The NL Plays DH...Poorly

Florida inserted Logan Morrison into their first DH slot against the Indians while the light hitting Bryan Petersen started in LF and hit 9^th. Petersen came through with a line of 1 for 1 with 2R and 2BB though he has no real fantasy value.

The Pirates sent super utility man Josh Harrison out to lead-off the game against Verlander. It was a good choice to include Harrison as the DH because he was the only Pirate to get a hit and broke up Verlander’s no-hit bid n the 9^th. Though Harrison has been hitting .400 over the last week, he is no more than a deep NL only league player to target.

With Cincinnati sending Miguel Cairo out to DH and bat 8^th it shows just how weak the Reds bench is this year.  Cairo is hitting .200 on the season with 0HR and 2RBI. Come on Walt Jocketty; find someone other than a 38 year old to hit in the DH spot for the 18 Interleague games.  And of course he went 0-3 on the night.

Lucas got the night off in the field for the Mets as he played DH against Toronto. He went 0 for 3 with 1BB and 3Ks

Atlanta put the powerful Hinske into the 8 hole as DH against Tampa and produced next to nothing. He went 0 for 3 with 1 BB and 2Ks. Even though he has had only 1 hit over the last week he has been well over .300 for the month of May.

Chris Young made his return just in time to get some additional rest and recuperation due to Interleague. He will get the opportunity to contribute offensively while not having to play the field and possibly re-aggravate his shoulder injury. The DH came through with a 1 for 4 night and 2 RBI. Young stated about his injury that he can hit fine at the moment with no pain but when he throws its still a lingering injury.

So to wrap up the NL’s night as DHers, it was nearly pathetic.  As a group they went 2 for 20 with 1R and 2RBI. Yet the NL went 3W and 3L on the night. Do not look for any surprises or any value with what and who the DL is sending out as DH this weekend as far as fantasy is concerned.

Top Prospect Situation The AL Version

 

By Corey R. Cunningham

Baltimore Orioles- SP Dylan Bundy, Born Nov 15, 1992 Bats: B Throws: R Drafted out of Owasso, Okla High School, and 1st round selection. In 2012 he has pitched for Low A Delmarva with a record of 0-0, with a 0.00 ERA, 25 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 2 BB, 36 K, and a WHIP of 0.240

Boston Red Sox- 3B Will Middlebrooks, Born Sept 9, 1988 Bats: R Throws: R Drafted out of Texarkana, TX High School in 2007 5^th round. Middlebrooks started playing the 2012 season at AAA Pawtucket, batting .333, with 93 AB, 18 R, 31 H, 3 2B, 1 3B, 9 HR, 27 RBI, 3 SB, 7 BB, and 18 K, However, since Youkilis went on the DL, Middlebrooks was called up to play 3B with a stat line of: .259 BA, 58 AB, 9 R, 15 H, 5 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 3 BB, 20 K

Chicago White Sox - SP Addison Reed, Born Dec 28, 1988 Bats: L Throws: R Drafted out of San Diego State 2010, and 3^rd round selection. In 2012 he has pitched for the White Sox out of the Pen with a record of 0-0, with a 4.76 ERA, 11 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 0 HR, 7 BB, 16 K, and a WHIP of 1.320

Cleveland Indians- SS Francisco Lindor Born Nov 13, 1993, Bats: B Throws: R. Drafted 1^st round out of Montverde, FL. High School in 2011. Lindor is assigned to Class A Lake County and is currently batting .327, 25 R, 50 H, 7 2B, 3 3B, 4 HR, 19 RBI, 11 SB, 11 BB, and 22 K

Detroit Tigers- SP Jacob Turner Born May 21, 1991 Bats: R Throws: R Signed in 2009 out of St. Louis High School, 1^st round. Pomeranz is currently pitching in AAA Toledo with a record of 0-0, with a 3.38 ERA, 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 HR, 2 BB, 4 K, and a WHIP of 1.125

Kansas City Royals- SP Mike Montgomery Born July 1, 1989 Bats: L Throws: L Signed in 2008 out of Newhall, Calif.High School, 1^st round. Montgomery is currently pitching in AAA Omaha with a record of 2-0, with a 4.37 ERA, 45 IP, 50 H, 27 R, 22 ER, 5 HR, 21BB, 32 K, and a WHIP of 1.566

Los Angeles Angels- OF Mike Trout, Born Aug 7, 1991 Bats: R Throws: R Drafted out of Millville, N.J., High School in 2009 1^stround. Trout started playing the 2012 season at AAA Salt Lake, batting .403, with 77 AB, 21 R, 31 H, 4 2B, 5 3B, 1 HR, 13 RBI, 6 SB, 11 BB, and 16 K, However, Trout was called up to play CF with a stat line of: .313 BA, 64 AB, 12 R, 20 H, 5 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 7 BB, 19 K

Minnesota Twins- 3B Miguel Sano Born May 11, 1993, Bats: R Throws: R. Signed out of Dominican Republic in 2009. Sano is assigned to Class A Beloit, he is currently batting .278, 27 R, 40 H, 9 2B, 2 3B, 11 HR, 35 RBI, 2 SB, 24 BB, and 43 K

New York Yankees- SP Manny Banuelos, Born March 13, 1991; Signed out of Mexico in 2008. Banuelos is currently pitching in AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, with a record of 0-2, with a 3.15 ERA, 20 IP, 25 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 7 BB, 17 K, and a WHIP of 1.600

Oakland Athletics- SP Jarrod Parker, Born Nov 24, 1988. Signed 1^st round out of Norwell, IN High School in 2007. Parker is currently pitching for Oakland, he holds a record of 1-1, with a 2.10 ERA, 25 IP, 21 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 12 BB, 17 K, and a WHIP of 1.290

Seattle Mariners- SP Taijuan Walker, Born Aug 13, 1992. Bats: R Throws: R. Walker was drafted out of Yucaipa, Calif. High School in 2010, as a 1^stround selection. Walker is currently pitching for AA Jackson, with a record of 3-1, a 1.83 ERA, 34 IP, 28 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 11 BB, 35 K, and a WHIP of 1.136

Tampa Bay Rays- SP Matt Moore, Born June 18, 1989. Bats: L Throws: L Moore was drafted out of Moriarty, N.M. High School in 2007, as a 8^thround selection. Moore is currently pitching for Tampa Bay, with a record of 1-4 5.20 ERA, 45 IP, 48 H, 30 R, 26 ER, 8 HR, 23 BB, 42 K, and a WHIP of 1.580

Texas Rangers- SS Jurickson Profar Born Feb 20, 1993, Bats: B Throws: R. Signed out of Curacao in 2009. Profar is assigned to AA Frisco, he is currently batting .292, 25 R, 45 H, 11 2B, 4 3B, 4 HR, 19 RBI, 6 SB, 14 BB, and 27 K

Toronto Blue Jays- C Travis D’Arnaud Born Feb 10, 1989, Bats: R Throws: R. Signed out of Lakewood, Calif. High School, in 2007. Travis is assigned to AAA Las Vegas, he is currently batting .277, 16 R, 38 H, 10 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 15 RBI, 1 SB, 12 BB, and 25 K

Top Prospect Situation

By Corey R. Cunningham

Now we take a look at each National Leagues Teams top prospect of the future of 2012 and see how the numbers are looking for them. Each team top prospect might be a rookie out of High School or College, or perhaps could have moved up in the rankings from previous years.

Arizona Diamondbacks- SP Trevor Bauer, Born Jan 17, 1991 Bats: R Throws: R Drafted out of UCLA 1^st round. In 2012 he has pitched for AA Mobile with a record of 7-1, with a 1.68 ERA, 48 IP, 33 H, 12 R, 9 ER, 1 HR, 26 BB, 60 K, and a WHIP of 1.221

Atlanta Braves- SP Julio Teheran, Born Jan 27, 1991 Bats: R Throws: R Signed in 2007. Teheran is currently pitching in AAA Gwinnett with a record of 3-1, with a 2.48 ERA, 32 IP, 27 H, 10 R, 9 ER, 5 HR, 12 BB, 27 K, and a WHIP of 1.194

Chicago Cubs- OF Brett Jackson, Born Aug 2, 1988 Bats: L Throws: R Drafted out of California in 2009 1^st round. Jackson has played all the 2012 season at AAA Iowa, batting .226, with 137 AB, 22 R, 31 H, 9 2B, 3 3B, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 7 SB, 20 BB, and 48 K

Cincinnati Reds- C Devon Mesoraco, Born June 19, 1988 Bats: R Throws: R Drafted out of Punxsutawney, Pa High School in 2007 1^st round. Mesoraco is in the MLB, however, he is splitting time at C. Mesoraco is batting .216, with 1 HR, 3 RBI, and 6 R. He has appeared in 18 games thus far in 50 AB’s.

Colorado Rockies- SP Drew Pomeranz Born Nov 22, 1988 Bats: R Throws: L Signed in 2010 out of Mississippi, 1^st round. Pomeranz is currently splitting time in AAA Colorado Springs with a record of 1-0, with a 0.00 ERA, 6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 BB, 5 K, and a WHIP of 0.833; as well as splitting time with the Rockies with a record of 0-2, with a 4.70 ERA, 23 IP, 25 H, 13 R, 12 ER, 2 HR, 15 BB, 20 K, and a WHIP of 1.55

Houston Astros- 1B Jonathan Singleton, Born Sept 18, 1991 Bats: L Throws: L Signed out of High School Long Beach in 2009, 8^th round. Singleton is currently assigned to AA Corpus Christi, he has a .282 BA, 23 R, 35 H, 8 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 21 RBI, 2 SB, 24 BB, and 30 K

Los Angeles Dodgers- SP Zach Lee Born Sept 13, 1991; 1^st round choice out of McKinney, TX High School. He is currently assigned to High-A Rancho Cucamonga, he has a record of 2-2 with a 5.13 ERA, 40 IP, 25 R, 23 ER, 7 HR, 8 BB, 41 K and a WHIP of 1.339

Miami Marlins- OF Christian Yelich Born Dec 5, 1991, Bats: L Throws: R. Drafted 1^st round out of Westlake village, Calif. High School in 2010. Yelich is assigned to High A Jupiter, he is currently batting .266, 23 R, 29 H, 6 2B, 2 3B, 6 HR, 10 RBI, 9 SB, 15 BB, and 28 K

Milwaukee Brewers- SP Wily Peralta, Born May 8, 1989; Signed out of Dominican Republic in 2005. Peralta is currently pitching in AAA Nashville, with a record of 1-3, with a 3.69 ERA, 39 IP, 27 H, 16 R, 16 ER, 19 BB, 35 K, and a WHIP of 1.179

New York Mets- SP Zack Wheeler, Born May 30, 1990. Signed 1^st round out of Dallas, GA High School in 2009. Wheeler is currently pitching for AA Binghamton, he holds a record of 2-2, with a 2.05 ERA, 30 IP, 23 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 15 BB, 37 K, and a WHIP of 1.239

Philadelphia Phillies- SP Trevor May, Born Sept 23, 1989. Bats: R Throws: R. May was drafted out of Kelso, Wash High School in 2008, as a 4^th round selection. May is currently pitching for AA Reading, with a record of  5-2, a 2.91 ERA, 46 IP, 32 H, 16 R, 15 ER, 20 BB, 48 K, and a WHIP of 1.122

Pittsburgh Pirates- SP Gerrit Cole Born Sept 8, 1990 Bats: R Throws: R Drafted out of UCLA 1^st round. In 2012 he has pitched for High A Bradenton with a record of 2-1, with a 3.18 ERA, 34 IP, 23 H, 16 R, 12 ER, 4 HR, 11 BB, 39 K, and a WHIP of 1.000

St. Louis Cardinals- SP Shelby Miller Born Oct 10, 1990 Bats: R Throws: R Drafted out of Brownwood, TX High School 1^st round. In 2012 he has pitched for AAA Memphis with a record of 4-2, with a 3.79 ERA, 40 IP, 46 H, 18 R, 17 ER, 5 HR, 18 BB, 48 K, and a WHIP of 1.587

San Diego Padres- OF Rymer Liriano Born June 20, 1991 Bats: R Throws: R Signed out of Dominican Republic in 2007.  Liriano has played all the 2012 season at High A Lake Elsinore, batting .237, with 135 AB, 18 R, 32 H, 9 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 21 RBI, 8 SB, 10 BB, and 38 K

San Francisco Giants- OF Gary Brown Born Sept 28, 1988 Bats: R Throws: R Drafted out of Cal State Fullerton in 2010 1^st round. Brown has played all the 2012 season at AA Richmond, batting .240, with 146 AB, 15 R, 35 H, 4 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 14 RBI, 10 SB, 11 BB, and 23 K

Washington Nationals- OF Bryce Harper Born Oct 10, 1992 Bats: L Throws: R Drafted out of Junior College of Southern Nevada in 2010 1st round. Harper has been playing with the Nationals for almost 2 weeks now with a line of 66 AB, 11 R, 15 H, 6 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 8 BB, 14 K, 1 SB, and a .227 BA

DH Winners and Losers During Interleague Play

With 8 AL teams moving to NL parks this weekend most will have to make adjustments for their DH. In those cases it affects Fantasy Teams too. Here is what I see playing out for the eight teams.

 In Chicago Robin Ventura has already stated Dunn will play LF which is bad news for Dayan Viciedo owners. 

Boston travels to Philadelphia and the hot hitting Ortiz will not get a start at 1B. Look for him to get 1 AB as a pinch hitter in every game though. You should fill your UTIL spot this weekend with another player besides Ortiz.

In Houston look for Texas to move Young to either 1B or 3B giving Beltre a day off. Moreland will be the odd man out most likely this weekend.

The Twins go into the Beer City and will have to see if the recently activated Morneau can play 1B. I personally would think he sits more this weekend than he plays.

Seattle will get Olivo back but look for Montero to get 2 if not all 3 starts behind the plate in Colorado.

The Angels and Morales owners could be the biggest losers this weekend. Kendrys will not play 1B with Pujols healthy and probably even if he is not healthy.

Orioles go to DC and will have the hardly owned Nick Johnson sitting.

When Oakland travels across the Bay, Kila may get a start at 1B but since he is scarcely owned it is no real impact to fantasy teams.

Pondering on what to do???

By Corey R. Cunningham

In just a couple of days, a handful of decisions will have to be made not only my MLB teams, but your fantasy baseball teams. With players coming off the DL, and other players playing too good to go back down to AAA, it's going to be a tough decision for both sides of management.

Kevin Youkilis and Will Middlebrooks is the first problem. Middlebrooks is playing really good since being called up to take Youks spot in the lineup, not sure what Ben Cherrington and Bobby Valentine will decide, however, it will take a toll on fantasy owners, who like myself have taken the time to add Middlebrooks to the lineup.

Arizona Diamondbacks and Paul Goldschmidt. Paul is not exactly handling the offensive side of his game very well right now, as he is under a .220 BA for the season, and just has a handful of HR. I did draft him in the 20th round of my Money League, and was hoping he would be my 1B of the future, however, I am struggling to keep him on the roster, and he has started every game for me that he starts for the Diamondbacks.

San Francisco Giants and Brandon Belt. Bruce Bochey stated earlier in the season Brandon Belt was on a long leash compared to last year. Belt would have every opportunity to prove himself to start every day. Belt has yet to prove himself to the Giants and struggles to make the starting lineup 3 days a week. While Aubrey Huff has been out, Belt still has yet to get the everyday job, even if it was just for a week.

Angels in the Outfield, have almost figured out the situation, yet far away as well. The Nationals for about 3 years now, have been linked to several different CFs that are needed in Washington, and the recent years have been talks about B.J. Upton going to Washington, now the most recent news is the Nationals have been linked to CF Peter Bourjos. With the Angels dropping Abreu, that leaves them with 5 starting OF, Wells, Hunter, Bourjos, Trout and Trumbo.

Taking a look at the above problems for a handful of teams, the main problems rely on young talented players with just 2 years or less in the MLB. It’s going to take some time for each and every problem to get figured out, however, if you are addicted to Fantasy Baseball, you need to pay attention to what the teams add/drops are, and be quick with the click of the mouse to make adjustments. If you are not quick, and if you fall asleep during the season, you will drop quickly in the standings and your player(s) are gone off the FA wire. Trades are not something that happen very often in my leagues of play, however, as the season gets going, teams who Loses are more than their Wins, it tends to help the Trade Wire, so keep an eye out on teams with a subpar .500 record or less, and take a shot at some of their top players and toss them a draft pick or two for next year’s draft.

State of the Leagues for FBV

Just a quick update on the leagues I participate in this year. Comments on what I did right, who I drafted that was a bust and some trades I pulled off to date.

I WIN MLB 2012

Currently 1^st place in my 12 team H2H Dynasty League with daily line-ups. I have won this league the last two years and am off to a great start again this year. Some of the better players I picked up in t he draft were Jordan Zimmerman, JJ Hardy and Kelly Johnson. All have performed better than expected. Later I picked up Luke Scott off waivers; actually I picked him up in every league I could. Also plucked Zito very early off waivers once I noticed he had changed his deliver from years past….seems to be working too. The one trade I made was giving up Wandy and Lowrie for Ben Zobrist. Too early to see if that trade from last week will pan out in my favor. I dropped Marmol in this league earlier than most would have and tried to be current & quick when new closers become available.

Fake Teams H2H League '12

Currently 4^th place in the 12 team Fake Teams sponsored H2H Points league. Like I discussed early this week it took me a couple of weeks to realize the importance of SP in this league. I try to stream a couple every week in this weekly line-up league. Haven’t made many acquisitions beyond a new catcher and putting Stephen Drew on the DL to date; not a single trade offer has come my way. Not sure if it is because the other managers or just the points league mentality. I have dropped nearly all Closers in this league and continue to cover the wire for SP with high QS to their credit.

Rusty Kuntz Special

Former keeper league that I had won 3 years in a row. We redrafted this year and it has a no inning limit with weekly line-up changes. Currently I am in 3^rd place 17 points behind leader. This was a team I was counting on Josh Johnson to carry my pitching staff. To date I am last in Ks and Wins. Other stats I am well above average. Also have Sandoval and Gardner on DL. Maybin is another bust but I have not dropped him yet. Becauase of the no inning limit it is a streamers paradise. I have not streamed as much as I should, trying to protect my ERA and WHIP (10 and 8 points respectively). Once I start climbing in Ks and Wins I have a shot at winning this league. Core hitters with A-Gon and Hanley will contribute, nice pick up of Middlebrooks when Panda went down. No trades to date.

Yahoo Public 91825

Yahoo money league. Currently 1^st place by 2 points. I have been steadily climbing the ranks in this league every week. This was a team I thought I was short on power and maybe above average in pitching at best. To date I have dominated the entire league in pitching. My staff consists of: Felix, Wandy, Peavy, Latos, and Gonzalez with Paplebon picking up saves. I recently made a trade, picking up Pujols, Choo, and Sergio Romo for Billy Butler, BJ Upton and Huston Street. I took me a day to pull trigger on trade because I was not sure about Pujols and Choo’s slow starts. Then I told myself…its Pujols and you are in 1^st place. Another league I picked up Luke Scott and recently Riddick.

FGD Readers vs. Writers II

Fantasy Game Day's daily league that had auction draft. This was my only auction draft this year and I missed out on all quality 1B and I mean ALL quality 1B. I drafted Goldschmidt and dropped him by mid April. Over the past few weeks I have been throwing in Reynolds and Chris Davis from Baltimore at 1B. Weeks has been a huge bust for power, BA, and SB too. Those players have been my biggest downfall in production. Currently 9^th place and 24 points behind. Not many points behind for 9^th place and still like the rest of my team. Currently last in Average at .234 so far. My pitching is solid and I have made it a point to keep close to the innings pitched predictor. 9 of the 12 teams are over the limit pace; some by as much as 70 inning over to date. That alone will help me gain ground in the dog days.

So, take a gander at my teams, leagues, and feel free to offer up any suggestions. To date I have:

Two 1^st places

One 3rd place

One 4^th place

One 9^th place

I will give a special post to my only ESPN team later and all the trouble I have had with it.

Minor League Quick Hits

By Corey R. Cunningham

-         Will Myers, the Royals No. 2 prospect plays 3B for first time since High School

-         Bryce Brentz goes 5-5 for Portland Sea Dogs, he is batting .432 last 10 games

-         Drew Pomeranz recoups in sharp start in AAA

-         Padres 2011 1^st round pick, Spangenberg raises BA over .300, 10 game Hit Streak

-         Cleveland’s Matt Laporta batting .336 for AAA Columbus

-         Pittsburgh prospect Rudy Owens has ERA of 2.25 2-1, with 31 K

-         Cubs Prospect Anthony Rizzo, hitting .351 with 11 HR, 34 RBI

-         Travis Snider hitting in AAA Las Vegas, batting .341 4HR, 26 RBI

-         Houston Prospect Dallas Keuchel has ERA of 1.85 with a record of 4-2

-         Senators Pitching Prospect Daniel Rossenbaum has ERA of 0.71, 5-0 record

-         Mets Pitching Prospect, Zack Wheeler has ERA of 2.05, 2-2 record

As injuries start to happen, more and more often, look for the AAA players to make a call up to the big leagues sooner rather than later. Myers still a year or two away from MLB. Brentz could be called up in September just to get a glance at his ability to handle MLB pitching. Pomeranz should be recalled after another two good starts in AAA. If Casey Kotchman continues to struggle BA wise in Cleveland, look for Laporta to get another glance in the big leagues. As long as LaHair is still hitting the ball for the Cubs, Rizzo will stay in AAA Iowa, pending injury to starting OF in Chicago. Rossenbaum should be promoted to AAA Syracuse here in the next couple of weeks; however, they have one of the best starting pitching staffs in the Majors right now.