Sheets Keeps the Braves Rollin'

It was just 11 days ago I posted this about Ben Sheets. At that time he was owned in just 1% of leagues. Yesterday, during his start, I picked him up in every league where I had not picked him up previously and he was owned in 6% of leagues. Today he now owned in 21% of leagues. Most notably the most added player at this time.

What did he do yesterday? He gave the Braves an outstanding start. He only allowed 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 1 BB, while striking out 5. He finished strong by retiring the last 10 batters he faced. What I like the most about his performance was his comments after the game. He stated he hasn’t felt this good in quite awhile, He feels healthier now than he did in Oakland 2 years ago.

His next start will be against Washington later this week and he draws a possible Strasburg matchup on Friday. We all know his past and that he is highly injury prone but he was still the starting All-Star pitcher just 4 short years ago for the Brewers. With the Braves on a hot streak and Sheets proving them with their 7^th win a row, it might be time to catch lightning in a bottle and ride the Big Ben train until it falls off the tracks.

Seize Some Pirates

Unlike last year’s Pirates fell good story this years team is in it for the long haul. Last year’s team fizzled out with the rigors of the long season and only picking up a 35 year old Derrek Lee to push them to a playoff spot. This year’s team is a little older, ready for the long haul, and has a much better starting pitching staff. The bullpen is one of the best too. Remember that the Pirate led the league in Runs scored in the month of June.

For the next 3 weeks you need to be aware of these Pittsburgh Pirates. Their next 19 games are against teams with losing records. From this point forward they have the easiest schedule in the majors the rest of the year. The teams they will be playing for the remaining 70+ games have a winning percentage of .461. It is time to feast on both the hitting and pitching of the Buccos. Many of their players are still available on the wire and can be easy trade targets from your league mates.

The Pirates will also go after a bat in the next couple of weeks. Expect a 1B or OF to come in and hit in the 4-5-0r 6t hole. Whoever they pick up in a trade Garret Jones will stay put with everyday at-bats and either play 1B or OF depending on whom they acquire.  We all know McCutchen is having an MVP season and is most likely the only Pirate that cannot be had via trade. The rest of the team though is ripe for the pickings.

1B Garrett Jones 18% Owned: Has legit power and once a trade is made he will have an everyday job and get more ABs.

2B Neil Walker 62% Owned: Hitting over .290 with 40+ R & RBI with 7HR & 7SB. A 15/15 guy hitting near .300 at MI sounds great to me.

SS Clint Barmes 1% Owned: Not Fantasy relevant. If the Bucs went out and got say a JJ Hardy it would be a huge upgrade. I see them going after 1B/OF type but do not be surprised if the try and sneak a trade for a hard hitting SS.

3B Pedro Alvarez 42% Owned: If you drafted Mark Reynolds for power at 3B you should now consider Alvarez and his power and hitting near .250 now. He has definitely taken over the 3B spot from Casey McGehee.

OF Drew Sutton 1% Owned: He was acquired off waiver form TB earlier in the year. He is hitting just a tick under .300 and is switch hitter with 3B eligibility.

OF Starling Marte 1% Owned: He hasn’t been called up yet, look for it to happen sooner or later especially if Jose Tabata continues to struggle in the minors.

SP A.J. Burnett 72% Owned, Erik Bedard 27% Owned, James McDonald 87% Owned, Jeff Karstens 5% Owned, Kevin Correia 2% Owned. The first 4 SP listed have a K/9 ratio of 7.85 which is fantastic. All are worth owning at this stage of the season.

RP Jason Grilli 15% Owned: All Grilli has done is pull down a WHIP under 1 with 54 Ks in only 32 innings. He I a lock down set up man. With him and Hanrahan at the back of the pen, the Pirates do not blow many late inning leads.

So watch the Pirates start to pull away by the trade deadline and look for some hitters start wanting to come to Pittsburgh for the playoff push which has been a problem in the past. Winning cures all of that. On a pure PR standpoint the club would like to award their fans with a big name since they were unable to sign their 1^st round pick Mark Appel. Most likely players coming to the Pirates: Victorino, BJ Upton, LaHair, or Soriano.

Safe Play or Risk It All

Bt Corey R. Cunningham

Most leagues by now have plenty of room between playoff teams and non playoff teams, at least the gaps are far apart to a point where managers will know if they will be buyers or sellers come the trade deadline. This key point will play a key role in your remaining weeks of your team as a manager. You will need to narrow down your wants, and needs of the team, and remember not all big moves make impacts; small moves also have an impact on a fantasy team.

You may have a stacked offensive lineup, however, come pitching your weak in depth, and pending on your categories it can make or break you. Keep in mind, you always want to have a set lineup and always want to make sure you have key bench players, it takes too much time to think about which players to bench and which players to start every week, it is rather simple; Play the best players available, bench the worst players. Even if an offensive guy goes 0-12 in 3 games and a bench player goes 6-12 those particular games you have him on the bench, I can guarantee you if you switch the two players, you will get opposite results, it is just the way it works.

If you deal in trade picks, and you’re a seller, go after minor league picks or high to mid level draft picks, don’t just settle for bottom of the barrel picks, remember you have the upper hand in dealing when it comes time to the trade deadline. Make yourself a list of your potential keepers, i.e. players that are staying, and players that you could move.

Always try to increase your depth as much as you can, when possible. Never leave 2-3 good SP on the table for 1 bat. For example, I had seen a trade offer acceptance looking like this. Jacoby Ellsbury for C.J. Wilson, Scott Diamond, and Matt Harrison. Pending on your roster and keepers this is a win-win situation for both; however, I give the trophy to the 3 deep SP rotations. Normally Ellsbury for Wilson could be straight up possibly a little add on for C.J. Wilson, however, that team ended up with 1 “B” tier arm and 2 “C” tier arms. Ellsbury is injury prone as all baseball players are, however, Ellsbury is getting top notch “A” tier respect due to one great season of fundamental baseball. Ask Eric Hosmer owners what they think of one year wonders, or should I say sophomore slumps.

If you are a buyer, go strong, go hard, get what you need and if your close to the trophy, or money, give up what you need to, to an extent. Take a look at your categories under the “stats” and see where you are most comfortable, and perhaps take a look at giving up a guy where you can afford to lose him and not be affected that much, second, look in landing a guy where your stats are weak. I am making my comparison to a trade offer most recently in a public league, SP Felix Hernandez for Joe Mauer, and Paul Goldschmidt. This is a tight deal, and many would lean towards King Felix, and if I needed pitching I would give up both Mauer and Goldschmidt in a heartbeat for Hernandez. All players give you most categories and when you need certain categories it never hurts to gain in others as well.

It is the second half of the season, stay cool, calm and collective if you’re in the hunt, pay attention to the FA and the Waiver Wire players, and pay close particular attention to September call up rumors. If you’re not in the hunt, go after picks, and stock up on draft day as it will be much needed help from your disappointing season. Good luck to all, and may the best management team win.

A Trip Around the Minors

By Corey R. Cuninham

AAA Pawtucket C Ryan Lavarnway: 70 G, 263 AB, 47 R, 81 H, 7 HR, 38 RBI, .308 BA 

AAA Columbus 1B Matt Laporta: 69 G, 254 AB, 45 R, 77 H, 17 HR, 43 RBI, .303 BA

AAA Las Vegas C Travis d’Arnaud: 67 G, 279 AB, 45 R, 93 H, 16 HR, 52 RBI, .333 BA  

AAA Indianapolis P Rudy Owens: 7-4, 2.89 ERA, 106 IP, 99 H, 34 ER, 12 HR, 76 K

AAA Buffalo P Matt Harvey: 7-4, 3.39 ERA, 98 IP, 87 H, 37 ER, 7 HR, 102 K

AA Binghamton P Zack Wheeler: 8-4, 2.62 ERA, 92 IP, 66 H, 27 ER, 1 HR, 88 K 

AA Jackson P Danny Hultzen: 8-3, 1.19 ERA, 75 IP, 38 H, 10 ER, 2 HR, 79 K

AA Springfield 2B Kolten Wong: 80 G, 314 AB, 48 R, 96 H, 7 HR, 34 RBI, .306 BA  

The above players are a minimal amount of talent that is currently playing in the minor leagues, all of which the above players will be in the Majors sometime this year for September call ups or perhaps start out the 2013 year on the MLB roster.

 

Pending on what type of league you play on, these players may appeal to you. If you play on just a random public league with no dynasty, or keepers involved, this does not apply. However, if you are a dynasty owner, pay close attention to some of the above named players. As time gets closer to September and the playoffs you will start to see each player making their first MLB appearance or perhaps get called back up from being demoted, such as Matt Laporta who is making a huge impact in Columbus.

 

In most if not all Dynasty leagues you will see owners closer to the end of the season, dropping non essential players for players on the above list and others for that matter to keep for next season for a cheap price. I myself will be eyeing up several players to drop in order to add some nice minor league talent for next year.

 

I have an owner in a league I currently play in, last year he gambled and spent two mid round picks on OF Mike Trout and OF Bryce Harper, and Trout only seen limited action in 2011. However, this year that particular owner made out with both prospects producing like superstars, and he should have a nice OF combo for a decade or so. You may hit a diamond in the rough, or you may just hit the rough on the gamble, but it is only a gamble, and it is worth taking. For instance, dropping a SP who is non essential, I.E. Jason Vargas right now, and picking up SP Danny Hultzen. Yes, Hultzen is still in AA, however, by 2013 he will be in the starting rotation, and he will more than likely get a September call up.

 

Remember the gamble is all there, you just have to take the risk, and hope for the best reward possible. It is your team, balance it how you would like, but keep this in mind, I believe to stay young and true to your roster, if you have ‘age’ on your roster, you need to factor that in for rebuilding.

 

Continue to have a great second half of the fantasy season, and if you are on the down fall in a keeper or dynasty league, move players who are mid level players and gain all the pick(s), and players you can for the following year, especially try to concentrate on gaining minor league picks.

Short Week Starts 2nd Half

The baseball season is a 6 month grind for players and Fantasy owners alike. After a 5 day mental break from action it is time to get back to the business of winning your league. This break is always a good time to evaluate your early round picks and if they are not producing like you wished get the trade juices going. Use that name recognition and early ADP to your advantage and move the dead weight to someone else’s team. I’m talking about you Adrian Gonzalez…I would move you today for Rizzo.

On the pitching side it is a short week and you should take advantage of the wire for some great opportunities to bury your competition in Wins and Ks over the next 3 days. You should at least 6 SP going in your Daily leagues this weekend. If you don’t you are giving away a couple of easy category wins. Pick up a few of these SP to bolster your stats on Friday and Saturday. Then come Sunday you may such an insurmountable lead on the pitching side you can coast. Your best bets to reinforce pitching this weekend are:

Friday

Franklin Morales @ TB: He is good for both the Win and Ks.

Paul Maholm vs. ARI: 3.26 ERA 1.05 WHIP and 7K/9 at home this year.

Saturday

Freddy Garcia vs. LAA: Good for the Win. Cano will go off in this game after his Home Run Derby debacle.

Luke Hochevar vs. CHW: Good for ERA and WHIP help.

Sunday

Chris Tillman vs. DET: He will help all peripherals Sunday afternoon.

Carlos Villanueva vs. CLE: Same as Tillman…ERA WHIP & Ks.

Braves Take a Hard Hit

By Corey R. Cunningham

The Atlanta Braves on Sunday took a hard hit to reality on Sunday when starting SS Andrelton Simmons was placed on the DL for about a month with a broken right little finger.

Simmons was called up on June 2^nd, replacing a struggling Tyler Pastornicky. Simmons was on a roll hitting in the 7^th and 8^th hole comfortably for the past 30 games. Before Simmons went onto the DL he had a .296 BA, 3 HR, 15 RBI, 13 R, and 1 SB.

Simmons’ BA has dipped quite a bit in the past 8 days, from hitting .333 on July 1, to hitting .296, July 8^th. Simmons has been a slump, going 4-25 in the first week of July thus far. That is not good considering he has had 10 multi hit games in 25 games in June.

While Simmons is out for at least a month, Pastornicky should get recalled from AAA Gwinnett where he has put his bat together again. Tyler has a .264 BA, 14 R, 38 H, 14 2B, 1 HR, 20 RBI, and 3 SB in 144 AB for the Gwinnett Braves. If you have Simmons on your roster like myself, look to add another SS besides Pastornicky for his lack of performance the last time he was at Atlanta.

If you have Simmons you can easily place him on the DL slot, however, its hard to occupy a spot for a guy on the DL who has the time of experience he has, if he returns the way he did performance wise, or perhaps Pastornicky gets a hold of his bat even more, and the Braves place Simmons in AAA once returning from his injury. Many options to consider, and to be honest, no need to fool around; cut Simmons and plug another guy in at the SS, or MI slot position. Look to add guys of Ruben Tejada, or perhaps go to the trading block and acquire a guy who will put you over the top and head into a playoff run.

The Waiver Wire All-Stars

With the All-Star Break starting this week I thought it would be interesting to look at the players that went largely undrafted this year in Fantasy Baseball but are having phenomenal seasons. I call this my Waiver Wire All Start Team. If you are still contending in your league you should have picked up at least a couple of the players sometime through out the first half of the season. If you haven’t picked up any of these players you have done yourself a disservice and are not fully engaged in the waiver wire like you should be.  Most of these players are still some what available to fill in for your injured stars, CI and MI slots, additional bench roles and extra pitching depth. These are players that had an ADP near 300 coming into the season and were rarely drafted but are all top 150 players to date. I have listed the % owned. Remember too that many of these players have multi-position eligibility.

National League                                              American League

C         Carlos Ruiz 89%                                    A.J. Pierzynski 80%

1B       Adam LaRoche 56%                             Chris Davis 49%

2B       Aaron Hill 75%                                      Trevor Plouffe 78%

3B       Chase Headley 53%                               Mike Aviles 80%

SS        Jed Lowrie 61%                                     Alcides Escobar 44%

OF       Angel Pagan 61%                                  Mike Trout 92%

OF       Allen Craig 77%                                     Josh Reddick 82%

OF       Bryce Harper 85%                               Alejandro De Aza 75%

SP        R.A. Dickey 93%                                    Jake Peavy 91%

SP        James McDonald 86%                            Chris Sale 92%

SP        Wade Miley 76%                                    Matt Harrison 80%

RP       Aroldis Chapman 88%                            Fernando Rodney 92%

The lesson here is…scourer your waiver wire as often as possible. There are 40 HR hitters on this list that went undrafted, 100 RBI players, .300+ BA, and possible 20/20 guys. You do not win your league come draft day, you win your league by staying on top of players who are over producing and cutting those under achieving. What are some of your waiver wire All-Stars?