Sunday, July 31, 2011

The Dealing Is Done


Baltimore

Traded RHP Koji Uehara to Texas for 1B Chris Davis and RHP Tommy Hunter.
(Impacts: Davis will move into Derek Lee’s vacant spot at 1B and be a fixture in the middle of the line-up. This is an upgraded for Davis who was getting only spot starts in Texas. Hunter will slide into the rotation as he did last year in Texas only now pitching in the toughest division in baseball.)
Boston

Acquired LHP Erik Bedard and RHP Josh Fields from Seattle. Acquired OF Trayvon Robinson and OF Chih-Hsien Chiang from the L.A. Dodgers. Sent Robinson and Chiang to Seattle and C Tim Federowicz, RHP Juan Rodriguez and RHP Stephen Fife to the Dodgers.
(Impacts: Bedard was brought in after the Harden deal fell through due his long history of injuries (article). Bedard is merely an insurance policy if Buchholz does not return. I would not own him at this point due to his injuries and poor outing earlier this week.)
Houston

Traded OF Michael Bourn and cash to Atlanta for OF Jordan Schafer, RHP Juan Abreu, RHP Paul Clemens and LHP Brett Oberholtzer. Added Schafer and Abreu on the 40-man roster and optioned Abreu to Oklahoma City (PCL). Recalled OF Luis Durango from Oklahoma City.
(Impacts: Bourne gets a small upgrade in Runs and is still THE threat on the bases. The sleeper in this trade is Luis Durango getting recalled from Triple A. He is as fast as Bourne and got a small look last year in SD where he swiped 5 bags in 28 games. If he gets the nod over Schafer for playing time and you need some SB he is worth grabbing.)
Dodgers

Traded SS Rafael Furcal and cash considerations to St. Louis for OF Alex Castellanos.
(Impacts: If Furcal can bat lead-off I give him a big upgrade in St. Louis. If he bats in the 8 hole, I leave him be. For the Dodger this means Dee Gordon now gets the everyday job again in LA. He is hitting .340 in Triple A with speed. He is a great pickup at this point. I have picked him myself today.)
Oakland

Traded RHP Brad Ziegler to Arizona for INF Brandon Allen and LHP Jordan Norberto.
(Impacts: In holds leagues Ziegler get a small boost. Brandon Allen get the job at 1B in Oakland but loses some value due to the terrible hitter’s park he is now hitting in.)
San Diego

Traded RHP Mike Adams to Texas for LHP Robbie Erlin and RHP Joe Wieland. Traded OF Ryan Ludwick to Pittsburgh for a player to be named or cash considerations.
(Impacts: Ludwick gets a great boost in possible power number moving from a horrible hitter’s park to a friendly hitter’s park. Ludwick would be a nice pick up to play in certain match-ups down the stretch.
Adams will pitch the 7th or 8th and collect many holds.)
Saturday, July 30, 2011
D’Backs

Acquired RHP Jason Marquis from the Washington Nationals.
(Impacts: Marquis is an inning eater but his countable stats for fantsy purposes are less than adequate.)
Cleveland

Traded INF Orlando Cabrera to the San Francisco Giants for OF Thomas Neal.
(Impacts: Cabrera gets a big boost in value. He will be SF everyday SS and will provide average at best numbers in 5x5 leagues.)
Colorado

Acquired RHP Alex White, RHP Joseph Gardner, UT Matt McBride and a player to be named later from the Cleveland Indians for RHP Ubaldo Jimenez.
(Impacts: Jimenez actually loses out on a start because Colorado pitched him 1 inning yesterday. At this point he is still a bust for those who drafted him.)

Brewers

Acquired INF-OF Jerry Hairston Jr. from Washington for OF Erik Komatsu.
(Impacts: He had no vale before the trade and still has no fantasy value after.)
Seattle

Traded RHP Doug Fister and RHP David Pauley to Detroit for OF Casper Wells, INF Francisco Martinez and LHP Charlie Furbush.
(Impacts: Fister gets small upgrade due to him having a better chance at a few Wins. Just the opposite for Furbush, he loses value going to the inept offense of Seattle.)

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Pence Fills A Need In Philly

July 29, 2011: The Phillies acquired OF Hunter Pence and cash from the Houston Astros for 1B Jonathan Singleton, RHP Jarred Cosart, RHP Josh Zeid and a player to be named later.
(Impacts: Pence who has been one of the elite options in the OF this year will solidify the weak hitting Phillies offense. The Phils desperately needed an OF bat from the right side after losing out on Beltran earlier in the week.  The Phils were hitting only .244 as team this year and Pence’s arrival can give the team a boost. I see Pence hitting behind Howard in the 5 hole and should get many more opportunities to drive in runs than he did in Houston from the 3 hole. Pence owners should be happy with the trade. The loser in the trade is Dominic Brown. His value has just bottomed out after an already poor showing this year. If you still own Brown drop him now, his value is nil.
I feel Houston will replace Pence with Double A standout JD Martinez. His slash line for 2 ½ years of minor league ball is .342BA .407OBP .551SLG .958OPS. He could go to LF with Carlos Lee back at 1B and Peter Bourgeois in RF. Monitor Martinez in very deep leagues and NL only leagues.)

Thursday, July 28, 2011

2 Days Worth Of Trades...New Faces In New Places

July 28, 2011: Tampa Traded INF Felipe Lopez to Milwaukee for cash.
(Impacts: With Weeks going the DL for a couple of weeks the Brewers Recalled 2B Eric Farris from Nashville. Farris who is a .262 hitter in his Triple A career will split time with Craig Counsel. Counsel is something like 0 for his last 30. Neither is worth owning at this point and both should bat 8th while getting the start in Milwaukee. Lopez will start in Triple A and is really only an insurance policy for the Brew Crew until Weeks returns.)
July 28, 2011: Mets Traded OF Carlos Beltran to San Francisco for RHP Zack Wheeler.
(Impacts: Looks like Beltran will play RF with Shierholtz going to LF and Torres playing CF. The odd man out will be Huff. He will split time with Belt at 1B. SF is saying it wont release Burrell but I feel he is gone by Sunday.)
July 28, 2011: Cubs Traded OF Kosuke Fukudome to Cleveland for RHP Carlton Smith and OF Abner Abreu.
(Impacts: With the Indians signing Fukudome it tells me Sizemore may be done for the season and Choo is on a slow rehab. Fukudome will get a majority of the starts now, more than in Chicago. His replacement in Chicago will be Tyler Colvin. I would pick up Colvin if you are in need of some OF help this time of year.)
July 27, 2011: Toronto Traded RHP Jason Frasor and RHP Zach Stewart to the Chicago White Sox for RHP Edwin Jackson and INF Mark Teahen. Traded Jackson, RHP Octavio Dotel, LHP Marc Rzepczynski, OF Corey Patterson and three players to be named or cash to St. Louis for OF Colby Rasmus, LHP Brian Tallet, LHP Trever Miller and RHP P.J. Walters.
(Impacts: Listed by player
Edwin Jackson’s move to the National League is a plus for his owners.
Mark Teahen has no value and was only a payroll dump for Chicago.
Frasor, Rzepczynski, and Dotel will not compete for Saves but they still have great value in Holds leagues.
Corey Patterson is a fringe player who will get spot starts and used for pinch running frequently.
Colby Rasmus gets a fresh start and should bat near the top of the Order in Toronto. Look for a bump in his Run production and I feel he will light it up in Toronto very quick. If your leagues owner of Rasmus is down on him go trade for him quickly.)
July 27, 2011Milwaukee Traded C Wil Nieves to Atlanta for cash.
(Impacts: Nieves is only around till McCann is healthy.)

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Recent Trade


July 26, 2011: The Nationals announced that they have acquired Jonny Gomes and cash considerations from the Reds for outfielder Bill Rhinehart and left-hander Chris Manno. The Nationals have been searching for a CF who can lead off so this trade seems slightly strange to me. Gomes has never played an inning in center nor is he a lead-off hitter.
(Impact: Gomes may be used slightly more than he has been in Cincinnati. He has played in half of the Reds games and is batting just over the Mendoza line. He does have power and some speed but is primarily a platoon/pinch hitter; and by pinch hitter he is awful. He is 0 for 15 with 10Ks in that role. This may take away at-bats from both Lance Nix and Jerry Hairston Jr. but both were fringe candidates for playing time in fantasy anyway.)
July 20, 2011: The Tigers have acquired Wilson Betemit from the Royals for prospects Antonio Cruz and Julio Rodriguez.
(Impacts-Brandon Inge gets sent down if/when he clears waivers. The Tigers stated they were looking for a little offensive help. Well “little” is the key word. Betemit is hitting .281 in just over 200 ABs this season with a horrible K-rate nearing 30%. The career journeyman/platoon/bench player is not worth owning in any league due to his lack of power, speed and contact rate.)
July 19, 2011: The Giants acquired Jeff Keppinger from the Astros for right-handed pitchers Henry Sosa and Jason Stoffel.
(Impacts-Keppinger can play anywhere in the infield but has been a mainstay at 2B for the ‘Stros since returning from a foot injury in May. Hitting over .300 on the year he is a good contact man with little power and no speed.  He has a K-rate of less than 6% and an above average OBP. For SF he will hit lower in the order so actually losing a little value.)
July 13, 2011: The New York Mets traded Francisco Rodriguez to the Milwaukee Brewers for 2 players to be named later from a group of 5 candidates. These players will be moved sometime in September to the Mets.
(Impacts – Francisco Rodriguez loses significant value, he will not close games therefore losing saves. If you are in a Holds league he still has great value. John Axford may occasionally lose a Save but his value remains high. Jason Isringhausen and Bobby Parnell will battle for the Saves in NY, personally I feel Izzy will get the first cal but both are worth owning if you have the space on your roster.)
July 12, 2011: The Toronto Blue Jays traded Juan Rivera to the Los Angeles Dodgers.     (Impacts – Juan Rivera will gain in LF for LA and maybe a look at 1B if he hits and Loney continues to struggle. James Loney will lose a few Abs every week with the arrival of Rivera, and Tony Gwynn Jr become useless. Personally, I would not roster a single one f these players except for in very deep leagues.)

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Time To Stream...2 Start SP


It is getting late in the season and many teams have pitching problems due to injury or innings limits placed on starters. This time of year streaming is even more important to move up in your pitching categories. I have been getting some emails over the summer about the “ethical” quality of streaming. They say it hurts the league as a whole and it’s a loophole in the rules. I feel they have taken my posts to the extreme. I do not suggest you dump your entire SP staff week after week  or day after day and replace them with new guys on a rotating basis. I suggest you could stream 1 SP a week to gain possibly an extra win or a few Ks. I have been in many leagues for many years and I have never seen ANYONE dump their staffs on a daily or weekly basis. Just because the possibility exists does not mean people take it to such an extreme. Personally I wish I had someone in a league trying this tactic because they would end up with high W and K totals but be killed in ERA and WHIP trying to salvage everyone else’s discards from the waiver wire.
With that in mind here is some of the better SP to stream this week that are owned in less than 50 % of leagues. The best attribute os these of the 5 are that they all pitch BOTH games at home this week.
Freddy Garcia (21% owned) SEA~Vargas and BAL~Johnson
Mike Leake (20% owned) NYM~Dickey and SF~Bumgarner
Brandon McCarthy (5% owned) TB~Price and MIN~Pavano
Dustin Mosley (4% owned w/ RP eligibility) ARI~Saunders  COL~Nicasio
Chris Narveson (13% owned w/ RP eligibility) CHC~Dempster HOU~Myers)

Friday, July 22, 2011

More Help For Your MI


The Indians finally call up 2B prospect Jason Kipnis from Columbus. From this point forward he will be Cleveland’s starting second baseman. Originally a CF in Arizona State the move to second has been effortless. With the Indians OF is such disarray with all the injuries this kid might gain OF eligibility before the year is out.
While in Columbus he hit 279 with 12 HR and %% RBI. He also had 15doubles and 9 triples. He truly can hit to all fields and drive the ball with power.  He also has a little speed so he is an immediate pick up in all leagues that need help at Middle Infielder.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Another Trade

July 20, 2011: The Tigers have acquired Wilson Betemit from the Royals for prospects Antonio Cruz and Julio Rodriguez.
(Impacts-Brandon Inge gets sent down if/when he clears waivers. The Tigers stated they were looking for a little offensive help. Well “little” is the key word. Betemit is hitting .281 in just over 200 ABs this season with a horrible K-rate nearing 30%. The career journeyman/platoon/bench player is not worth owning in any league due to his lack of power, speed and contact rate.)
July 19, 2011: The Giants acquired Jeff Keppinger from the Astros for right-handed pitchers Henry Sosa and Jason Stoffel.
(Impacts-Keppinger can play anywhere in the infield but has been a mainstay at 2B for the ‘Stros since returning from a foot injury in May. Hitting over .300 on the year he is a good contact man with little power and no speed.  He has a K-rate of less than 6% and an above average OBP. For SF he will hit lower in the order so actually losing a little value.)
July 13, 2011: The New York Mets traded Francisco Rodriguez to the Milwaukee Brewers for 2 players to be named later from a group of 5 candidates. These players will be moved sometime in September to the Mets.
(Impacts – Francisco Rodriguez loses significant value, he will not close games therefore losing saves. If you are in a Holds league he still has great value. John Axford may occasionally lose a Save but his value remains high. Jason Isringhausen and Bobby Parnell will battle for the Saves in NY, personally I feel Izzy will get the first cal but both are worth owning if you have the space on your roster.)
July 12, 2011: The Toronto Blue Jays traded Juan Rivera to the Los Angeles Dodgers.     (Impacts – Juan Rivera will gain in LF for LA and maybe a look at 1B if he hits and Loney continues to struggle. James Loney will lose a few Abs every week with the arrival of Rivera, and Tony Gwynn Jr become useless. Personally, I would not roster a single one f these players except for in very deep leagues.)

Trade Recap


July 19, 2011: The Giants acquired Jeff Keppinger from the Astros for right-handed pitchers Henry Sosa and Jason Stoffel.
(Impacts-Keppinger can play anywhere in the infield but has been a mainstay at 2B for the ‘Stros since returning from a foot injury in May. Hitting over .300 on the year he is a good contact man with little power and no speed.  He has a K-rate of less than 6% and an above average OBP. For SF he will hit lower in the order so actually losing a little value.)
July 13, 2011: The New York Mets traded Francisco Rodriguez to the Milwaukee Brewers for 2 players to be named later from a group of 5 candidates. These players will be moved sometime in September to the Mets.
(Impacts – Francisco Rodriguez loses significant value, he will not close games therefore losing saves. If you are in a Holds league he still has great value. John Axford may occasionally lose a Save but his value remains high. Jason Isringhausen and Bobby Parnell will battle for the Saves in NY, personally I feel Izzy will get the first cal but both are worth owning if you have the space on your roster.)
July 12, 2011: The Toronto Blue Jays traded Juan Rivera to the Los Angeles Dodgers.     (Impacts – Juan Rivera will gain in LF for LA and maybe a look at 1B if he hits and Loney continues to struggle. James Loney will lose a few Abs every week with the arrival of Rivera, and Tony Gwynn Jr become useless. Personally, I would not roster a single one f these players except for in very deep leagues.)

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Another Great First Name In Cleveland


With Grady going on the DL for the second time this year it may be time to take a look at his replacement. The Indians may own the league record for craziest first names as they inserted Ezequiel Carrera into CF for yesterday’s double header. He responded with 2 SB. We now have the Asdrubal and Ezequiel show in Cleveland.
The guy has no power but has been a solid slap hitter in his 6 years in the minors. The Venezuelan has a career .291 minor league BA, along with an OBP of .372 to date. He walks, hits, steals bases and collect a few runs. This year in 81 minor league games he had 35 SB in 39 attempts.
I picked him up in a couple of leagues where I owned Sizemore. With Sizemore’s recent knee problems he could be out for an extended period of time or be shut down for the season again if Cleveland falls out of the race. The bottom line on this kid is he can get you some quick steals over the next two weeks along with a BA that won’t kill you and score a few runs. He should continue to bat in the 9 hole which can hurt over the long haul, but for a quick fix it is not a real concern. He is definitely worth a spot in deep leagues and AL only Leagues.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Time To Sit Young Man

That time of year when young SP and those coming back from injury are told they will be shut down in the near future. This happened to one of my SP this week. I have been trying to trade him but no takers even though most league mates haven’t realized why I want to move him. I had been holding off on this post in hopes of moving him before I posted this, but it’s time to let my audience know about the situation in Washington. Jordan Zimmerman has been put on a 160 IP limit for the season. That leaves him roughly 45 innings left, so maybe 6-7 starts. He will be benched by Labor Day and miss 5-6 starts at the end of the season. Back in early June I warned you about these situations especially with Michael Pineda. In the coming weeks more and more SP will be shut down once they are out of the race or have any sign of pain or fatigue. If you own Zimmerman, this weekend would be the time to move him for whatever you can get. By the end of the month he will have absolutely no value.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Let The 2nd Half Begin


Back from vacation and ready for some baseball. The break for the All-Star game makes me feel like I do in the winter when there is no baseball, hungry for more. This one man show called Fantasy Baseball Vision can become consuming, draining, and fulfilling all-in the same day. The breaks I take here and there make me think what direction I want to take this site. From the responses I get from my readers/followers they enjoy the advice and insight I provide. Feel free to let me know what kinds of articles, postings, projections you would like to see every week. If not for my audience there is really no need for this site, so for that I thank you.
Over the next couple of weeks, until the trade deadline, I will monitor all trades and give feedback on the fantasy impact of those trades. So far we have seen a couple of players moved and their fantasy relevance increased and decreased.
July 13, 2011: The New York Mets traded Francisco Rodriguez to the Milwaukee Brewers for 2 players to be named later from a group of 5 candidates. These players will be moved sometime in September to the Mets.
(Impacts – Francisco Rodriguez loses significant value, he will not close games therefore losing saves. If you are in a Holds league he still has great value. John Axford may occasionally lose a Save but his value remains high. Jason Isringhausen and Bobby Parnell will battle for the Saves in NY, personally I feel Izzy will get the first cal but both are worth owning if you have the space on your roster.)
July 12, 2011: The Toronto Blue Jays traded Juan Rivera to the Los Angeles Dodgers.     (Impacts – Juan Rivera will gain in LF for LA and maybe a look at 1B if he hits and Loney continues to struggle. James Loney will lose a few Abs every week with the arrival of Rivera, and Tony Gwynn Jr become useless. Personally, I would not roster a single one f these players except for in very deep leagues.)
The next trades I see be to completed in the near future will be Beltran going to a contender and Nunez moving to anyone that will take him.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Vacation Time

Off for a weeks vacation in Northern Michigan. Bear Lake Michigan to be precise. Baseball duties will resume upon my return for the All-Star game.

Monday, July 4, 2011

Closers On The Move

With the trading deadline approaching it’s that time of year to start looking at what current closers could be shipped and not be closing for their new team. For fantasy purposes this can be devastating for your roster. You can have a couple of the best closers (stats wise) for saves one night then they can be shipped to a contender as a set up man virtuously making them useless in fantasy baseball. You could literally lose out on 15-30 saves depending on how many closers you lose by this means.
So what is a fantasy manager to do? First try and analyze which bad teams have expendable closers with movable contacts. Then open up a roster spot to possibly handcuff their successor as the trade deadline approaches. I have listed what I feel are the top 7 current closer candidates to be moved to help a contender down the stretch. The only team I feel that will pick up a closer from another team and insert him in as “their” closer is The Phillies. Teams like Boston, Yankees, Tampa Bay, Cincinnati, Colorado, and Cleveland may all look to pick up bullpen help if they are still in the race but only Philadelphia will insert one as a closer.
Here is the list of Closers I feel will be moving to new teams, I have also listed who you should handcuff in the next couple of weeks to ensure you have a closer in waiting.
Heath Bell ~ Mike Adams
JJ Putz ~ David Hernandez
Leo Nunez ~ Steve Cishek
Kevin Greg ~ Koji Uehara
Matt Capps ~ Joe Nathan
Francisco Rodriguez ~ Jason Isringhausen
Brandon League ~ Jamey Wright
These closers all have team friendly contracts with the exception of Rodriguez for the Mets. Even with his contract the Mets will look for a trading partner. You and I know these type of players get traded every year in baseball, be prepared for the loss this time.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Picking Up The 10X DL Pitcher

Originally posted at ProFantasyBaseball By Brett Barton
Former ace Rich Harden is back to starting games again. The other night he pitched very well with a stat line of getting the Win with 6IP, 2ER, and 6Ks without giving up a walk against the D-Backs. Compared that to last season’s miserable numbers of a 5.58 ERA and 75/62 K/BB ratio over 92 innings with the Rangers and he looks like he may be back to his old dominate self. The problem with Harden is of course the injuries. He also has lost a couple of MPHs on his fastball, he is a SP who relies on changing speeds and when the fastball and changeup start getting closer in speed the Harden riddle has been figured out by the league.
In his 9 year career Harden has made 146 starts which averages out to only 16 starts a year. Therefore it can be said he has actually missed as many starts as he has made. The DL stints prove this 3x in 05’ 2x in 06’ almost the entire year in 07’ 1x in 08’ 1x in 10’ and of course this year. The total is 10x over a 9 year career. These injuries include back, arm, shoulder, oblique, lat and a combination off all.
The question now is what can he give the Fantasy community? The answer is; a former ace worth giving a shot on your roster. I personally have picked him up in a couple of leagues. With the shrewdness of the A’s front office he will be showcased a couple of more times then be traded to a contender down the stretch. That means he will be playing for a winning team with a good offense putting up Runs for him. I see a great source of Wins and Ks from this supposedly washed up 29 year old. Currently he is available in 90% of leagues but it will change quickly after another quality start. So ride the horse until he completely breaks down or pick him up and trade him yourself for someone a little more durable.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Dynasty League Prospect

I just reviewed and signed another player in my Dynasty League. This player was selected by the San Diego Padres with the 10th overall pick and signed immediately. His name is Cory Spangenberg, a left handed hitter with A+ speed. He batted .477 this past season at Indian River State College. That was the 6th best BA among all Jr. College players. Though he doesn’t have much power and therefore will move from 3B to 2B for the Pads he has like I stated blazing speed with very strong on-base abilities. Some listed him as the fastest player in the recent draft. Over his first 11 games with the Friars he has seen 37 at-bats as a pro, Spangenberg is hitting at a clip of .405 with 1HR and 11RBI. That includes 4 doubles and a fantastic 13 walks. He is sporting a .566 OBS with a .595 SLG meaning his OPS is 1.161…I’ll take that!!