The Doubles Machine

Orioles’ third baseman Manny Macho continues to hit doubles at a record pace. Currently the 20 year old has 33 doubles in his first 72 games. The record is 67 set by Earl Webb back in 1931. He has a solid chance to set history. Machado has hit in the 2 hole all year and put up a .324 average to go along with 5HR and 37 RBI and 5 SB. His OPS is a whopping .845. He recently had a 14 game hitting streak snapped. But can right back with 2 knocks in his next game. A look at this doubles chart shows balls hit from foul line to foul line. This kid just plasters the ball to every part of the park including some ground rule doubles. Many think that when he hits 200lbs 20-30% of those doubles will be HRs. Scary!

I only own Machado in 1 league, it was an auction league where I put up Machado for a buck and no one countered. At the time I thought I had a below average 3B going into the season. How wrong I was, I am now winning this league thanks in part to Machado. At 20, Machado is Trout/Harperesque player without the media hype. I went and looked up A-Rods 20 year old season for comparisons in doubles. A-Rod had one of his best hitting seasons ever at age 20 so maybe not a fair comparison but here are his numbers at age 20 and 21. Remember though A-Rod was hitting in the 3 hole at that time too. 54 Doubles, 36 HR, 123 RBI, and 15 SB while hitting .358. At 21 A-Rods numbers look much more the same as Machado. 40 Doubles 23 HR, 84 RBI, 29 SB while hitting .300.

Machado may not get the Trout-Harper hype but he would be my main target in any Dynasty/Keeper League. Remember too that the day will come when he qualifies at SS. When that happens he could be a number 1 overall fantasy pick just like A-Rod was for nearly a decade.

If Machado can push his doubles count to north of 40 by the All-Star game it will be the talk of the All-Star break. So if you want to make a move for Machado try to do it now because the hype will increase 10 fold over the next 4 weeks and his remaining 23 games until the break.

Time To Buy Low

Earlier in the week we discussed some undrafted gold through the first 40% of the season. Now it is time to look at some highly drafted players who could be great buy low candidates. The struggling stars can help bolster your squad for the 2^nd half of the season. I have given you players at each hitting position that can give you a competitive advantage going forward. I feel every one of these players is definitely poised to rebound and should be targeted now for trades. When going after these players look what need the current managers has and fill it for him while pilfering the player you want. He are the players you should target for trades immediately.

Undrafted Gold

Looking back on drafts there are always players drafted that make manager’s look brilliant. Then there are players that every manager passed on and turn out to be fantasy studs.  I took a look at some of the best undrafted hitters to date and I was a little stunned to see so many out there. The players I have listed all had ADPs over 300 which made them undrafted in 12 team 25 man rosters. These top 10 undrafted hitters are all now ranked in the top 75 hitters in Fantasy Baseball. Most of these hitters are legit and I see only a small regression coming if any at all. My guess is if you have not plucked one of these players off waivers by now you are probably in the bottom third of your league. Hell, most of these players are still available and with all the injuries to key players out there right now you should nab a couple.

PED Scandal & Fantasy Impact

First I want to say that I think I am ready to try some PED or HGH. I went down Monday with a knee problem that may be a partially torn ACL or a torn Cartilage and at my advanced age I want some help. My knee is as big as my head and my Ortho Doc wants to give me an MRI if the swelling doesn't subside by next week. I freakin' hate getting old!! Anyway, my take on the current PED scandal is really "no surprise". Money is just too big for players not to try and get an advantage, whether it be a contract year, just signing that big contract and wanting to live up to the expectations or a player just trying to keep himself in the show or on a 40 man roster.  The so-called 20 man list really only has 11 players to date with Fantasy relevance, which is what really concerns me.  In that 11 players, Gio Gonzalez is only suspected of buying legal substances but I guess it is guilt by association. The other 10 are to have purchased or were injected with banned substances by Biogenesis. One aspect of this hunt is that 3 of the players have already been suspended for 50 games for testing positive for high levels of testosterone or amphetamines. Too me this seems like double jeopardy if they get a 2^nd suspension. With all that said this is what I think will end up happening. Just before the All-Star break MLB will come out with a definitive list of players it will try to suspend. The Players Union will cry FOUL and will appeal all suspensions as a group and want to be able to have lengthy cross examinations with Tony Bosch. It will come out Bosch and his employees were paid for testimony. The final outcome will be no suspensions this year and that’s great news to Fantasy Managers but come next year many top stars could be sitting until July 2014. I could be wrong but that’s how I see this washing out. So if you own any of the players listed below and are nervous, especially if you own multiple players on the same team, you may want to test the trade waters. I have already seen a few of these players get moved today in leagues where if not for this scandal the quality of these trades would be suspect. But in time of uncertainty getting 50-60 cents on the dollar for a player isn’t bad. Remember part of something is better than all of nothing.  Personally, I am sitting tight on the players I own…but will entertain trade offer sent to me. I have other issues like 5-6 players on the DL at the same time…we all have troubles my friend. Here are the top Fantasy Players being targeted so far.

Ryan Braun	Brewers
Everth Cabrera	Padres
Melky Cabrera	Blue Jays
Francisco Cervelli	Yankees
Bartolo Colon	Athletics
Nelson Cruz	Rangers
Gio Gonzalez	Nationals
Yasmani Grandal	Padres
Fernando Martinez	Astros
Jesus Montero	Mariners
Jhonny Peralta	Tigers
Alex Rodriguez	Yankees