New Closers to Grab

There are still chances to make up saves down the stretch this season. Some MLB teams are still in turmoil with closers due to inconsistencies and injuries.  The four teams that come to mind this week are all mostly west coast teams; Oakland, San Fran, San Diego and Milwaukee.

In Oakland Cook was the man for a good 60 day stretch but now he cannot go back to back games pitching. With at least 1 days rest he has a 0.24 ERA in 38 innings and with no rest he has given up 12 runs in 9 innings. Look to Balfour to get Saves down the stretch.

The Giants situation is very muddled. Botchy has plans to realign his bullpen. We have seen former closer Casilla in the 6^th. We have seen Romo in the 8^th and 9^th, then we see Affeldt get a 4 out Save recently.  From this point on I feel it will be both Romo and Affeldt. If you need one, I would go with Romo and his 10.8K/9 along with his career 0.90 WHIP.

San Diego took another hit when Huston Street went down with a strained calf. There is no hurry to bring him back so in the mean time Gregerson and Thayer will be another closer by committee. Yes Thayer has done well this year but he wasn’t even supposed to make the team out of spring training. If I had to grab one it would definitely be Gregerson and his potent strike out ability for road games. At home either would be serviceable.

Axford went from bullpen help, to Closer, to Elite Closer, to fallen Closer , to demoted. After blowing another lead this year (8 blown saves) Axford has been emoted for the 2^nd time. On comes Jim Henderson…who? I know…all 8innings pitched in the bigs Jim Henderson. He was fairly dominating in the PCL. He posted an ERA under 2.00 with a 56 Ks in 48 innings. Use at your own risk.

Boston’s Final Blow

By Corey R. Cunningham

I believe the injury to young Red Sox 3B Will Middlebrooks was the final nail in the coffin Friday night, as the young superstar took a ball off his right wrist. This is true for Fantasy players who own Red Sox players and theRed Sox fans. As a result of this injury his right wrist is broken and Bobby Valentine thinks Middlebrooks will be shut down for the remainder of the season.

Middlebrooks was hitting .288 with 15 HR, 54 RBI, 34 R and 4 SB. He was the replacement to Kevin Youkilis and he will be the long time 3B there in Bean town. Even though this is a crushing blow to all fantasy teams and dynasty teams, have faith, and keep Middlebrooks on the DL for next year.

This injury could lead to a lot of decision from the Red Sox organization, whether it’s to start bringing up younger talent from the minor leagues to get experience, and also this could be time for Carl Crawford to get his Tommy John Surgery. The Red Sox are 12 games out of first place in the AL East and 6 games out of both the Wild Card spots. I can simply say this is not the year for the Red Sox, it started off bad and it’s going to end worse.

If you have owned anyone in the Red Sox rotation you have been hurt in W, ERA, & WHIP. That is just one of the ralities of owning AL East SPs. The SP is just not up to par this year, with Lester having an ERA above 5, the Josh Beckett trade rumors, and last year’s mishaps in the club house, brand new manager, which I do not think is entirely the problem, however, I do think Bobby Valentine is not the man that should be managing this team. Felix Doubront cannot do it all; he has pitched well for this team, however, his past couple outings have been horrible to say the least. The only positive note is SP Clay Buchholz, who has turned it around since the first couple starts of the season; he has been on a tear lately.

SP Aaron Cook is just simply not going to get it done this year, and although I believe they upgraded the bull pen during the trade deadline, it did nothing for this year, and I still believe trading Josh Reddick was the wrong thing to do. What is done is done, look for Boston to bring up some young minor league talent to get a head start for next year.

Minor League Updates

By Corey R. Cunningham 

In the near future September call ups will start happening as the rosters will start expanding and this is where future talent will succeed and this is where future talent will fail. Many teams have all ready called up future prospects, and more will continue to make the call. Here is a look at the future of MLB baseball, take a look and if you’re in a dynasty league these names will be appealing to you, so pay close attention.

Atlanta Braves SP Julio Teheran is failing at AAA Gwinnett and did no better in his spot start for the Braves on June 10^th. This could have possibly leaded to the Braves signing RHP Ben Sheets and Paul Maholm. Look for Teheran to stay in AAA unless barring injury to a SP. Teheran has a 5.12 ERA in AAA with a record of 6-6 allowing 58 ER, 16 HR, 37 BB in 102 IP.

St. Louis Cardinals P Shelby Miller is having a similar year at AAA as Teheran with a 5.25 ERA and a record of 7-9 in 1.6 IP. Rumor had Miller getting the call up perhaps when they expand the rosters; however, the Cards did just acquire South Paw relief pitcher Brian Fuentes.

Texas Rangers top prospect SS Jurikison Profar is having a good year in AA Frisco hitting .282, 67 R, 118 H, 23 2B, 7 3B, 13 HR, 56 RBI, 14 SB and a .463 SLG. Mike Olt received the call from the Rangers, and Profar could as well in September, however, I do not see a position for him to play unless they move Kinsler to the OF.

Pittsburgh Pirates RHP Jameson Taillon is pitching decent at High-A Bradenton with a record of 6-8 and a 3.83 ERA. Taillon has started 22 games this season, pitching 120 IP and having a WHIP of 1.16. Taillon will be on an innings limit so look for his arm to be shut down soon, approximately another 20-30 innings worth.

Baltimore Orioles RHP Dylan Bundy is a wild card play. Every year it seems Baltimore rush their young talented players, just as they did SS Manny Machado and having only played in the minor leagues for 18 months. Bundy is currently pitching for High A Frederick Keys with a 2.98 ERA, and having a WHIP of 1.20. Low A was no match for Bundy, yet Bundy is still dominating at High A, however, he is getting hit. According to local news articles, Bundy will be pitching in AA Bowie August 14^th.

Arizona Diamondbacks South Paw Tyler Skaggs in taking names in AAA Reno. Skaggs has performed well in Reno as well as taking over for a September call up compared to top prospect Trevor Bauer. Skaggs is 4-1 in AAA with a 1.70 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. Look for Skaggs to get the call sooner rather than later to Arizona as his IP has accumulated to 117.

The above named prospects will be appearing soon with their respective MLB home teams, Taillon will be arriving later in 2013 than most of the prospects. Take a look at the following list of top 100 prospects of 2012 that are currently in the Major Leagues.

Baltimore Orioles SS Manny Machado

Chicago Cubs OF Brett Jackson

New York Mets SP Matt Harvey

Pittsburgh Pirates OF Starling Marte

Texas Rangers 3B Mike Olt

Toronto Blue Jays OF Anthony Gose

Atlanta Braves SS Andrelton Simmons

San Diego Padres C Yasmani Grandal

Machado Up...But Not At SS

The Orioles called up 20 year old Manny Machado last night. All you JJ Hardy owners do not need to worry. He is not replacing Hardy nor will he get much time at SS this season. He was called up more for his slick glove work than his hitting. He will get the majority of his playing time at 3B. He should get a solid 10 game look there and replace Wilson Betemit.

Machado only has 219 total minor league games under his belt with just 109 coming above A ball. The 3^rd overall pick in 2010 ranks as a top 10 prospect though. His current stat line in the minors was a .266 Average with 11HR 26 doubles and 13 SB. With the Orioles in a playoff race they are trying anything to get a spark to catch fire and finish strong.

Machado is worth a flier in 1 year leagues and a must own in all Dynasty formats. Currently owned in 6% of leagues, I see that jumping to over 20% by the weekend. I expect Machado to hit 9^th in the Orioles order and try to steal early and often when he does reach base. He could give you some needed MI help and will qualify for 3B in a week. Don’t anticipate any power numbers this year and he could be a drain on your team’s batting average too. I will take a wait and see approach before I pick him up on any of my teams.

August Position Flexibility

With the season winding down and rookies being called up some players are moving around the diamond to fill injury holes and contenders need for their bat in the line-up. When this happens players gain unusual position eligibility. Here are a few names of players you may want to stash on your keeper/dynasty teams for next year. As you know having the flexibility of multi-position gives you an advantage in daily leagues. These players give you the ability to plug holes for the short or long term if needed. The one name that really sticks out is Prado. By the end of the year he could have all infield position eligibility. There is not another player in baseball with a .300 Average with 4 position eligibility.

Catcher

Yan Gomes who qualifies at the moment at 1B and 3B could be eligible for Catcher by the end of the month. He only needs 2 more starts behind the plate. With JP Arencibia nursing an injury it will come quickly.

1B

Dustin Ackley currently is a top 20 2B and was just one more start will gain eligibility at 1B.

Chris Johnson is on a tear in August with an OPS at 1.175, he only needs 1 more start at 1B to qualify.

Adam Rosales is a super sub with both 3B and SS eligibility. 2 more starts at 1B and he gains additional value going into next year.

Mike Olt was previewed by Corey here. He could be the 1B of the future for Texas. He only needs 2 more starts to qualify going into next year.

Martin Prado may be the most versatile player in baseball. With a couple of more starts at 1B he gains eligibility.

2B

Adam Rosales like I said 2 inches above…additional value with only 1 more start at 2B too.

Martin Prado Ditto. If he gains 2B eligibility by the end of the year I am going after him in the off season thru a trade in my Keeper leagues.

3B

Albert Pujols still needs 3 more starts to gain eligibility…doubt it happens but you never know.

SS

Jean Segura should gain SS eligibility by month’s end to add some extra value going into next year if he can break camp as a starter. Here is the write up on him last month.

OF

Eric Hosmer still needs 3 more starts to qualify…I would put this in the Pujols at 3B category.

SP

Kris Medlen needs only 1 more start to gain duel eligibility. Should happen later this week. Though his low pitch count has kept him from capturing Wins. The Braves are pulling at the 75-80 pitch count.

RP

J.A. Happ is coming out of the bullpen and needs 1 more relief appearance to go into next year with Duel eligibility. As a free agent he will get picked up for someone’s rotation in 2013.

Carlos Zambrano too needs 1 more relief appearance to qualify for RP. Is he worth owning? I had him on a couple of rosters briefly thinking the change of scenery and Ozzie would help him but I am convinced him time is done as far as Fantasy value goes.

That Olt' To Be Good

By Corey R. Cunningham

Michael Olt has been called up by the Texas Rangers, and to my surprise and perhaps others as well. The Rangers have a pretty good offensive lineup, however, looks as if this young AA prospect got the call to the big leagues. It caught me off guard, as I thought we would not have seen him at least until September if not until 2013.

Olt primary position is 3B, however, he has got some looks this year in Frisco at 1B and the OF, more so 1B. Olt has played 95 games at AA this year, hitting .288 with 65 R, 12 doubles, 1 triple, 28 HR, and 82 RBI. Those are very impressive numbers to have at that level, and one would think he will start in AAA next year. If he does have a productive month of August in the big leagues with Texas, perhaps Nolan Ryan and company will make a full time 1B out of him.

Mike Olt has played 3 games so far with Texas, and has a .286 BA, 3 RBI, 1 R, 2 BB, and 1 K. With the power lineup like Texas, Olt batted 8th and 9th in the lineup playing 2 games at 1B, and a game at 3B. I see no point in keeping Olt in the bigs, if they plan on using him as a spot player, to me it makes them worse, and lose the AB's which are very important in a young career. Olt is going to be the power bat I believe to replace Josh Hamilton, as I do not think the Nolan Ryan Company will resign the Left handed slugger. Texas has too many up and coming prospects to worry with Hamilton, and they will need to resign other players as well.

I see Texas going after Zack Greinke this off season, and promoting Jurikison Profar and moving Ian Kinsler to CF, and having Mike Olt occupy 1B. Sooner or later, Elvis Andrus will need resigned and if the Rangers are willing they will have the money to do so. Look for Texas to be a power house for years to come and possible a decade if not more.

Vacation Over...Back to Work

After a long needed vacation without puters or phones, FBV will be back on track later today. Hope you are crushing your league and made some solid moves as the trade deadline nears in most leagues.