How Many Weeks in Sacramento?

By Corey R. Cunningham 

The red hot Oakland Athletics optioned their prized prospect 2B Jemile Weeks to AAA Sacramento last week. Speculation is the A's will bring back Jemile in September when the rosters expand. The good news here is the A's are still winning, while Weeks gets his hitting back together from a hot 2011 season.

Before Weeks was optioned to AAA, he was batting .220, with 2 HR, 20 RBI, 54 R, and 15 SB in 437 AB. Weeks played 97 G last year, while hitting .303, with 123 H, 26 2B, 8 3B, and 22 SB. Perhaps its the fact the pitchers have figured out Weeks disadvantages at the plate, this is for the poor plate performance, although this year compared to last year he has double his BB, though his SLG has dipped more than 100 points, as well as his OPS and AVG, all three categories to which is important to a top of the line hitter.

Jemile has 6 games under his belt so far in AAA Sacramento and his hitting quite well and hopefully will be back with the big league club very soon. Weeks is hitting .462 with a .548 OBP, .615 SGL, and 1.164 OPS. He has 26 AB, 2 R, 12 H, 4 2B, 9 RBI and 1 SB. It is still early to tell how his production will be in AAA, although I don't suspect he will be in Sacramento very long.

At 3B, Chase Utley...Huh?

Utley taking grounders at 3B yesterday.

Chase Utley to 3B? It is the position he broke into baseball at, but why would the 5 time 2B All Star want to make the shift? The reason is the Phillies are thin at nearly every position. With Polanco hitting free agency this winter, trading away their entire outfield over the last couple of years, and numerous injuries which have left the Phillies looking at every possibility on the defensive side. That is why he took grounders at 3B yesterday.

So does Utley gain value with 3B eligibility? The position flexibility is nice but Utley will be drafted again as a 2B. His current stats over the last 30 days rank him the 10^th best 2B over that span. His slash line of 4HR, 12RBI, 3SB, and a .273 average is decent for a 2B but as a 3B he would rank near 20^th during that duration. With bad knees and aging Utley may never be another 20/20 guy again but he still holds value at a thin 2B…At 3B he is less than average. If he did make the move to 3B it would only be until Double A star Cody Asche is ready. That probably isn’t until 2014. What I could see is that Utley move to LF at the tail end of his career if he still can continue to produce some power.

Career Minor Leaguer Gets His Shot

Some more of the fallout from the Boston trade has sent career a career minor leaguer to The Show. Boston’s new 3B is Mauro Gomez. He is also eligible at 1B in most formats. With Boston going nowhere fast this big power hitting Dominican is sure to get plenty of ABs down the stretch.  He has had four different 20+ HR season in the minors with a career .278 average to go along with a .334 OBP and an OPS just north of .800.

This right handed hitting CI has put up big years in Doubles while working his way up through the Rangers, Atlanta and now the Red Sox organizations, he had four different seasons with 35+ doubles and 1 over 40. Now at 28 this may be his opportunity to shine now that he is in the big leagues.  His 25% K rate is what has kept him in minors not to mention Youkilis and Gonzalez blocking a position for him in Boston.

So far this year in nearly 50 ABs he has a .292 average with a HR and 6 RBI to go along with 7 runs. Most of this damage came in 1 game against the Royals where he went 4 for 6 with a jack and 3 RBI. For those of you in AL only leagues and deep leagues it be worth keeping an eye on Gomez who should continue to hit in the 5 hole. At the magical age 27 for ballplayers remember that Gomez had a great year in 2011 with a slash line of .304/.356/.522 with 24 HR and 90 RBI which was enough to place HIM IN THE Top 10 for each offensive category for the International League.

Minor Leaguers Involved in Blockbuster Deal

By Corey R. Cunningham

Yesterday, we learned the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers exchange some major names in baseball. More so, they exchange major money as well. The Red sox received 4 minor league players Jerry Sands, Rubby De La Rosa, Allen Webster and Ivan De Jesus, as well as major league 1B James Loney.

There are many different view points on this subject, and many people can point fingers at many others, however, we will not get into that subject, but we will focus on the minor league talent that was sent east.

Allen Webster, in his second year at AA Chattanooga Lookouts, is 6-8 with a 3.55 ERA, 122 IP, 120 H, 63 R, 48 ER, 1 HR, 117 K, 1.455 WHIP and a 8.7 SO/9. Looking at these particular stats, the ERA is feasible, along with allowing only 1 HR in 122 IP, which is probably more impressive stat I have seen in a while. Webster more than likely will be assigned to AA Portland, however, with 122 IP, the sox might want to see him in AAA action.

Ivan De Jesus is more of the Nick Punto Utility man involved in this deal. Thus far in 2012 he has appeared in 23 G, getting 33 AB batting .273 with 4 RBI, 5 R, and 1 SB. De Jesus will not play much in Bean town, yet perhaps may get assigned to AAA Pawtucket, to receive more playing time. The Red sox just called up top SS prospect Jose Iglesias, another downfall for De Jesus.

Jerry Sands, who was a 4^th OF in LA, will be no more than that at the current moment in Boston, yet the staff will more than likely give Sands more playing time than De Jesus. Sands has spent most of the year in AAA Albuquerque where he has a BA of .303, 24 HR, 101 RBI in 416 AB. Sands has continued to hammer AAA pitching, yet has not proven to being able to handle MLB pitching. In 61 games in 2011 for the Dodgers, Sands batted just .253 and in 2012 he has 9 games with the Dodgers and only hit .174.

Rubby De La Rosa who is coming back off from an injury was sent to Boston, and should be able to take over a spot in the depleted bullpen. La Rosa will be a nice change of pace from what the Sox are use to, and gives them another option in the pen, since Alfredo Aceves has been suspended by the team for 3 games. La Rosa has only pitched 12 innings in the minors for a rehab start and is facing some groin injury setbacks from his last rehab start in early August.

The future is unclear in Boston, as they did unload $260 MM from the team payroll, and it is unclear how it will be used in the future to build this team back up. However, in my opinion the Red Sox have one of the best and deepest farm systems in the Major Leagues and have the talent to compete in the near future. Even though Zach Lee was a top prospect for the Dodgers, and they were able to hang onto him, I do believe Allen Webster can be a No 3 or 4 starter for the Sox. Sands has an advantage for a right handed hitter in Boston with the green monster playing favors to all right hander’s. This is a starting point for the Red sox and their fans.

The Return Of Marcum

 

A great SP sits waiting to be scooped up in some leagues. Many fantasy prognosticators do not advocate running a SP out there for their first start coming off a major DL stint, but this late in the season it’s time to take chances and move up the leader board. So who am I talking about…Shaun Marcum.

Marcum has not pitched since mid June and was having a decent season before his injury. The elbow now seems fine according to all accounts. Even if it was a little sore I feel Marcum would be on the mound to showcase his talents over his last 5 starts of the season. The reason…contract for next year. His 5-3 record and 3.39 ERA should be enough to bring many suitors but a strong finish with no injury should come close to netting him a 10MM+ yearly contract.

So we have a contract showcase and the best part for Marcum owners is the relatively easy schedule going forward. Yes many games will be on the road but his career road record is superb. He has a 28-18 career record on the road with a stellar 3.54 ERA. His match ups include @PIT, @CHC, @MIA, @STL, and NYM at home. He could easily pick up 3-4 wins and 30Ks down the stretch. So if you are in one of the leagues where he still available or you have been stashing him on your DL for the last 60+ days, feel confident in running him out there today and the rest of the year.

Dylan Bundy...not the only Pitching Prospect Shining for the O's

By Corey R. Cunningham

The Baltimore Orioles selected RHP Kevin Gausman in the first round of this past years June Amateur draft, 4th overall out of Louisiana State University. Gausman has pitched 9 innings of minor league ball so far, 6 IP in Aberdeen New York Penn League and 3 IP in High A Frederick.

Gausman pitched well in his 2 starts in Aberdeen, with allowing just 1 H and 5 SO, and a .167 WHIP, however, his 3 IP in High A Frederick were everything but smooth. Gausman allowed 4 H, 2 HR in Frederick.

During his promotion from Aberdeen to Frederick, Gausman made a stop in Double A Bowie, where he met his future Orioles teammate in RHP Dylan Bundy, where the two chit chatted about baseball, and their future with the Baltimore Orioles.

Many of the leagues I have played in still have Bundy on the FA market, his value is only in true Dynasty Leagues at the moment, and however, with the Orioles winning, his value might keep getting higher and higher for a September call up. I do think it is too early to bring up Gasman, however, one never knows how the Orioles think.

If Bundy is on your FA wire, I would go ahead and put him on your current roster and be prepared for him to sit on your bench for a while, with the forthcoming of him being promoted for a couple innings and perhaps a start in Baltimore.

In the next couple of weeks many teams will be introducing their young talent to the big star light and seeing how they can produce not only in the spot light of the MLB, but under the pressure of the big leagues, and whether or not they can hold a spot for the 2013 roster, or if they struggle, they will have to earn their spot once again in spring training.

In 2013, keep your eye on RHP Kevin Gausman in your minor league draft, and he should go in the top 10 picks of your Keeper league draft. Looks as if Manager Buck Showalter has a hold on things in Baltimore with the prospects, and perhaps he gives the nod to their promotion or not.

Is Billy Hamilton's Speed Worth A Roster Space Today?

If and when do you pick up Billy Hamilton and his speed? In my big money Roto League I am currently in 1^st place by 4 points. I am 2^nd in SB (12 behind) the 2^nd place overall manager in my league. I am also 16 ahead of the 3^rd place team in SBs. If I overtake him in SB I have just about locked up a Championship.  The dilemma is, I currently have no roster space and I am not convinced the Reds will give him a call-up. If they do call him up. Will he only be used as a pinch runner?

Let’s look at what he accomplished this year; between two minor league stops he set the single season SB record of 146, eclipsing Vince Coleman’s previous record.  He is not the greatest of hitters but he has increased his BB-K ratio this year quite dramatically. He went from 52/133 to a respectable 77/101. Those extra walks are what put him in the position to make a run at the SB record.

With only SS eligibility and Cozart blocking any playing time it’s hard to justify a critical roster space for a player who may only contribute in 1 counting category. In addition I hate to pull the trigger so early and lose flexible roster space with a possible big payday looming with a championship. If you are in the same dilemma, I feel for you. Hamilton is only owned in 2% of leagues thus far but once the word gets out he is being called up that number will spike tremendously. If I do make this move for the Usain Bolt of baseball it will be before the end of weekend. I will keep you posted.