Fantasy Baseball News Dispatch

This blog has moved

noreply@blogger.com (The Scout) — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 00:45:00 +0000

This blog is now located at http://fantasy-baseball-news-dispatch.blogspot.com/. You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds, or you may click here. For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to http://fantasy-baseball-news-dispatch.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default.

Add your articles with links to Fantasy Baseball Directory News Dispatch

noreply@blogger.com (The Scout) — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 02:40:00 +0000

Do you have a fantasy baseball web site that you want to promote?
Have you ever wanted to do break into the fantasy baseball writing business, but don't know how?
Whether you have a web site or not, whether your site is old or new one of the best ways to move up in Google is to be linked in articles pertaining to your site. We are now offering the opportunity for a number of web sites to add their article/news alert to our blog. Your website will be given permission to post if you site is accepted.

Rules:
1. Every article must be about MLB Baseball.
2. Only one link per article and link must go to your baseball information oriented-site.
3. All Articles must contain at least 4 full lines of text.
4. Articles do not need to be complete, but linked to the full article.
5. If your article is a full article the web site may ad a link for every 6 lines (after the first 3 lines, 1 link rule).
6. Any negative articles about other sites or any intolerable language will not be accepted.
7. Your site may submit as many rule-following articles as you wish.
8. Fantasy Baseball Directory reserves the right to refuse any article at anytime for any reason.
9. Articles must have good spelling and grammar (within reason) and they need to be checked before posting, for, due to the format, no editing can be permitted.
In addition link exchange of some sort will be made with Fantasy Baseball Directory.

Interested? email: cfarino@yahoo.com

First Impressions

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Marquis) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 19:09:00 +0000

If you missed it (and if you're fantasy baseball fanatic, you didn't), the Matt Wieters Era finally began on May 29. His sidekick in hype, David Price, made his season debut just a scant four days earlier. Perhaps inspired by seeing Orioles and Rays fans stampeding to the ticket counter, the New York Mets, Atlanta Braves and Chicago White Sox all followed suit by calling up their own franchise saviors, Fernando Martinez, Tommy Hanson and Gordon Beckman seemingly within minutes of each other. Let's take a look at the first impressions these kids are making on the fantasy baseball owners burning up the waiver wires to add them to their own rosters... Matt Wieters: I'll leave the hyperbole up to the folks at the hilarious Matt Wieters Facts website, but let's just say that those possessing a Y chromosome haven't been this excited since Jessica Biel finally revealed her true talents in Powder Blue. But don't start casting that Hall-of-Fame plaque just yet. Wieters was batting just .229 as of this writing, without a homerun or RBI to his name. He does sport an unsightly 8:1 K:BB ratio, mildly surprising given his minor league track record of patience. Those expecting "Joe Mauer with power" to be their fantasy savior this season may be sorely disappointed. He plays the most physically and mentally demanding defensive position on the diamond, so any extra work he does this summer will be dedicated to learning about the Orioles pitchers and opposing hitters, not adjusting his own swing. He'll have to survive in the batter's box on talent alone and, while that talent is prodigious, that may not be enough for a 23 year old with barely a season's worth of professional experience. For perspective, here's how some of the best hitting catchers in major league history fared in their real exposure to the big show: Mike Piazza - 21G, .232 1 HR 7 RBI Carlton Fisk - 16G, .283 2 HR 6 RBI Johnny Bench - 26G, .163 1 HR 6 RBI There are exceptions (both Mauer and Brian McCann got their careers off to solid statistical starts), but regardless, patience will be the order of business for Wieters owners. They may have to wait until 2010 for their investment to truly pay off. David Price: Though he made is major league debut last season, Price is still a rookie and, perhaps excepting Hanson, the most hyped pitching prospect in all of baseball. Rays fans and fantasy baseball owners surely questioned Tampa's decision to send Price to Triple-A Durham to open to the season, but the prudence may well have paid off. Not only did the Rays delay Price's service time clock (no small factor for a small market team like the Rays), not only did Price gain valuable experience while pitching for the Bulls, not only will they be better able to control Price's innings load this season, but they also got a good look at what Jeff Niemann and Andy Sonnanstine could offer the big club this season. Since in Sonnanstine's case the answer is "not much," expect Price to stick around Tampa even after Scott Kazmir returns from his injury prompted hiatus. That said, don't expect miracles. Other recent, similarly talented young arms have experienced plenty of growing pains once they started facing major league hitters: Max Scherzer - 115.1 IP, 2-8, 3.59 ERA Clayton Kershaw - 171.2 IP, 8-10, 4.35 ERA Going back a little farther, we begin to see a trend developing: Jon Lester - 81.1 IP, 7-2, 4.76 ERA Chad Billingsley - 90 IP, 7-4, 3.80 ERA And how about some future Hall-of-Famers: Tom Glavine - 50.1 IP, 2-4, 5.54 ERA Greg Maddux - 31 IP, 2-4, 5.52 ERA Frankly, it almost behooves Price to start slowly as many pitchers who came out of the gate dominating (Dwight Gooden, Fernando Valenzuela) ultimately flamed out more rapidly than Paris Hilton's "acting" career. Since this post is already obscenely long and I'm running out of clever celebrity comparisons, we'll cover Martinez, Hanson and Beckman in the next edition of Fantasy Tipster's First Impressions early next week.

The Daily Dirt for Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Fantasy Baseball Tools) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 04:56:00 +0000

by Todd Lammi Chipper Jones smacked two home runs and went 4 for 4 with 5 RBI to lead the Atlanta Braves to an 8-7 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Yunel Escobar went 3 for 5 and drove in the game-winning run in the 8th inning. Rookie Tommy Hanson was taken deep three times in his debut, allowing six runs in six innings with five strikeouts. Ryan Braun went 2 for 4 with two home runs and four RBI for Milwaukee. Braun now has 38 RBI on the season to go with his 12 home runs. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Sunday... Hitters: Nelson Cruz moved into a tie in the American League home run race after clubbing his 17th home run of the season. Cruz went 3 for 4 with three runs scored. Since May 20th, he has not gone more than three games without hitting a home run. Shane Victorino went 2 for 5 with two RBI including his fifth home run of the season. Victorino is now hitting .295 on the season with 29 RBI and 9 stolen bases. Juan Rivera went 3 for 5 with three RBI and his sixth home run of the year, giving him 25 runs knocked in on the season. Rivera has driven in a run in 7 of his last 8 games, giving him nine RBI during that period. Aaron Hill broke out of an 0-for-25 rut by connecting for his 13th home run of the season and boosting his RBI total to 40. Despite a roughly 60 point drop in batting average from the beginning of May to the start of June, Hill still hit .307 for the month of May. Alexei Ramirez went 2 for 5 with three RBI and delivered his fourth home run of the year. After ending May on a high note by hitting .281 for the month, he has started off slow in June batting .174. Clint Barmes has been on a roll, going 3 for 4 with two RBI on Sunday, which gave him five consecutive games with two or more hits. He has now driven in seven runs in his last four games. Jose Lopez went 3 for 5 with two RBI and hit his sixth home run of the season. Despite batting only .236 on the season, Lopez has still managed to drive in 31 runs so far this year. Rookie Andrew McCutchen went 3 for 5 with an RBI and is batting .333 early on since his promotion from Triple-A this week. Mark Reynolds finally put an end to an 18 inning game, delivering a three-run home run off of position player Josh Wilson. The home run was the 14th of the season for Reynolds who had struck out four times earlier in the game. Pitchers: Roy Halladay pitched a complete game shutout, allowing seven hits and no walks with six strikeouts, to improve to 10-1 on the season. More impressive is that the shutout comes on the heels of throwing a season-high 133 pitches in his last start. Halladay has been a true workhorse this season, pitching at least seven innings in every start he has made. Rookie Antonio Bastardo moved to 2-0 after allowing two runs in five innings with four strikeouts. He had some control problems, as he only managed first pitch strikes to 7 out of 23 hitters, but he pitched well with men on base to minimize the potential damage. Livan Hernandez improved to 5-1 by hurling seven shutout innings with four strikeouts. Hernandez has dropped his ERA almost 3.5 runs since his only loss of the season back on April 23rd. Ubaldo Jimenez allowed two runs in eight innings with nine strikeouts to notch his fourth win of the season. Take away his three starts against the Los Angeles Dodgers, a team that has pounded him for a 10.20 ERA this season, and his numbers would be even better. Rookie Vin Mazzaro improved to 2-0 by pitching 7 1/3 scoreless innings with four strikeouts. Mazzaro has yet to allow a run in 13 2/3 innings since being recalled from Triple-A. Erik Bedard allowed two runs in five innings with four strikeouts to up his mark to 5-2 on the year. Despite his good record and low ERA of 2.47, he has not made it to the seventh inning in a start since May 5th. Ricky Nolasco pitched better in his return from Triple-A, allowing two earned runs in seven innings with four strikeout, but was still tagged with his sixth loss of the season. Closers: Chad Qualls blew his third save of the season, allowing two runs in 2/3 of an inning. Qualls, who complained of forearm stiffness this past week has blown two of his last three save opportunities. To get more fantasy baseball insight and analysis, go to Fantasy Baseball Tools

The Daily Dirt for Saturday

noreply@blogger.com (Fantasy Baseball Tools) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 04:25:00 +0000

by Todd Lammi Andre Ethier hit two solo home runs, including a walk-off home run in the 12th inning to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Ethier has seen his average drop 54 points coming into Saturday's game since Manny Ramirez was suspended. Rafael Furcal sent the game into extra innings with his second home run of the year in the ninth inning off Brad Lidge, who blew his sixth save of the season. In his second start back from the disabled list, Hiroki Kuroda tossed six shutout innings with five strikeouts. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Saturday night... Hitters: Ben Zorbist went 2 for 3 with two runs scored and connected on his 11th home run of the season. Zorbist has homered three times in his last four games. Mark Teixeira went 2 for 5 with 3 RBI and smacked his 17th home run of the season. I think with Alex Rodriguez protecting him in the line up and the way the New York Yankees new stadium is playing, Teixeira could easily be the second best first basemen in fantasy baseball behind Albert Pujols the remainder of the season. Teammate Alex Rodriguez hit his 8th home run of the season and also stole his first base of the year. The home run was A-Rod's first in his last 12 games. Prince Fielder hit two solo home runs giving him 15 total on the season to go with 54 RBI. Fielder has heated up in his last 10 games, boosting his batting average 34 points and hitting five home runs with 11 RBI. Nick Johnson went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI and stroked his fifth home run of the season. Johnson is now batting .332 on the year with 30 RBI. Ian Stewart banged out two home runs and drove in five while going 3 for 4 at the plate. Stewart has homered four times in his last four games with 12 RBI. Josh Fields got the start over recent call up Gordon Beckham and went 2 for 4 with his third home run of the year. It was weird time to start Fields given that Beckham had only six at bats so far before sitting and Fields was hitting under .200 against left-handed pitching. Pitchers: Edwin Jackson picked up a complete game victory, allowing one run with five strikeouts. Jackson improved to 6-3 on the season and now ranks second in the American League in both ERA (2.16) and whip ratio (0.98). Gavin Floyd allowed one run in 6 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts to up his mark to 4-5 on the year. Floyd has turned it around in his last four starts with six runs allowed in 29 2/3 innings and 31 strikeouts. Jarrod Washburn allowed one run in six innings with six strikeouts in a no decision. Washburn has allowed two runs in his last 19 innings even though he does not have any wins to show for it. He is currently on pace to set a career high in strikeouts with 145 which would be his highest total since 2002. Jon Lester pitched a complete game two-hitter to even his record at 5-5. Lester allowed one run and struck out 11 to give him double digit strikeouts in his second straight start. Ryan Dempster threw six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts in a no decision. He could be finally past his blister problems, as he has not allowed a run in two straight contests. Rookie Trevor Cahill allowed two runs in six innings with five strikeouts to notch his third win of the season. Cahill has allowed two runs in each of his last four starts. Cincinnati Reds rookie Matt Maloney in his first major league start allowed two runs in six innings with four strikeouts in a no decision. He will face the Kansas City Royals in his next start. John Lannan hurled a complete game shutout with two strikeouts to earn his third win of the season. Making his first start since 2007, Kelvim Escobar allowed two runs in five innings with five strikeouts. John Smoltz allowed one hit and one run in six innings in his rehab start in Triple-A on Saturday, while throwing 74 pitches. His next start in Triple-A will come on Thursday. Closers: Marian Rivera took a loss, allowing three runs in 2/3 of an inning against the Tampa Bay Rays. Rivera has suffered both of his losses against the Rays this season. Randy Choate picked up his third save of the season for the Rays when Dan Wheeler was unable to close out the game in the ninth inning. Leo Nunez picked up his second save of the year in relief of Matt Lindstrom. Lindstrom was charged with two runs in the ninth inning before being removed. To get more fantasy baseball insight and analysis, go to Fantasy Baseball Tools

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Fantasy Baseball Tools) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 05:33:00 +0000

by Todd Lammi If you are an Atlanta Braves fan, today has provided quite a swing of emotion. Three events happened which all somewhat coincided with each other depending on who's version of the story you want to believe to shuffle the Atlanta roster. The first move was the Braves fleecing the Pittsburgh Pirates out of Nate McLouth for three prospects, none of whom were named, Tommy Hanson, Kris Medlen, Jason Heyward or Freddie Freeman. Even with the addition of McLouth who takes the spot of Jordan Schafer who was recently demoted, the Braves are still short a bat in their line up. At only $2 million, the Braves take on very little salary by adding McLouth this season. The next move the Braves made frees up salary, by surprisingly releasing Tom Glavine who was due to return from the minor leagues on rehab assignment very shortly. The release of Glavine saves the Braves $3.5 million in salary, in addition to creating a roster spot for top prospect Tommy Hanson who was called up from Triple-A. Hanson will move into the Braves rotation Saturday and get the start against the Milwaukee Brewers. Kris Medlen gets a pat on the back for striking out nine in his six innings in his last start and a trip to the bullpen. For the Pirates, the trade of McLouth opens up center field for Andrew McCutchen who should see the majority of starts for the rest of the season. McCutchen was hitting .303 with four home runs, 20 RBI and 10 stolen bases in 201 at bats in Triple-A. If you are a fan on minor league players or have some on your team, these last two weeks have to feel like Christmas with Matt Wieters getting called up and then Hanson and McCutchen getting called up today. If that was not special enough, late Wednesday night it was announced that Gordon Beckham has been recalled by the Chicago White Sox. If the White Sox are calling him up after just a week in Triple-A, it stands to reason he is going to be in the starting line up somewhere in the infield. Beckham was hitting .464 in Triple-A with three RBI and one steal in seven games. Between two levels on the season, he was at .326 with four home runs and 25 RBI. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Wednesday night... Hitters: Ben Zorbist, wow, where did all the power come from? Zorbist should be a permanent fixture in the Tampa Bay Rays line up going forward, and is rewarding fantasy baseball owners, by connecting for home runs on consecutive days. Zorbist is currently on pace for a .300 average with 33 home runs, 105 RBI and 16 steals. Nice to see Elvis Andrus finally turning on the jets a little bit, as he stole two bases and went 2 for 3 at the plate. With stolen bases in consecutive games, he is now on pace for 30 thefts on the season. Jorge Posada homered for the second straight and has been on a nice roll since returning from the disabled list on May 29th with three home runs in six games with six RBI. Bobby Abreu went 2 for 5 with 4 RBI including his second home run of the season. After being on a stolen base tear for the first month and a half of the season, Abreu has not stolen a base since May 19th. Dan Uggla homered for the second consecutive day and is now up to 11 home runs with 39 RBI. His batting average is s-l-o-w-l-y creeping up t0 .219 after being around the Mendoza line for much of the season. Hunter Pence went 4 for 5 with 3 RBI and slugged his sixth home run of the season. The home run Wednesday night matched Pence's home run total for the entire month of May. Ryan Howard hit home run number 16 and knocked in two runs giving him 45 RBI on the season. He has now driven in a run in five consecutive game, totaling 11 plated runners. Laynce Nix hit two home runs and drove in four, giving him seven RBI in June which matches his total for the entire month of May. He should continue to get the majoirty of at bats against right-handed pitching. Brandon Phillips went 3 for 5 with 3 RBI and two stolen bases and has homered three times in his last five games. Scott Hairston was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained biceps. Will Venable was recalled from Triple-A and should see time along with Tony Gwynn Jr. Asdrubal Cabrera was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained left shoulder and is expected to be out 2-4 weeks. Jamey Carroll should see time at third base with Jhonny Peralta moving over to shortstop. Carroll went 2 for 6 batting second on Wednesday. Peralta, back at his old position of shortstop went 3 for 5 with 3 RBI, including his second long ball of the year. Pitchers: Possibly there is light at the end of the tunnel for Jeff Niemann who tossed a complete game shutout with nine strikeouts to earn his fifth win of the season and lower his ERA to 3.77. Niemann has allowed two runs in his last 18 innings with 18 strikeouts and has seen his overall ERA decrease in his last five outings. Jered Weaver hurled seven innings of one run ball with 10 strikeouts to improve his record to 5-2 on the year. He has now allowed one run in five of his six last starts, although he only has two wins in those outings due to a lack of run support. Ted Lilly allowed one run in seven innings with seven strikeouts in a no decision against the Atlanta Braves. He cost himself a win with a throwing error that caused an unearned run to score. Josh Beckett tossed 7 2/3 shutout innings with nine strikeouts to up his record to 6-2 on the year. He has allowed two runs or less in his last four starts while shaving two full runs off of his ERA. Scott Feldman allowed two runs in 6 1/3 innings with five strikeouts to improve to a perfect 5-0 on the season. As a starter this season, remember that he had three relief appearances that threw his ERA out of whack, Feldman had an ERA of 2.59 heading into the game. Josh Outman moved to 3-0, after allowing two runs in 6 2/3 innings with two strikeouts. Check out the top 2o in pitching for May, he ranked high in several statistics. Cliff Lee allowed one run in eight innings with five strikeouts to notch his third victory of the year. Despite his 3-6 record, Lee has a 2.96 ERA as the Indians have been shut out or scored one run in six of his starts this year. J.A. Happ tossed seven shutout innings with four strikeouts to earn his fourth win of the season and second in three starts. Chad Billingsley hurled six shutout innings with nine strikeouts to up his mrk to 7-3 on the year. His numbers would be even more impressive if he managed to reduce his walks, after walking four or more batters in 5 of his last 7 starts. Closers: Jose Valverde is expected to go on a short rehab assignment next week and if all goes well is on track to return from the disabled list around June 12th. Joakim Soria returned to action, facing two batters and throwing 13 pitches. I would still hold on to Juan Cruz for another week or two if you need saves, just in case. To get more fantasy baseball insight and analysis, go to Fantasy Baseball Tools

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Fantasy Baseball Tools) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:37:00 +0000

by Todd Lammi Adrian Gonzalez stayed scorching hot, hitting his 20th home run and driving in three runs. What is mind boggling to me is how he was only 12th in the league in walks heading into Sunday's game. The four hitters batting behind him on Sunday had averages of .228, .236, .172, .209. Why would he not be walked every time he came up to bat? He has homered against every team he has played against this season except for the San Francisco Giants. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Sunday... Hitters: Mark Teixeira hit his 16th home run of the season and drove in all four runs for the New York Yankees on Sunday. He ends the week with three home runs and 10 RBI as he knocked in a run in 5 out of 6 games for the week. Kevin Youkilis hit two solo home runs and scored three runs. Despite having nine home runs on the season, Youkilis leads the American League in slugging percentage as well as on base percentage. David Wright stole his 12th base of the season. Despite hitting .333, he is off to a slow start in the power department with only three home runs. I have to wonder if he is hiding an injury as two stats give me warning flags 48 games into the season. One, he is on pace for 178 strikeouts which would be 60 higher than his career high of 118 last season. Second, he has already been thrown out stealing seven times, which is more than each of the three previous three seasons when he was caught five times each year. Ben Francisco went 2 for 3 and stole his ninth base of the season. Francisco is quietly putting together a nice season, and is now on pace for 18 home runs, 70 RBI and 32 steals. Josh Willingham hit two solo home runs giving him nine on the season. He seems to enjoy hitting with no men on base, because despite having nine home runs, he only has 12 RBI on the season. Carlos Pena looks to be locked in the home run mode as he continues to swing for the fences. Pena hit his 17th home run of the season, but continues to strike out at a high rate, making it tougher for him to boost his .231 batting average. Pena has 66 strikeouts on the year, good for a 204 pace. Mike Cameron homered for the second consecutive day and now has 11 long balls on the season. Despite being the 20th player to reach the 250-250 home run - steal level, his stolen bases are a thing of a past in 2009. He has two stolen bases for the season and both of those came on opening day. Brandon Phillips homered for the second straight day as he continues to play through the the injury to his thumb. Phillips is up to 9 home runs and 36 RBI on the season. Adam Kennedy went 3 for 5 with three runs scored and hit two home runs to give him four on the season. Since the Oakland Athletics acquired Kennedy from the Tampa Bay Rays on May 10th for a player to be named later, Kennedy has hit .390 with four home runs, 15 RBI and five steals in 82 at bats. Edwin Maysonet went 2 for 4 and is now hitting .450 for the Houston Astros. With Kaz Matsui on the disabled list, Maysonet should have some value in National League only leagues the next few weeks. Scott Hairston hit his seventh home run of the season and stole his sixth base of the year. With Jody Gerut now out of the picture, I see a possible 20-20 season out of Hairston. Torii Hunter blasted his 12th home run of the season and knock in two runs to boost his RBI total to 42. Hunter is currently on pace for his first 30-30 season of his career with 12 home runs and 10 stolen bases year to date. Matt Kemp hit his sixth home run of the year and stole his 12th base of the season. Despite being slotted 7th in the batting order for the majority of the season, Kemp still is on pace to drive in close to 100 runs this year. Pitchers: Edwin Jackson hurled eight shutout innings with seven strikeouts to up his mark to 5-3 on the year. Jackson has allowed three earned runs or less in his last five starts, going 4-1 during that period. It took him three starts but Kris Medlen finally picked up his first win of the season, allowing one run in six innings with nine strikeouts. The win most likely extended his stay in the rotation until Tom Glavine is ready to return. Chad Gaudin allowed one run in 6 1/3 innings with nine strikeouts to notch his second win of the year. It was the first start this season for Gaudin where he did not walk a batter, after previously walking a minimum of three hitters in every start. Jon Lester allowed one run in six innings with 12 strikeouts to pick up his fourth win of the season. Despite an increase in his strikeout rate, Lester has seen opponents bat 50 points higher against him in 2009 and his home run rate is 2.8 times higher than it was in 2008. Eric Milton allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings with four strikeouts to improve his record to 2-0. The 33-year-old Milton has solidified the Los Angeles Dodgers 5th starter slot, and one could argue his three starts should make him the fourth starter ahead of Eric Stults. Yovani Gallardo allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings with nine strikeouts to boost his record to 5-2. Heading into Sunday's start, Gallardo had the lowest batting average against for starting pitchers in all of baseball at .193. Closers: A painful way to end the week for David Aardsma owners, as he allowed six base runners in 2/3 of an inning with three runs scored to blow his first save of the year. To get more fantasy baseball insight and analysis, go to Fantasy Baseball Tools

Fantasy Baseball Minor League Report - week 8

noreply@blogger.com (Fantasy Baseball Tools) — Sat, 30 May 2009 22:22:00 +0000

by Todd Lammi With Brett Myers of the Philadelphia Phillies scheduled to have surgery on his right hip that will likely end his season, let's take a look at some the internal options the Phillies have to fill that void either by call up or via trade. Carlos Carrasco was the minor league pitcher closest to the majors when the season started, beginning the year in Triple-A. He has been off to a disappointing start so far this season at 0-6 with a 5.40 ERA. In 55 innings, he has allowed 63 hits with 58 strikeouts and opposing batters are hitting .281 against him. He has been better in his last three starts with 7 runs allowed in 19 2/3 innings with 21 strikeouts that the Phillies might be willing to give him a shot while he has momentum. Antonio Bastardo was recently promoted to Triple-A where he has made two starts, allowing three runs in 13 innings with 12 strikeouts. In 34 2/3 innings at AA, he had a 1.82 with 39 strikeouts while holding batters to a .178 average. Kyle Kendrick has done nothing to distinguish himself in Triple-A, with a 4.25 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 53 innings, but he could be an option because of his past big league experience. The longest of long shots is Kyle Drabek in Advanced A ball. Drabek currently holds a 2.48 ERA with 74 strikeouts in 61 2/3 innings. If nothing else, the injury to Myers should have him bumped up to AA very shortly. If the Phillies look to trade for a starter, they might move shortstop Jason Donald who is currently in AAA blocked by Jimmy Rollins. Donald has been off to a slow start with a .234 average with one home run and four steals. In AA in 2008, Donald hit .307 with 14 home runs and 11 stolen bases. Outfielder Michael Taylor in AA could also be a trade target of other teams. Taylor is hitting .342 with 9 home runs, 37 RBI and 8 stolen bases with a low 19 strikeouts in 152 at bats. In other minor league news from week 8... Tommy Hanson continues to dominate in Triple-A, allowing one run in seven innings with nine strikeouts. Opposing hitters are batting a paltry .164 on the season against him. Gordon Beckham was promoted to Triple-A and is seeing time at third base. It looks like the White Sox are intent to get his bat into the line up at any position they can. Beckham hit .299 with 4 home runs and 22 RBI in 38 games in AA before the promotion. He has gone 3 for 7 in two games with the Charlotte Knights. Wade Davis should be next in line the next time the Tampa Bay Rays need a starting pitcher from the minors. Davis in Triple-A currently has a 3.40 ERA in 53 innings with 32 strikeouts. His AAA numbers were actually better in 2008 following his promotion from AA. 2008 ERA - 2.72 Innings - 53 Hits - 39 Strikeouts - 55 2009 ERA - 3.40 Innings - 53 Hits - 44 Strikeouts - 32 The Cleveland Indians have several promising arms they could turn to in AA in the second half of the season. Jeanmar Gomez has a 1.29 ERA in five starts with 0.57 whip ratio and 3o strikeouts in 35 innings. Teammate Chuck Lofgren was just promoted to Triple-A after posting a 1.42 ERA with 31 strikeouts in 42 2/3 innings. Mat Latos (Padres) tossed seven shutout innings with seven strikeouts and could see a promotion to Triple-A in another month or two. Latos has a 0.50 ERA with 38 strikeouts in 36 1/3 innings on the season. Madison Bumgarner (Giants) is heating up in AA, running off four straight wins since his promotion. Between his two minor league stops, Bumgarner is 7-1 with a 1.14 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 47 1/3 innings with zero home runs allowed. Brad Lincoln (Pirates) should be ready for a move up to Triple-A in the near future. Lincoln has a 2.05 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 52 2/3 innings of work. He has allowed only two home runs and 12 walks on the season. Alcides Escobar (Brewers) has been working at second base since the injury to Rickie Weeks and his hitting has taken off. He has boosted his average to .290 with two home runs and 21 steals. It remains to be seen whether the Milwaukee Brewers promote him the second half of the season or use him as the main trade bait to try to get Jake Peavy from the San Diego Padres. Catcher Carlos Santana is hitting .292 with 7 home runs and 29 RBI in AA. He also has a 31 to 22 walk to strikeout ratio. If the Cleveland Indians go into fire sale mode and trade Victor Martinez or Kelly Shoppach, Santana could see time in the second half of the season. To get more minor league baseball insight and analysis, see the Minor League Report

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Fantasy Baseball Tools) — Sat, 30 May 2009 05:48:00 +0000

by Todd Lammi Luke Scott went 3 for 3 and delivered two home runs while driving in five runs in a 7-2 win over the Detroit Tigers. Scott has been on a tear since coming off the disabled list on Wednesday, with 5 home runs and 12 RBI in three games. Rookie Matt Wieters debuted as the starting catcher, going 0 for 4 with a strikeout. Wieters hit seventh and should see the majority of starts going forward. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Friday... Hitters: Nelson Cruz went 2 for 4 with 3 RBI including his 13th home run of the season in a 6-3 win over the Oakland A's in the first game of a double header. Jermaine Dye started the Chicago White Sox scoring with his 13th home run of the season, en route to an 11-2 win over the Kansas City Royals. Alexei Ramirez, A.J. Pierzynski and Josh Fields each contributed three hits in the win. Edwin Maysonet went 4 for 4 with RBI including his first home run of the season as the Houston Astros defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1. It was Maysonet's second start of the season since being recalled on May 22. Omir Santos hit his third home run of the season and drove in two runs in the New York Mets -21 win over the Florida Marlins in 11 innings. Santos will remain with the team when Brian Schneider returns from the disabled list, with the trade of backup catcher Ramon Castro to the Chicago White Sox. Evan Longoria went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI, including his 13th home run of the season, to power the Tampa Bay Rays to a 5-3 win over the Minnesota Twins. Longoria increased his league leading RBI total to 54. Carl Crawford went 2 for 4 with three runs scored and connected for his second home run of the season. The home run was Crawford's first since May 7th. Yunel Escobar went 2 for 5 with three RBI to pace the Atlanta Braves offense in a 10-6 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Escobar knocked out his fifth home run of the season and his second in the last four days. Carlos Quentin was placed on the 15-day disabled list with plantar fasciitis in his foot. Quentin has been bothered by pain in his foot all season which helps explain his .229 batting average. Scott Podsednik will continue to see playing time in his place and is a good source for steals in American League only fantasy baseball leagues. Pitchers: Ted Lilly allowed one run in seven innings with five strikeouts to pick up his sixth win of the season in a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Chad Billingsley took the loss, allowing two runs in seven innings with seven strikeouts. Josh Outman allowed three runs in 6 2/3 innings with nine strikeouts in a no decision. Outman has allowed three runs or less in all eight of his starts this season and currently sports a 3.06 ERA. Andy Pettitte allowed one run in five innings to improve his record to 5-1 on the season in a 3-1 defeat of the Cleveland Indians. Pettitte was removed from the game in the sixth innings with stiffness in his lower back. J.A. Happ allowed three runs in 5 1/3 innings to earn his first win since moving into the starting rotation in a 5-4 win over the Washington Nationals. Brian Moehler allowed tossed a complete game allowing one run with four strikeouts to gain his second win of the year. Casey Janssen picked up his first win in over two years, allowing three runs in seven innings with two strikeouts. For Janssen, who missed all of 2008 with shoulder surgery, it was his second start since being recalled from Triple-A last Friday. Mike Pelfrey allowed one run in 7 2/3 innings with six strikeouts in a no decision. Pelfrey has allowed two runs or less in four consecutive starts while lowering his ERA by 1.5 runs. His counter part, rookie Sean West, allowed one run in seven innings with two strikeouts. James Shields surrendered two runs in seven innings with five strikeouts to even his mark at 4-4 on the year. Braden Looper allowed two runs in seven innings with four strikeouts to pick up his 5th win of the year in a 3-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds. Scott Feldman allowed two runs in six innings with two strikeouts to boost his record to a perfect 4-0 on the year. Feldman has a 2.59 ERA since moving into the starting rotation on April 25th. Clayton Richard allowed two runs in seven innings with seven strikeouts for his third straight quality start. Richard has allowed three runs in his last 20 innings with 18 strikeouts. Jason Marquis pitched eight innings of shutout ball with six strikeouts to pick up his seventh win of the year. It was the third consecutive win for Marquis who has allowed three earned runs in his last 23 2/3 innings. Jason Vargas allowed two runs in 6 1/3 innings with two strikeouts to record his second win of the season in a 5-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels. The two runs were the most Vargas has allowed in his four starts this season. Matt Cain improved to 6-1 by giving up one run in 6 1/3 innings with five punchouts in a 4-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. Cain has won his last three starts, while allowing two tuns in 21 1/3 innings. Closers: C.J. Wilson picked up a win and a save in the Texas Rangers double header. With Frank Francisco back as closer, Wilson should only see a few save opportunities going forward. Huston Street picked up his 8th save of the season and has not allowed an earned run since April 24th. During that time he has lowered his ERA from 8.59 to his current number of 3.10. To get more fantasy baseball insight and analysis, go to Fantasy Baseball Tools

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Wednesday 5/27

noreply@blogger.com (Fantasy Baseball Tools) — Thu, 28 May 2009 04:36:00 +0000

by Todd Lammi

I am always torn whether St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa is somewhat smart, just a little nutty, or a combination of both. In the Cardinals 3-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers, La Russa had Nick Stavinoha batting clean up. Stavinoha is only playing because Ryan Ludwick and Rick Ankiel are out with injuries, so Stavinoha is basically the team's 6th outfielder. Yet he delivers two RBI to help the Cardinals win. For some reason, the Brewers don't seem to like Corey Hart, regardless of who the manager is. First it was Ned Yost, now it is Ken Macha, who gave a start to Frank Catalanotto on Wednesday. With Hart off to a slow start, it would not surprise me to see the Brewers give him more time off. If the Brew Crew has no interest in Hart, they might as well trade him for pitching and stick Mat Gamel in the outfield now. Of course it would help if Gamel was hitting higher than .174, but it would also help if he received consistent at bats, something that has not happened since he was called up two weeks ago. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Wednesday...

Hitters:

Nolan Reimold hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to help the Baltimore Orioles pull of a come from behind win. Reimold's home run was his second in as many days.

Aaron Hill went 2 for 6 with two RBI and connected for his 12th home run of the season. Hill, who homered for the first time since May 17th is now up to 37 RBI on the year.

James Loney went 2 for 5 with 4 RBI to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 8-6 win over the Colorado Rockies. Despite having only two home runs on the season, Loney ranks in the top five in RBI in the National League with 36 runs driven in.

Russell Branyan went 2 for 4 with two RBI and belted his 11th home run of the season. Branyan is batting .311 on the season with 23 RBI.

Daniel Murphy went 3 for 4 with 5 RBI including his fourth home run of the season in the New York Mets 7-4 win over the Washington Nationals. The left-handed Murphy should see the majority of at bats at first base as part of a platoon with Fernando Tatis.

Trade rumors sometimes seem to perk up a player when they are struggling. Case in point is Dan Uggla of the Florida Marlins. Uggla went 3 for 4 with two RBI to lead the Marlins to a 6-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Uggla has now homered five times in his last nine games.

The New York Yankees used four home runs to defeat the Texas Rangers 9-2. Mark Teixeira (15), Hideki Matsui (6 & 7) and Robinson Cano (9) all left the yard for New York. Ian Kinsler was the only offense for the Rangers, knocking out his 13th home run of the season.

Jay Bruce smashed two home runs and a triple while collecting four RBI. The power is legit, with 14 home runs and only 5 doubles, the majority of fly balls he hits are going over the fence.

Denard Span went 4 for 4 with two runs scored and stole his 11th base of the season. Span is now hitting .316 with 28 runs scored for the year.

Pitchers:

Rick Porcello picked up his 6th win of the year, allowing two runs in six inning with four strikeouts in a 8-3 win over the Kansas City Royals. Porcello has allowed 5 runs in his last 30 innings while reeling off five straight victories.

Carlos Zambrano allowed one earned run in 6 1/3 innings with six strikeouts in a no decision. Zambrano was ejected in the 7th inning after bumping an umpire and making the ejection gesture and could be facing a possible suspension.

Erik Bedard allowed one run in 6 2/3 innings with five strikeouts to up his record to 3-2 on the season. He is now a perfect 3-0 on the road and 0-2 at home this season.

Bronson Arroyo picked up his 7th win of the season, tossing a complete gem against the Houston Astros in a 6-1 victory. Arroyo scattered five hits while striking out three and has given up one run in back-to-back starts.

Johan Santana battled through control problems to notch his 7th win of the year, allowing three runs in six innings with 11 strikeouts. Santana walked six batters in the game, the first time he has done that since 2002 with the Minnesota Twins.

Kevin Slowey netted his seventh win of the season in a 4-2 defeat of the Boston Red Sox. Slowey allowed two runs in six innings with five strikeouts and has now allowed two runs or less in four straight starts.

Jered Weaver allowed one run in eight innings with eight strikeouts to improve his record to 4-2 in a 3-1 win over the Chicago White Sox. Weaver has now allowed one run in 4 of his last 5 starts.

A. J. Burnett hurled six shutout innings and struck out seven to improve his record to 3-2.

To get more fantasy baseball insight and analysis, go to Fantasy Baseball Tools

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Tuesday

noreply@blogger.com (Fantasy Baseball Tools) — Wed, 27 May 2009 06:36:00 +0000

by Todd Lammi There is rejoicing in fantasy baseball land Tuesday night as top prospect Matt Wieters of the Baltimore Orioles is expected to be recalled from Triple-A on Friday. It should not take long for Wieters to ascend to the top tier of the catching ranks, based on his expected performance. With injuries to Ryan Doumit and Chris Ianetta and Geovany Soto off to a slow start, it is not inconceivable for Wieters to be a top 5 catcher the rest of the season, behind Victor Martinez, Joe Mauer, Brian McCann and Bengie Molina. To give you an idea of the landscape at catcher from a fantasy baseball statistical purpose, Jorge Posada ranks six among catchers in RBI with 20 despite missing the last three weeks of action. Russell Martin still is stuck on zero home runs, although he does has six stolen bases and Mike Napoli should start to lose at bats with Vladimir Guerrero returning to action as Napoli was seeing time at designated hitter when not catching. Wieters, who was the fifth overall selection in the 2007 June draft, will take over immediately as the Orioles starting catcher upon his arrival. Wieters is currently hitting .305 with 5 home runs and 30 RBI in 141 at bats with a 2o to 30 walk to strikeout ratio in Triple-A. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Tuesday... Hitters: Orioles hitters responded to the news of Wieters impending arrival by collecting 14 hits in a 7-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Adam Jones (11), Aubrey Huff (8) and Nolan Reimold (3) all hit home runs in the victory. With the young bats the Orioles have and the pitching in their farm system, they are probably 1 1/2 years away from competing for the division. The Cleveland Indians used four home runs to defeat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-1. Mark DeRosa starting in left field hit his 8th home run of the year and is now up to 32 RBI on the season. It is nice the Indians are show casing DeRosa's versatility in the outfield to boost his trade value, but that comes at the expense of playing time for Matt LaPorta who was sent back to Triple-A. LaPorta never got untracked with the Indians, batting .190 with one home run in 13 games. Carlos Pena hit his 16th home run and knocked in his 40th RBI to provide the lone run of offense for the Rays. Joey Votto hit a two-run home in the seventh inning to propel the Cincinnati Reds to a 6-4 win over the Houston Astros. The long ball was Votto's 8th of the season to go along with his 33 RBI. Gary Sheffield continues to pick up the slack offensively for the New York Mets with Jose Reyes, Ryan Church and Carlos Delgado all missing from the lineup due to injuries. Sheffield went 2 for 3 with 3 RBI and belted his fifth home run of the year to lead Mets to a 6-1 win over the Washington Nationals. He has now driven in nine runs in his last five games. Also for the Mets, rookie Fernando Martinez was recalled from Triple-A with Church going on the disabled list. Martinez got the start in right field batting sixth and went 0 for 3 with an RBI. Martinez was hitting .291 with 8 home runs and 28 RBI in 165 at bats in Triple-A with two stolen bases. Chris Davis hit two home runs to power the Texas Rangers to a 7-3 win over the New York Yankees. Davis now has 12 home runs on the season, but is only batting .208 on the year. Justin Morneau went 2 for 3 with 3 RBI including his 14th home run of the season in a 5-2 win over the Boston Red Sox. Morneau has driven in 11 runs in his last five games. Mark Reynolds hit his 13th home run of the year and knocked in two in a 6-5 win over the San Diego Padres. Reynolds is currently 5th in the National League in home runs and 7th in stolen bases with 10. Jayson Nix hit two solo home runs to give the Chicago White Sox a 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels. Pitchers: Zack Greinke continued his amazing 2009 season, tossing a complete game against the Detroit Tigers in a 6-1 win. Greinke struck out eight while lowering his ERA to 0.84. He has still yet to allow more than two runs in any start this year and also has not given up a home run through 75 innings. Joe Blanton tossed seven shutout innings with 11 strikeouts in a 5-3 win over the Florida Marlins. The victory evened Blanton's record at 3-3 and easily surpassed his previous season high of six strikeouts. Carl Pavano allowed one run in seven innings with six strikeouts to pick up his fifth win of the season. Pavano has now won 5 of his last 6 starts, while allowing four runs or less in all of them. Livan Hernandez picked up a complete game win, allowing one run with six strikeouts. Hernandez has now allowed two runs or less in four of his last five starts. Adam Wainwright allowed one run in seven innings with nine strikeouts in a 8-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Wainwright improved to 5-2 and has allowed one run in each of his last three starts, covering a total of 23 2/3 innings. Nick Blackburn allowed one earned run in seven innings with seven strikeouts to move to 4-2 on the season. Blackburn has shaved 1 1/2 runs off his ERA in his last five starts to his current mark of 3.55 Eric Milton picked up his first win in almost three years, tossing five innings of one run ball in a 7-1 win over the Colorado Rockies. Milton allowed seven hits and struck out three in his second start since being recalled from Triple-A. Sean Marshall allowed one run in five innings with six strikeouts to pick up a rain-shortened 6-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Marshall continues to keep pace with Randy Wells to see who will become the 5th starter once Rich Harden returns from the disabled list. Max Scherzer allowed two runs in seven innings with 10 strikeouts to earn his second win of the season. Scherzer has had back-to-back 10 strikeout performances and will face the Atlanta Braves on Sunday. Jarrod Washburn hurled six scoreless innings with four strikeouts in a 4-3 loss to the Oakland Athletics. Tim Lincecum pitched eight shutout innings and fanned eight in a 4-0 defeat of the Atlanta Braves. Lincecum lowered his ERA to 3.03 and has struck out eight or more in 7 of his last 8 starts. Closers: Brad Lidge was supposed to get the day off, but after the Marlins cut the lead to two in the ninth innings, he came in to record two outs for his ninth save of the season. Manager Charlie Manuel's use of the bullpen on Tuesday night signifies he has little faith in Ryan Madson as the closer and why he continues to stick with Lidge in spite of Lidge's recent blown saves. Instead of using Madson in the ninth inning and a different set up man in the eighth, he still pitched Madson in the eighth and had Chad Durbin come in to close the door in the ninth, which Durbin failed to do. To get more fantasy baseball insight and analysis, go to Fantasy Baseball Tools

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Monday, 5/25

noreply@blogger.com (Fantasy Baseball Tools) — Tue, 26 May 2009 04:39:00 +0000

by Todd Lammi

It was a painful loss for the Tampa Bay Rays, as the blew a 10-0 lead in an 11-10 loss to the Cleveland Indians. The blown lead was the largest in team history. The Rays used four relievers in the ninth inning, the last one being Jason Isringhausen, but none of them could stop the bleeding as the Indians rallied for seven runs to pull out the come from behind win. Rookie David Price, getting the start for the injured Scott Kazmir, displayed the same wildness that had been plaguing him in the minor leagues, as he walked five and allowed four hits in 3 1/3 innings while throwing 100 pitches. He did manage to strike out six and only allowed two runs, but his high pitch count limited his innings. Ryan Garko hit two home runs for the Indians and drove in five runs to pace the Tribe's offense. In other fantasy baseball happenings around the diamond on Monday...

Hitters:

Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira continue to lead the surging New York Yankees offense, as the team pounded out 19 hits in an 11-1 win over the Texas Rangers. A-Rod went 5 for 5 with 4 RBI and Teixeira went 2 for 4 with three runs scored and two RBI.

Who needs Manny Ramirez? The Los Angeles Dodgers pounded out 19 hits en route to a 16-6 pasting of the Colorado Rockies. Matt Kemp, Juan Castro and Juan Pierre each knocked in three runs.

The Chicago White Sox made short work of Ervin Santana, banging out 23 hits on their way to a 17-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels. Jermaine Dye (12), Jim Thome (8) and Paul Konerko (7) all went deep for the White Sox. The lone bright spot for the Angles was the return of Vladimir Guerrero to the line up.

Nelson Cruz hit his 12th home run of the year for the lone score for the Rangers. Cruz has homered 5 times in his last six games while driving in 10 runs. He has now collected an RBI in six consecutive games.

Ryan Howard hit two home runs and drove in three to provide all the offense for the Philadelphia Phillies in a 5-3 loss to the Florida Marlins. Howard now has 12 home runs on the season and 33 RBI.

Jonny Gomes went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI for the Cincinnati Reds in their 8-5 win over the Houston Astros. Gomes is a good pickup in National League only leagues as he should see playing time against left-handed starters.

Adrian Gonzalez hit his 17th home run of the season in the San Diego Padres 9-7 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in 10 innings. Scott Hairston went 3 for 5 and is now batting .333. With the trade of Jody Gerut to Milwaukee earlier in the week, Hairston should be someone to target if he is still on the waiver wire in your fantasy baseball league.

It took him 100 at bats but Travis Ishikawa finally hit his first home run of the season in the San Francisco Giants 8-2 win over the Atlanta Braves. Ishikawa went 4 for 4 and drove in three runs. He is going to need more games like that if he does not want to lose at bats to recent call up Jesus Guzman.

Freddy Sanchez went 6 for 6 and scored four times to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 10-8 win over the Chicago Cubs. Sanchez drove in three runs and hit his fourth home run of the season.

Pitchers:

Justin Verlander pitched seven shutout innings with eight strikeouts in a 13-1 win over the Kansas City Royals. It marked the sixth consecutive game that Verlander has notched eight or more strikeouts. The outing was the most economical Verlander has been with his pitches all season, making it through seven innings on 96 pitches.

Jeremy Guthrie allowed one run in seven innings with four strikeouts to pitch the Baltimore Orioles past the Toronto Blue Jays 4-1. Guthrie's biggest problem this season has been the home run, allowing 11 in 53 2/3 innings before his start on Monday.

The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 1-0 in 10 innings on a RBI single by Bill Hall. Both starting pitchers were superb in the game, with Chris Carpenter tossing eight scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts for the Cardinals, and Yovani Gallardo hurling eight shutout innings for the Brewers with six strikeouts.

Phil Hughes scattered three hits in eight shutout innings to pick up his third win of the season. Hughes struck out six while allowing only one walk to lower his ERA to 5.16.

Brett Anderson allowed one run in six innings with four strikeouts to gain his second win of the season. It marks the second consecutive good start for the rookie who may be on the verge of turning things around for good.

Jonathan Sanchez, subject to some trade rumors earlier in the week, allowed two runs in five innings with six strikeouts to earn his second win of the year.

John Maine allowed one run in six innings with four strikeouts to get his fourth win of the season. Despite his 4.18 ERA he continues to be bothered by walks. With a 30 to 36 walk to strikeout ratio, Maine is on pace for 108 walks this season which would be a career high.

Closers:

Jonathan Papelbon picked up his 12th save of the season, but it marked back-to-back games that he surrendered two runs and a home run.

Francisco Rodriguez (back spasms) returned to action for the New York Mets and picked up his 13th save of the season.

To get all of the latest fantasy baseball insight, go to http://fantasybaseballtools.com.

Fantasy Baseball Minor League Report - week 7

noreply@blogger.com (Fantasy Baseball Tools) — Sat, 23 May 2009 23:14:00 +0000

by Todd Lammi

The Baltimore Orioles have several good arms making their way up the minor league ladder. One of the lesser known names, David Hernandez may be ready to join the O's rotation by September if he continues at his current pace. Hernandez, currently in AAA, struck out 14 in 7 1/3 innings in his last start and now has 60 strikeouts in 43 1/3 innings on the season with a 2.91 ERA.

Brian Matusz (Orioles) in Advanced A, struck out nine in seven innings in his last start and has 60 strikeouts in 46 2/3 innings with a 3.09 ERA.

Matt Wieters (Orioles) in AAA has homered four times in his last eight games, and now stands at .288 with five home runs and 24 RBI.

Third basemen Brett Wallace (Cardinals) has been promoted to Triple-A. He is currently hitting .312 with six home runs and 19 RBI on the season.

Tommy Hanson (Braves) continues to cruise through AAA, allowing one hit in six shutout innings in his last start with nine strikeouts. He has now fanned 73 in 53 2/3 innings with a 1.51 ERA and is holding opposing hitters to a .160 batting average.

Catcher J.P. Arencibia (Blue Jays) has flashed power in AAA, but still needs work on controlling the strike zone to improve his batting average. Arencibia is hitting .250 with seven home runs and 27 RBI, but just nine walks in 144 at bats, although that is an improvement over his AA numbers with seven walks in 262 at bats.

Junichi Tazawa (Red Sox) pitched six shutout innings in his last start in AA and is now 4-3 with a 2.74 ERA. In 49 1/3 innings, he has struck out 47 while allowing only three home runs.

Matt Latos (Padres) is off to a great start in AA after starting the season shelved with an injury. Latos currently sports a 0.36 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 25 1/3 innings, while limiting batters to a .120 average.

One player who has not been part of the Triple-A shuttle for the Oakland Athletics as the major league team continues to juggle its pitching rotation has been Vin Mazzaro. Mazzaro in AAA has a 2.66 ERA with 38 strikeouts in 50 2/3 innings. He has allowed two runs in his last 21 2/3 innings, including eight innings of shutout ball in his last start.

Carlos Torres (White Sox) is a little bit old for the AAA level at 26, but he is putting up numbers worthy of a look, with a 1.76 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 46 innings. He is holding opposing hitters to a .193 average and has yet to allow a home run this season.

With David Ortiz struggling in Boston, the Red Sox could use some more offense. Lars Anderson, the first baseman of the future, has been off to a slow start in AA, hitting .234 with five home runs and 23 RBI. He has struck out 35 times in 137 at bats.

Go to the Minor League Report.

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Fantasy Baseball Tools) — Sat, 23 May 2009 04:22:00 +0000

by Todd Lammi

Jimmy Rollins hit his third home run of the season and stole his sixth base of the year. He has raised his batting average 40 points in the last seven games up to .240. In addition to slumping at the plate, he has struggled on the base paths this season getting caught stealing four times in 10 attempts. As a point of reference, he was 47 for 50 on stolen bases last season and 41 for 47 in 2007. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Friday...

Hitters:

Brandon Inge hit is 12th home run of the season and drove in two runs giving him 31 RBI on the season. He is now on pace for 49 home runs for the year. And people still don't believe in the juiced ball theory? Brandon Inge, 49 home runs in one year? His career high was 27 back in 2006.

Exhibit two of my juiced ball theory, Raul Ibanez, with his third home run in as many days, this one coming at Yankee Stadium and Ibanez is now on pace for 65 home runs and 166 RBI. He leads the National League with 16 home runs, 41 RBI and is second in runs scored with 36.

Speaking of the new Yankee Stadium, through the first 21 games, 82 home runs have been hit which is a major league record, breaking the mark of 77 hit at Houston's Enron Field back in 2000.

Carlos Pena hit home run number 15 on the season and drove in three runs in a 15-2 victory over the Florida Marlins. Pena is currently third in the American League with 38 RBI.

Michael Cuddyer hit for the cycle, going 4 for 5 with 5 RBI and slugging his seventh home run of the season, giving him 30 RBI on the year.

Nolan Reimold went 2 for 5 and hit his second home run of the season and is now batting .313 on the year.

Elvis Andrus went 4 for 5, knocking out his third home run of the year and stealing his sixth base of the season. Andrus is now hitting .292 on the year.

Pitchers:

Johan Santana allowed two runs in seven innings with eight strikeouts to get his sixth won of the year. The 118 pitches he threw on Friday night were the most he had thrown this season.

Bronson Arroyo allowed one run in eight innings with two strikeouts to notch his 6th win of the season, good for a tie for first in the National League with Johan Santana and Chad Billingsley.

Kevin Slowey improved to 6-1, surrendering two runs in 7 1/3 innings with four strikeouts. It was the fourth straight start he has allowed three runs or fewer.

Rick Porcello allowed one run in six innings and struck out three to move to 5-3 on the season. He has now allowed three runs in his last 24 innings and has reeled off four consecutive wins.

Bret Myers allowed three runs in eight innings with five strikeouts to pick up win number four on the season.

Kenshin Kawakami picked up his third win of the year with a 1-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. Kawakami pitched eight shutout innings and struck out seven. Roy Halladay hurled seven shutout innings for the Blue Jays and fanned six.

Gavin Floyd tossed eight shutout innings with eight strikeouts to earn his first win in more than a month, in a 2-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Zach Duke suffered the loss, allowing two runs in eight innings with seven strikeouts.

Jordan Zimmermann allowed two runs in seven innings with seven strikeouts in a no decision against the Baltimore Orioles.

Todd Wellemeyer threw six scoreless innings with three strikeouts to even his mark at 4-4 on the season. He was much more effective with his pitches, needing only 85 to get through six innings.

Derek Holland made his first major league start for the Texas Rangers and allowed three runs in 5 2/3 innings with four strikeouts. With Vincente Padilla on the disabled list, Holland should see another start or two.

There has got to be an injury that Ricky Nolasco is hiding for him to be this bad. Nolasco allowed eight runs for the second consecutive start and now sports a 9.07 ERA.

Daisuke Matsuzaka returned from the disabled list and allowed four runs in five innings with four strikeouts in a 5-3 loss to the New York Mets.

Chien-Ming Wang returned to the New York Yankees and threw three innings from the bullpen, allowing six hits and two runs with two strikeouts.

David Price is expected to be recalled by the Tampa Bay Rays to take the rotation spot vacated by Scott Kazmir who was placed on the disabled list with a quadriceps strain. Price would likely get the start Monday against the Cleveland Indians.

Rich Harden was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a back strain. Carlos Zambrano returned from the disabled list Friday and will take Harden's spot in the rotation.

Closers:

Troy Percival was placed on the 15-day disabled list with shoulder tendinitis. Tampa Bay Rays Manager Joe Maddon said he would go with the dreaded closer by committee in place of Percival.

To get more fantasy baseball insight, go to http://fantasybaseballtools.com.

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Fantasy Baseball Tools) — Mon, 18 May 2009 03:18:00 +0000

by Todd Lammi

The Toronto Blue Jays, first in all of baseball in runs scored, continue to plate runners in bunches, scoring eight runs on Sunday. Adam Lind hit his seventh home run and now has 35 RBI on the year. Aaron Hill hit his 11th home run of the season and is up to 33 RBI on the season. Roy Halladay allowed one run in seven innings and struck out eight to move to 8-1 on the season. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Sunday...

Hitters:

It was going to good to be true for Rickie Weeks owners. Weeks is scheduled to see a specialist after injuring his left wrist after striking out in the first inning on Sunday. He will be seeing the same doctor that operated on his wrist back in 2006.

Ramon Santiago went 4 for 4 with three runs scored and four RBI, including his third home run of the year. Santiago has driven in eight runs in his last five games.

Curtis Granderson hit his 10th home run of the year and drove in three runs. It was Granderson's first home run since May 5th.

Johnny Damon hit a walk-off home run to give the New York Yankees a 3-2 win over the Minnesota Twins. Damon now has 10 home runs on the season and is hitting .324.

Nate McLouth went 3 for 5 with 4 RBI and collected his seventh home run of the season. He knocked in three runs in a 10-run seventh inning in two plate appearances.

Ben Francisco hit two home runs and drove in four runs. He is currently batting .248, with his average being suppressed by his .207 average against right-handed pitching.

Prince Fielder hit his ninth home run of the season and drove in three runs in the Milwaukee Brewers 8-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Ivan Rodriguez hit his fifth home run of the season and his 300th of his career. He currently sits seventh on the all-time list for home runs by a catcher.

Pitchers:

Clayton Kershaw had his no-hit bid broken up in the eighth inning by a Cody Ross double. Kershaw allowed one run in seven innings with nine strikeouts to gain his second win of the year.

Jake Peavy picked up a complete game victory, allowing one run with eight strikeouts against the Cincinnati Reds. Peavy has struck out eight or more in four consecutive starts.

Kevin Slowey allowed two runs in 7 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts in a no decision against the Yankees.

Scott Feldman tossed six shutout innings with three strikeouts, lowering his ERA to 4.04 on the year. He has now allowed three runs in his last 18 1/3 innings.

Matt Cain hurled six scoreless innings and struck out two to move to 4-1 on the season. He currently holds a 2.65 ERA, but he is going to have trouble maintaining that going forward if he cannot improve his control. He currently is fourth in the National League for most walks, with 25 in 51 innings.

Recent call up David Huff (Indians) was shelled in his major league debut, allowing seven runs in 3 2/3 innings. He allowed four walks and seven hits while recording two strikeouts.

Ross Detwiler was recalled from AA by the Washington Nationals and will start on Monday, replacing Scott Olsen who was placed on the disabled list.

Closers:

Brad Lidge pitching his fourth consecutive day picked up his seventh save of the year.

Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella confirmed that closer Kevin Gregg is still his closer, a day after Gregg allowed four runs without recording an out.

To get mre fantasy baseball news, go to http://fantasybaseballtools.com.

Fantasy Baseball Minor League Report - week 6

noreply@blogger.com (Fantasy Baseball Tools) — Sun, 17 May 2009 03:30:00 +0000

by Todd Lammi

The big news from the minor leagues this week was not the promotion of Tommy Hanson from Triple-A, but rather the promotion of his teammate Kris Medlen. Medlen will start for the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday against the Colorado Rockies and could see potentially three starts before Tom Glavine is ready to return to the rotation. Depending how Medlen fares, there is a chance once Glavine returns that Kenshin Kawakami, 2-5 with a 5.73 ERA, would be bumped from the rotation for Medlen if Medlen is able to carry over his performance from Triple-A.

Braves general manager Frank Wren admitted if there was a long term opening in the rotation, Hanson would have been the one that was tabbed for the call up. So for now, Medlen gets the first opportunity to crack the Braves rotation. Hanson started on Saturday and tossed seven scoreless innings with seven strikeouts.

The San Jose Giants promoted their top two pitchers as Madison Bumgarner and Tim Alderson were moved up to AA. Alderson pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings in his first start while striking out 10. In Bumgarner's first start, he allowed one run in six innings with two strikeouts.

Outfielder Michael Taylor (Phillies) is hitting .308 in AA with six home runs and six stolen bases. The way the Philadelphia outfield is set, Taylor could be trade bait as the deadline approaches.

Jake Arrieta (Orioles) moved to 4-1 with seven shutout innings and 10 strikeouts on Saturday.

Trevor Reckling is moving quickly for the Los Angeles Angels, as he is now currently in AA. Reckling who turns 20 next week is 4-2 with a 1.01 ERA in 44 2/3 innings with 36 strikeouts between two levels.

Hector Rondon (Indians) is 5-1 with a 1.95 ERA in AA. Rondon has struck out 28 hitters in 32 1/3 innings.

Brad Lincoln (Pirates) is slowly working his way back to prospect status. After being selected 4th overall in the 2006 draft, Lincoln missed all of 2007 after having Tommy John surgery. He is currently 0-3 in AA with a 2.87 ERA. Lincoln has struck out 36 in 37 2/3 innings.

Also working his way back to form is Troy Patton (Orioles). Patton was acquired from the Houston Astros in the Miguel Tejada trade. After spending time with the Astros in 2007, Patton missed last season after shoulder surgery. Now down in AA, Patton is 3-1 with a 1.31 ERA, with 23 strikeouts in 34 1/3 innings.

Get the Minor League Report

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Fantasy Baseball Tools) — Fri, 15 May 2009 06:01:00 +0000

by Todd Lammi

Milwaukee Brewers top prospect Mat Gamel was recalled from Triple-A, but don't rush to pick him up just yet. It looks Gamel was brought up strictly to serve as the designated hitter in upcoming interleague games and as a pinch hitter off the bench. He struck out as a pinch hitter in his only at bat Thursday night. In other fantasy baseball news from around the diamond on Thursday...

Hitters:

Recent call up Nolan Reimold went 1 for 5 for the Baltimore Orioles. Reimold started in left field and hit seventh. With Adam Jones and Luke Scott out with injuries, Reimold should see consistent at bats the next few weeks.

Aubrey Huff hit his seventh home run of the season and now is second on the team with 32 RBI, one behind Nick Markakis.

Prince Fielder hit home run number eight on the season. Fielder has now driven in 12 runs in his last eight games and is up to 32 RBI on the year.

Torii Hunter, trying to carry the Los Angeles Angels on offense with Vladimir Guerrero out, went 3 for 5 with 3 RBI and stole two bases.

The Cleveland Indians had an offensive outburst as three players had four hits in their 11-7 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Asdrubal Cabrera 4 for 5, four runs scored, Victor Martinez, 4 for 5 with 4 RBI and Shin-Soo Choo, 4 for 5 with 3 RBI and home run number four on the year.

David Wright went 3 for 3 with two RBI and stole four bases, bringing his season steal total up to nine.

David Ortiz, 0 for 7 with 12 runners left on base. Not a good sign for a power hitter when your on base percentage (.318) is higher than your slugging percentage (.300). With zero home runs midway through week 6, in 2009 his nickname has become "Big Floppy".

Pitchers:

Josh Johnson only made it through four innings for the Florida Marlins, before being removed with shoulder issues. Not a good sign for a guy who has had injury problems in the past, although Johnson said he expects to make his next start.

David Bush allowed two runs in seven innings and struck out seven to pick up his second win of the year. Bush has now tossed seven innings in three consecutive starts.

Chad Billingsley and Cole Hamels matched each other pitch for pitch for seven innings with neither pitcher factoring into the outcome. Billingsley allowed one run and struck out nine. Hamels allowed one earned run and also struck out nine.

Justin Verlander allowed two runs in 6 1/3 innings and struck out 13, but did not factor into the decision. He has now racked up double digit figures in strikeouts in three consecutive starts, but at the same time, those three starts have produced his highest pitch count totals of the season, at 121, 118, and 122 on Thursday.

Matt Harrison picked up a complete game win, allowing two runs and striking out seven. Harrison has now allowed two runs in his last 23 innings.

Ryan Dempster allowed two runs in seven innings with five strikeouts to move to 3-2 on the season. The difference in numbers for Dempster in 2009 has been an increase in both his walk rate and home run rate.

Wandy Rodriguez allowed two run sin seven innings and struck out 11 to pick up his 4th win of the season and lower his ERA to 1.90.

CC Sabathia allowed two runs in eight innings and struck out five., lowering his ERA to 3.70.

Eric Milton is expected to start in place of Jeff Weaver for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday. James McDonald was sent to Triple-A with Milton being recalled. Milton was 3-2 with a 2.83 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 35 innings. He last pitched in the major leagues in 2007, finishing with a 5.17 ERA in 31 1/3 innings.

Closers:

Brad Lidge allowed a run in the ninth inning and has now given up a run in five straight appearances.

Brandon Morrow blew a win for Felix Hernandez, surrendering home runs to Hank Blalock (10) and Chris Davis (10) in the bottom of the ninth inning. Morrow has now given up six runs in his last three appearances.

To get more fantasy baseball insight, go to http://fantasybaseballtools.com.

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Fantasy Baseball Tools) — Thu, 14 May 2009 04:38:00 +0000

by Todd Lammi

Could we be seeing the return of the juiced ball? It is not too often you see multiple players breaking their career high in home runs a fifth of the way into the season, regardless of how low the bar is set. Such was the case Wednesday night, as Jason Bartlett has now matched his career high in home runs with 5 at game 33 on the season. Bartlett went 3 for 4 and is now hitting .369 on the year. Ryan Theriot hit two home runs giving him five on the season, two better than his career high. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Wednesday...

Hitters:

Victor Martinez went 3 for 4 and connected for his seventh home run of the season. Martinez is now hitting .385 on the year.

Fernando Tatis went 3 for 5 and drove in four runs on his second home run of the year. Tatis should see additional at bats at first base with Carlos Delgado out of the line up.

Nick Johnson went 4 for 5 and drove in two runs, boosting his batting average to .333. Knowing the injury risk he carries, it might be time to sell high on him. His career high for at bats in a season is 500 back in 2006.

James Loney erased the goose egg from the home run column, hitting a three-run shot off of Jamie Moyer. Loney went 3 for 5 with 4 RBI in the game.

Brian Roberts went 3 for 4 with two runs and two RBI coming on his 5th home run of the year. He also stole his fifth base of the season.

Rickie Weeks went 3 for 5 with three runs score and slugged his ninth home of the season.

Adrian Gonzalez hit two home runs and has now homered four time in the last three games.

The Houston Astros exploded for 24 hits and 15 runs against the Colorado Rockies. Lance Berkman went 4 for 4 with three runs, Miquel Tejada went 3 for 5 with 3 RBI and Geoff Blum knocked in five runs.

Chris Ianetta went 3 for 4 with five RBI and hit his seventh home run of the season.

Gerardo Parra was recalled from AA by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Parra started in centerfield and homered in his first at bat.

Nolan Reimold will be called up tomorrow by the Baltimore Orioles with Adam Jones and Luke Scott nursing injuries.

Pitchers:

Cliff Lee tossed seven shutout innings with nine strikeouts to pick up his second win of the season. Despite a 2-5 record, he sports a 3.00 ERA and has only allowed more than three runs in two starts this year.

Shairon Martis allowed one run in seven innings and struck out two to move to 5-0 on the season.

Randy Wolf allowed one run in six innings with eight strikeouts to pick up his second win of the year. Wolf is holding opposing batters to a .198 batting average so far on the year.

Ross Ohlendorf allowed one run in six innings with five strikeouts to pick up his fourth win of the year. Ohlendorf's whip ratio of 1.07 ranks 10th in the National League.

Closers:

Troy Percival saw his ERA balloon from 2.00 to 6.00 after allowing four runs in 1/3 of an inning.

For more fantasy baseball insight, go to http://fantasybaseballtools.com.

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Fantasy Baseball Tools) — Mon, 11 May 2009 05:58:00 +0000

by Todd Lammi

Cameron Maybin was sent to Triple-A by the Florida Marlins. He will get a chance to play every day and rebuild his confidence after being rushed to the major leagues last season by the Detroit Tigers and by the Marlins this year. Maybin needs to work on reducing his strikeout rate, after fanning 31 times in 84 at bats this season. In other fantasy baseball news from around the diamond on Sunday...

Hitters:

Albert Pujols hit his 12th home run of the season, scored three runs and stole his fifth base.

Jay Bruce hit his 10th home run of the season, giving him four home runs in his last five games. His batting average has been hovering in the .260 range for most of the season, because of his inability to hit lefties so far, as he holds a .172 average against southpaws.

Jose Reyes went 2 for 4 and stole his 10th base of the season. Reyes started picking up the pace on the base paths this past week, stealing six bases in seven games.

Nate McLouth hit his fifth home run of the season, and has been one of the few offensive bright spots for the Pittsburgh Pirates this year. McLouth is hitting .292 with 22 RBI for the year.

Johnny Damon hit a three-run home run, his 9th of the season to power the New York Yankees to a 5-3 win. Damon is batting .314 on the year with 25 RBI.

Hank Blalock hit two solo home runs giving him nine on the season. He is now batting .257 with 21 RBI.

Alfonso Soriano hit a two-run home run, his 10th of the season to go along with 20 RBI.

The Chicago Cubs seem content going with Aaron Miles at second base (.205 avg.) and Mike Fontenot (.229) at third base with Aramis Ramirez sidelined. Recently acquired Ryan Freel pinch hit on Sunday.

The Houston Astros had multiple offensive stars on Sunday. Carlos Lee went 3 for 4 with 4 RBI and his 6th home run of the season. Miguel Tejada went 3 for 5 with 4 RBI and his second home run of the year and Ivan Rodriguez went 4 for 3 and knocked out his fourth home run of the season.

Armando Rios went 2 for 4 with 3 RBI and his third home run of the year. Cito Gaston and Gene Tenace have done a great job with the Toronto Blue Jays hitters since taking over last June. The Blue Jays had six hitters batting over .300 in their lineup on Sunday.

Juan Pierre went 3 for 5 and stole his third base of the season for the Los Angeles Dodgers. With Manny Ramirez now sidelined the next two months, Pierre is a good source of runs scored and stolen bases.

Adam Dunn went 3 for 5 with 3 RBI including two home runs, numbers 10 & 11 on the season. Dunn is now hitting .311 with 28 RBI. Teammate Josh Willingham also added two home runs for the Washington Nationals.

Chipper Jones left Sunday's game in the seventh inning with a sore elbow and is considered day to day.

Pitchers:

Kenshin Kawakami picked up his second win of the season, allowing two runs in six innings with six strikeouts.

Rick Porcello picked up win number three on the season, allowing one run in five innings with five strikeouts. Despite his inconsistencies from start to start, he still sports a respectable 4.28 EAR and 1.31 whip ratio on the season.

Rookie Brett Cecil tossed eight shutout innings, allowing five hits with six strikeouts to pick up his first win of the season.

Nick Blackburn pitched seven shutout innings with six strikeouts, olny to see his win blown by the Minnesota Twins bullpen in the 8th inning.

Matt Garza allowed three runs in seven innings with six strikeouts in a no decision. He has now allowed five runs in his last 22 2/3 innings.

Luke Hochevar was recalled from Triple-A to replace Sidney Ponson in the rotation and will start on Tuesday for the Kansas City Royals.

Bryan Augenstien is expected to be recalled from AA to start for the Arizona Diamondbacks against the Cincinnati Reds. Augenstein is 5-0 with a 0.78 ERA, with 31 strikeouts in 34 2/3 innings.

Closers:

Rafael Soriano picked up his third save of the season with Mike Gonzalez working the 8th inning. I don't think it was a permanent closer change as the Phillies had left-handed hitters Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez and Matt Stairs up in the 8th inning to hit and I think Boby Cox feels confident that either Gonzalez or Soriano could close as needed.

Ryan Franklin blew his first save of the season, giving up home runs in the ninth inning to Jerry Hairston and pitcher Micah Owings.

Brandon Morrow, in his first appearance since April 23rd, allowed one run and loaded the bases in the ninth inning before getting Brendan Harris to ground out to preserve the save.

Huston Street picked up his fourth save of the season, and has not allowed a run in his last seven appearances.

Joakim Soria was placed on the disabled list by the Kansas City Royals with a strained rotator cuff. Juan Cruz will take over as closer while Soria is out of action.

Minor Leagues:

Tommy Hanson had his longest outing of the season, pitching eight innings with nine strikeouts. He did allow three home runs but they were all solo shots.

Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched four scoreless innings, allowing four hits and two walks, but did not strike out a batter. There is a chance he could be recalled by the Boston Red Sox to start next weekend.

John Lackey allowed three runs in five innings with five strikeouts and could be ready to return to the Los Angeles Angels rotation by the weekend.

Get more Daily Dirt

Fantasy Baseball Minor League Report - week 5

noreply@blogger.com (Fantasy Baseball Tools) — Sat, 09 May 2009 20:32:00 +0000

by Todd Lammi

Although he is not yet in the minor leagues, in fact, he may never spend a day there, keeper league owners should be tracking Stephen Strasburg, the pitcher from San Diego State who should be the first pick by the Washington Nationals in the June draft. Strasburg threw a no-hitter on Friday night against Air Force with 17 strikeouts in a 5-0 victory. On the year, Strasburg's record stands at 11-0 with 164 strikeouts in 87 1/3 innings. There is a good chance, depending on when he signs his contract after being drafted, that he could head right into a major league rotation. In other fantasy baseball news from the minor leagues...

Chris Coghlan was recalled from Triple-A by the Florida Marlins and will have a chance to earn a starting role while playing a variety of positions. Coghlan was hitting .344 with three home runs, 22 RBI and nine stolen bases in 96 at bats. He showed a good eye at the plate, with 12 walks and only 10 strikeouts. He started at second base on Friday, going 2 for 4, but should see the majority of time in left field initially.

Xavier Paul was recalled by the Los Angeles Dodgers to fill the roster spot for the suspended Manny Ramirez. Paul was hitting .344 with two home runs and eight stolen bases and will serve as the fourth outfielder for the next fifty games until Ramirez returns.

Nolan Reimold could be one of the next call ups from the minor leagues if the Baltimore Orioles ever get serious about improving their outfield. Although a bit older at 25, Reimold has been hitting non-stop since the season started. He currently holds a batting average of .387 with eight home runs, 25 RBI and five stolen bases.

Tommy Hanson struck out 10 in six innings while allowing one run in his last start. With David Price struggling with his command in Triple-A, Hanson seems to have taken over the spot as top pitching prospect currently in the minors. I liked the comparison Baseball America had on their weekly Hot Sheet from a statistics standpoint between Hanson and Tim Lincecum from his time in Triple-A.

Hanson IP: 32 2/3 Walks: 11 Strikeouts: 48

Lincecum IP: 31 Walks: 11 Strikeouts: 46

Kris Medlen (Braves) is still managing to keep pace with his teammate Hanson in Triple-A, striking out 10 in seven innings in his last start. Medlen now has a 1.17 ERA and 0.78 whip ratio, while holding batters to .167 average. In 30 2/3 innings, he has struck out 38 hitters.

Could he be hiding an injury? David Price (Rays) has run into command problems in his last three starts, walking 12 in 11 innings. His whip ratio has climbed to 1.62 on the year and he has struck out only two batters in his last two starts.

Luke Hochevar is patiently waiting for a call up from the Kansas City Royals as he continues to dominate in Triple-A. Hochevar struck out nine in eight shutout innings on Thursday, and is now 5-0 on the season. Hochevar's ERA is now a sparkling 0.90, with 30 strikeouts in 40 innings of work.

Also biding his time in Triple-A is Clay Buchholz (Red Sox). Buchholz hurled seven shutout innings on Friday in a 4-0 win. Buchholz allowed one hit and struck out eight in seven innings. On the season, his ERA is now 1.33 with 26 strikeouts in 27 innings.

Desmond Jennings (Rays) continues to rake in AA, at one point putting together six consecutive multi-hit games, raising his batting average to .400 on the season. Jennings has three home runs with 22 RBI and nine stolen bases.

Aaron Poreda (White Sox) currently carries an 1.65 ERA in AA with 28 strikeouts in 27 1/3 innings. With Jose Contreras and Bartolo Colon in the major league rotation, Poreda will see starts in the major leagues at some point this season.

Jarrod Parker (Diamondbacks) who jumped to AA at the beginning of May has found the hitters a little tougher in his two starts there. In 10 1/3 innings, he has allowed 16 hits with 11 strikeouts.

Ian Kennedy (Yankees) will undergo surgery on Tuesday, after being diagnosed with an aneurysm under his right armpit. Kennedy, 24, will have the surgery performed by the same doctor who did David Cone's procedure for an aneurysm back in 1996.

Neftali Feliz (Rangers) missed his start on Friday after complaining of shoulder soreness. Feliz has struggled with his control this year, allowing 16 walking and 23 hits in 19 2/3 innings.

Go to the Minor League Report

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Fantasy Baseball Tools) — Thu, 07 May 2009 05:05:00 +0000

by Todd Lammi

New York Mets starter Johan Santana hurled seven shutout innings with 10 strikeouts to pick up his fourth win of the season in a 1-0 shutout of the Philadelphia Phillies. Santana was dominant in his start, throwing 72% of his pitches for strikes. Jose Reyes added his seventh stolen base of the season for the Mets. Jon Niese is expected to get the start on Friday in place of Oliver Perez (15-day disabled list) for the Mets. Chan Ho Park kept his starting rotation spot for another week for the Phillies, allowing one hit in six scoreless innings with five strikeouts. In other fantasy baseball news from around the diamond on Wednesday...

National League:

The Colorado Rockies used three home runs to defeat the San Francisco Giants 11-1. Todd Helton (3), Matt Murton (1) and Yorvit Torrealba (2) all went deep for the Rockies. Ubaldo Jimenez went seven innings, allowing one run with six strikeouts to pick up the win.....The Milwaukee Brewers scored nine runs off of Cincinnati Red starter Bronson Arroyo in the first two innings, en route to a 15-3 win. Ryan Braun hit his sixth home run and had 6 RBI. J.J. Hardy added his fourth home run of the season and 3 RBI. Prince Fielder chipped in with his 5th home run of the season, off of shortstop turned mop up pitcher Paul Janish, in the ninth inning.....In his second game back from the disabled list, Garret Anderson drove in three runs to pace the Atlanta Braves to a 8-6 win over the Florida Marlins. Jordan Schafer went 0 for 4 with four strikeouts and is now hitting .227 on the season. Schafer has struck out 14 times in his last 19 at bats and although he has been drawing walks at a decent rate, striking out in 43% of his at bats is not going to cut it, especially for a guy who is not a home run / power hitter. Jorge Cantu hit his 8th home run of the season for the Marlins and drove in five runs. In attempts to get some additional offense, Cameron Maybin has been moved up to the second spot in the batting order and catcher John Baker has been dropped to the fifth slot.....Aramis Ramirez hit his fourth home run of the year and Reed Johnson drove in three runs to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 6-3 victory over the Houston Astros. Rich Harden allowed three runs in seven innings with four strikeouts to get his third win of the year. Lance Berkman hit home run number seven for the Astros, but his batting average still remains below the Mendoza Line at .194.....Albert Pujols, making his case early this season for the Triple Crown, blasted home run number 11 on the season to power the St. Louis Cardinals to a 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Pujols went 4 for 4 and is now hitting .364 on the year, and leads the National League in home runs, runs and RBI. Nyjer Morgan stole his seventh base of the season for the Pirates.... Justin Upton hit two home runs to propel the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 3-1 win over the San Diego Padres. Felipe Lopez added two stolen bases. Jon Garland tossed seven shutout innings with two strikeouts. Josh Whitesell was recalled from Triple-A and could split time at first base with Chad Tracy with Tony Clark going on the disabled list. Jake Peavy took the loss, allowing two runs in seven innings with 12 strikeouts.

American League:

Carlos Pena hit the game winning home run in the 10th inning to give the Tampa Bay Rays a 4-3 win over the New York Yankees. Carl Crawford (20), B.J. Upton (7) and Evan Longoria (2) all swiped based for the Rays. Mark Teixeira went 2 for 5 with 3 RBI for the Yankees.....Victor Martinez went 3 for 5 with 4 RBI, including his sixth home run of the season to help the Cleveland Indians score a 9-2 win over the Boston Red Sox. Mark DeRosa also hit his sixth home run and drove in two runs. Aaron Laffey, moved to the bullpen to make room for Jeremy Sowers in the rotation, picked up a three inning save.....Mark Teahan and Mike Jacobs each drove in three runs to lift the Kansas City Royals to a 9-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners. Billy Butler went 3 for 4 and has now raised his batting average 83 points in the last eight games. Sidney Ponson picked up the win, allowing one run in 7 1/3 innings.....Elvis Andrus hit his second home run of the season to help the Texas Rangers defeat the Oakland Athletics 3-2. Nelson Cruz stole his fourth base of the year. Jack Cust went 3 for 4 for the A's and is now batting .299.....The Baltimore Orioles defeated the Minnesota Twins 4-1, in a game that was called in the top of he 6th inning due to rain. Nick Markakis (5) and Luke Scott (4) each homered for the Orioles. The Twins demoted second basemen Alexi Casilla to Triple-A. Matt Tolbert got the start Wednesday night and went 0 for 3. Brendan Harris will likely see the majority of time at second base unless Tolbert can go on a hot streak.

For more fantasy baseball insight, check out the Daily Dirt.

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Tuesday

noreply@blogger.com (Fantasy Baseball Tools) — Wed, 06 May 2009 03:23:00 +0000

by Todd Lammi

Rick Porcello picked up his second win of the season for the Detroit Tigers in a 9-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins. His season so far has been a typical rookie season, especially for someone pitching in the major leagues as the age of 20. Porcello tossed seven shutout innings with three strikeouts. Curtis Granderson blasted his 9th home run of the season. With Granderson displaying a power stroke early on in the season, he has been dropped down to 5th in the batting order. Miguel Cabrera hit his seventh home run of the season and is now batting .406 on the year. The Tigers placed Carlos Guillen on the 15-day disabled list with inflammation in his shoulder. Jeff Larish and Clete Thomas have been recalled from Triple-A and could see time in Guillen's place. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Tuesday...

American League:

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Carl Crawford stole his 19th base of the season, and has now stolen a base in eight straight games, in a 6-3 defeat of the Baltimore Orioles. Evan Longoria went 2 for 4 with 3 RBI and now has 34 RBI on the season. The decision for the Orioles to go with Gregg Zaun at catcher over prospect Matt Wieters has not been the right move early on this season. Zaun hit his first home run of the season Tuesday, and is hitting just .162 for the year. Koji Uehara allowed three runs in 6 1/3 innings for the Orioles and struck out eight.....The Texas Rangers scored 6 runs in the top of the 10th inning to beat the Seattle Mariners 7-2. Nelson Cruz hit his seventh home run of the year for the Rangers and Jarrod Saltalamacchia added his third to go along with 4 RBI. Vincente Padilla allowed one hit through eight innings and one unearned run with four strikeouts. Erik Bedard pitched well for the Mariners, allowing one run in seven innings with seven strikeouts.....Adam Lind went 3 for 4 with 5 RBI to power the Toronto Blue Jays to a 10-6 win over the Cleveland Indians. Lind hit is sixth home run of the year and is now up to 29 RBI. Ben Francisco stole his fourth base of the year for the Indians. Rookie call up Brett Cecil pitched much better than he had been in Triple-A, allowing one run in six innings with six strikeouts for the Blue Jays.....Jason Bay hit his seventh home run of the season to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 7-3 win over the New York Yankees. Jacob Ellsbury stole base number 15 on the year. Joba Chamberlain suffered the loss, allowing four runs in 5 2/3 innings with 12 strikeouts. Johnny Damon hit his 6th home run and drove in three runs. Jorge Posada was placed on the 15-day disabled list by the New York Yankees with a hamstring strain. He is expected to miss 2-3 weeks.

National League:

The Houston Astros and Washington Nationals played to a 10-10 tie before play was suspended in the 11th inning due to rain. The game will be resumed on July 9th. Miguel Tejada went 3 for 6 with 3 RBI for the Astros. Elijah Dukes (4) and Christian Guzman (1) each homered for the Nationals. Nationals Manager Manny Acta said Joe Beimel who is coming off the disabled list will get a shot to claim the closers role.....Tim Lincecum allowed two runs in seven innings with seven strikeouts to pitch the San Francisco Giants past the Chicago Cubs 6-2. Bengie Molina hit his 5th home run of the season and drove in three runs. Emmanuel Burriss added his eighth stolen base of the year. Aaron Miles stole two bases for the Chicago Cubs getting the start in place of Ryan Theriot. Randy Wells will be promoted from Triple-A to start in place of Carlos Zambrano (out three weeks) on Friday against the Milwaukee Brewers....Edison Volquez hurled eight shutout innings, allowing three hits with seven strikeouts in a 7-0 win over the Florida Marlins. Brandon Phillips went 3 for 5 with 6 RBI, including his fourth home run of the season.....J.J. Hardy went 3 for 3 with 4 RBI to lead the Milwaukee Brewers to an 8-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Corey Hart went 2 for 4 with three runs scored and his third stolen base of the year. Pirates closer Matt Capps will be shelved until at least the weekend with discomfort in his elbow. Tyler Yates and John Grabow could see save opportunities in his absence.....Shane Victorino went 4 for 5 with 3 RBI and three runs scored to propel the Philadelphia Phillies to a 10-7 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. Jason Werth added his 4th home run of the season and 4 RBI. Ryan Ludwick hit his 7th home run of the year for the Cardinals and Albert Pujols added his 10th.

For more fantasy baseball insight, check out the Daily Dirt.

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Fantasy Baseball Tools) — Mon, 04 May 2009 00:28:00 +0000

by Todd Lammi

Matt LaPorta was recalled from Triple-A by the Cleveland Indians and will get a chance to play with Travis Hafner on the disabled list. LaPorta started in right field batting eighth on Sunday and went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Sunday...

Hitters:

Carl Crawford went 4 for 4 and stole six bases, giving him 17 steals on the season in 17 attempts.

Michael Bourn is having quite a bounce back season so far compared to his disappointing 2008 year. Bourn stole two bases on Sunday to give him eight for the season and his batting average is now up to .301.

Justin Upton is starting to heat up for the Arizona Diamondbacks now that he is getting regular playing time. Upton hit his fourth home run of the season on Sunday and has now hit four home runs in his last nine games. During that stretch, he has raised his batting average 78 points.

National League only players should look to grab Fernando Tatis who has been playing in place of Carlos Delgado, out with an injured hip. Delgado was supposed to return to action on Sunday after missing five games before it was rained out. With Delgado's injury expected to linger throughout the season, Tatis could be in line for some additional at bats.

Brandon Wood got his second start on Saturday since being recalled April 21, playing third base and batting eighth. Wood went 2 for 4, but it looks like the Los Angeles Angels are not going to commit to giving him a full season of at bats at any point in 2009. A trade would probably be the best for both parties at this time.

Kyle Blanks has started working in the outfield in Triple-A for the San Diego Padres. With Adrian Gonzalez blocking his way at first base, the Padres are looking at other alternatives to get Blanks' bat in the lineup.

Pitchers:

Chad Billingsley moved to a perfect 5-0 after allowing two runs in seven innings with eight strikeouts. Billingsley has now allowed two runs or fewer in five of his six starts this season.

Justin Verlander allowed one run in seven innings with 11 strikeouts. He continues to dominate at home, where he has now allowed two runs in 19 innings with 28 strikeouts.

Scott Richmond picked up win number four on the year, allowing two runs in seven innings with six strikeouts. Richmond has now become an option in mixed league formats with several consecutive good outings.

Johnny Cueto hurled eight shutout innings with nine strikeouts . Part of the reason for his improvement so far in 2009 is his reduction in home runs. After allowing 29 in 174 innings last season, he has only allowed two in 32 2/3 innings this season.

Carlos Zambrano left his start in the bottom of the fifth inning with a strained hamstring after attempting to beat out a throw on a bunt. Zambrano allowed two runs in five innings before leaving the game, but still managed to notch his third win of the year.

Barry Zito tossed seven scoreless innings with four strikeouts in a no decision. Zito has now allowed three runs in his last 20 1/3 innings.

Roy Oswalt let his start early on Saturday due to a rain delay after throwing only 17 pitches. Because of the short outing, Oswalt will return to the hill against the Washington Nationals on Tuesday.

Cole Hamels is still feeling soreness in his ankle and with Sunday's game rained out, it means his start will be pushed back to Friday.

Oliver Perez most likely made his last start for the New York Mets for awhile. After talk of accepting a possible demotion to the minors, Perez said Sunday he has been bothered by a sore knee and could be headed to the disabled list.

Jeff Weaver has taken over the 5th starter role for the Los Angeles Dodgers in place of James McDonald. Weaver will start on Tuesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Gio Gonzalez was recalled from Triple-A by the Oakland Athletics but will work out of the bullpen for the time being.

Closer:

Brandon Morrow was placed on the 15-day disabled list with bicep tendinitis. David Aardsma will replace Morrow as the Seattle Mariners closer for the time being. Hopefully if you had handcuffed Aardsma to Morrow as I mentioned in several previous articles, you fantasy baseball team should be covered.

George Sherrill may have lost his job as closer for the Baltimore Orioles after blowing his second save of the season. Manager Dave Trembley said for the time being, the decision on who will close could vary from day to day. Chris Ray has still been struggling so he is not the permanent answer quite yet either. Jim Johnson could also see a save opportunity as well.

LaTroy Hawkins picked up his third save of the year for the Houston Astros. With Jose Valverde out three to five weeks, Hawkins is a good pick up for saves.

Joakim Soria returned to action this weekend with back-to-back appearances that netted a win and a save so he should be safe to activate for next week.

To get more fantasy baseball insight, go to http://fantasybaseballtools.com.

Fantasy Baseball - The Secret Club

noreply@blogger.com (Fantasy Baseball Tools) — Sat, 02 May 2009 03:51:00 +0000

by Todd Lammi

There is a secret club that has been forming in major league baseball. Not a lot of people know of its existence except for its members. If you have a member of this club on your fantasy baseball team, it could help explain why your team is low in the home run category. Much like the representing of the zip code was all the rage a few years ago, the new rage in 2009 is the 04 club. As in, hey David Ortiz, how many home runs do you have this season? I am 04 the season. Here is a look at the some of the members of the current club...

David Ortiz, zero home runs, 12 RBI, .220 average. Ortiz missed seven weeks last season with a wrist injury and has not looked like the same player since. Yes he did hit some home runs in September and in spring training, but with his build and age, the power could go quickly. It is funny to see his projected stats on ESPN, zero home runs and 85 RBI. Of course I don't expect him to end the season with zero home runs, but I think the expectation of him hitting 30-35+ should be tempered.

Bobby Abreu, zero home runs, 11 stolen bases (2 Friday night), .356 batting average. The steals are a nice surprise, he only had one last year through the month of April with three home runs. Now at age 35, the power expectation should be the mid teens.

Carl Crawford, zero home runs, 10 stolen bases, .284 batting average. The stolen bases were expected to rebound after he battled hamstring injuries last season. At the age of 27, some thought this was the year he was going to finally hit 20 home runs, but it does not appear that way. He had two home runs in the month of April last season.

James Loney, zero home runs, 16 RBI, .309 average. His numbers in 2007 with 15 home runs in 344 at bats set the wrong expectations for fantasy owners. The 13 home runs he hit last season were more in line with realistic expectations.It is tough to roster him at a power position like first base with his lack of power. He had two home runs in the month of April last season.

Adrian Beltre, zero home runs, 10 RBI, .213 batting average. Has gotten off to a slow start so far this season. Nothing out of the ordinary when checking his various stat lines compared to years past. He has had shoulder problems in past years and back in March had complained of a sore shoulder so that could be affecting him. He had five home runs a year ago at this time.

Miguel Tejada, zero home runs, 4 RBI, .304 average. He suffered a drop in power last season and it looks like it is not coming back. At age 34, it looks like his run as a power hitting middle infielder is over. Three of his four RBI he plated in one game. He had four home runs through April last season.

Jhonny Peralta was a member of the club until he hit his first home run Friday night. It was not for a lack of effort though, as he has went down on strikes 26 times in his 81 at bats this season. For more fantasy baseball insight, go to http://fantasybaseballtools.com.

Fantasy Baseball Minor League Report - week 4

noreply@blogger.com (Fantasy Baseball Tools) — Sat, 02 May 2009 01:15:00 +0000

by Todd Lammi

Tommy Hanson picked up his first win of the season Thursday, tossing six shutout innings with nine strikeouts. Hanson threw 92 pitches, 58 for strikes, and allowed an even split of four ground ball and four fly outs. He is just waiting for the Atlanta Braves to make the call as he is major league ready right now. Other top prospects making a mark in minor league baseball in week 4...

Gordon Beckham has been in the news quite a bit recently with questions being asked of Chicago White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen about the potential for a Beckham call up. Beckham is hitting .300 in AA with two home runs and 10 doubles, plus a stolen base. He still has some work to do defensively before he is promoted to the major leagues.

Justin Smoak - the way he has been hitting, you might as well change his last name to Smoke. Currently in AA for the Texas Rangers, Smoak is hitting .351 with four home runs in 76 at bats. More importantly, check out the walk to strikeout ratio. With 16 walks against only 10 strikeouts, Smoak is displaying a great eye at the plate.

Jake Arrieta - in AA for the Baltimore Orioles, Arrieta struck out six in six innings for his last start. On the season, Arrieta has a 2.00 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 18 innings.

Madison Bumgarner - Bumgarner, part of the loaded team that is the San Jose Giants is off to a good start in 2009 with a 1.40 ERA, with 19 strikeouts in 19 1/3 innings. His last start was the first time he allowed more than one run.

Buster Posey - Bumgarner's teammate in San Jose, the catcher is hitting .366 with five home runs and an 11 to 13 walk to strikeout ratio.

Jarrod Parker - Parker made a quick move this season, blazing through high Class A up to Double-A for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Parker in his four starts in A ball, had a 0.95 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 19 innings.

Gerardo Parra - among the leaders in batting average in AA for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Parra is hitting .342 with a home run and five stolen bases. He has shown good plate discipline with 15 walks versus nine strikeouts.

Bud Norris - could be next in line when the Houston Astros need a starting pitcher. Norris has a 2.28 ERA in AAA with 25 strikeouts in 23 2/3 innings. He still needs some work on his control, with 15 walks on the season, including six in his last start.

Dayan Viciedo - Viciedo was hot in spring training and there was some that thought he was close to the major leagues for the Chicago White Sox. The team sent him to AA and he has struggled there so far in the first month of the season, batting .221 with 20 strikeouts in 77 at bats.

Check out the Minor League Report