Archive for the ‘Cleveland Indians’ Category

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Early Fantasy Baseball Rankings: First Base

Here’s an early peek at the RotoAce 2012 fantasy baseball rankings for first base.

1. Miguel Cabrera (left): It’s finally time for a changing of the guard, as the Tigers’ slugger moves into the top spot that Albert Pujols has inhabited for pretty much the past decade. Cabrera is smack-dab in the middle of his prime entering his age-28 season while Pujols is embarking on the backside of his career going into his age-32 season. Cabrera won the AL batting crown with a .344 mark and is a safe bet to keep up his trek to Cooperstown.

2. Adrian Gonzalez: Gonzalez didn’t enjoy the power surge many experts were forecasting when leaving San Diego’s Petco Park for Boston’s Fenway Park, but he still put up a fantastic .338-108-27-117-1 line. If the homers pick up, Gonzo could be the No. 1 first baseman in 2012. (more…)

Early fantasy baseball rankings: Catcher

Here’s an early peek at the RotoAce 2012 fantasy baseball rankings for catcher.

1. Brian McCann (left): With our No. 1 going down for the season (Victor Martinez), McCann assumes the top spot. He’s as consistent as they come (between 18-24 homers and 71-94 RBIs in each of his six full seasons) and is in his prime entering his age-28 season.

2. Carlos Santana: The .239 average may have disappointed in his first full season, but the counting numbers (27 homers, 84 runs, 79 RBIs, 5 steals) were elite and could get better as he turns just 25 in the first week of the ’12 season. His high walk rate and .291 career minor league average are good signs that his average will be on the rise and give the Indians slugger a chance at the top spot. It helps that the Indians keep his bat in the lineup by playing him at first base when he’s not catching. (more…)

StockWatch: Wednesday, July 6

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From the games of July 6.

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Michael Young (97%) went 3-for-4 for a third straight day, raising his average to .328. Young is hitting .284 in 197 ABs as a DH and .385 in 148 ABs when he starts in the field. He’s hitting in the middle of the Rangers lineup, so the 58 RBIs put him on pace for only his second 100-RBI campaign. But his seven homers are off pace from the 21 and 22 he hit the past two seasons, respectively. Third base has become so thin that Young is an elite option there and as a bonus he’s added eligibility at first and second base too.

Justin Masterson (69%) is finally doing his impression of a healthy Brandon Webb that so many were predicting for the sinkerball expert back when he came up with the Red Sox in 2008, lowering his season ERA to 2.66 with eight shutout innings against the Yankees on Wednesday. Masterson held the mighty Yankees lineup to three hits while walking two and striking out six. Masterson has allowed just one earned run in his past 22.2 IP with a 16-5 K-BB ratio. His xFIP of 3.55 is almost a full run higher than his ERA, but a lot of that is due to a low 4.3% HR/FB that is possible for him to come close to sustaining with his nasty sinker. Masterson’s FIP of 3.08 may be a closer prediction to what his ERA can be from here on out, which combined with his solid 6.4 K/9 makes him an excellent No. 3 SP in deep mixed leagues. (more…)

Spotlight: Lonnie Chisenhall

Lonnie Chisenhall made a splash in his major-league debut, going 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI against the D-backs on Monday. (more…)

StockWatch: Friday, June 24

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From games of Friday, June 24.

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Guillermo Moscoso (1%) is likely the luckiest pitcher in the majors, posting a 2.68 ERA through 37 innings with the A’s despite a 5.72 xFIP. The peripherals are ugly – 3.4 K/9, 4.1 BB/9, .205 BABIP, 25.2% GB and 4.5% HR/FB. So we’ve got a low-strikeout, high-walk, fly-ball pitcher who has been extremely lucky on balls in play … run away!!! Do not pick this guy up despite his gaudy ERA, as ZiPS projects him for a 5.71 ERA the rest of the way.

Derrek Lee (26%) finally hit his first homer since May 8 and is heating up. The 35-year-old went 3-for-5 on Friday and is 14-for-32 with five extra-base hits in his past seven games, raising his average from .214 to .247. This is most likely just a correction up to the mediocre player he has become in his mid-30s, but he’s at least worth getting in deep mixed-league lineups while he’s hot. (more…)

StockWatch: Monday, June 20

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Clayton Kershaw (99%) has officially entering the elite class of pitchers that everyone knew he had the potential to do. After two bombings at hitter havens in Colorado and Cincinnati, Kershaw has allowed just six hits and a run in his past two starts, including a complete-game, two-hitter over the Tigers. He is now 7-3 with a 3.01 and his strikeout rate leads all of baseball (9.78 K/9). His 2.83 xFIP is also the fourth-best in the majors behind the Phillies trio of Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee. In short, good luck prying him away from an owner, but if you can get someone to sell, don’t be afraid to pay the price for him because he’s the real deal.

Ivan Nova (7%) had his best start of his young career, allowing just one run on four hits in eight innings, striking out a season-high seven and walking none. You may need to chalk this up to facing a Reds team who had never seen him before, but the seven strikeouts were somewhat of a surprise with just a 4.9 K/9 on the season. The rookie won his third straight start and induced fifteen ground ball outs. Needless to say, if he can get the strikeout rate up a bit and keep inducing that many ground balls, he can win a lot of games with that Yankees offense behind him. (more…)

StockWatch: Saturday, June 18

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From games of Saturday, June 18.

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John Danks (52%) continued his resurgence with his third straight win since starting 0-8, holding the Diamondbacks to seven hits and two runs (one earned) in seven innings with no walks and seven strikeouts. During his winning streak, Danks has a 1.23 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and a 17-3 K-BB ratio in 22 IP. He has lowered his ERA from 5.25 to 4.29, much more in line with his 3.98 xFIP. Danks is back as a solid mid-rotation SP for deep mixed leagues.

Alex Rios (66%) broke out of an 0-for-13 skid by going 2-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs on Saturday. As long as Guillen sticks with his struggling outfielder, Rios should be on the rise as his .217 BABIP comes up closer to his career .277 mark. (more…)

StockWatch: Friday, June 17

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From the games of Friday, June 17.

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Brett Myers (37%) may be finally awakening, tossing a complete game against the Dodgers on Friday. Myers allowed four hits and three runs (two earned) with six strikeouts and one walk. Before we get ahead of ourselves and start announcing that the Myers of last year (3.14 ERA, 180 Ks) is back, remember that this is just the third time in his last 11 starts that he has allowed three runs or less. One encouraging sign is that Myers has cut his walk rate in half from 3.2 BB/9 in the first two months to 1.6 BB/9 in June. Myers had always had a problem with the long ball before last year, when his HR/FB rate dropped to 8.5% from his career 14.4%. His old bugaboo has returned this season with a 14.8% HR/FB, so don’t expect a return to last year’s form entirely. Myers’ 4.03 xFIP shows that his 4.75 ERA is a bit inflated, so he should be able to become someone you can use in deep mixed leagues for favorable matchups.

Josh Tomlin (56%) ended his string of three straight six-run outings, limiting the Pirates to one run in 6.2 IP with five strikeouts and no walks. Tomlin dropped his ERA to 3.93 and has a sparkling 1.07 WHIP due in large part to his miniscule walk rate of 1.2 BB/9. As long as he can keep limiting the free passes, his 3.72 xFIP could hold up as long as the league doesn’t figure out how to square up all those strikes he throws. (more…)

StockWatch: Monday, June 6

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From games of Monday, June 6.

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Adam Rosales (0%) was a key benefactor in a major roster shakeup for the A’s on Monday, as the 28-year-old former Red will get a chance to stake his claim on third base. Rosales had been on the DL all season recovering from a fractured foot, but he didn’t waste any time by hitting a two-run homer in his second at-bat of the year. Rosales’ foot still isn’t 100 percent, so he’ll be on a two-days-on, one-off schedule for now. Recently-acquired Scott Sizemore was called up and could also see some starts at third now that previous starter Kevin Kouzmanoff has been sent down. And top prospect Jemile Weeks was called up with second baseman Mark Ellis headed to the DL. Weeks should get most of the starts at second with Sizemore also getting a look there. We’ll talk more about Weeks after his major-league debut on Tuesday, so it’s Rosales we’re looking at the closest today. Rosales hit .271 with seven homers and two steals in 255 ABs for the A’s after coming over from the Reds in a deal for Aaron Miles last year. Rosales has a little pop, as he hit a combined .299 with 16 homers and 11 steals in Triple-A in 2008-09. You might be able to catch lightning in a bottle, but the ceiling’s not very high here so think of Rosales as more of a stop-gap until he proves more.

Brennan Boesch (32%) put up the line of the night on Monday – 5-for-6 with two homers and five RBIs. Boesch is 10-for-18 with three homers and seven RBIs in his past four games to raise his average to .278. He can run extremely hot and cold, as evidenced by his rookie season last year when he hit .342 with 12 homers and 49 RBIs before the All-Star break and just .163 with two homers after. With this in mind, it’s time to pounce on him if he’s available and hope he can get on a long roll again. (more…)

StockWatch: Wednesday, May 25

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From games of Wednesday, May 25.

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Erik Bedard (36%) continued his hot tear, going six scoreless innings against the Twins with four strikeouts and one walk. Bedard began the season 0-4 with a 7.71 ERA, but he is 3-0 with a 1.09 ERA and a 28-7 K-BB ratio in 33 IP since then. Bedard should be owned and started in all leagues.

Franklin Gutierrez (6%) was 2-for-3 with a homer and has a modest four-game hitting streak after going 0-for-8 in his first two games off a long DL stint with stomach problems. It was good to see Gutierrez attempting a steal even though he was caught, as he can be a solid source of both SBs and HRs when he gets going. (more…)

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