Tigers and Marlins Trade Review

By Corey R. Cunningham

Yesterday we learned the Tigers were seeking a SP and a 2B, many rumors flew around the sports network, yet only one came true. The Tigers were interested in making a swap with the Diamondbacks; Johnny Peralta for Stephen Drew, however, the deal never happened, instead the Tigers pulled the trigger and traded their top pitching prospect Jacob Turner and 2 other prospects Rob Brantly, and Brian Flynn to the Miami Marlins for RHP Anibal Sanchez and 2B Omar Infante.

Last year during the trade deadline when the Tigers acquired RHP Doug Fister the Mariners were interested in Jacob Turner and according to the Tigers he was, “untouchable”. I am not exactly sure what had happened to Turner’s “untouchable” label, but it may be his 8.03 ERA, 1-1 record, and 1.95 WHIP. Turner had very similar numbers in 2011 in the same amount of games, I guess in Detroit you only get 3 games to pitch a year, and if you fail you’re traded.

The Marlins also acquired C Rob Brantly who was at AAA Toledo, where he was batting .254, 11 R, 33 H, 4 2B, .295 OBP, and .285 SLG. Also sent to Miami south paw Brian Flynn, who started just one game at AA Erie for the Tigers, however, looking at High A Lakeland stats, 8-4, 3.71 ERA, 102 IP, 42 ER, 84 K, 1.422 WHIP, and 7.4 K/9.

As far as the return the Tigers received, I believe they could have gotten RHP Josh Johnson in return if they were going to give up their top pitching prospect. Instead they settled for middle man of the rotation RHP Anibal Sanchez who has a 3.94 ERA, 5-7, 110 K, 33 BB, and a 1.26 WHIP. Anibal will have to adjust quickly going to the AL, as his last 3 outings during interleague play were unsuccessful, going 0-2 in 3 appearances and giving up 13 R in those 3 games.

Detroit went after a familiar 2B in Omar Infante who was signed by Detroit and started his career there. Infante will add a decent bat in Detroit’s lineup, and more than likely be a leadoff man or in the No. 2 Hole with Jackson, and moving Quentin Berry down to 8^th or 9^th in the batting order. Infante is hitting .287 on the season with 8 HR, 33 RBI, 42 R, and 10 SB.

This trade in my opinion brings Sanchez’s value down going to the AL where there is more power hitters and more hitter friendly parks, although it may raise Infante’s value going to a better lineup. One thing has me pondering why they made this deal, when just a few weeks ago the Marlins traded for 1B Carlos Lee. Now Josh Johnson is being scouted heavily, look for him to possible get traded soon, however, if I was Miami, I’d hold onto Johnson and work with Turner to have a nice future one-two punch.

Trade Grade:

Miami: B+

Detroit: C+

Segura Recalled

The Halos have recalled 2B/SS Jean Segura from Double A. Segura has been regarded as the Angles best prospect behind the mighty Mike Trout and as high as the 22^nd best overall. Segura will get some playing time while Aybar is down with a bad toe that might even put him on the DL for a stint. Maicer Izturis may get the early starts but Segura figures to get his share.

Segura has speed and beats out grounders like no one else. He has an athletic, aggressive swing that scouts seem to love. Back in Spring Training Segura put up a slash line of .381/.462/.714 which would have gotten any other rookie a roster spot. So far this year Segura is hitting .294 with 7HR and 33 SB.

Segura has also had a few injuries while coming up, mostly hamstring related. The ceiling is high for Segura and I have owned him in my Dynasty League for a couple of years now. It will be fun to see how he does in that monster Angels line-up for a few weeks. This could also be a quick showcase for trade bait if the Angels want additional pitching. For Fantasy purposes he may a good add until the trade deadline just in case he gets moved and takes over a starting spot. Currently he is listed as a 2B in both ESPN and Yahoo. If he gets a few starts he will gain SS eligibility.

Houston & White Sox Stay Active

 

 By Corey R. Cunningham

Yet another post about the Houston Astros, as they continue to pursue depth for their minor league rosters. Yesterday, I posted the Astros and Blue Jays made a 10 player deal, again today, Houston acquired two more minor league players for RHP Brett Myers.

I had written in my post yesterday, the deal which the Astros acquired RHP Francisco Cordero would be good to get Brett Myers back in the starting rotation, however looks as if I was wrong and the Astros had no intentions in doing so, yet looks as if Cordero will get the closer role going forward now with no competition.

The Astros picked up RHP Matthew Heidenreich from AA Birmingham with a 1-2 record, 5.89 ERA, 18 IP, 12 ER, and a 1.75 WHIP. They also picked up South Paw Blair Walters from High-A Winston-Salem, with a 1-3 record, 7.01 ERA, 25 IP, 20 ER, and a 1.63 WHIP. Walters started the year at Low A Kannapolis getting promoted to High A, where in Kannapolis he had a 3-3 record, with a 2.88 ERA, and a 1.097 WHIP, looks as if he is struggling to say the least in his promotion.

The White Sox continue to add quality depth at such a low expense, as they are on record for only owing Brett Myers $1MM, of his $4.45MM still owed to him this year. Myers will add much needed depth in the bullpen for the Sox and could pick up a spot start or two going forward, barring any injury. Myers has an 0-4 record, with a 3.52 ERA, 20 K, and 19 S this season.

Not sure what to expect from Houston going forward, as I did write yesterday, they have several young players that could contribute going forward, and some young prospects awaiting in the spotlight down in the minors, as I forgot to mention yesterday, coming to Houston with Jonathan Singleton was P Jarred Cosart who is currently sitting at AA Corpus Christi with a 4-5 record, 3.86 ERA, 79 IP and a 1.45 WHIP. Cosart had pitched one game at AAA Oklahoma City this year, however got hit hard in 6 IP, giving up 10 H, and 4 ER.

Houston could be the sleeper team the Tampa Bay Rays put out a couple years ago, as they were once the joke of the league, or they could be the Baltimore Orioles of baseball who continue to rush their young prospects up to the majors.

Trade grade:

Houston: D

Chicago: B+

11.6K/9 Coming Soon To Oakland

The Oakland A’s lead the American League in ERA and are only ½ games out of the wild-card race. With their plethora of top starting pitcher they have the luxury of trading off the ones they want to possibly shore up their offense.  Once the A’s decide which starter, probably Colon, to move they have another gem waiting in Triple A.

What they have is only another top strikeout pitcher. His name is Dan Straily. The 23 year old was a 24th round pick of Oakland back in 2009 and he has been in both Double and Triple A this season where he is 6-6 with a 2.64 ERA and WHIP under 1.00 to date. Here is what  really gets Fantasy players excited. In 126 innings he has only given up 87 hits and has 162 Ks. That is 11.6K/9 and he has actually pitched better in Triple A than in Double A and he pitches in the hitter friendly Pacific Coast League. Before this year Straily was just another 4.00 ERA pitcher with some K potential. This year he has completely turned it around.

Since the A’s are stockpiled with excellent Starters they are in the cat bird’s seat when it comes to negotiating strong returns for their players. One current starter could even get placed back in the bullpen to give Straily a look.  Either way I see him pitching in the Bigs by the month’s end. You should definitely give him a look and start him when he is pitching at home. I recently picked him up in my Dynasty League

A Look Inside...Astros&BlueJays Trade

By Corey R. Cunningham

Early this morning, the Astros and Blue Jays completed a 10 player deal, that sent 7 players to the Astros. There was no blockbuster trade occurring here, however, both deals could help each team in the near future. The deal included players from Toronto going to Houston: RHP Francisco Cordero, OF Ben Francisco, minor league players Joe Musgrove, Asher Wojciechowski, David Rollins, Carlos Perez and Player to be named later in exchange for South Paw J.A. Happ, RHP Brandon Lyon and David Carpenter headed to Toronto.

This trade will boost the minor league system for the Astros, and it is a good thing, as their minor league system is depleted to say the least. They have good prospects but only a hand full at best, although a team is 9 players playing together, so lets see how they shape up going forward; they will be an American League team next year in the AL West.

I believe the Astros have won this deal, as it never hurts to try to reach for the stars with prospects who could turn out to be stars, and nonetheless give up nothing in return for the gamble. My motto: your not winning with them, so why not move them. This regarding J.A. Happ, Brandon Lyon and David Carpenter; I once believed Happ would turn into a decent No. 3 starter, however, his one year wonder with the Phillies turned into nothing special.

Cordero, once a household name in Cincinnati, will bring some great experience with him to Houston, although, it is not known if the Astros will sign him for next year, and he could possibly take over the closers role and bring back Brett Myers to the starting rotation. Ben Francisco had his best years in Philly, and I believe he will be nothing more than a AAA star, yet in Houston, with a depleted roster and a young one at that, he will probably get the nod somewhere in the OF corner.

Houston will continue to boost their minor league system, and it is only a plus to do so, although I don’t think they will be much more active on the trade block as they like their young stars on the MI Altuve, and Lowrie as well as J.D. Martinez and if Brett Wallace comes around they will have a solid young 4 players, and Jonathan Singleton lurking in the minors.

Houston’s needs: Catcher, SP, 1B.

Toronto Needs: SP, RP

Houston Trade Grade: C+

Toronto Trade Grade: C

You Could Be Gyrating Over Gyorko at the Trade Deadline

With the start of the trading whirl wind that will get underway any minute now you should know of a sure fire call-up once the dominos start to fall. As you remember from the article on Headley last week, I expect him to be one of the first tradesto be made. In his place  the Padres will call up one of the best hitters in the Minors. Their new 3B will be Jedd Gyorko. The Padres have moved Gyorko from 2B to 3B over the past couple of weeks.

All Gyorko is doing is hitting over .320 with 21 HR and 73 RBI between Double and Triple A this season. In Triple A alone he is hitting an unbelievable .351 over a 55 game span with an OPS of 1.014. Since being drafted in the 2^nd round in 2010, Gyorko has just smashed the ball and has never hit below .300 at any level.  For Fantasy purposes; what hurts his value will be playing in Petco. Besides that he is true professional hitter.  It is interesting that Yahoo has him as a 3B but ESPN has him listed as 2B eligible.  He is definitely worth a stash on your bench if you have the room.

Little Man Standing Large

By Corey R. Cunningham

Minnesota Twins OF Ben Revere is all of 5’ 9” tall, and weighs 170 lb wet, though he has held his ground back in Minnesota. The former 1st round pick started the 2012 season on the Twins roster, before struggling and getting demoted to AAA Rochester. Ben spent all of 23 games in Rochester this year, and he spent a hand full of games with the Twins before being sent down.

During Revere’s AAA stint, he batted .330, in 94 AB with 9 R, 31 H, 1 2B, 6 RBI, and had 6 SB. He has never been a slouch to minor league hitting, as he has a career minor league batting average of .326.

Thus far, through 55 games with the Twins, Ben has a line of .319 BA, 14 RBI, 27 R, and 19 SB. Revere has been clutch for the Twins, and as far as offense goes, they were predicted to have one of the lower tier offenses in the Majors. As of now Minnesota ranks 15^th in Runs, 9^th in Hits, 11^th in Doubles, 23^rd in Triples, 22^nd in HR, 17^th in Total Bases, 15^th in RBIs, 9^th in AVG, 10^th in OBP, 20^th in SLG, and 15^th in OPS. Looking at those averages it seems as if Minnesota is right in the middle of the pack, that is not the case. The are bringing up the rear in the AL Central

I picked up Ben in late May, and had stuck him in one of my starting OF spots, since then I have never looked back. He has been great for my team, as it was lacking a bit in TB, AVG, and SB. Needless to say, Ben has contyributed in all 3 categories to boost my team and Ben could do the same for yours. Of course, he will not produce many power numbers or RBI; however, he will give you R, SB, TB, and AVG. I’ll take 4 out of 6 categories.