New Closer To Grab...Or Not

After Francisco Rodriguez was traded to The Brewers a month ago I posted that Jason Isringhausen would take over the closing duties for the Mets. (This post) Now that Izzy has reached his 300^th Save (minor accomplishment) the Mets are stating that the other past contender for the closer’s spot will be Bobby Parnell. Many thought Parnell would get the job last month but I begged to differ and actually caught a lot of flak for suggesting Izzy at the time and was correct by picking him up.

Well, now is now and Parnell will be showcased for the possible jobon next years team. Do not think he has an iron glad grip on the job though. Him and Izzy could be sharing duties by this time next week. His stuff has been mediocre at best this year. He can and will strike out hitters but the rest of his game is not closer material. If you pick him up, you may get a few Ks and Saves but he is no help (actually will hurt) to your ERA or WHIP. If you are in desperate need of Saves grab him now…if not let another manger take the bait.

Grab Some Carp In Seattle

Back from my last vacation for the summer. Kids started school today, I’m back to work, and ready for the final 6 weeks of baseball. Sorry for the absences of posts for the last week. While on vacation it was time with wife and kids. It was nice to see when I returned that that I still had activity coming to my site…I thank all of you for that… should hit 20K hits this week. Never would have thought that back in January.

Anyways…I think I need to touch on one of the hottest rookies over the last two week. He now has the longest current hitting streak in the Majors (15 games) now that Uggla’s is gone. He has been the 5^th best player fantasy wise over the last 14 days.  His line over that time looks like this: 10R 4HR 17RBI and hitting an even .400 during that time. For the year his numbers are pretty much in line from what he has accomplished during his recent hitting streak; 15R 6HR 26RBI while batting .326 in the clean up role for the Mariners.  By now you know we are talking about their rookie named Mike Carp.

Carp got a cup of coffee the last 2 years with the Mariners, but now that the rebuilding mode is in full swing in the North West, Carp will be their cleanup hitter over the next decade.  He has already qualified for both 1B and OF for next year’s fantasy teams. I love that combo a player has, placing him at either CI or OF on my roster. I may be a little behind getting a post on Carp put up but I did pick him up in a couple leagues after he was called up. Now he is in my everyday lineup. The only knock on Carp is his K-rate is around 30% and his BABIP is inflated at this time. He has never hit above .300 at any level until this year. Look for him to be 25HR 90RBI guy who can hit .280 next year.  But for this year grab him today. He was only owned in 10% of leagues last week; he is now up to a 51% ownership.

Future Rookie Of The Year Still Available

Looking at some performances over the last 30 days I saw that one of the best young players in the game was only owned in 56% of leagues. He has only played in 17 games to date, and I know that is a small sample size but you need to take notice of this player down the stretch. He was held back earlier this year in the minors by his parent club to gain that all important extra year of team control. They held him back because they knew how good he was.

Here are his stats through his first 17 games. 11Runs, 3HR, 11RBI, 8SB, and hitting .328 while batting leadoff. Let’s extrapolate his current numbers through 153 games played, that 9x what he has done to date. He would have 99Runs, 27HR, 99RBI with 72SB…crazy good numbers, unlikely but some are possible to reach. If he even came close to those next year he is a lock for R.O.Y. in the American league. As of yesterday he was the 19^th best ranked OF over the last 30 days…remember, the other OF have at least 6 more games played then him during that stretch.

Of course we are talking about Desmond Jennings…Tampa’s young, reincarnated Carl Crawford. If you are in the hunt for a title and need help in any offensive category you MUST own Jennings if he is available. If you are in keeper leagues…grab him today. Remember that the guy is 24 with both power and speed. He is a legit 30/30 guy down the road and should have better than Crawford numbers at the same age. By 2013 drafts he is a 1^st round pick.

More Injured Mets

With the Mets losing two more infielders recently, we need to see if their replacements have any value to the fantasy community. It looks like Ruben Tejada will take over for Reyes while he is down and super utility man Justin Turner will be back on the field to replace the other  injured super utility man Daniel Murphy. It looks like Murphy is definitely out for the season and Reyes will be out for at least the 15 days with a sore hammy. Do not read into the Mets injury speak because they are notorious for spinning the news on its injured players. Remember Beltrán, Santana, Wright, Davis, and previous Reyes injuries. They can make a day to day statement on a player last 6 months.

Anyway, is either replacement worth picking up? Short answer, no! Both hit around 250 with less than a little power, relatively no speed, and will be hitting in the 2 hole and 8 hole. They could be changed in the order routinely depending on the matchups. Another downfall for these two is their defense. Turner has a.963 fielding % and Tejada brings in a horrible .932% at SS in 2011. This will have a trickledown effect on any Mets pitchers you own. So to recap avoid these replacements and take caution on your Mets pitchers you own, these replacements could cost you a W or a Save.

The Replacements That Are Worth A Look

After the dust has settled following a flurry of deadline trades many new faces have emerged to take over for the departed superstars. These new faces are worth a look in the fantasy community. Some have been previous bench players, some have been plucked off waivers after a cup of coffee last year, and some have never been to the show before.  I’m not saying these players are going to bolster your team with immediate impacts but their special skills set can help boost a category your team may be weak at currently.

In Houston the guy to replace Bourn in CF is Luis Durango. He previously had 59 ABs with San Diego in 09’ and 10’ hitting just over 300. As far as speed goes, Houston loses nothing with the replacement of Durango for Bourn; both can fly and steal bases.  For a cheap source of speed Durango is the play, if he continues to leads off, throw in some added Runs too.

In Chicago Fukudome was shipped to Cleveland and Tyler Colvin was recalled from Triple A, but he will share some time with Reed Johnson. Johnson can add some help to your team’s struggling batting average. He will get most of the starts against lefties and is hitting well over .320 on the season. He will also bat lead off and contribute with some power and score runs. Colvin, who I picked up in one league, has power and can drive in some runs also. He will get a majority of the starts in RF and the Cubs want an extended look at him down the stretch.  Above average playing time and legitimate power, 20 HR in 2010, can help immediately. Both should be monitored daily to see who gets the starts.

A virtually unknown commodity in San Diego is Aaron Cunningham. He is Ryan Ludwick’s replacement in LF.  Cunningham was hitting .329/.398/.532 with nine homers and 63 RBI in 87 games in Triple A. I’m not saying to pick him but keep him on your radar even though he hits for the anemic Padres.

With the move of Derrek Lee to Pittsburgh, the Orioles acquired Chris Davis in another trade with Texas. The Orioles have no other legitimate 1B on the roster so he will be playing every day.  He may be Mark Reynold’s clone with both power and poor average but power is power and every team can use HR this late in the Fantasy season.

Pirate Pitchers Walking The Plank

At the beginning of the baseball season no one was drafting Pirate Starting Pitchers. Then as the season progressed and the Pirates were contenders, largely in part to their young staff, fantasy managers started picking them up off waivers. Your truly was a big proponent on Charlie Morton in particular.  Their staff had above average ERAs, low WHIP, and collected Wins and Ks. The entire Pirate starting rotation is 30 years old or younger and has never had such success. Unfortunately I am here to pop the proverbial bubble and expose why they collapse from here forward.

 I was watching the Cubs at the Pirates game today and after watching Correia give up 8 earned and 10 hits in 2 plus innings I wanted to research the past innings pitched for this young staff. What I found was not encouraging. Nearly all of their staff has pitched more innings this year than for the entire season last year.  Young arms with numerous inning lead to dead arms, lost velocity, and getting crushed late in the season. Here is the breakdown of their staff with innings pitched to date and innings pitched all of last year.

Kevin Correia              135 IP this year 145 last year

Paul Maholm               145 IP this year 185 last year

James McDonald        115 IP this year 64 last year

Charlie Morton            112 IP this year 79 last year

Jeff Karstens               127 IP this year 122 last year

It is generally accepted that young pitcher being over worked will show the fatigue and this staff could be the prime example of this happening. It was fun for baseball and fantasy owners to have the Pirates in contention through July, but the reality is about to set in and the Pirates will start to fade quickly.

So what should the fantasy managers due who own these young arms? Kevin Correia 45% owned, Paul Maholm 18% owned, James McDonald 12 % owned, Charlie Morton 16% owned, and Jeff Karstens 61% owned all should be let go unless the Pirates can go to a 6 man rotation with bringing back Ross Ohlendorf after his most recent rehab sting in Indianapolis.  If the Pirates realize they are taxing their young arms and go with the 6 man rotation I will keep Morton, if not he gets cut by the weekend and you should follow suit or pay the consequences.

Arggh you scurvy knave

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.)