Jun 30 2009
As if it couldn't get any worse for the New York Mets... the New York Post is reporting that Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran is getting a second opinion on his right knee. Its possible that he will need to have microfracture knee surgery, which has not worked out well for other athletes such as Terrell Brandon and Jamal Mashburn of the NBA. Both of them had this surgery and were forced into early retirement. Whether he plays for your team or not, keep your fingers crossed and hope for the best for Beltran as its never a good thing to see an athlete get forced into retirement.
(Photo by Chuck Solomon / Sports Illustrated)
UPDATE: According to the NY Daily News, Beltran could be ready to return to the Mets after the All Star Break. He was examined by Dr Richard Steadman and determined that the Mets centerfielder should rest the knee and that he should be good to go after getting a a couple weeks of rest.
Jun 29 2009
KevinZuk acquires Jimmy Rollins and David Aardsma:
KevinZuk's collection of 5 tool (or potential 5 tool) players continued this weekend when he traded hitting machine Ichiro Suzuki and the hot hitting Jason Bartlett for former NL MVP Jimmy Rollins and Mariners closer David Aardsma. Ichiro, who was just acquired a little over a month ago, became expendable with the emergence of Andrew McCutchen and the return of Manny Ramirez. He brings in a talented, yet slumping, SS Jimmy Rollins and a hard throwing closer that has looked very impressive this season, especially over the past month. He now has a nice trio of closers with Heath Bell, Brian Wilson and now Aardsma.
Barry's Juice acquires Ichiro Suzuki and Jason Bartlett:
Aside from Grady Sizemore, Barry's Juice has some question marks in his outfield. He also has Cody Ross and Juan Rivera in the outfield. Both are solid hitters at this point, but remains to be seen as to whether they can keep it up all season. With uncertainty in the outfield, he picks up the most consistent hitter in baseball, Ichiro Suzuki. In addition to Ichiro, he acquires Jason Bartlett who is having a career year in Tampa.
Trade Analysis:
Its a decent trade for both sides, but I'm giving the edge to KevinZuk. Jimmy Rollins isn't this bad. He's going to come out of it eventually and when he does, I think he makes for great trade bait as KevinZuk already owns Hanley Ramirez or just hang onto him and ride out his hot streak. He also gets another quality closer in Aardsma who may just be the best closer in the AL this year. Ichiro will give Barry's Juice more consistency in his outfield, but he's simply not a big point producer. He gets on base, but doesn't have a great offense behind him to get him home. Plus, he's not a big homerun hitter and doesn't pick up a lot of RBI so his value is really limited. If he played on a different team, I might be singing a different song.
Now I'll turn it over to the Fantasy Factor jury. Who wins in this trade?
Jun 26 2009
Buy - Scott Rolen (3B) - I said it back in April and I'm saying it now, Scott Rolen is back. He still has one of the sweetest swings in baseball and looks every bit as good as he was in his prime and is batting .330 on the season (.397 in June). The only knock against him is that his power numbers are down, but the Jays have been moving him up the order and now sits in the clean up spot and his RBI numbers are slowly rising. Rolen is playing on one of the best offensive teams in the league and if he stays in the clean up spot, he could be a candidate for second half MVP.
(Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images Sport)
Buy - Michael Bourn (OF) - Earlier this week, I read an article in which Astros manager Cecil Cooper proclaimed that Bourn is the team's MVP so far. High praise for a guy that's still available in almost 1/3 of leagues across ESPN fantasy baseball. Bourn's strength is in his base stealing, but he's also a solid hitter and has scored a lot of runs. Who couldn't use a guy like this in their lineup? Especially in head to head and roto leagues.
Sell - Daisuke Matsuzaka (SP) - You can put him on your DL if you want, but I don't see his condition improving this year. For the second time this year, he's on the DL with shoulder tiredness or as they're officially calling it a "mild shoulder strain". Dead arm pitchers don't suddenly come back and pitch well. I don't foresee Dice-K returning to form this year and therefore I feel he should be sold.
Buy - Gavin Floyd (SP) - I can't believe I'm going to do this, but here goes... its okay to pickup Gavin Floyd. Whew! That wasn't so bad. Floyd pitched like a homerun derby pitcher in the first two months of the season, but since May 22nd when he shutout the Pirates, he's been phenomenal. In the month of June, he owns a 1.56 ERA and has struck out 25 batters in 34.2 innings. I think it may be safe to say that he's back. If you're desperate for pitching, pick him up and hope that a boost in confidence was all he needed.
Sell - Kelly Johnson (2B) - I used to be pretty high on this guy, but since the McLouth trade he's lost his spot in the lineup and apparently lost his ability to make contact with the baseball. Johnson is batting .132 this month and while he can be a streaky player, you can do better than him at second.
Sell - Kosuke Fukudome (OF) - Similar to the way he jumped out of the gate early last year, he's slowing down again this year. Fukudome's numbers have just been dropping and dropping and now he's sitting on a .154 BA with 2 RBI in his last 18 games. You may have a big game here and there out of him down the line, but I think it may be safe to say at this point that he's not a second half player.
Sell - Chris Davis (1B / 3B / OF) - Well I guess the heavier bats didn't help him either. After starting off slow, he switched to heavier bats and the ball started flying out of the park. Unfortunately, that didn't last and now his BA is below the mendoza line. He has 1 HR in his last 19 games, so I think it may be time to send this Ranger off into the sunset.
Buy - Juan Rivera (OF) - Talk about coming out of nowhere. Rivera burst onto the scene, is now batting 5th in the Angels lineup and is suddenly the hot pickup around fantasy leagues. He had a solid May, but is having an even more productive June with 6 HR and 19 RBI in the last 20 games. With outfielders dropping like flies this year, he's a nice part time pickup.
Buy - Cody Ross (OF) - I wasn't too sure about this one a few weeks back, but I think its about time he's made it to the Buy list. Ross has looked very good over the past couple months and seems to only be getting better and better. Reaching the 100 RBI plateau seems likely at this point.
Buy - Scott Richmond (SP) - With the exception of just one bad outing, Richmond has been very good in his last 8 starts including an 11 strikeout gem in Philadelphia on June 17th. He's looked pretty good as a starter, its when he's come out of the bullpen, that's he's had trouble.
Buy - Tommy Hanson (SP) - After getting lite up for 6 runs in his MLB debut, Hanson has given up just 2 runs in his last 3 games (17 IP). His strikeout numbers are not exactly dazzling and his control seems a bit spotty, but you can't argue with the results as he's 3-0 this year.
Jun 24 2009
According to the Arizona Republic, Diamondbacks ace, Brandon Webb may need surgery and would be done for the year.
Wow, talk about a situation going from bad to worse... to a nightmare. Webb, who only pitched on opening day this season, is going to get a second opinion on whether or not he needs surgery on his right shoulder. If he does, he'll be out for the year and he'll under go a nine month rehab process. For you patient owners out there that were hoping you would get a boost in pitching in the second half, things are looking bleak. If there's any silver lining you can take from this its that, this has been a very injury plagued season and odds are despite not having your 2nd or 3rd round pick (which is around the time Webb was usually selected), you're not as far out of contention as you would be in most seasons. For Webb owners, keep your eyes peeled as we should start to see pitchers coming up out of the minors in August and September and that will be looking to win a spot on their roster next year. You could find a diamond in the rough that will soften the loss of Webb.
(Photo by AP)
Jun 23 2009
The list of walking wounded for this season continues to grow as Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran will go on the DL with a bruised right knee. The Mets needed this injury like they need a hole in their head while fantasy owners continue to raid their leagues waiver wire as yet another star rides the pine. So far we've seen A-Rod, Manny Ramirez, Josh Hamilton, Raul Ibanez, Carlos Delgado, Jose Reyes, Brandon Webb, Roy Halladay, Jake Peavy, Grady Sizemore, Joe Mauer, Vlad Guerrero, Brian McCann, Chipper Jones, and Aramis Ramirez all off the field for extended periods of time and we're only two and half months into the season. This season is really going to test your fantasy baseball skills.
(Photo by Reuters Pictures)
Jun 22 2009
- Alex Rodriguez has been feeling fatigued and will be given a day off each week to help combat it. A-Rod has been less than spectacular since returning from his injury batting .213, but has decent power numbers with 9 HR and 28 RBI in 40 games. If he's doing that well tired, just imagine how good he can be if he's fully healthy.
(Photo by AP)
- Indians centerfielder Grady Sizemore is expected to be back in action tomorrow, so make plans to activate him soon.
- CC Sabathia left his last start early due to "bicep tightness". The team doesn't seem to be all that concerned, but as a fantasy owner you may need to worry a little. He's not been all that great this year and now he's dealing arms problems.
- I hope you weren't depending on Daisuke Matsuzaka doing anything for you this year. He's headed back to the DL with "shoulder weakness". This isn't the stock market report, but I'm pretty sure you can sell him now.
- Phillies slugging monster Ryan Howard could be out for a few more games with the flu. He had a body temperature of 104 on Friday, but is on antibiotics now and could potentially be in the lineup as soon as tomorrow.
- Young budding star Clayton Kershaw put together his second straight good performance yesterday in a win over the Angels. Kershaw has gone 12.2 innings without giving up an earned run. He's also struck out 13 batters during that streak.
Jun 18 2009
UPDATE:
- NL MVP leader Raul Ibanez will hit the 15 day DL with a strained groin. This injury pretty much came out of left field, no pun intended. This is a crushing blow to a lot of teams for the next couple weeks, but at least its only a couple weeks and not longer. Having said that, groin injuries have the tendency to reoccur and this could be a problem all season long.
- I'm becoming a big fan of Max Scherzer of the DBacks. If you throw out his one bad performance against the Braves, he's given up just 4 runs in his last 25.2 IP. He's also pretty good with strikeouts as well with 73 K's in 73 IP this season. If he's available in your league, you need to give this guy a chance.
(Photo by AP)
- Those of you that were starting to wonder about Yankees SS Derek Jeter can relax now. An MRI on his ankle showed no damage and he expects to play tonight.
- The news isn't so good for a pair of Blue Jays pitchers. Ace Roy Halladay and closer Scott Downs will both go on the 15 day DL a groin strain and a sprained right big toe respectively.
- Another big strikeout pitching ace that will hit the DL this week is the Mariners Erik Bedard. Bedard has a left shoulder inflammation and is going to see Dr James Andrews which usually is never a good thing so you may want to start to figure out your long term plans for life without him.
- Manny Ramirez is heading to Single A to begin his rehab assignment starting June 25th. His 50 game suspension is nearing an end so anyone that's desperate for an outfielder, now is your time to pick him up if he's on waivers.
- Pedro Martinez is looking to get back into the majors and he's talking with the Cubs and Rays right now. The knock against Pedro is that he wouldn't be able to handle a whole season, but he won't need to and could make a big impact in the second half, which would make him valuable on a lot of fantasy teams for the playoffs.
- As I mentioned in my stock market report, Jose Lopez is a streaky hitter and is back on a hot streak for the month of June batting .309 with 5 HR's and 16 RBI in just 14 games. Pick him up now ride out the streak and maybe cash in on him via trade and let someone else deal with his cold streaks.
- The up and down adventures of David Price continued last night. Price gave up 5 ER in 7 IP while striking out 5 batters and walking no one. It was good to see him regain some control, but giving up 5 runs isn't good, although maybe you can give him a free pass here since it was in Colorado.
Jun 15 2009
- Toronto ace Roy Halladay will not pitch again till next weekend at the earliest with a mild groin strain. They're probably just being extra cautious with him, but still it will hurt quite a few fantasy teams out there to not have one of the best fantasy pitchers in baseball on the shelf for that long.
- Another big strikeout pitcher, Jake Peavy of the Padres will also be out of action but its far worse. Peavy has a strained tendon in his right ankle and has been moved to the 15 day DL however, the Padres expect him to miss at least a month. The good news is he'll be on the DL, so you'll be able to pickup a replacement for him. The bad news, you're probably not going to find anyone that can actually replace him and what he can do for your team. Your best course of action is simply take the best strikeout pitcher on your waiver wire, drop excess position players and pickup middle relievers with low ERA's and good K numbers.
Jun 11 2009
Buy - Clint Barmes - For most teams, finding a middle infielder can be extremely frustrating. One year, I had a different 2B and SS every month before finding a good enough combo in August. I don't have that problem now with any of my teams, but if I did Barmes would be on my roster. Since being moved to the 2nd spot in the Rockies order, he's been on fire and is batting .419 this month and has some nice RBI numbers as well. He's not a fluke either. He was great in 2005 and looked like the NL rookie of the year before injury himself carrying groceries up the stairs. Since then he's had some injury problems off and on, but he seems healthy now.
(Photo by AP)
Sell - Willy Taveras - Yes, he's a good base stealer. Yes, stolen bases are important in fantasy baseball. But right now, Taveras is just struggling to get on base, much less steal them. If you can handle the poor BA and the non-existent power numbers in exchange for steals, which by the way he currently has zero this month, then by all means keep him. Otherwise...
Sell - Matt Wieters - I know this kid has a ton of potential and the catcher spot is a tough one to fill, but he's currently batting just .229, scored only 2 runs and seems to be striking out quite a bit. There HAS to be a better option out there.
Buy - Scott Podsednik - Pods is one of my personal favorites. He gives 110% day in, day out, sometimes his overall production isn't great, but you can't argue with his speed. Fantasy wise, all his value is in his base stealing, but that's something everyone looks for especially in head to head and roto leagues. If you're hurting for steals, which I'm sure a lot of you are, now would be a good time to give him a try. He currently has 5 steals in his last 11 games.
Buy - Aaron Rowand - In a Giants lineup that is starving for offense, Rowand is making a big impact. He's batting .417 this month with 6 RBI in 9 games. He's a guy that's always done well when given the opportunity to shine.
Sell - Luke Scott - Last month, Scott was monstrous, batting .432 with 18 RBI and 8 HR in 13 games. Now his numbers are starting to look like his usual ones. A lot of people bought into him when he got into this streak, but he should be sold as fast as he was bought now.
Buy - Rafael Soriano - He's not the closer (yet), but he's been lights out this year for the Braves and if you're building a DCT (Damage Control Team) on your pitching staff, he's ideal. Just imagine how valuable he'll be when he becomes the closer later this year.
Sell - Brad Ziegler - It has become painfully obvious that Ziegler has lost the closer role to Andrew Bailey and has little to no value on anyone's fantasy team now.
Buy - Scott Downs - Despite being the go to guy in the Blue Jays bullpen and owning a 25:4 K to walk ratio, Downs is still available in nearly half of fantasy baseball leagues. You can never get enough saves.
Sell - Fausto Carmona - If giving up more free passes than striking people out doesn't do it for you. Or owning a 7.42 ERA doesn't do it for you. How about the fact that he was sent to the minors last week. Get him off your team.
Jun 09 2009
Its times like these that make me glad I have Joe Mauer and Raul Ibanez on my team, playing out of their minds. Others may not be so lucky and have to deal with the reality of their star outfielder, Josh Hamilton, heading back to the DL and will be out until after the All Star break. He'll undergo surgery today to repair a partial tear in an abdominal muscle. The injury is similar to Ian Kinsler's from last year that put him on the shelf for 12 weeks, so you should feel somewhat fortunate that he'll be back this year. You don't really fill a hole in your roster when one goes down, you just hope to get more out of the players around him or fill his spot with the flavor of the month. Right now that player would be Aaron Rowand of the Giants. Once he cools down, drop him for another hot bat. If Manny Ramirez is available in your league, I bet he looks like a pretty good option now, even while he isn't expected to play till next month.
If you are one of the unfortunate owners with Hamilton on your team, let me know. Let me know who's available on your waiver wire and what moves your considering.
(Photo by AP)
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