://fantasybaseballtools.com.

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Sunday

2009-04-26T17:14:00.001-07:00

by Todd Lammi

Here are some quick news and notes regarding injuries as you set your lineup today for the upcoming week. Closer Joakim Soria tested his sore shoulder on Sunday and the Kansas City Royals hope he will be available by mid week. If you own Juan Cruz, this would be the week to play him in attempts to pick up a save or two.....Keep an eye on the Seattle Mariners bullpen as closer Brandon Morrow has some shoulder stiffness. David Aardsma should be active for next week as he could see a save opportunity.....Shawn Hill of the San Diego Padres was placed on the 15-day disabled list with an inflamed elbow. Josh Greer will get the start in his place this week. Because Greer was used in relief of Hill on Saturday, Chad Gaudin could be recalled from Triple-A to start on Tuesday....Chicago White Sox second baseman Chris Getz could land on the disabled list with a fractured bone in his finger so keep him reserved for this upcoming week.....Stephen Drew of the Arizona Diamondbacks was placed on the 15-day DL with a strained hamstring. Augie Ojeda will fill in for Drew.....Milwaukee Brewers closer Trevor Hoffman was activated from the disabled list and should return to the closer role immediately so it should be safe to activate him for this week.....Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained finger. Ramon Vazquez should see time there along with recent call up Brian Bixler.....Shortstop Julio Lugo of the Boston Red Sox will be activated from the disabled list in time to play on Monday and should return to the starting lineup.....Phil Hughes will get the start on Tuesday for the New York Yankees in place of Chien-Ming Wang against the Detroit Tigers.....Although it does not impact games for next week, Diamondbacks starter Brandon Webb will miss at the minimum six more weeks of action worth a right shoulder strain.....In other fantasy baseball news from around the diamond on Sunday...

National League:

Shane Victorino went 2 for 5 with 4 RBI to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 13-2 win over the Florida Marlins. Jamie Moyer allowed one run in six innings with six strikeouts to pick up his third victory of the season.....Jay Bruce hit two home runs and drive in four runs to power the Cincinnati Reds to an 8-2 win over the Atlanta Braves. Joey Votto added two doubles and three RBI. Micah Owings allowed one run in seven innings with six strikeouts for his first victory of the season.....Rookie Jordan Zimmermann allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings with five strikeouts to help the Washington Nationals defeat the New York Mets 8-1. Jesus Flores hit his second home run of the season and drove in three runs. Austin Kearns added his third long ball of the year. Oliver Perez allowed seven runs in 4 1/3 innings for the Mets and his rotation spot may be in jeopardy.....Ivan Rodriguez hit a solo home run to give the Houston Astros a 3-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Manny Parra took the loss for Milwaukee and is now 0-3.....Rich Harden allowed two runs in six innings and struck out nine to pitch the Chicago Cubs past the St. Louis Cardinals 10-3. Kosuke Fukudome hit his fourth home run of the season and is now batting .371. Alfonso Soriano added his third stolen base of the year. Rick Ankiel and Yadier Molina each hit their second home run of the season for the Cardinals.....Ryan Spillborghs hit his first home run of the season and drove in three runs in the Colorado Rockies 10-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Clint Barmes added his third home run of the year for the Rockies. Clayton Kershaw was hit hard in his second consecutive start, allowing nine runs in 4 2/3 innings.....Adam LaRoche hit two home runs with 4 RBI to lift the Pittsburgh Pirates to an 8-3 victory over the San Diego Padres. Ross Ohlendorf allowed three runs in seven innings to pick up the victory. Jake Peavy had his second straight sub par performance for the Padres, allowing five runs in five innings. Adrian Gonzalez hit his seventh home run of the year for San Diego.....Matt Cain allowed one run in seven innings for the San Francisco Giants, but saw his win blown by closer Brian Wilson who allowed three runs in the ninth innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Pablo Sandoval went 4 for 4 with 3 RBI and his first home run of the year.Justin Upton hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning to send the game to extra frames for the D-Backs.

American League:

Aaron Laffey allowed two runs in 6 1/3 innings to pitch he Cleveland Indians past the Minnesota Twins 4-1. Carlos Gomez continues to disappoint for the Minnesota Twins, going 0 for 2 on Sunday, dropping his average to .195. Gomez has not stolen a base since he stole two back on April 11.....The top three hitters atop the Baltimore Orioles lineup remain on fire as they combined for 6 RBI in the Baltimore Orioles 8-5 defeat of the Texas Rangers. Brian Roberts (.372) hit his second home run of the season and Adam Jones (.348) added his third with 3 RBI. Nick Markakis (.389) added two RBI giving him 21 for the season. Chris Davis and Hank Blalock each hit home run number five for the Rangers.....Roy Halladay picked up his 4th win of the season in the Toronto Blue Jays 4-3 win over the Chicago White Sox. Halladay allowed three runs in seven innings with six strikeouts. Scott Downs picked up his second save of the season. Alexei Ramirez stole his third base of the year for the White Sox.....Armando Galarraga allowed one run in six innings with seven strikeouts in the Detroit Tigers 3-2 win over the Kansas City Royals. Brandon Inge hit his seventh home run of the season and Josh Anderson stole his sixth base of the year for the Tigers. Mike Aviles hit his first home run of the year for the Royals.....Jered Weaver hurled seven scoreless innings to lead the Los Angeles Angels to a 8-0 shutout of the Seattle Mariners. Howie Kendrick went 3 for 5 with 4 RBI and his second home run of the season and Juan Rivera added his first long ball of the year for the Angels. Dana Eveland allowed one run in five innings in the Oakland Athletics 7-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Catcher Kurt Suzuki drove in three runs for the A's. Andy Sonnanstine allowed seven runs in four innings for the Rays and could be in danger of losing his rotation spot once David Price is recalled from Triple-A.

For all of the latest fantasy baseball news and analysis, go to http://fantasybaseballtools.com.

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Saturday

2009-04-25T20:53:00.000-07:00

by Todd Lammi

The Detroit Tigers used three home runs to defeat the Kansas City Royals 9-1. Curtis Granderson hit his fourth home run of the week and sixth of the season to pace the offense. Magglio Ordonez added his first home run of the year, as did Gerald Laird. Josh Anderson stole his fifth base of the year for Tigers. Relief pitcher Joel Zumaya was activated from the disabled list and threw a scoreless innings for Detroit. Outfielder Jose Guillen was activated from the 15-day disabled list by the Royals. In other fantasy baseball news from around the diamond on Saturday...

American League:

Jason Giambi and Travis Buck each hit their first home run of the season to lift the Oakland Athletics over the Tampa Bay Rays 5-2. Dallas Braden allowed one run in 5 2/3 innings to pick up the win.....It was not a pretty day for your fantasy baseball staff if you had a starting pitcher in the New York Yankees - Boston Red Sox game. Both Josh Beckett and A.J. Burnett allowed eight earned runs in the Red Sox 16-11 victory. Jason Varitek and Mike Lowell each hit home run number four on the season for the Red Sox. Robinson Cano hit two home runs and drove in five runs for the Yankees.....Ian Kinsler hit two home runs and drove in three in the Texas Rangers 6-5 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Chris Davis chipped in with his fourth home run of the season. Ty Wigginton hit his first home run of the year for the Orioles.....Alexei Ramirez hit his first home run of the season and drove in five runs in the Chicago White Sox 10-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Jermaine Dye added his 5th home run of the year. Mark Buehrle picked up the win and is now 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA....Kevin Slowey allowed one run in eight innings with seven strikeouts to pick up his third win of the year in a 7-1 defeat of the Cleveland Indians. Jason Kubel hit two home runs for the Twins and Joe Crede hit his second home run of the season. Catcher Joe Mauer should be ready to return to action within the next 1-2 weeks. Victor Martinez went 3 for 4 for the Indians and is now hitting .405 on the season.

National League:

Yunel Escobar and Chipper Jones each hit home runs and drove in four runs apiece in the Atlanta Braves 10-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds. Derek Lowe picked up the win allowing two runs in seven innings with eight strikeouts. Braves catcher Brian McCann was placed on the 15-day disabled list with an eye infection....The New York Mets, aided by four unearned runs defeated the Washington Nationals 8-2. Carlos Beltran went 3 for 5 with his first stolen base of the year and is now batting .415. The Nationals have now allowed 12 unearned runs in 16 games this season.....Albert Pujols hit a grand slam and new 5th starter Mitchell Boggs tossed 5 2/3 shutout innings to power the St. Louis Cardinals to a 8-2 win over the Chicago Cubs. Cubs relief pitcher Carlos Marmol is expected to miss the next four to five days of action with a knee strain....The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Florida Marlins 6-4 in 10 innings. Leo Nunez was given the chance to close for the Marlins in the 9th inning, but allowed a run to send the game to extra frames. Matt Lindstrom was unavailable to close after throwing 38 pitches the previous night. Ryan Howard his his third home run of the year for the Phillies. Jorge Cantu (3) and Dan Uggla (4) each went deep for the Marlins. Chris Volstad allowed two runs in seven innings with six strikeouts for Florida.....Russell Martin drove in four runs in the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-5 win over the Colorado Rockies. Ramon Troncoso picked up the rare four inning save. Rafael Furcal swiped two bases for the Dodgers. Garrett Atkins hit his third home run of the year for the Rockies.....Prince Fielder hit two home runs and drove in three runs to lead the Milwaukee Brewers to a 9-8 win over the Houston Astros. Bill Hall added his second home run of the season and drove in four runs. Closer Trevor Hoffman is expected to be activated from the disabled list tomorrow for the Brewers. Carlos Lee hit his fifth home run of the season for the Astros.....The San Francisco Giants used two RBI from Randy Winn and Edgar Renteria to defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-3. Eric Byrnes (3) and Justin Upton (1) each hit home runs for the D-Backs.

For all of the latest fantasy baseball news and analysis, go to http://fantasybaseballtools.com.

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Friday

2009-04-24T21:55:00.000-07:00

by Todd Lammi

Fours and threes were wild in the National League on Friday night as three games ended in that exact score. Unfortunately for the Florida Marlins, closer Matt Lindstrom was wild as well, allowing four hits, three walks and seven runs in the ninth inning, in their 7-3 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. Shane Victorino hit a two-out grand slam to give the Phillies the lead in the ninth inning and Chase Utley tacked on an insurance run with his fifth home run of the year. The loss cost Marlins starter Josh Johnson a win. Johnson tossed seven scoreless innings while striking out eight Phillies. Dan Uggla hit his third home run of the year for the Fish. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Friday...

National League:

Adam Wainwright allowed one earned run in seven innings with six strikeouts, but got a no decision in the St. Louis Cardinals 4-3 win over the Chicago Cubs. Ryan Franklin picked up his fifth save of the season. Albert Pujols stole his third base of the year. Ryan Dempster allowed three runs in six innings with six strikeouts for the Cubs.....Javier Vazquez allowed one run in six innings with nine strikeouts to get his second win of the season in the Atlanta Braves 4-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds. Jeff Francoeur hit his second home run of the year. Braves outfielder Garret Anderson was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained quadriceps muscle. Brandon Jones was recalled from Triple-A. Edison Volquez had control issues for the Reds, walking seven in five innings and allowing three runs.....Johan Santana struck out 10 in six innings to pick up his third win of the year for the New York Mets in a 4-3 win over the Washington Nationals. Jesus Flores and Nick Johnson each hit their first home run of the year for the Nationals.....Yvoni Gallardo picked up a complete game 5-2 win at the expense of the Houston Astros. Gallardo struck out seven without walking a batter. Rickie Weeks hit his third home run of the year for Milwaukee. Carlos Lee hit home run number four for the Astros.....Tim Lincecum looks back on track after striking out 12 in eight innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Bengie Molina hit his third home run of the season and Edgar Renteria hit his second for the Giants.

American League:

Zack Greinke is making it look way too easy this season for the Kansas City Royals. Greinke ran his scoreless innings streak to 29 with a complete game 6-1 win over the Detroit Tigers. Greinke struck out 10 while allowing only three hits. Mark Teahen hit his second home run of the year for the Royals. Closer Joakim Soria will be shutdown over the weekend with a sore shoulder. Juan Cruz could see a save opportunity or two while Soria is out..... Nick Blackburn allowed one run in seven innings to pick up his first win of the season in the Minnesota Twins 5-1 win over the Cleveland Indians. Justin Mourneau hit his fourth home run of the year for the Twins.....Michael Young hit a two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning to lift the Texas Rangers to a 5-4 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Hank Blalock added his fourth home run of the season for the Rangers. Brian Roberts hit his first home run of the year for the Orioles.....The Toronto Blue Jays knocked out 21 hits en route to a 14-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Aaron Hill drove in three runs and Vernon Wells added two RBI. Brian Tallet hurled 5 2/3 scoreless innings to pick up the win.....Kevin Youkilis hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Boston Red Sox a 5-4 win over the New York Yankees. Jason Bay hit his fourth home run and Jacob Ellsbury stole his 7th base of the year for Boston. Injured shortstop Julio Lugo is expected to join the Red Sox next week assuming his games in Triple-A go well over the weekend. The Yankees placed Chien-Ming Wang on the disabled list. Look for Phil Hughes who I wrote about earlier this week to possibly be recalled to start in Wang's place next week.....Scott Kazmir threw six shutout innings for the Tampa Bay Rays in their win over the Oakland A's. Carlos Pena hit two home runs and drove in four runs.

To get more fantasy baseball news and analysis, go to http://fantasybaseballtools.com.

Fantasy "Aces" MIA

2009-04-24T14:53:00.000-07:00

Brandon Webb. CC Sabathia. Jake Peavy. Cole Hamels. What do these four names have in common? All are "ace" pitchers, probably taken within the first five rounds of your fantasy baseball draft. All are absolutely killing those teams. Add Francisco Liriano, Cliff Lee and even Tim Lincecum to the list and you have a new Murderers Row. ERA and WHIP Murderers that is. Of the top ten fantasy producers (according to Yahoo) so far this young season, seven are hitters (Ian Kinsler, Albert Pujols, Nick Markakis, Grady Sizemore, Aaron Hill, Matt Kemp and Kevin Youkilis), three are pitchers (Zack Greinke, Johan Santana and Chad Billingsley). A number of fantasy pundits eschew pitching in the earliest rounds of their drafts, preferring to stock up on the big hitters with steady and reliable production. They mine the later rounds for pitching diamonds-in-the-rough where the risk isn't as great but the rewards potentially substantial. So far that strategy has proven a sound one, as Webb, Sabathia, Hamels etc have struggled while later-round gems like Greinke (12th), John Danks (14th) and Erik Bedard (14th) have sparkled. And don't forget waiver-wire finds Kevin Millwood, Wandy Rodriguez, Ricky Romero and Jarrod Washburn, all of whom have out performed the so-called aces thus far. Meanwhile Hill is the only top ten hitter you could consider a genuine surprise. Of course when the dust settles, Millwood is highly unlikely to have more value than Sabathia or even Liriano and Lee, though his ultimate value relative to his draft position should be much higher. And that's the key to fantasy success: getting the most production for the price paid. Remember this when you're debating between Webb and Markakis, Peavy and Curtis Granderson next spring. For those owners currently suffering through the ownership of any of these struggling aces, resist the temptation to take thirty cents on the dollar for them. You won't get enough value in return given where you drafted them and most should supply better production going forward. Besides, it's future production that matters when making trades, not past. For those looking to buy low, know that all of these pitchers come with warning labels fully attached. Webb and Hamels are already battling injuries to their shoulders, while Sabathia and Lincecum bear the weight of expectations and massive inning totals. If Fantasy Tipster had to recommend any one to target it would be Peavy as he's coming off a sub-200 IP season, plays half his games in the pitching haven of Petco Park and his Padres are looking like they might have more wins in them than expected. But, as always when it comes to the rare creature called "ace," buyer beware.

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Thursday

2009-04-23T21:09:00.000-07:00

by Todd Lammi

Albert Pujols went 3 for 4 with two home runs and 3 RBI in the St. Louis Cardinals 12-8 victory over the New York Mets. Rick Ankiel added his first home run of the year for the Cardinals. Kyle Lohse picked up the win and is now 3-0 on the season, but he may miss his next start. Lohse is scheduled to have an MRI on his knee after injuring it while covering first base in the fifth inning. Carlos Beltran hit his second home run of the year for the Mets. In other fantasy baseball news from around the diamond on Thursday...

National League:

Chad Billingsley pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 2-0 win over the Houston Astros. Billingsley struck out five and lowered his ERA to 2.05 on the season. Wandy Rodriguez allowed one run in six innings in the loss for the Astros. Michael Bourn stole his third base of the year for Houston.....Milwaukee Brewers starter Dave Bush took a no-hitter into the eight inning before allowing a hit in a 6-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Ryan Braun hit his 4th home run of the season and is now batting .327. Phillies starter Cole Hamels left the game after getting hit in his pitching shoulder by a Prince Fielder line drive.....Joey Votto went 4 for 5 with his 3rd home run of the season in the Cincinnati Reds 7-1 win over the Chicago Cubs. Aaron Harang threw seven shutout innings to pick up the victory.

American League:

Grady Sizemore hit a three-run home run to give the Cleveland Indians a 5-2 win over the Kansas City Royals. Shin-Soo Choo picked up his third stolen base of the year. Gil Meche took the loss for the Royals, allowing three runs in 7 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts.....Felix Hernandez tossed seven shutout innings for the Seattle Mariners in a 1-0 defeat of the Tampa Bay Rays. Ichiro Suzuki stole his second base of the year. James Shields took the loss for the Rays, allowing one run in 7 1/3 innings with four strikeouts.....Adam Eaton allowed two runs in 7 1/3 innings with nine strikeouts (no, that is not a typo, he really struck out 9) in a 6-2 win over the Chicago White Sox....The Toronto Blue Jays hit three home runs in their 5-2 defeat of the Texas Rangers. Lyle Overbay (3), Vernon Wells (3) and Armando Rios (1) all went deep for the Blue Jays. Scott Richmond allowed two runs in six innings with eight strikeouts to get the "w". With B.J. Ryan on the 15-day disabled list, Scott Downs picked up his first save of the year. Downs will see the majority of save opportunities while Ryan is out of action according to manager Cito Gaston. Rookie Ricky Romero was also placed on the 15 day DL with a strained oblique muscle.

To get all of the latest free fantasy baseball news and analysis, go to http://fantasybaseballtools.com.

Fantasy Baseball Minor League Report - week 3

2009-04-22T20:33:00.000-07:00

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.

To get all of the latest minor league baseball news and analysis, go to http://fantasybaseballtools.com.

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Tuesday

2009-04-21T23:16:00.000-07:00

by Todd Lammi

Ryan Doumit of the Pittsburgh Pirates was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a fractured bone in his right wrist and will miss 8-10 weeks of action. Jason Jaramillo figures to see the majority of at bats as the new starting catcher. Robinzon Diaz was recalled from Triple-A and will serve as the backup.....Jed Lowrie of the Boston Red Sox underwent surgery on his left wrist and will be out six to eight weeks. Nick Green will continue to start until Julio Lugo returns from his injury....Good news for Xavier Nady owners as he will not need to undergo surgery on his right elbow. Instead he is expected to miss four to six weeks with a partial ligament tear. The downside is even when he comes back, he does not have a spot to play assuming Nick Swisher continues to hit like he has the early part of the season.....Ryan Freel of the Baltimore Orioles was placed on the 15-day disabled list after getting hit in the head on a pickoff throw Monday. He should be ready to return the first day he is eligible..... Joey Devine of the Oakland A's will miss the rest of the season after undergoing right elbow surgery. In other fantasy baseball happenings around the diamond on Tuesday...

National League:

Rick Ankiel went 3 for 5 and drove in the game winning run for the St. Louis Cardinals in their 6-4 win over the New York Mets. Ryan Franklin picked up his third save of the year. Manager Tony La Russa indicated that Mitchell Boggs would be replacing recent call up P.J. Walters as the 5th starter in the Cardinals rotation going forward. ....Adam Dunn hit his 4th home run of the year to help the Washington Nationals defeat the Atlanta Braves 4-3. After all of the bullpen moves by the Nationals on Sunday, Joel Hanrahan still received the save opportunity and converted it, despite allowing two base runners in the ninth inning......Pedro Feliz went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI and his first home run of the year in the Philadelphia Phillies 11-4 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Ryan Braun went 5 for 5 for the Brewers with two home runs.....Freddy Sanchez hit his second home run of the year to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a 3-2 win over the Florida Marlins. Jeff Karstens allowed one run in six innings with three strikeouts. Cameron Maybin hit his first home run of the season for the Marlins.....Rich Harden struck out eight in six innings and allowed two runs to pitch the Chicago Cubs past the Cincinnati Reds 7-2.Aramis Ramirez went 3 for 5 with 3 RBI to lead the Cubs on offense and has now driven in eight runs in his last three games. Jay Bruce hit his second home run of the season for the Reds.....Carlos Lee hit his third home run of the year for the Houston Astros in their 8-5 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Jose Valverde picked up his first save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning. Manny Ramirez hit home run number three on the season for the Dodgers.....Todd Helton went 3 for 5, including his first home run of the year in the Colorado Rockies 9-6 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Manny Corpas picked up his first save of the season for the Rockies. Rockies starter Franklin Morales left the game before the start of the third inning with a strained pitching shoulder. Mark Reynolds hit home run number four on the season for the D-Backs.....Matt Cain allowed two runs in six innings to lead the San Francisco Giants to a 8-3 victory over the San Diego Padres. Edgar Renteria hit his first home run of the season and drove in five runs.

American League:

Aubrey Huff hit two home runs and drove in four runs in the Baltimore Orioles 10-3 defeat of the Chicago White Sox. Nick Markakis went 4 for 4 for the Orioles and scored three runs. Alexei Ramirez stole his first base of the season for White Sox, but is still batting only .159 on the season.....Grady Sizemore and Victor Martinez each hit home run number five on the year to propel the Cleveland Indians to a 8-7 win over the Kansas City Royals. Aaron Laffey allowed one run in seven innings to pick up the victory. David DeJesus hit his second home run of the season for the Royals and drove in three runs.....Johnny Damon hit his second home run of the year for the New York Yankees and Andy Pettite allowed two runs in seven innings to lift the Yankees over the Oakland Athletics 5-3. Brett Gardner stole his fourth base of the year for the Yankees. Kurt Suzuki went 4 for 4 for the A's and is now hitting .327 on the season.....Ian Kinsler hit his 5th home run and Nelson Cruz his 6th to lead the Texas Rangers to a 5-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Aaron Hill continued his power surge for the Blue Jays hitting his 5th home run of the season. Roy Halladay took the loss for the Blue Jays allowing five runs in eight innings, while striking out nine.....Jarrod Washburn improved to 3-0 by hurling seven strong innings in the Seattle Mariners 4-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Washburn allowed two runs and struck out nine. Brandon Morrow picked up his fourth save of the season.....Torii Hunter hit his 5th home run of the season in the Los Angeles Angels 4-3 win over the Detroit Tigers. Jered Weaver, who did not factor into the decision for the Angels, allowed three runs in seven innings with six strikeouts. Brandon Wood was recalled from Triple-A but don't rush out to pick him yet. Manager Mike Sciosia stated that Wood could be sent back to Triple-A later in the week. If you currently own Wood in your fantasy baseball league, I would keep him reserved for now. Curtis Granderson hit two home runs for the Detroit Tigers. For more fantasy baseball news and analysis, go to http://fantasybaseballtools.com

The Replacements

2009-04-20T18:04:00.000-07:00

Remember the Keanu Reeves/Gene Hackman film where Reeves plays "scab" QB Shane Falco and leads a rag-tag group of replacement players to NFL glory? Yeah, me neither. But during every fantasy season a group of rag-tag waiver wire players replaces their more heralded colleagues, albeit not usually due to strike but instead to injuries and ineffectiveness. Shrewd owners always pay heed to "the guy behind the guy" and plan accordingly because no fantasy roster ever makes it through an entire season unscathed. This week's Fantasy Tipster Fly 5 looks at a some recent replacement players who could lead you to fantasy glory...Brooke Langton not included. 1. Brandon Wood, SS/3B (LAA) - Vladimir Guerrero tore his right pectoral muscle and is expected to miss a minimum of a month's game action, leaving a gaping hole in both the Angels' and a number of virtual lineups. While Gary Matthews Jr. is the most immediate beneficiary, it's the powerful Wood that could ultimately make the most impact. He excelled in Spring Training (.333/4HR/13RBI) and has continued to mash at AAA. He's still a work in progress (his '08 43K:4BB ratio is as ugly as it gets) but the Angels needed power even before Guerrero went down and Wood is more than capable of supplying it. 2. Felipe Paulino, SP (HOU) - After Roy Oswalt and Wandy Rodriguez, Houston's rotation bears some resemblance to the assorted stock boys and security guards dotting the fictional Sentinals' roster. Two of those misfits, Brandon Backe and Brian Moehler are out of commission, giving Paulino, arguably the 'Stros best pitching prospect, a chance to show his stuff. He dazzled in his first start against the Reds (6IP/3H/2BB/6K) and could stick with a few more such efforts. Baseball America rated Paulino's fastball the best in the Houston farm system as recently as 2007, so he's definitely worth keeping tabs on to see if that skill can translate to big league success. 3. Justin Masterson, SP/RP (BOS) - With Daisuke Matsuzaka out indefinitely with inflammation in his pitching shoulder and erstwhile prospect Clay Buchholtz coping with a hamstring injury of his own, Masterson steps into the Red Sox rotation. While undoubtedly one of Boston's top prospects, let's not forget most of his success last season came in the bullpen. He was solid if unspectacular in nine starts last season where control problems limited his effectiveness. Given the likely short-term nature of Matsuzaka's injury and the plethora of options available should Masterson falter, don't view him as more than a short-term plug-and-play for favorable match-ups. Of course if you're in a keeper league, now's the time to hope for some immediate returns on your investment in addition to the potential for long-term success. 4. P.J. Walters, SP (STL) - Chris Carpenter's Comeback Player of the Year candidacy is on hold for at least a couple of months as he recovers from a torn oblique muscle. Walters is the Cardinals' first candidate to keep Carpenter's place warm and, while he only made it through four innings in his first start, he showed he has some quality stuff in striking out seven while walking just two. In fact, stuff hasn't been Walters problem as he's averaging close to a K per IP throughout his minor league career. But last season at the AAA level his control eluded him as he posted an unsightly 1.52 WHIP due mostly to 62BB in just 122IP. Prior to '08, however, Walters displayed solid control (4K:1B ratio) and, if he can harness it at the big league level, he stands to collect a few wins with a solid Cardinals club. And if he does show some success as Carpenter's replacement, he could even ultimately take the below-average Joel Pineiro's rotation spot for the long run. 5a. Manny Corpas, RP (COL)/5b. Ryan Franklin, RP (STL)/5c. Garrett Mock, RP (WAS)/5d. Joe Beimel, RP (WAS) - A number of relievers have already been booted from "Survivor: Closer Island." Thanks to their early season struggles, Huston Street, Jason Motte, Joel Hanrahan have already been voted off the island, with Corpas, Franklin, Mock and Beimel ascending to their vacated places. But if there's one thing predictable about saves it's that who gets them is nearly unpredictable. Carlos Marmol already has twice the saves of the Cubs' "closer" Kevin Gregg. David Aardsma, Jason Grilli and Todd Coffey have combined for more saves than Jose Valverde, Kerry Wood and Brian Fuentes. The point? Don't be afraid to take a flyer on a newly promoted closer...but keep the deposed closer on speed dial. He might wind up being the replacement for his replacement.

Fantasy Baseball - Closer Report week two

2009-04-19T21:35:00.000-07:00

by Todd Lammi

With two weeks now in the books in major league baseball, lets review some of the bullpen situations from a fantasy baseball perspective.

Washington Nationals:

Current closer Joel Hanrahan could be out of a job after blowing consecutive saves against the Florida Marlins on Friday and Saturday. Saul Rivera got the chance to close on Sunday and he blew that as well. Rivera was sent to Triple-A after the game. Garret Mock has been recalled from Triple-A and could see a save opportunity, although he had a 17.18 ERA in the minors so far this year. Joe Beimel could also see save chances as he has been the one decent reliever so far this year in the Nationals bullpen. A dark horse candidate is Jason Bergmann who was also recalled from Triple-A on Sunday.

Colorado Rockies:

Two days after being named closer by manager Clint Hurdle, Manny Corpas pitching in the 7th inning in the blowout loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday allowed two runs in one inning, bumping his ERA up to 6.75. Recently replaced closer Huston Street has not been any better, currently sports a 9.64 ERA. In a perfect world, Street would have been the closer until July and then traded with Corpas taking over. Taylor Buchholz might have been an option but is still on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained right elbow. Jason Grilli could be next in line in Corpas fails to deliver when presented with a save opportunity.

Chicago Cubs:

Carlos Marmol - 1.35 ERA, got the save on Friday night and was rewarded by being brought into the game in the 7th inning on Saturday.

Kevin Gregg - 6.00 ERA, has not had a save since opening day, but is still the closer according to manager Lou Piniella.

Talent eventually will win out over stubbornness I have to believe in this case, but until Gregg blows a save or two, it looks like he is still the man.

St. Louis Cardinals:

Without doubt, the main closer is now Ryan Franklin. Manager Tony La Russa is trying to work Jason Motte into situations to be successful to get his confidence built back up. Recently recalled Chris Perez from Triple-A gives them another option in the bullpen, but for now, Franklin should see the majority of save opportunities.

Milwaukee Brewers:

Carlos Villanueva has not been the answer with a 9.00 ERA. Injured closer Trevor Hoffman is scheduled to pitch Tuesday night in Triple-A and again on Friday and if all goes well, he will be recalled the following week. Todd Coffey and Villanueva will battle for the eight inning role once Hoffman returns.

Baltimore Orioles:

George Sherrill remains the closer, but he has to keep on eye on Chris Ray. Sherrill has been getting saves, but his ERA and whip ratio make him less than an ideal closer to own. Ray has strung together three good outings in a row after two initial poor performances. Ray has struck out seven in his last 3 1/3 innings. Ray has not pitched on back-to-back days yet this season so when he does eventually take back the closer role, Sherrill will still see save chances.

Seattle Mariners:

Brandon Morrow has been perfect in his four appearances since blowing his first save. If you own Morrow, handcuff David Aardsma to him. If you don't own Morrow, Aardsma could get you 5-10 saves the remainder of the season.

To get more fantasy baseball news and analysis, go to http://fantasybaseballtools.com

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Sunday

2009-04-19T19:25:00.000-07:00

by Todd Lammi

Ian Kinsler continues to justify his first round status from fantasy baseball drafts, hitting his 4th home run and steal his 5th and 6th bases of the season in the Texas Rangers 6-5 victory over the Kansas City Royals. Michael Young chipped in with his 3rd home run and second stole base of the year. Kyle Davies of the Royals did not factor in the decision, allowing three runs in six innings with eight strikeouts. Davies should be a consideration in mixed league formats with 21 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings and a 2.89 ERA. In other fantasy baseball news from around the diamond on Sunday...

American League:

The New York Yankees rallied for three runs in both the 7th and 8th inning to defeat the Cleveland Indians 7-3. Jorge Posada hit his 3rd home run of the season for the Yankees. Shin-Soo Choo hit home run number three for the Indians. It is going to be tough for Kerry Wood of the Indians to get saves this year if the key relievers in front of him continue to struggle. All three relievers that entered the game after starter Carl Pavano currently have an ERA over six.....Ricky Romero of the Toronto Blue Jays held the Oakland A's scoreless for seven innings and struck out six in a 1-0 victory. Dallas Braden allowed one run for the Athletics in seven innings and now sports a 2.79 ERA. It is going to be hard to get wins if you own Oakland starting pitchers. The A's are last or next to last in multiple offensive categories. Currently they are last in home runs, batting average, slugging percentage and second last in runs scored and RBI.....Jon Lester of the Boston Red Sox picked up his first win of the season, pitching seven shutout innings with nine strikeouts to give the Red Sox a 2-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Koji Uehara allowed two runs in seven innings with five strikeouts in the loss.....Carlos Quentin homered in his third consecutive game to lead the Chicago White Sox to a 12-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Jim Thome added his third home run for the White Sox. Gavin Floyd allowed two runs in seven innings with seven strikeouts. B.J. Upton stole his third base of the year for the Rays.....Glen Perkins allowed one run in eight innings with four k's to pitch the Minnesota Twins past the Los Angeles Angels 3-1. Bobby Abreu stole a base for his fourth consecutive game, giving him seven on the season for the Angels.....Rookie Rick Porcello pitched seven strong innings, allowing one run in the Detroit Tigers 8-2 win over the Seattle Mariners. Shortstop Ramon Santiago continued his big week for the Tigers, driving in five runs. Santiago has been filling in for Adam Everett and should continue to start while he is hot at the plate.

National League:

The Florida Marlins rallied in the ninth inning for four runs off of Saul Rivera in a 7-4 win over the Washington Nationals. Cody Ross hit his 3rd home run of the season and drove in five runs, including the winning three runs in the ninth inning on a double.....Raul Ibanez hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the Philadelphia Phillies a 5-4 win over the San Diego Padres. Chase Utley hit his 4th home run and Jimmy Rollins his first, in a pinch hit appearance. Fantasy baseball owners have to hope that the home run by Rollins gets him going on a hot streak. Josh Greer starting in place of Walter Silva, who was placed on the 15-day DL with a strained forearm, tossed seven scoreless innings with four strikeouts. Adrian Gonzalez hit his 5th home run for the Padres.....Javier Vazquez pitched six shutout innings with eight strikeouts in the Atlanta Braves 11-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Chipper Jones returned to the lineup for the Braves and went 1 for 3.....Edison Volquez picked up his first win of the season for the Cincinnati Reds in a 4-2 win over the Houston Astros. Felipe Paulino starting in place of the injured Brian Moehler hurled six scoreless innings with six strikeouts.....Randy Johnson allowed one hit in seven shutout innings to give the San Francisco Giants a 2-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Max Scherzer allowed one run in five innings for the D-Backs with six strikeouts. Until Scherzer is able to command the strike zone better, he is a five to six inning pitcher at best at this point.....Matt Kemp hit two home runs and drove in five runs in the Los Angeles Dodgers 14-2 thumping of the Colorado Rockies. Orlando Hudson went 3 for 4 and drove in three runs.

For more fantasy baseball news and analysis, go to http://fantasybaseballtools.com

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Saturday

2009-04-18T21:27:00.000-07:00

by Todd Lammi

Zack Greinke extended his scoreless inning streak to 20, as he threw a complete game shutout against the Texas Rangers, striking out 10 batters, in a 2-0 victory. Greinke has now struck out 26 in only 20 innings on the season. Kevin Millwood got the loss, as he also threw a complete game with three strikeouts. His one mistake was a two-run home run given up to Miguel Olivo in the seventh inning. Rangers top pitching prospect Derek Holland was recalled from Triple-A and will initially pitch out of the bullpen. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Saturday...

American League:

The Cleveland Indians set a major league record, scoring 14 runs in the second innings, as they pounded the New York Yankees 22-4. The Indians hit six home runs, led by Grady Sizemore (4), Victor Martinez (4) and Travis Hafner (4). Chien-Ming Wang had another poor outing for the Yankees, allowing eight runs in 1 1/3 innings. Wang's ERA now stands at 34.50, after giving up run totals of 7,8 and 8 in his three starts..... Carlos Quentin hit his 6th home run and Paul Konerko his 3rd as the Chicago White Sox defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 8-3. The control problems that Rays starter Scott Kazmir had at the end of last season resurfaced today, as he walked six in four innings. Carl Crawford stole base number four for the Rays.....Kevin Youkilis hit his 3rd home run of the season and drove in four runs in a 6-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Shortstop Jed Lowrie on the 15-day DL with is headed to Arizona to get a second opinion on his sprained left wrist, as it may require surgery.....Jason Kubel continues to rake for the Minnesota Twins, going 4 for 5 with 2 RBI in a 9-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels. Kevin Slowey allowed two runs in seven innings with five strikeouts to pick up the win. Bobby Abreu stole base number six and Chone Figgins base number seven for the Angels.....Edwin Jackson tossed 7 2/3 shutout innings with six strikeouts to lead the Detroit Tigers over the Seattle Mariners 2-0. Fernando Rodney picked up his 3rd save of the year. Erik Bedard had a strong outing for the Mariners, allowing two runs in six innings with eight strikeouts. ....Lyle Overbay hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the 12th inning to give the Toronto Blue Jays a 4-2 win over the Oakland Athletics. Rookie starter Trevor Cahill for the A's has a 2.60 ERA, and is holding batters to a .197 average, but his lack of control is holding him back from pitching deeper into ballgames. Cahill currently has a 13/5 walk to strikeout ratio.

National League:

Ian Snell threw seven shutout innings to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates over the Atlanta Braves 10-0. Outfielder Craig Monroe hit two home runs and drove in six runs for the Pirates. One thing to keep in mind when projecting fantasy baseball stats is the change in position coaches. New pitching coach Joe Kerrigan seems to have a done a good job early on of making improvements in multiple Pirate pitchers. Heading into Saturday's games, the Pirates led the major leagues in ERA. Jo-Jo Reyes did not fare well in his first start for the Braves, allowing five runs in 5 2/3 innings. Chipper Jones missed his 4th straight game with a bruised thumb.....Jeremy Hermida was a one man show for the Florida Marlins, vaulting the Marlins past the Washington Nationals in extra innings 9-6. Hermida hit a two-run home run off closer Joel Hanrahan in the ninth inning to tie the game at 6-6 and then hit a three-run home run in the 11th inning for the win. Austin Kearns hit a grand slam for the Nationals.....Johan Santana threw seven shutout innings with seven strikeouts to pitch the New York Mets past the Milwaukee Brewers 1-0. Yvoni Gallardo of the Brewers matched him pitch for pitch, tossing six shutout innings with seven strikeouts.....Aramis Ramirez hit a two-run home run in the 11th inning to lead the Chicago Cubs over the St. Louis Cardinals 7-5. Any questions about either bullpen seemed to be answered in this game. Carlos Marmol who had been unscored upon this season, pitched the seventh inning with Kevin Gregg throwing innings 8 and 9. For the Cardinals, Jason Motte pitched inning 7, Ryan Franklin innings 8-9 and Chris Perez inning 10.....The Los Angeles Dodgers got two home runs each from Manny Ramirez and Andre Ethier to defeat the Colorado Rockies 9-5. Chad Billingsley moved to 3-0 on the season with six strikeouts in six innings. Those of you in NL only fantasy baseball leagues looking for relief pitchers with good numbers should check out Ronald Belisario of the Dodgers. Belisario has allowed one run in 8 2/3 innings with 12 strikeouts.....San Francisco Giants starter Tim Lincecum flashed his 2008 form, throwing eight shutout innings with 13 strikeouts against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Doug Davis of the D-Backs matched him with eight scoreless innings and six strikeouts. Outfielder Chris Young won the game for Arizona in the 9th inning with a two-run double.....Wandy Rodriguez threw seven shutout innings with 10 strikeouts to pace the Houston Astros to a 7-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. Michael Bourn and Hunter Pence each stole their second base of the season for the Astros.....Kevin Kouzmanoff hit a tie-breaking three-run home run off of closer Brad Lidge in the 9th inning to power the San Diego Padres past the Philadelphia Phillies 8-5. Adrian Gonzalez hit his 4th home run for the Padres. Raul Ibanez (4), Ryan Howard (2) and Chase Utley (3) all went deep for the Phillies.

For all of the latest fantasy baseball news and analysis, head to http://fantasybaseballtools.com.

Fantasy Baseball - The Daily Dirt for Friday

2009-04-18T01:30:00.000-07:00

by Todd Lammi

The New York Yankees hit five home runs in their first win at home in their new stadium as they defeated the Cleveland Indians 6-5. Derek Jeter his his 3rd home run of the year in the eighth inning for the go ahead run. Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira both hit their first home run of the year for the Yankees. Mark DeRosa hit his second home run of the season for the Indians. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Friday.....

American League:

Jason Kubel hit for the cycle and drove in five runs to power the Minnesota Twins past the Texas Rangers 11-9. For the Angels, Bobby Abreu stole base number five and Chone Figgins base number six. Vladimir Guerrero was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a torn pectoral muscle and will likely miss six to eight weeks of action.....The Oakland Athletics scored an 8-5 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. The A's scored eight run without the help of any long balls. On the season, the A's have hit only three home runs in 10 games. Bobby Crosby drove in three runs and Ryan Sweeney stole his second base of the year. Marco Scutaro and Aaron Hill each hit their 4th home runs of the season for the Blue Jays.....Jason Bay and J.D. Drew each hit home run number three on the year to propel the Boston Red Sox past the Baltimore Orioles 10-8. For those fantasy baseball owners that like to rotate pitchers with two starts in a week, Justin Masterson will get the start on Monday in place of Daisuke Matsuzaka. Nick Markakis hit his second home of the season for the Orioles and had 5 RBI.....Carlos Pena hit his 6th home run of the year to lead the Tampa Bay Rays over the Chicago White Sox 6-5. Jason Bartlett stole his 5th base of the year for the Rays. Carlos Quentin (5) and Jermaine Dye (4) each went deep for the White Sox.....The Kansas City Royals used three home runs to pound the Texas Rangers 12-3. Mark Teahen now starting at third base in place of the injured Alex Gordon (out 10-12 weeks) went for 5 for 6 with his first home run of the season. Mike Jacobs hit his 3rd home run and drove in four runs. Gil Meche threw six shutout innings with six strikeouts. Hank Blalock hit home run number three for the Rangers.....Felix Hernandez threw six strong innings to push the Seattle Mariners over the Detroit Tigers 6-3. Hernandez allowed three runs and struck out six. Miguel Cabrera had three hits for the Tigers and is now hitting .513 on the season.

National League:

The Chicago Cubs defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 8-7, keyed by Alfonso Soriano's 5th home run in the 8th inning. Aramis Ramirez went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI. Carlos Marmol got the save for the Cubs. Ryan Ludwick hit two home runs for the St. Louis Cardinals giving him five total for the season. Brian Barden hit his third home run. Chris Perez got the loss, surrendering Soriano's two-run home run in the 8th. Ryan Franklin seems to be the best fantasy baseball choice at the moment for saves with Perez and Jason Motte failing to perform in the bullpen. P.J. Walters starting in place of the injured Chris Carpenter allowed three runs in four innings and struck out seven.....Another day, another win for the Florida Marlins, as they rallied to defeat the Washington Nationals 3-2 in 10 innings. Cody Ross homered off of Joel Hanrahan in the ninth inning to send the game to extra frames. Leo Nunez got the win and looks to have established himself as the main set up man for the Marlins. If you own closer Matt Lindstrom, you should have Nunez as his handcuff. John Lannan had a solid start for Washington, going 6/13 innings, allowing one run with eight strikeouts. Christian Guzman was placed on the 15-day disabled list after the game by the Nationals. Alberto Gonzalez has been filling in for Guzman in his absence. Alex Cintron has been recalled from Triple-A.....The San Diego Padres used three home runs to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 8-7. Scott Hairston hit his second of the season and drove in four runs. Chase Utley hit his second of the year for the Phillies and Shane Victorino stole two bases. Cole Hamel allowed five runs in six innings and surrendered all three of the Padres home runs.....Paul Maholm threw seven shutout innings to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates past the Atlanta Braves 3-0. Nate McLouth hit his 3rd home run of the year. Jair Jurrjens had a good start for Atlanta, throwing 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run with seven strikeouts. Jo-Jo Reyes gets the start for Atlanta Saturday in place of the injured Tom Glavine.....Gary Sheffield hit career home run number 500 in the New York Mets 5-4 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Mets starter Mike Pelfrey is expected to miss his start on Sunday with forearm tendinitis. Ryan Braun hit his first home run of the season for Milwaukee.....Ramon Hernandez hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning off of closer Jose Valverde as the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Houston Astros 2-1. The home run spoiled a good start by Astros starter Roy Oswalt who threw six shutout innings with four strikeouts. The Astros said after the game Felipe Paulino will be recalled to start Saturday.....Although he did not factor in the decision, Randy Wolf struck out nine in six innings in the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies. Orlando Hudson stole his 4th base of the year for the Dodgers. Brad Hawpe hit his first home run of the season for the Rockies. Catcher Chris Iannetta continues to struggle for the Rockies as he is now 1 for 21 on the season. The Rockies named Manny Corpas as new closer in place of Huston Street....Jonathan Sanchez threw 6 2/3 shutout innings as the San Francisco Giants beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 2-0. Dan Haren was the tough luck loser for Arizona as he fell to 0-3 on the season, despite an ERA of 1.89. Stephen Drew left the game in the 5th inning for the D-Backs with tightness in his hamstring and is considered day to day.

For all of the latest fantasy baseball news and analysis, go to http://fantasybaseballtools.com.

Fantasy Baseball - The Daily Dirt for Thursday

2009-04-16T20:04:00.000-07:00

by Todd Lammi

The injury bug continues to strike down players in Major League Baseball as several more players will be out of action for awhile. Kansas City Royals third basemen Alex Gordon will miss potentially two plus months after he undergoes hip surgery on Friday. Vladimir Guerrero of the Los Angeles Angels will be out of action with a strained pectoral muscle. Guerrero will meet with doctors upon returning to Los Angeles to determine a time frame for his return. Catcher Kenji Johjima of the Seattle Mariners was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained hamstring. Yunel Escobar of the Atlanta Braves will miss 3 to 4 games with a strained abdominal muscle. In other fantasy baseball news from around the diamond on Thursday...

National League:

Anibal Sanchez pitched the Florida Marlins past the Atlanta Braves 6-2. Sanchez allowed two runs in six innings. Cody Ross hit his first home run for the Marlins. Emilio Bonifacio struck out three times in five at bats and has now struck out seven times in his last 11 at bats. Jordan Schafer of the Atlanta Braves went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts and has now struck out 10 times in his last 15 at bats.....Hunter Pence hit his third home run for the Houston Astros and Lance Berkman his second in a 6-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. LaTroy Hawkins got the save, pitching in place of Jose Valverde who was out with back soreness.....Chris Duncan and Brian Barden each hit their second home runs of the year to give the St. Louis Cardinals a 7-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Ryan Franklin picked up his second save of the year. Sean Marshall got his first start of the year for the Cubs, allowing three runs in five innings. Kosuke Fukudome hit his third home run for the Cubs and Ryan Theriot stole his third base of the season.....Break out the bubbly, the Washington Nationals picked up their first win of the year, 8-2 over the Philadelphia Phillies. Adam Dunn hit his third home run for the Nationals and Elijah Dukes his second. Jimmy Rollins went 0 for 3 for the Phillies and is now hitting .111.....Chase Headley went 4 for 4 for the San Diego Padres with 3 RBI to help defeat the New York Mets 6-5. Heath Bell picked up his 5th save of the year for the Padres. Carlos Delgado hit his third home run for the Mets.

American League:

The Cleveland Indians spoiled the New York Yankees home opener in their new stadium with a 10-2 win. Grady Sizemore and Victor Martinez each hit their third home run for the Indians. Cliff Lee got the win, allowing one run in six innings..... John Danks tossed six innings of one run ball with eight strikeouts to help lead the Chicago White Sox to a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Jermaine Dye hit his third home run for the White Sox. The Rays continue to run wild on the bases as Jason Bartlett stole two bases and Akinori Iwamura and Carl Crawford each stole one. Carlos Pena hit his 5th home run of the season.....Toronto Blue Jays starter Roy Halladay became the first to three wins in a victory over the Minnesota Twins. Halladay tossed seven innings of one run ball with eight strikeouts. Marco Scutaro hit his third home run for the Blue Jays. Francisco Liriano was much better in his third start of the season allowing one run in six innings with five strikeouts.

To get more fantasy baseball news and analysis, head to http://fantasybaseballtools.com.

Fantasy Baseball - The Daily Dirt for Wednesday

2009-04-15T21:20:00.000-07:00

by Todd Lammi

Injury updates:

Ichiro Suzuki returned from the disabled list for the Seattle Mariners. Melvin Mora of the Baltimore Orioles was placed on the 15-day DL with a hamstring injury. Daisuke Matsuzaka of the Boston Red Sox was placed on the disabled list with arm fatigue. New York Yankees outfielder Xavier Nady is headed to the disabled list with a right elbow injury that could require Tommy John surgery. In other news around the diamond on Wednesday...

American League:

Scott Baker's return to the Minnesota Twins from the DL did not go well, as he allowed six runs in four innings. On the other side, if you are looking for somebody to root for, Scott Richmond got the win for the Toronto Blue Jays. It was just two years ago that Richmond was pitching in the independent league for the Edmonton Cracker Cats. Aaron Hill hit his 3rd home run for the Blue Jays and Vernon Wells and Scott Rolen each hit their second.....Armando Galarraga threw 6 1/3 shutout innings with five strikeouts as the Detroit Tigers blanked the Chicago White Sox 9-0. Miguel Cabrera hit his fourth home run and also stole a base.....Aaron Laffey got the win for the Cleveland Indians, starting in place of the injured Scott Lewis. Kerry Wood picked up his first save of the season.....Tim Wakefield of the Boston Red Sox allowed two runs in a complete game win over the Oakland Athletics. Mike Lowell and J. D Drew each hit their second home run for the Red Sox. Rookie Brett Anderson of the A's threw a solid seven innings, allowing two runs with five strikeouts.....Robinson Cano hit his second home run of the season to lift the New York Yankees over the Tampa Bay Rays. Andy Pettite allowed three runs in 7 1/3 innings pitched.....The Texas Rangers pounded out 19 hits in a 19-6 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Ian Kinsler had a dream day at the plate for the Rangers going 6 for 6 with 4 RBI and a stolen base. Marlon Byrd went 5 for 6 and outfielder Nelson Cruz drove in 6 RBI.

National League:

Jason Marquis allowed one run in seven innings as the Colorado Rockies defeated the Chicago Cubs 5-2. Jason Grilli got the save for the Rockies, after replacing closer Huston Street in the ninth inning. Street allowed a home run to Derek Lee and then put two more runners on base before being relieved. Catcher Geovany Soto returned to action for the Cubs.....Ryan Ludwick hit his third home run of the season for the St. Louis Cardinals. Chris Duncan went 3 for 4 and Yadier Molina went 3 for 3. Chris Perez returned from AAA and threw two shutout innings.....The Florida Marlins defeated the Atlanta Braves 10-4, as four players had two hits each. Cameron Maybin went 0 for 3 for the Marlins with three strikeouts. On the year, Maybin is hitting .214 with 12 strikeouts in 28 at bats. As long as the Marlins keep winning and he plays defense, he might be able to hold the position, but at some point the team is going to need to get some offense from him. Chipper Jones of the Braves re-aggravated his bruised thumb and missed the game and will likely sit out tomorrow as well.....Mike Hampton pitched six shutout innings with eight strikeouts as the Houston Astros defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-1.....Oliver Perez allowed one run in six innings to lead the New York Mets past the San Diego Padres 7-2. Jose Reyes stole his second base of the season for the Mets and Carlos Delgado hit his second home run of the year. Gary Sheffield got his first start as a Met and went 0 for 2. Scott Hairston stole his second base for the Padres.....Mike Cameron hit two home runs to power the Milwaukee Brewers past the Cincinnati Reds 9-3. Rickie Weeks hit his second home run. Shortstop Alex Gonzalez of the Reds picked up his first hit of the season and is now 1 for 19 on the year. Clayton Kershaw struck out 13 in seven innings for the Los Angeles Dodgers, while allowing only one hit.

For more fantasy baseball insight and analysis, go to http://fantasybaseballtools.com.

Hotties and Notties

2009-04-15T11:58:00.000-07:00

Just about every major league player has hot & cold streaks. When they're hot, hitters think about chasing Pete Rose or Joe DiMaggio...while pitchers have Nolan Ryan and Cy Young in their lofty sights. When they're cold, hitters worry the Mendoza Line will be renamed for them...and pitchers see visions of John Van Benschoten dancing in their heads. If those hot & cold streaks happen at the start of a season, however, they're put under more microscopes than Lindsay Lohan's career. Fantasy baseball owners with itchy trigger fingers are watching live gamecasts ready to click the add/drop button with every 0-fer. Before we dive into the Fantasy Tipster's first Hotties and Notties of 2009, remember that everything is uber-magnified at this time of the year. Remember, Dustin Pedroia started his career 6 for 38 (.158 BA)...and finished as the 2007 Rookie of the Year (not to mention the 2008 AL MVP). Is there a Pedroia lurking in our Notties? Let's find out... The Hotties Emilio Bonifacio (2B/3B) FL - There may be no more a polarizing player this season than Bonifacio. Some view his start and think he's the second coming of Luis Castillo, circa 1999. Others look at the peripherals and are simply waiting for the inevitable Tuffy Rhodes flameout. Unfortunately, a close look at his minor league track record suggests that fantasy baseball owners may want enjoy this while it lasts. Bonifacio's numbers suggests a career more in line with Britney Spears (hot start then crash and burn) than Christina Aguilera (hot start, steady production). The one thing Castillo (and others of his ilk...see: Lofton, Kenny and Pierre, Juan) had that Bonifacio does not is plate discipline. During Castillo's breakout season, and through his most productive seasons, he drew nearly as many walks as strikeouts and never whiffed more than 90 times in a season. Bonifacio has K'd over twice as often has he's walked in the minors and the 41 K/14 BB line he posted with the Nationals last year suggests his average is bound to fall back to earth. Hard. That doesn't mean he can't be productive, Willy Taveras stole 68 bases last season while hitting .251 and posting a 79/36 K-to-BB rate. Just don't expect miracles and if you're the "sell high" type, sell sell sell. Nick Swisher (1B/OF) NYY - A former 1st round pick who'd played in at least 150 games for the past three straight seasons, Swisher found himself in an unfamiliar spot to open 2009: his butt planted squarely on the Yankee pine. But thanks to early injuries to Mark Teixeira, Xavier Nady and Hideki Matsui, Swisher has quickly become a fixture in the starting lineup, even batting cleanup in yesterday's victory over Tampa Bay. Swisher is just 28 years old, has always exhibited solid plate discipline and hits lefties and righties with equal authority. Maybe all he needed was some motivation to finally deliver on all that potential. He'll never hit .300, but 25 HR and 90 RBI are very much in reach if he can continue to find regular playing time. The Notties Jimmy Rollins (SS) PHI - How bad has Rollins been? In Yahoo's ranking system, he's ranked 1105th. Alex Rodriguez is ranked 959th and hasn't played a game yet. In other words, you'd have been better off leaving your SS spot empty than starting Rollins. Ouch. Still, it's hardly time to panic. While the power he flashed in 2006-07 is looking more and more like a Brady Anderson out-of-body experience, Rollins peripherals actually suggest he's only improving. In 2008 he walked more than he K'd for the first time in his career. He also swiped a career high 47 bases and was caught just three times. Now if you drafted Rollins looking for a 20-20 or 30-30 player, you'll probably be disappointed. But despite the slow start, there's no reason to think Rollins won't end up with 15 HR and 40+ SB when all is said and done. If you don't own him, see if you can pry him loose from a panicked owner. Lasting Milledge (OF) WAS - Anybody else feeling a little deja vu all over again? For all Milledge's obvious talents, the Nationals, like the Mets before them, have grown weary of his poor defense, poor plate discipline (10/1 K-to-BB ratio) and poor attitude (missing meetings, late arrivals to the ballpark). Washington has more than enough options to fill out it's outfield in Milledge's absence (Elijah Dukes, Austin Kearns, Adam Dunn & Josh Willingham) so don't expect Milledge back in the big leagues barring injury, Dukes implosion or a serious attitude adjustment. Of course, players of his talent always find jobs so if you have room to stash him on your bench do so, but until he figures out that being a big leaguer means more than just having talent, he'll never deliver you or the Nationals to a championship.

Fantasy Baseball - The Daily Dirt for Tuesday

2009-04-14T20:32:00.000-07:00

by Todd Lammi

It looks like it may be coming to an end of an era for some Atlanta Braves fans that grew up watching the likes of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz a top the rotation. Maddux retired in the off season and John Smoltz left for the Boston Red Sox, but Tom Glavine decided to take a trip down memory lane and returned for one more season with the Braves. Unfortunately for Glavine, that season may now be in jeopardy. Glavine has been shelved for two weeks after inflammation was found in his rotator cuff. Glavine had left Sunday's minor league start in AA after two innings with soreness in his shoulder. He made it sound like he is willing to give it a few weeks to heal, but not much more than that. Jo-Jo Reyes will replace Glavine in the rotation and start at Pittsburgh on Saturday.

Josh Beckett of the Boston Red Sox was suspended six-games after head hunting Bobby Abreu of the Los Angeles Angels last week. Beckett appealed the decision which means he should still be able to make his start this Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles.

Outfielder Lastings Milledge of the Washington Nationals was demoted to the minor leagues, opening up center field for Elijah Dukes. Look for Josh Willingham and Austin Kearns to split time in right field.

Jesse Litsch of the Toronto Blue Jays was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained forearm. It looks like he will miss more than 15 days as the current plan is for Litsch to go without throwing for two weeks. Relief pitcher Brian Tallet will get temporarily moved into the rotation to fill Litsch's spot, and gets the start Saturday against the Oakland Athletics.

Shortstop Jed Lowrie of the Boston Red Sox was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a sore left wrist on Monday. Nick Green should see the majority of starts at shortstop until either Lowrie or Julio Lugo return to action.

It looks like one and done for James McDonald as the 5th starter for the Los Angeles Dodgers. McDonald has been replaced in the rotation by recent call up Eric Stults.

In other news around the diamond on Tuesday...

American League: Nick Swisher continues to be on fire for the New York Yankees, hitting his fourth home run of the season. Yankee outfielder Xavier Nady left the game in the seventh inning with pain in his right elbow. Pitchers A.J Burnett and Matt Garza of the Tampa Bay Rays matched performances with two runs allowed and nine strikeouts.....In the battle of unheralded lefties, rookie Ricky Romero of the Toronto Blue Jays and Glen Perkins of the Minnesota Twins each allowed two runs over eight innings.....John Buck hit two home runs and drove in five runs for the Kansas City Royals.....Nelson Cruz hit his 4th home run for the Texas Rangers and Chris Davis hit his second. Luke Scott hit his second home run of the year for the Baltimore Orioles.

National League: Chris Volstad of the Florida Marlins got his second win of the year, allowing one run in seven innings. Javier Vazquez of the Atlanta Braves took the loss, but struck out 12 in six innings. Kelly Johnson hit his 3rd home run of the year for the Braves.....Willy Taveras stole two bases for the Cincinnati Reds, giving him three on the season.....Chris Carpenter of the St. Louis Cardinals left his start before the beginning of the fourth inning with a strained ribcage. Max Scherzer made his season debut for the Arizona Diamondbacks and allowed three runs in five innings.

To get all of the latest fantasy baseball news and insight, go to http://fantasybaseballtools.com.

Fantasy Baseball - The Daily Dirt for Saturday

2009-04-11T22:08:00.000-07:00

by Todd Lammi

It was a tale of two closers in Milwaukee as the Chicago Cubs defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 6-5 behind Alfonso Soriano's two-run home run off closer Carlos Villanueva in the top of the ninth inning. Carlos Marmol closed the door for the Cubs in the bottom of the ninth for his first save of the season. Cubs Manager Lou Piniella said Kevin Gregg remains the closer and would get the save attempt tomorrow if there was one. In another news around the diamond on Saturday...

National League:

Kenshin Kawakami had a successful debut for the Atlanta Braves striking out eight in six innings. Kelly Johnson hit his second home run of the season for the Braves. Jordan Schafer had three hits and is now hitting .421 on the season.....Nyjer Morgan had two stolen bases for the Pittsburgh Pirates and now has three for the year. Paul Maholm was solid again in his second start and has allowed only one earned run in back to back starts. Johnny Cueto allowed four runs in six innings for the Cincinnati Reds, but struck out nine batters. Pittsburgh starter Jeff Karstens will have his start pushed back to Thursday due to the rainout to keep the top four starters on schedule.....Albert Pujols had two home run and 7 RBI for the St. Louis Cardinals to make a winner out of Adam Wainwright. Wainwright threw five shutout innings, but was pulled due to a high pitch count. Joe Thurston got the start at third base and went 3 for 4. Jason Motte threw a scoreless inning for the Cardinals in the sixth inning. It looks like the Cardinals are trying to build up his confidence so expect someone else in the bullpen to get the next save opportunity....Livan Hernandez won his first start with the New York Mets giving up two runs in 6.2 innings. Jose Reyes hit his first home run of the season. Emilio Bonifacio had three more hits for the Florida Marlins and is now hitting .583.....Chris Coste got the start at catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies in their 8-4 win over the Colorado Rockies, after Carlos Ruiz was placed on the disabled list with an oblique injury. Rookie Lou Marson was recalled from AAA and will serve as the backup. Troy Tulowitzki hit his third home run of the season for the Rockies.....Recently recalled Eric Stults, in place of the injured Hiroki Kuroda, pitched the Los Angeles Dodgers past the Arizona Diamondbacks, allowing one run in 5.1 innings while striking out five. Yusmeiro Petit had a solid first start for the D-Backs striking out six in five innings of work.....Jake Peavy struck out 10 in 8.1 innings to help the San Diego Padres defeat the San Francisco Giants. Heath Bell picked up his third save of the year. Catcher Henry Blanco hit two home runs for San Diego.

American League:

The Toronto Blue Jays held on to defeat the Cleveland Indians 5-4 after B.J. Ryan was rescued in the ninth inning by Jason Frasor to preserve the win. After Mark DeRosa of the Indians hit a three-run double off of Ryan in the ninth inning, Ryan was replaced by Frasor who struck out Victor Martinez to snuff out the Cleveland rally. Cliff Lee struggled again for the Indians in his second start and has now allowed 17 hits in two starts. For comparison purposes, Lee allowed only 19 hits through his first five starts last season. Starting pitcher Scott Lewis was placed on the 15-day disabled list by the Indians with a sore elbow.....Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers struck out eight in five innings to defeat the Texas Rangers. Fernando Rodney struck out the side in the ninth inning to earn his first save of the season. Hank Blalock hit his second home run of the year for the Rangers.....Bartolo Colon pitched six scoreless inning for the Chicago White Sox in an 8-0 blanking of the Minnesota Twins. Carlos Quentin hit his second home run of the year for the White Sox. For the Twins, Carlos Gomez stole his first two bases of the season.....Brad Ziegler could not close the door on the Seattle Mariners as the M's scored five time in the final two innings to beat the Oakland Athletics 8-5. Russell Branyan hit his second home of the season for the Mariners. Jack Cust hit Oakland's first home run of the season.....Jason Bay hit two home runs for the Boston Red Sox in their 5-4 win over the Los Angeles Angels. Catcher Mike Napoli hit two home runs for the Angels. Jacob Ellsbury stole his third base of the year for the Red Sox. Jed Lowrie might be feeling the pressure to perform as the starting shortstop for the Red Sox with Julio Lugo out from from injury. Lowrie is hitting only .056 and has eight strikeouts in 18 at bats.....Jeremy Guthrie got his second win of the season for the Baltimore Orioles, throwing six shutout innings against the Tamp Bay Rays. Melvin Mora hit a grand slam to provide the offensive support.....CC Sabathia got his first win as a New York Yankee with 7.2 shut out innings against the Kansas City Royals. Nick Swisher hit his second home run and now has 9 RBI for the year. Billy Butler went 0 for 4 for the Royals with three strikeouts and is hitting .059 this year with a total of seven whiffs in 17 at bats.

To get the latest fantasy baseball news and analysis, go to http://fantasybaseballtools.com

Fantasy Baseball - The Daily Dirt from Friday

2009-04-10T23:00:00.000-07:00

by Todd Lammi

Philadelphia Phillies starter Cole Hamels was pounded by the Colorado Rockies on Friday for seven earned runs. Hamels, who had his start pushed back due to elbow trouble in spring training, struggled with his control and his velocity. Manager Charlie Manuel suggested that Hamels could possibly miss his next start. Dexter Fowler stole his first base of the season for the Colorado Rockies. In other news around the diamond on Friday...

National League:

Jason Motte of the St. Louis Cardinals struggled again when given the opportunity for the save, allowing two hits before being replaced by Kyle McClellan. In AAA, Chris Perez threw two scoreless innings. Kevin Gregg blew a save for the Chicago Cubs, costing Rich Harden a win. Harden struck out 10 batters in six innings. Cubs manager Lou Piniella said catcher Geovany Soto should be ready to play in a few days. Matt Lindstrom blew a save for the Florida Marlins, but was bailed out when Jorge Cantu singled in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning. John Maine and Anibal Sanchez both turned in good starts for the New York Mets and Marlins respectively.....James McDonald struggled in his first start for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Matt Kemp stole his first base of the season. Hiroki Kuroda was placed on the disabled list with a mild oblique strain. Eric Stults has been recalled from the minors and will start against the Arizona Diamondbacks tomorrow. D-Backs starter Brandon Webb is scheduled to make his next start on Friday, April 17th assuming the MRI that was taken does not show anything of significance.....Chipper Jones returned to the lineup for the Atlanta Braves. Braves starting pitcher Derek Lowe was removed in the fourth inning after a two hour rain delay.....Scott Hairston hit his first home run for the San Diego Padres as he continues to see playing time against left-handed starters. Emanuel Burriss got his first stolen base of the season for the San Francisco Giants.

American League:

Miguel Cabrera hit his third home run of the season for the Detroit Tigers and drove in six runs, giving him 10 RBI on the season already. Armando Galarraga turned in a nice performance on the mound for the Tigers, striking out eight in seven innings of work. Nelson Cruz hit his third home run for the Texas Rangers.....Adam Lind hit his third home run for the Toronto Blue Jays, giving him 11 RBI on the year. Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner both went yard for the Cleveland Indians as they each continue to show home run power that was missing in 2008.....Andy Pettitte got a win in his first start of the season for the New York Yankees, striking out six in seven innings. Jose Guillen of the Kansas City Royals was placed on the disabled list with a torn groin muscle. This move puts Alberto Callaspo into the starting lineup at second base, but also pushes back the eligibility time frame of Mark Teahan who now moves from second base back to the outfield.....The Baltimore Orioles defeated the Tampa Rays for the first time in their last 13 meetings, despite two home runs from Evan Longoria who now has four long balls on the young season. Outfielder B.J. Upton is expected to return from the disabled list on Monday for the Rays.....Joe Crede returned to U.S. Cellular Field, this time in a Minnesota Twins uniform, and hit a home run to propel the Twins over the Chicago White Sox. Twins starter Scott Baker, on the disabled list with stiffness in his right shoulder, had a successful minor league start in Class A, giving up one run in seven innings.....Jered Weaver had a good first start for the Los Angeles Angels, striking out eight in six and two-thirds innings. Bobby Abreau stole base number two and Chone Figgins base number three on the year for the Angels.....Rookie Brett Anderson had on average start for the Oakland As, giving up five earned runs in six innings of work. David Aardsma got a two inning save for the Seattle Mariners.

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Fantasy Baseball - The Daily Dirt from Thursday

2009-04-09T21:41:00.000-07:00

by Todd Lammi

One thing to keep an eye on for fantasy baseball owners playing in an National League only league where you lose a player if he is traded. The Milwaukee Brewers staff is pretty bad outside of Yovani Gallardo. One transaction the Brewers made late in spring was to claim first basemen Joe Koshansky and send him to AAA. With Brad Nelson already on the roster, I think Milwaukee is preparing themselves early for the possibility of dealing Prince Fielder later this year. In other fantasy baseball happenings around the diamond on Thursday...

National League:

NL only league players in deeper leagues should look to put in a free agent claim on Darnell McDonald of the Cincinnati Reds. McDonald looks to be the man against left-handed pitching in left field for the Reds. McDonald got his second start of the season on Thursday. Joey Votto continues to rake, hitting his second home run of the season. He is justifying his high draft status early on this year.....Chris Carpenter turned in a gem for the St. Louis Cardinals. He seems to be back to his form from 2006 but beware the injury risk still lingers going forward. Dennis Reyes got the save for the Cardinals as the Pittsburgh Pirates had lefties Nate McLouth and Ryan Doumit up to bat in the ninth inning, so don't rush to grab Reyes from the waiver wire assuming that he is the new closer.Ramon Vazquez got another start at third base for the Pirates over Andy LaRoche.....All the speed the Los Angeles Dodgers have and Orlando Hudson leads the team with three stolen bases? Hudson's previous high was 10 in 2007. So far so good for Heath Bell of the San Diego Padres, now 2 for 2 in saves. Jody Gerut sat the bench again for the Padres with a lefty on the mound for the Dodgers.....Matt Cain got a win in his first start of the year for the San Francisco Giants. I think the Giants are the sleeper team in the National League West. Their offense does not look intimidating on paper but they seem to have a bunch of professional hitters that will put runs together this season.

American League:

In a battle of rookie starters, Ricky Romero of the Toronto Blue Jays outpitched Rick Porcello of the Detroit Tigers. Adam Lind hit his second home run of the season for the Blue Jays. He should be good for 20-25 home runs this season and out of the 5th spot in the lineup should be able to drive in 90+ runs.....Brandon Morrow of the Seattle Mariners was much better in his second save attempt shutting the door on the Minnesota Twins. Even though Glen Perkins got the loss, I like him in AL only leagues as a back half of a fantasy baseball rotation.....Lots of firsts for the New York Yankees on Thursday. First win in the new uniform for A.J. Burnett, first home run of the season for Mark Teixeira and first stolen base of the season for Brett Gardner.....Evan Longoria hit his second home run of the season for the Tampa Bay Rays. I had said in an earlier post that I expect him to battle David Wright and A-Rod for the first third basemen chosen in fantasy basbeall drafts next season. Jason Varitek hit his second home run for the Red Sox. He will provide a little bit of power from the catcher position for your fantasy team but be prepared to offset his low batting average.....Good starts from both Kyle Davies and John Danks in the Kansas City - Chicago game. Coco Crisp sent the Royals home a winner with his home run off of Bobby Jenks in the ninth inning. Alex Gordon stole his first base of the season for the Royals.....Andruw Jones got his first start of the season for the Texas Rangers and they decide to hit him cleanup? Mmmm, just saying, if a guy is good enough to hit cleanup when he plays, either he should be playing more or the manager is hitting him in the wrong spot in the lineup.

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Fantasy Baseball - The Daily Dirt from Wednesday

2009-04-09T11:21:00.000-07:00

by Todd Lammi

Very sad news today in the world of sports today as Los Angeles Angels rookie starting pitcher Nick Adenhart was killed in a car accident Thursday morning. Adenhart, 22, was the starting pitcher against the Oakland Athletics last night and had thrown six shutout innings.

In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Wednesday...

American League:

Derek Jeter went yard for the New York Yankees who are still looking for their first win of the season. Koji Uehara was solid in his first start for the Baltimore Orioles, but where are the strikeouts?....Zach Miner got the win for the Detroit Tigers thanks in part to Brandon Inge, who hit his third home run of the season. Did I mention that he hits better as an infielder? Miguel Cabrera hit two home runs for the Tigers. I expect a monster season from Cabrera this season as he should league the American League in rbi.....Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria both went deep for the Tampa Bay Rays. Nice to see Rocco Baldeill make it back, as he started in right field for the Boston Red Sox.....Fausto Carmona, err, not a good start with the Cleveland Indians. Nelson Cruz for the Texas Rangers hit two home runs and stole a base. Elvis Andrus even chipped in with a home run; that is pure gravy if you own him....Kevin Slowey got the win for the Minnesota Twins, although his line was not that pretty. Denard Span has put his awful spring behind him and is off to a good start in week one, slugging his first home run of the season.....Zack Greinke looked sharp for the Kansas City Royals as did Gavin Floyd for the Chicago White Sox. Note on Gavin Floyd, his strikeouts were up in spring training and in his first start, this may be the season he kicks up his strikeout rate up a notch.

National League:

The Florida Marlins continued to roll. Emilio Bonifacio stole his fourth base of the season. Chris Volstad struck out 7 in 5 innings of work. Closer Matt Lindstrom looked shaky, loading the bases with one out before getting out of the jam. Elijah Dukes got his first start of the year in center field over Lastings Milledge for the Washington Nationals.....If you had game three in the Chipper Jones injury pool, you are a winner as Chipper sat with a bruised left thumb. Jordan Schafer hit his second home run of the season. Don't get too excited thinking he is going to hit 30+ home runs, his career high in the minor leagues was 10. Dexter Fowler got the start in center field for the Colorado Rockies and hit his first home run in the major leagues. Manager Clint Hurdle said Fowler will see time against left-handed pitching and some right handers so I see Fowler getting 300-350 at bats.....New year, different result for Edison Volquez as he struggled against the New York Mets. I see some downside to Volquez who had a stellar year last year. Downside as in not likely to repeat last year's numbers because they were just too good. There is always some regression to the mean.....Alfonso Soriano stole his frst base of the year for the Chicago Cubs. Jeff Keppinger got the start at 3b for the Houston Astros. He is a good free agent pickup in NL only leagues as he should see time against left-handed starters. How bad is the Astros staff that Russ Ortiz is on it?....David Freese got the start at 3b for the St. Louis Cardinals as manager Tony La Russa tries to set a major league record for having a different starting third basemen for every game of the season. Zach Duke who had a respectable spring for the Pittsburgh Pirates had a good first start.....Rule 5 pick Everth Cabrera got the start at shortstop for the San Diego Padres. I like Cabrera in NL only leagues as he has a chance to steal 15-20 bases this season in a reserve role. The best reliever in the National League (sorry K-Rod) Jonathan Broxton got his second save of the season for the Los Angeles Dodgers.....Yovani Gallardo (love him!) got the first win of the year for the Milwaukee Brewers. Gallardo should be good for close to 200 strikeouts this season health permitting.

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Fantasy Baseball - The Daily Dirt from Tuesday

2009-04-08T17:22:00.000-07:00

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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Saves and Supermodels

2009-04-08T11:10:00.000-07:00

In fantasy baseball, top closers are like supermodels. They're rare, they're expensive and they make otherwise rational men do things they'll deny to friends later. "I didn't draft Jonathan Papelbon in the third round. No, really, what kind of man do you take me for?" Usually much beer drinking ensues. Now if Tom Brady's marriage to Giselle doesn't work out, since he's already rich and talented beyond mortal standards, it's easy for him to pick himself up, dust himself off and go hang out at the Playboy Mansion looking for a rebound. But if Papelbon, Rivera or K-Rod leave you at the alter, don't expect Hef to be handing you the keys to his mansion. You'll have to hit the waiver wire and scrounge for saves like the rest of us mortals trying to decide if Manny Corpas or Huston Street looks like a bridesmaid (setup man) or a bride (closer). Oh sure, you could pledge allegiance to the single life, trolling the bars (waiver wire) for a one-night stand. Or worse, you could become a saves monk, punting the category and making a vow of saves celibacy. But you'll never find a supermodel that way…and you probably won't win a lot of fantasy baseball championships either. Don't despair. Here are five names to remember as we enter this week's Fantasy Tipster Fly 5: Salomon Torres, Jon Rauch, Ryan Franklin, Jonathan Broxton and Jensen Lewis. All entered 2008 as no more than bridesmaids to Eric Gagne, Chad Cordero, Jason Isringhausen, Takashi Saito and Joe Borowski. All ended it with double-digit save totals. Broxton, in fact, may be a borderline marriage prospect going into 2009. Who can be your Broxton or your Franklin this season? Here are five current bridesmaids you might consider proposing marriage to before the season is out, in order of marriage worthiness: 1. Jensen Lewis (CLE) – If Kerry Wood were a supermodel, he'd be Kate Moss: in and out of rehab but productive when healthy. The health issue (sore back) has already reared its ugly head this spring, making Lewis a must-have for Wood owners. He converted 13 of 14 save chances as 2008 came to a close, so don't be afraid to nab Lewis if Wood reverts to his injury prone ways. 2. Ryan Perry (DET) – The Tigers bullpen is a complete mess, the equivalent of "America's Next Top Model" if all of the contestants were culled from the ranks of those who failed to make it on the "The Swan." Fernando Rodney has been announced as the closer going into the season, but Brandon Lyon and Joel Zumaya lurk as unappetizing alternatives. Perry, the Tigers first round selection in 2008, has the stuff, but he's just 22 years old with 13 innings of professional experience. Still, unless Willie Hernandez comes out of retirement, he may well be the Tigers most appealing option come summer. 3. Jerry Blevins/Santiago Casilla (OAK) – With Joey Devine en route to visit Dr. James Andrews, sidewinder Brad Ziegler has the closer duties to himself. But it's his deception, not his stuff, which gets major league hitters out. If the A's find Ziegler can't repeat his magic, Blevins and Casilla, profile as more classic closer types with their strikeout abilities. Casilla has already been mentioned as a potential Ziegler sidekick, but Blevins has the better control. 4. Juan Cruz (KC) – Cruz spent most of the winter like Paris Hilton. He had nearly every team interested in his services, but no firm commitments because of the price tag. Eventually the Royals coughed up the cash and the draft pick to sign him and he's likely to set up for super closer Joakim Soria. While Soria is secure in his role, Cruz's stuff (12.37 strikeouts per nine innings in 2008) makes him, along with the Cubs' Carlos Marmol, the best of the setup men "one heartbeat away" from top dog. 5. Todd Coffey/Jorge Julio (MIL) – Trevor Hoffman is 141 years old. Carlos Villanueva and Seth McClung have eight career big leagues saves between them. David Riske is exactly that. Looming in the back of the Brew Crew 'pen are Coffey (mentioned by manager Ken Macha as a potential fill-in) and Julio, he of the 99 career saves. Never underestimate what can happen when a manager has a "proven closer" to turn to.

2009 Major League Predictions

2009-04-07T21:12:00.000-07:00

In the spirit of the season we here at Fantasy Baseball Search have decided to participate in a true national pastime...making predictions! It will be fun to check back at the All-Star break and at the end of the season to see just how wrong we were. Feel free to ride us all year about any and all of these predictions but also throw us a bone if we actually get something right! I hereby swear that these are my predictions and my predictions only. Made at this time and place and certified by myself Jeff Mans. AL East 1) Boston Red Sox -- 92-70 2) Tampa Bay Rays -- 88-74 3) New York Yankees -- 83-79 4) Baltimore Orioles -- 77-85 5) Toronto Blue Jays -- 68-94 AL Central 1) Minnesota Twins -- 90-72 2) Chicago White Sox -- 83-79 3) Kansas City Royals -- 78-84 4) Cleveland Indians -- 74-88 5) Detroit Tigers -- 70-92 AL West 1) Texas Rangers -- 94-68 2) L.A. Angels -- 89-73 3) Oakland A's -- 76-86 4) Seattle Mariners -- 60-102 NL East 1) New York Mets -- 93-69 2) Atlanta Braves -- 87-75 3) Philadelphia Phillies -- 79-83 4) Florida Marlins -- 75-87 5) Washington Nationals -- 62-100 NL Central 1) Chicago Cubs -- 103-59 2) Milwaukee Brewers -- 86-76 3) St. Louis Cardinals -- 81-81 4) Houston Astros -- 70-92 5) Cincinnati Reds -- 68-94 6) Pittsburgh Pirates -- 62-100 NL West 1) San Francisco Giants -- 85-77 2) L.A. Dodgers -- 84-76 3) Arizona Diamondbacks -- 80-82 4) Colorado Rockies -- 74-88 5) San Diego Padres -- 58-104 AL Wild Card -- L.A. Angels NL Wild Card -- Atlanta Braves AL Playoffs -- Texas Rangers over Boston Red Sox NL Playoffs -- Chicago Cubs over New York Mets World Series -- Chicago Cubs over Texas Rangers AL MVP -- Josh Hamilton -- Rangers NL MVP -- Ryan Braun -- Brewers AL Cy Young -- Francisco Liriano -- Twins NL Cy Young -- Matt Cain -- Giants AL Rookie Of The Year: Travis Snider -- Blue Jays NL Rookie Of The Year: Pablo Sandoval -- Giants Jeff Mans Fantasy Baseball Search

Add your articles with links to Fantasy Baseball Directory News Dispatch

2009-04-07T16:42:00.000-07:00

Do you have a fantasy baseball web site or blog that you want to promote? One of the best ways to move up in Google is to be linked in articles pertaining to your site. We are now offering the opportunity for a number of web sites to add their article/news alert to our blog. Your website will be given permission to post if you site is accepted. Rules: 1. Every article must be about Baseball. 2. Only one link per article and link must go to your football information oriented-site. 3. All Articles must contain at least 4 full lines of text. 4. Any negative articles about other sites or any intolerable language will not be accepted. 5. Your site may submit as many rule-following articles as you wish. 6. FantasyBaseball Directory reserves the right to refuse any article at anytime for any reason. 7. Articles must have good spelling and grammar (within reason) and they need to be checked before posting, for, due to the format, no editing can be permitted. Interested? Email: cfarino@yahoo.com

Breakout Prospects: Starting Pitching

2009-03-28T15:31:00.000-07:00

David Price (LHP) -- Devil Rays -- Any conversation about pitching prospects must begin with David Price. The big lefty has been touted since being taken #1 overall out of Vanderbilt in the 2007 draft. Last year he quickly rose through the ranks of Tampa's farm system helping both AAA Durham and the big league club make playoff runs. The fact that Price was the guy the Rays trusted to get the final outs in the ALCS speaks volumes about the man. He can dominate both sides of the plate with his fastball as well as his slider. Both are considered "out" pitches and are even more devastating because he can throw both at a variety of speeds. I would be shocked if he doesn't make the rotation out of spring training but even if he didn't I'd still recommend keeping his on a fantasy roster. Just like last year, Price is too good to keep down for long. He will rack up strikeouts his first time through the AL and should have plenty of wins when all is said and done for what will be a good Tampa Bay team. *Price was demoted to AAA to start the season, but this is a temporary move and should have little affect on his value. Jordan Zimmerman (RHP) -- Nationals -- Zimmerman's stock has risen higher than a bonus check for AIG executives. This guy is absolutely dominating the Grapefruit League this spring and is leaving the Nationals with little choice other than to pencil him in to start every fifth day for them. It is difficult for me to understand just how Zimmerman has become so damn good so quickly. A couple of years ago he was a player without a position who had the dreaded label of 'good athlete' but had to take a path and spend a few years making his way. Two years later he is a franchise type starter with four above average pitches. The problem for me is that none of his pitches are truly dominating with the possible exception of his hard curve ball. While he doesn't have the pedigree of David Price, Zimmerman is more likely to make an impact in the early going in 2009. His longevity we will have to watch unfold but for now there isn't a better starting pitching prospect in baseball than Jordan Zimmerman. Tommy Hanson (RHP) -- Braves -- Hanson is making his push for a rotation spot by dominating the Arizona Fall League and continuing that trend right into spring training. This coming off a year in which he reacted to his promotion to AA by promptly throwing a 15 strikeout no-hitter. This kid is the real deal. He has a natural bite to his fastball which isn't overpowering but falls in to right handers and away from lefties. His curveball is filthy with a 12-6 break on it and he is way ahead in mastering a changeup that makes his fastball better than it actually is. It is unknown if the Braves will take Hanson north when camp breaks. My feeling is that he will begin in AAA and have to toil down there a bit before getting the call. The Braves added some pitching this offseason and will save a year of arbitration if they keep Hanson down for a month. If you got the balls, take Hanson late or pick him up early in the season and wait for the eventual call up which will happen this year. Anthony Reyes (RHP) -- Indians -- I put Reyes here to make a point. The Breakout Prospect series I have been doing for Fantasy Baseball Search is not all about minor league or even young talent. It is about players who will come out of nowhere to produce good fantasy baseball numbers. I don't care about age or eligibility and neither should you. What we are all looking for is production so before you write me to point out that Anthony Reyes isn't a "prospect" any more believe me kimosabe...I know. It is safe to say that Anthony Reyes is not on any fantasy site's HOT list or even been named a possible sleeper by anyone in the industry. This is why you read Fantasy Baseball Search. Reyes busted out with the Cardinals. But before he did he showed flashes of brilliance most notably game 1 of the 2006 World Series. He has great stuff and a funky motion that will confuse hitters. The Indians are emphasizing that Reyes throw more two seam fastballs this year which is a great idea. The pitch has fallen out of favor with pitching coach Dave Duncan who forced Reyes to ditch it in favor of the four seam fastball. The subtle drop in velocity however gets hitters ahead of the pitch and forces many lazy pop outs or ground ball double plays. With a spot in the rotation guaranteed, new found confidence and minus a Stalin like manager/pitching coach I foresee a big year for Anthony Reyes. Gio Gonzalez (LHP) -- Athletics -- It's all about the strikeouts, baby. Gonzalez is small but deceptive lefty with a knack for pitching away from contact. His curveball is one of the best in the minor leagues. He is downright scary to left hand hitters with an almost sidearm delivery. The problem for Gio has been finding the strikezone. He gets into lapses with his delivery, most often his landing spot which causes him to be high out of the zone. The A's have a history of correcting such mistakes and if they can do so with Gonzalez may have a future ace or good #2 starter on their hands. If given a full season of starts Gonzalez could rack up close to 200 K's in 2009. Jeff Mans www.fantasybaseballsearch.com

Pitching, Pitching, Pitching

2009-03-23T16:52:00.000-07:00

I was going to go through and Breakdown all MLB teams pitching staffs but this changes daily, So I thought it will be better to just give my thoughts on some under the radar guys to target in the closing rounds of your draft. Value and upside is what fantasy players scour the waiver wires and late rds of a draft for, and I think these guys have both. Here is my list of guys to target late: 1. Rich Hill--Yes he was horrible last, yes Pinella sent him to the minors for the year and he couldn't get back with the big club. Now he is in Baltimore hopefully its a new beginning. Lets not forget 2 years ago when hill looked like the next big time ace. In 2007 Hill was 11-8 with a 3.92 ERA 183 K's and a 1.19 WHIP in 195 INN, could he get back to that? Even if he cant do that, Hill showed he has talent and Baltimore could have themselves a diamond in the rough. I say burn a bench spot on him just on the off chance he finds the strike zone again and looks closer to his 2007 stats. 2. Sean Gallagher-- This guy has filthy stuff and can get you K's, he does have control issues, however he is locked into a rotation on what could be a contender this year. Last year Gallagher had a 8.58 K/9 rate and Billy Beene has an eye for pitching. Big time upside and going undrafted in most leagues, take the stab. 3. Micah Owings--Owings started last year on fire and looked to be on his way to a breakout year. Then it all fell apart and he was sent to the bullpen and then dealt to the Reds for Adam Dunn. Start 2009 He is showing his skills in spring training and looks like he is going to lock up the 5Th spot in an already loaded young Reds rotation. I think the Reds lineup is much improved and if Owings can do close to what he did in the first month last year(31 IP 4-0 3.48 ERA 28 K's and a 1.00 WHIP) he should be a serviceable bye week guy. To bad most leagues don't count hitting for pitchers cause Owings can rake. 4.David Purcey--OK unlike the other guys in my list, Purcey is older(28) for a prospect. The main thing I like about him is his 8.03 K/9 rate that he showed last year in the majors. Again like all the others if he can find some control he could be a solid pitcher with a high amount of K's. 5.Anibel Sanchez--This guy is known for mostly 2 things, 1st he threw a no hitter as a rookie, and 2ND he was involved in the trade along with Hanley Ramirez for Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell. Now here is what you need to know, he is now over a year removed from Tommy John Surgery and he should now be regaining his control. Sanchez is doing OK this spring, in 13 IP he has walked 8 but he has also posted a 3.46 ERA. I am not saying run to get him but his talent and having a rotation spot make him worth a stab as a bench player. WHY NOT? 6.Kyle Davies--I don't know why I just have always liked this guys ability. this spring it looks like he is finally putting some of it together he has 10 K's in 15 IP and a 3.45 ERA with only 6 BB. That's not too bad, he wont be an ACE ever but he could help you this year. 7.Kelvim Escobar--He was a great pitcher in 2007 then he was hurt and missed all of 2008. Well now its 2009 and his recovery by all accounts is going great and he could be back in the rotation for the Angels by mid April early May. Take him late and hopefully he produces like he used too. 8.Jordan Zimermann-- He was mentioned in another article on this site so I will just mention, he is now up to 16 K's and no runs allowed in 12 IP. 9.Franklin Morales--This guy had a HORRIBLE year last year so no one wants him. Two things, One he has unbelievable stuff, and Two he was dealing with a back injury last year that he kept from his team. It looks like Morales will lock up the 5Th starters position pretty soon. He has had a good spring not a great one but the Rockies lack better alternatives. So I think he will be with the big club unless he implodes again. Why not take the chance on a guy with superior stuff as a bench player. I know he pitches in Colorado but the thin air in Denver hurts breaking ball pitchers more then pitchers with a dominating fastball(EX: Ubaldo Jimenez is real good at COORS). I won't say he is this years Volquez, however, he has the talent and at worst could be this years Cueto. 10. Ian Snell--Wow this guys is horrible a 5.42 ERA and 1.76 WHIP last yr I will pass. That statement is what most fantasy owner's have said when they have looked at Snell. Here is the reality yes he SUCKED! plain and simple last year, but he is still only 27 and in 2007 he was very good with a 3.76 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. So can he bounce back? Well if you have been watching the WBC, he was pitching for Puerto Rico and looked really good with a 2.25 ERA for the tournament. K's have never been a question he can strike guys out it is just control that is the problem. Draft him late and hope he really wants a new contract and has his Career year. I don't think any of these guys listed above will be your staff ace, but one or two of them could turn into a nice starter and really help bolster your staffs. The Bay State Scout

Scouting the Room

2009-03-05T19:07:00.000-08:00

We have all heard the phrase ‘keep your friends close and your enemy’s closer.’ This article aims to show you how you can apply that to your draft prep. Of course you need to know as much as possible about the players you are drafting, but it is almost as important to know as much as you can about the people in the room doing the drafting with you. One of my leagues has been the same 12 people for several years now, and I have picked up a few draft tendencies from around the room (I may wait until after the draft to tell them to read this article). While I assume that none of you are drafting with my friends, I have been in enough other draft rooms to know that these tendencies are pretty universally found. You may even find yourself fitting into one of these categories. Homer: This is the easiest one to spot. Maybe he comes in with a team’s hat or jersey on, talking about his season tickets, or maybe you just know that he hasn’t missed a game this decade. Either way this guy overvalues the hometown talent and is more than likely to end up with at least four or five guys from his favorite squad. Big Name Hunter: This guy gets his highlights on Sportscenter and stops there. He could name the All-Star starters, but would have a hard time telling you who is battling for the 4th and 5th starter jobs in any camp during spring training. If he is in the 5th round and looking to choose between Derrek Lee and Chris Davis, you know exactly who is coming off the board next. By The Book: This guy picks his favorite ranking sheet and lives and dies by what it says. He shows up for the pizza and beer on draft day, but he might as well be on Autopick. Too Much Information: There isn’t a magazine or website about fantasy baseball that this guy hasn’t read. The big problem is that he printed out pages from every site, added them to his backpack full of magazines and showed up on draft day with enough paper to fill an army of hamster cages. In between each round he tries to read a bio on every available remaining player. Like they told you in high school while you were cramming for the test in the hallway, if you don’t know it by now, you are not going to learn it in the next sixty seconds. Believe The Hype: Somewhere there is a 6th grader taking his summer league by storm. Somewhere close by, this guy is jotting his name down to take him two rounds too early in 2018. Let him waste the early picks. When the youngsters struggle early, you can pick them up off waivers when he gets frustrated and drops them in May. Mound Mentality: This guy probably pitched a bit himself in the past. He harkens back to the dead ball era, and would rather see a well pitched, 2 hour, 2-1 ball game than an 11-9 slugfest. He will overstock his staff and look to fill in his lineup with whatever is left in round 13. Keep an eye on his hitters, and maybe pick up an extra position to use as trade bait when the draft is over and he realized he has Jeff Kent playing 2B (and yes, I know he is retired). The Big Bopper: If there is one thing that Greg Maddux taught me it is that ‘chicks dig the long ball’, and so does this drafter. This team may run away and hide in the HR category, but will do no running on the base paths. This is another team to target for some preseason trades when the owner realizes he unintentionally punted steals. The Insecure Drafter: He has his mind made up until there are 15 seconds left to make the pick, then he then frantically starts asking everyone else in the room if that is a good pick. He is a terrible person to be behind in line at your favorite lunch spot. No, I do not know if you are in the mood for a burger or a Reuben, and I am certainly not going to give you draft advice in the middle of the round. Okay, I will give you advice, as long as it keeps you from picking the guy I want. Now of course this article was not written to pick on my friends, but to give you to something to use this while you are gearing up for your draft. If you have a ‘By the Book’ in the room, make some notes on your cheat sheet of where your players vary greatly from the standard sheet. Maybe you are stuck next to the ‘Big Name Hunter.’ You might be able to a few round to grab the below the radar pick. Knowing who others are going to draft is almost as important as knowing who you are going to draft. If you have two guys on your list you cannot decide between, you may be able to grab them both if you know the tendencies of the drafters around you. This is not something that takes years to pick up. Most drafters show their stripes within the first half of the draft, so be sure to pay attention to what others are doing while you fill your team. Are there any other personalities out there in your draft room? Let me know in the comments section. Scout Hoffman

Mock 1st Round & Sleepers

2009-02-23T17:52:00.000-08:00

Mock 1st Round and Sleepers My mock is based off a 5x5 roto league. 1. Hanley Ramirez- He does it all. He is getting moved to the 3 hole in the lineup giving him even more chances to drive in runs. He has the potential to go 40-40 with a 310. AVG, 100 RBI's, and 120 runs. Not to mention the drop off at shortstop after him and Jose Reyes. 2. Alex Rodriguez- Has protection and has guys in front of him to drive in. I don't see how he doesn't hit 35 dingers and drive in 140 runs. He will steal you 15 bags and hit for a 290. AVG. Only reason I don't have him at one is I don't really know how he will play with the constant steroid talk. 3. Jose Reyes- Is getting better every year and I think his SB will go back up to 70+ range. He will score plenty of runs and with RBI machines behind him. He just has to get on base a little more often which he is improving on and his numbers will explode. 4. Grady Sizemore- Call me crazy but Grady Sizemore has a chance to be the first ever 45-45 player. Problem with Grady his AVG. is not very good but does everything else to carry your team. He also has the 27 year old breakout year going for him too. 5. David Wright- He has Reyes and Beltran in front of him and will drive in 120. It is also very hard to find speed at the corners and he is one of the few can swipe some bags for your team from a corner position. Read More!

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2009-02-22T21:36:00.000-08:00

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