Players On Watch During Week 1

By Corey R. Cunningham

Cincinnati Reds SS Zack Cozart had 11 AB. During those 11 AB, he acquired 6 H, 4 R, 1 HR, and 2 RBI. Cozart is off to the hot start that I expected. Cozart is batting in a deep lineup that has the potential to produce high offensive numbers all year. With a lineup surrounding Cozart with players like Phillips, Bruce, Rolen and Votto it’s hard not to say Cozart is a fantasy option, let alone dynasty player.

Houston Astros LF J.D. Martinez had 12 AB. During those 12 AB, he acquired 4 H, 1 R, 1 HR, and 3 RBI. Martinez, just as Cozart as I predicted is off to a hot start. Martinez and the Astros have put some tough competition to start the season off against Colorado. Some expected Houston to have the least productive offense in the league in 2012. I think Carlos Lee, and JD Martinez will have something to say about that.

Seattle Mariners 2B Dustin Ackley had 19 AB. During those 19 AB, he acquired 6 H, 4 R, 1 HR, and 3 RBI. Ackley is being the hitter he as during his college career at UNC, as well as what he should while he was in the minors. Seattle is another team predicted to end of in the lower tier of the offensive stats this year. They have a lot of young talent, Jesus Montero, Justin Smoak, Mike Carp, and Ackley.

Oakland Athletics CF Yoenis Cespedes had 13 AB. During those 13 AB, he has 4 H, 3 R, 3 HR, and 7 RBI. Though off to a sluggish start in winter league ball, some said he was over rated, as of now, I believe he holds water to what his numbers were in Cuba. With the signing of Cespedes, the A’s actually hold some value when it comes to fantasy players. Cespedes might actually be worth a dynasty league option.

Philadelphia Phillies 2B Freddy Galvis had 10 AB. Galvis is batting .000 with 10 AB, 0 H, 1 R, and 2 K. Galvis who was an automatic option to AAA before the start of the regular season has started for the Phillies due to an injury to Chase Utley, and it looks as if Galvis will be the starter for some time to come. This offense I believe can put up numbers, however, the age of the lineup is a bit of some concern.

Kansas City Royals CF Lorenzo Cain had 11 AB. Cain has just 1 H, 1 R through the 11 AB, and is off to an opposite start of what he produced in spring training. I am a big fan of Cain, and hope his bat finds the baseball soon. KC had put Cain in the 2 hole to start the season and as of yesterday, he was down batting 8^th. Not sure why the flip flop of spots, however, I feel this could be another Carl Crawford story of batting in every position just to get all flabbergasted.

San Francisco 1B Brandon Belt had 10 AB. Belt has had 1 H, 1 R, and 5 K through 10 AB. Belt struggled at the start of last year after he made the team out of spring training and yet again, it looks as if he is off to the same start. Belt was slotted to start in LF, however, Aubrey Huff who has not been doing so well in the spring has been the starting LF. If Belt does not turn the juice on quickly, he will once again be finding himself on the outside looking it, either on the bench as the 4^th OF, or in AAA.

Time to Add Some Depth…

By Corey R. Cunningham

Oakland Athletics SP Tommy Milone is owned in only 2% of yahoo fantasy sports leagues as of now. However, by the end of this week or next I expect that percentage to rise. I myself found Milone on the FA pickup end after I had 3 SP hit the DL at the beginning of the season.

Milone who was a 10^th round selection in 2008 by the Washington Nationals was traded this past winter to the A’s along with 3 other National prospects for SP Gio Gonzalez. Milone hit every level of minor league ball inconsecutive years, where from High-A to AAA his numbers was of all resemblance to one another. He held a 37-22 overall record with a career 3.05 ERA in the minor leagues. From 2009-2011 He won 12 games a year and recorded triple digit strikeouts, with no more than 36 BB issued in one year. His SO/9 ratio rose as his BB/9 ratio dipped from High-A Potomac to AAA Syracuse.

Tommy received the 3^rd starting spot in the A’s rotation, and he held the Royals to a screeching halt. He allowed only 3 H, through 8 IP of ball. He did not strikeout a batter, and he did issue 3 BB. As for his first start, he is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a WHIP of 0.75.

It looks as if Tommy Milone will get his next start at Seattle, on Sunday April 15^th. This matchup should once again be in favorite of the A’s starting pitcher. Milone should be added at least for the remainder of Aprils schedule as it looks like his opponents’ will be the Cleveland Indians, and Chicago White Sox, not exactly power hitting lineups, so on paper this is in favor to Milone.

My Teams & Players For 2012

With the season starting, I wanted to provide a list of the most commonly drafted players I have on the 6 fantasy teams that I will be managing this year. I have drafted by auction and snake. I am in Yahoo and ESPN leagues. I am in both Roto and H2H along with a Points League. Many leagues are pert and very deep. Some leagues are daily and some are weekly line-up changes. I think I am competing in everything except Balks and HBPs this year. Anyway, I enjoy fantasy and take pleasure in helping anyone when I can. Here are the players I have on my teams the most often, listed by name and frequency drafted. At the end of this list I have provided a link to all my leagues home pages. Feel free to follow my successes and leave comments when necessary.

This year I have so many players that are only on one team. Not sure why but I feel it is because I drafted so late in so many leagues. Of the six leagues I am participating only one time did I draft in the upper half, the other times I drafted 8^th, 11^th, 14^th and last. Remember though,  last year we had three championships, a 4^th and a 7^th by the end of the year.

BRETT LAWRIE 5

WANDY RODRIGUEZ 4

HUSTON STREET 4

DAN UGGLA 3

BJ UPTON 3

SHIN SOO-CHOO 3

TIM STAUFFER 3

ADAN DUNN 3

SERGIO SANTOS 3

JASON BAY 3

CC SABATHIA 2

CARLOS MARMOL 2

JOSH COLLMENTER 2

BRYAN LAHAIR 2

COREY HART 2

CAMERON MAYBIN 2

ALEJANDRO DE AZA 2

RUSSELL MARTIN 2

JJ HARDY 2

ALEX RIOS 2

JOSH JOHNSON 2

JOHAN SANTANA 2

JASON KIPNIS 2

ERVIN SANTANA 2

MADISON BUMGARNER 2

HEATH BELL 2

ROY OSWAT 2

CARLOS ZAMBRANO 2

RYAN DOUMIT 2

DREW STOREN 2

JD MARTINEZ 2

BRAYAN PENA 2

Cubs-Iwin MLB 2012

FantasyBasebalVision-Yahoo Money League

FantasyBasebalVision-FGD Readers vs. Writers

FantasyBasebalVision-Fake Teams H2H League '12

FantasyBasebalVision-Rusty Koontz Special

FantasyBasebalVision-Trade Counsel Fantasy League

A Worthy Pick-up

Chris Sale just completed his 1^st start and went nearly 7 innings and threw 100 pitches. His final line of 1W, 5K, 1.35 ERA and a 0.75 WHIP is enough to bolster anyone’s Fantasy Team.  Currently only owned in 60% of leagues he is one to consider. You must also recognize his RP status which is an added value to any squad. 

 If you remember Sale was the 13th overall pick in the 2010 draft, he had a great year in 2010 with 71 IP in relief. As a reliever last year he had no real use for his change-up but is was superb during his inaugural start. Yes, Cleveland is only hitting .153 as a team and they had something to do with Sale’s success but not all. Sale was dominant according to catcher Pierzynski.  

Sale should be a fixture in the White Sox rotation for the next decade just as the man he is replacing, Mark Buehrle had been. If you have room on your roster or need to replace some of your injured players you should scoop up Sale immediately.

Corey's Trip Around the Minors

By Corey R. Cunningham

Week 1 of AAA Baseball

Pawtucket 1B Lars Anderson is batting .375 through 3 games. He has 8 AB, 3 BB, 3 H, 1 R, and an extra base hit. Anderson hit decent during another long spring training for a guy who knows he is subject to AAA. Keep Lars on your watch list, for a trade.

Charlotte Knights 3B Dallas McPherson is batting .364 thorough 3 games. He has 11 AB, 0 BB, 4 K, 4 H, 2 R and 2 doubles. McPherson is most likely a permanent AAA player, but pending injuries, he could see some time.

Columbus Clippers 1B Matt LaPorta is batting .375 through 4 games. Matt has 16 AB, 6 H, 3 R, 2 doubles, 4 RBI and 5 K. LaPorta was demoted to AAA during spring training and hopes to get his job back sometime soon.

Lehigh Valley IronPigs SP Tyler Cloyd as a 0.00 ERA, and has pitched 6 innings of solid baseball. He has let up no R or ER, and has 8 K with a GO/AO of 2.33.

Durham Bulls SP Chris Archer has a 1.50 ERA through 6 IP of work and has 8 K, allowing 3 BB, 1 HR, and 2 H. Archer was involved in the Matt Garza deal that sent him to the Cubs. Archer is in a deep system of Rays pitchers; however, one trade can bring him up to the big club in a heartbeat.

Tacoma Rainers LF Carlos Peguero has found his swing early on in the young season. He is batting .700 with a 1.600 SLG, 2.350 OPS, and .750 OPB. Carlos has hit 2 HR, one double, and one triple. He has 4 RBI, 5 R scored with only 1 K.

Salt Lake Bees CF Mike Trout has played in 4 games thus far and has a .500 BA. Trout has 8 H and 6 R in 16 AB. He has 5 K, and 3 BB, with a .579 OBP, .563 SLG, 1.141 OPS, along with 2 SB.

Sacramento River Cats OF Michael Taylor has played in 4 games, and has a .444 BA. Taylor has a .476 OBP, .667 SLG, and 1.143 OPS. He has 8 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 1 SB and 1 extra base hit through 18 AB.

Oklahoma City RedHawks RF Fernando Martinez was picked up on waivers by the Astros organization after being released by the New York Mets. Martinez who is starting the season in AAA has a .375 BA, .444 OPB, .688 SLG, and 1.132 OPS. He has 6 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 3 K through 16 AB.

Iowa Cubs CF Brett Jackson is one step closer to the Majors. Jackson is batting .438 with a .526 OBP, .688 SLG, and 1.214 OPS through the first 4 games of the season. He has 7 H, 4 R, 4 RBI, 2 doubles and a triple through 16 AB.

Iowa Cubs 1B Anthony Rizzo is awaiting a starting gig himself in the big leagues behind 1B Bryan LaHair. Rizzo who was traded from San Diego to the Cubs in the offseason is batting .375 with a .375 OBP, .563 SLG, and .938 OPS. He has 1 HR, with 6 RBI and a SB.

Oklahoma City RedHawks SP Jordan Lyles has pitched 1 game thus far, with a 1.50 ERA. Lyles has a 2.00 GO/AO, allowing 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB while striking out 5, and giving up 7 H in 6 IP.

Week 1 of AA Baseball

Reading Phillies C Sebastian Valle has played in 3 games thus far, while batting .500. Valle I believe is the future for the Phillies, as it has been a while since they have had a productive catcher. Valle has 10 AB, 5 H, 3 R, 1 HR, and 1 RBI. He has a .583 OBP, .800 SLG, and 1.383 OPS.

Richmond Flying Squirrels CF Gary Brown has played in 4 games and has a .462 BA. Brown has 6 H, 2 R, 1 RBI with 2 K. Brown has a .467 OBP, .462 SLG, and a .928 OPS. Brown should split time this year between AA and AAA, and perhaps make a run for the MLB 25 man roster in 2013.

Altoona Curve 1B Matt Curry had earned his promotion from Low A to AA. During the first 3 games of the season, he has a .455 BA, 5 H, 1 R, 1 RBI and 1 K. He has a .500 OBP, .455 SLG, and .955 OPS.

Bowie Baysox SS Manny Machado who split time in Low A Delmarva and High A Frederick last year is now at AA Bowie. Machado has a .333 BA through the first 4 games of the season with 5 H, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 SB, and 4 K. Machado who could be the future SS for the O’s needs to be dealt with slowly, although the O’s are famous for bringing their top prospects up before they are ready. Manny is only 20 years of age, and in AA already.

New Britain Rock Cats SP Luke French has his first game under his belt and it good fashion. French has a 0.00 ERA to start off the 2012 season with a GO/AO of 1.25. He has pitched 5 innings of work, allowing 2 H, 2BB, while striking out 4.

Reading Phillies SP Jonathan Pettibone has a 1.50 ERA through his first game, allowing 1 R, and 1 ER. He has allowed 10 H, and 0 BB through 6 IP in his first game for the Reading Phillies.

Jackson Generals SS Nick Franklin has a .500 BA through the first 4 games and 14 AB of the season. He has a .533 OBP, .786 SLG, and 1.319 OPS. He has 7 H, 2 R, 1 HR, and 4 RBI thus far. Look for Franklin to join Dustin Ackley sometime in 2013.

Mobile BayBears SP Trevor Bauer has made his minor league debut in a good way. He allowed just 2 H and 3 BB in 5 IP. He did get the W in his debut, while allowing 1.00 GO/AO. Arizona is hoping to have Bauer in the starting rotation sometime soon. Make sure you have Bauer on your radar, if you have not chosen him in the Minor league draft do so NOW!

Tennessee Smokies SP Trey McNutt did not earn a win in his minor league debut for the smokies. Trey was rumored around in the compensation for the Theo Epstein move, however, he was not. McNutt pitched 3.2 innings of work, allowing just 2 H, 3BB, while striking out 3.

Jackson Generals SP James Paxton received the win in his minor league debut for the Generals, pitching 5.2 innings. He allowed just 2 H, while striking out 10. He has a .105 AVG against and a .75 GO/AO.

Tulsa Drillers 3B Nolen Arenado has played 4 games with 15 AB. He has 8 H, with 4 RBI, 4 R, and 2 BB. Nolen does have 3 doubles on the young season with a .611 OBP, .733 SLB, and 1.344 OPS.

Northwest Arkansas Naturals OF Wil Myers has played in 4 games, with a .313 BA. He has 2 HR, 2 RBI, and 4 R with 1 SB. In 16 AB Myers does have 6 K. Myers holds a .353 OBP, .688 SLG, and 1.040 OPS.

Week 1 of A Baseball

Lancaster JetHawks CF and 1^st round selection George Springer has a .412 BA through the first 4 game of the season. Springer has 7 H, 3 R, 1 HR, and 6 RBI through his first 17 AB of the minors. Springer did not get assigned to Low-A Lexington, which means I will not be making a visit to see him play at Hagerstown Suns Municipal Stadium.

High Desert Mavericks SS Brad Miller is off to a hot start with a .500 BA. He has a .571 OBP, 1.500 SLG, and 2.071 OPS. Miller has 4 HR, with 11 RBI, 9 H, and 9 R. Miller who came out of Clemson University might be a surprise young talented player for Seattle.

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes SP Zach Lee received a no decision in his first start for the Quakes. Lee allowed just 1 H and 1 BB through 5 IP for the Quakes. Lee should be in the starting 5 for the Dodgers sometime in 2013. Lee is one of the higher prospects in the Los Angeles Dodgers system.

Modesto Nuts SP Tyler Matzek received his first loss of the season, however, on the good end he still has an ERA of 0.00. Tyler has struggled over the past couple of seasons; he has gone from being a top prospect in the Rockies system, to barley scratching the surface. He pitched 4.2 innings, allowing 3 H, 2 R and 3 BB while striking out 7 batters. Not sure what happened to Matzek, but I would stay away for the time being.

Carolina Mudcats OF Tyler Holt has played in 3 games thus far, and is knocking the ball around. He has a .615 BA, 8 H, 4 R, 4 RBI, one double, and one triple. Holt carries a .667 OBP, .846 SLG, and 1.513 OPS.

Lynchburg Hillcats SS Matt Lipka has had 13 AB, while starting 3 games for the Hillcats. Lipka has a .385 BA, with 5 H, and one triple.

Charlotte Stone Crabs OF Mikie Mahtook has played in 3 games batting 11 times. He carries a .455 BA, with 5 H, 1 R, and 3 RBI. Mikie looks like a strong prospect in the Rays system, which is known for pitching. Mikie has a .500 OBP, .545 SLG, and 1.045 OPS.

Lakeland Flying Tigers 3B Nick Castellanos has a .417 BA going into game 4 with the Flying Tigers. Nick has a .500 OBP, .583 SLG, and 1.083 OPS. Nick has 5 H, 3 R, 2 RBI, and 4 K through his 12 first AB with the Flying Tigers.

Brevard County Manatees SP Jed Bradley won his first decision of his career. Bradley pitched 6.1 IP, allowing just 3 H, and 1 BB. Bradley did have 7 K, allowing a AVG of .143.

Brevard Count Manatees SP Taylor Jungmann another top prospect in the Brewers organization also won his first minor league debut. Taylor now has a 1.80 ERA, with a 1.20 GO/AO. He pitched 5 IP, allowing 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB and striking out 3 batters.

Cedar Rapids Kernels 2B Kaleb Cowart has played in 3 games thus far, with a .462 BA. He has 13 AB, 6 H, 3 R, 2 doubles, 1 triple and 3 RBI, along with 2 SB. Cowart has a .500 OBP, .769 SLG, and 1.269 OPS.

Charleston RiverDogs 3B Dante Bichette Jr has a .417 BA going into game 4 of his minor league debut. Bichette has 12 AB, which include 5 H, and 4 K. He has a .417 OBP, .417 SLG, and .833 OPS.

Time To Stream SP

There are few things more controversial in fantasy baseball than streaming pitchers. Streaming is when an owner adds and drops starting pitchers to maximize the starts during the matchup. A good/lucky streamer is able to rack up the pitching stats and win categories like Ks and Ws and stay competitive in ERA and WHIP. A bad/unlucky streamer will skyrocket their ERA and WHIP and gain too few Ks or Ws to make it worth the add/drops…

To Stream, or Not To Stream? That is the Question.

In H2H leagues I find in a must. In daily Roto leagues if you do not stream you can at least block others from streaming by pick up the best 2 start SP for the week off waivers. In leagues with unlimited innings pitched it is a necessity. In inning limits leagues under 1500, use at your own decision.

If you choose to partake in this strategy, and I recommend you do at least with 1 pitcher every week here are my choices. These pitchers every Sunday will be owned in less than 50% of leagues and can be easily added.

Henderson Alvarez TOR 15% Owned (BOS vs. Doubront, BAL vs. Matusz)

Luis Mendoza KC 3% Owned (@OAK vs. Milone, CLE vs. J Tomlin)

Jake Westbrook STL 2% Owned (CIN vs. Leake, CHC vs. Volstad)

Mike Leake CIN 17% Owned (@STL vs. Westbrook, @WAS vs. Jackson)

Felix Doubront BOS 3% Owned (@TOR vs. Alvarez, TB vs. Hellickson)

Chris Narveson MIL 1% Owned (@CHC vs. Maholm, @ATL vs. Beachy)

Ross Detwiler WAS 1% Owned (@NYM vs. Gee, @CIN vs. Bailey)

Hector Noesi SEA 1% Owned (@TEX vs. Darvish, OAK vs. Milone)

Chris Volstad CHC 1% Owned (MIL vs. Marcum, @STL vs. Westbrook)

On another hand I hope you picked up Hector Santiago RP CWS. It looks like he will be the Closer for the time being. I picked him up in 5 of 6 leagues on Friday after Ventura used Reed in the 7^th and Thornton in the 8^th. Then again last night, Reed in the 7^th and Thornton in the 8^th. Crain may still be I the mix but Santiago and his screwball looked very strong.

Studs & Duds

After the 4the opening day and the 5^th day of baseball we should look at the studs and duds from all the opening days for fantasy purposes.  First I need to let Bud Selig know I do not like having all these opening days, overseas and then mid week. I have some weekly leagues where my team has been locked in since late March until April 16^th. By doing that I have 4 players in my line-up on the DL for these 19 days. Note to Bud: Only 1 opening day from now on…you are killing us in the fantasy world.

Studs from all the opening days:

Starting Pitching

HALLADAY was no surprise with his 8 IP with no runs and only 2 hits getting the win.

VERLANDER was solid with a line of 8 IP no runs and 7Ks.

SANTANA looked good giving up no runs but needs to pitch deeper into games to garner a W or QS for some of us. He gave up 2H and had 5K

BILLINGSLY may have been the biggest surprise of all the opening day starters. His line of 8+IP of shutout ball combined with double digit Ks. Since he is only owned in 55% of leagues expect a quick rush to pick him up this weekend.

WEAVER pitched 8 shutout innings with 10 Ks to garner the Win.

MASTERSON pitched his team to a 4-1 after 8 IP and 10K but got a ND due his bullpen.

DEMPSTER leaves with the lead after 10K but got watch his bullpen tie and then lose the game.

Infield

We had 5 1B go deep; Dunn, Goldschmidt, Smoak, C. Lee and Pena who also had 5 RBI.

Tulo is the only SS to go deep and Furcal collected 2 SB. Aybar led the way with 3 RBI

Ackley had his 2^nd multi-hit game of the season and is the only 2B with both a HR & SB. Kinsler opened his season with a run scoring double followed by a solo HR. Currently on 7 2B have an RBI on the season

The usual suspects at 3B have a HR. Longo, Joey Bats, and Freese. We need to add Hannahan from Cleveland to the mix. If you need a starting 3B Hannahan may be a good pick up for the next 6 weeks until Chisenhall gets his stroke right.

Outfield

KEMP decided to show why he deserved the MVP last year. He is 4/9 with 4RBI and 4 R.

BELTRAN is the only other OF with both a HR and SB.

CESPEDES leads all OF with 2HR. He can still be had in a few leagues, grab him if you need OF help.

MARKAKIS, HAMILTON & BOUROUGHS are all hitting .667

Duds from all the opening days:

Starting Pitchers

GALLARDO and SHIELDS both are sporting an ERA over 10

CC and LINCICUM looked rusty at best though they both had 7 Ks each.

Infielders

YOUKLIS getting old and looked it against Verlander going 0-4 with 2K.

GORDON is now 1-10 with no SB.

KIPNIS went 0-5 in the epic opening day game. He did have a R with 2 BB and 2Ks

LAWRIE also went hitless in that marathon game. 0-6

Outfielders:

Heyward went 0-4 with 2K. He still cannot hit left handlers and may continue to reside in the bottom 1/3 of the order.

STANTON is 0-8 but did hit some bombs in Miami’s new stadium that would have been gone in other parks. His home park will cost him HRs this year.

BAY was 0-3 and one pundit put it this way; Bay will be out of baseball in 24 months.

Early Rounders BRAUN, ELLSBURY. GRANDERSON are hitless.

Closers:

VALVERDE blew his 1^st save chance after going 49 for 49 last year. Then picks up the Win a BloSwin.

PEREZ  gave up 3 ER and blew the save.

THE MARLINS in 2 games have 7 Hits, 1 Run and no SB while mustering up 13 Ks.