Archive for the ‘Minnesota Twins’ Category

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StockWatch: Sunday, June 12

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From games of Sunday, June 12.

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Miguel Olivo (40%) is on a power binge, hitting two homers on Sunday to give him six dingers is his past nine games. Those six homers have come out of just eight hits in 33 ABs. Olivo is so hot that he should be playing in all leagues, but his .241 average is about what you should expect as well as struggles at home (.207 at Safeco, .268 on road).

Jorge Posada (38%) might still have something left in the tank after all, going 2-for-3 on Sunday for his fifth multi-hit game in his past six. Posada has gone 13-for-22 over his past six games, raising his average from .169 to .226. He needs to start hitting homers before we get completely behind him, but the 39-year-old is worth playing at catcher in deep mixed leagues. (more…)

StockWatch: Wednesday, June 8

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From games of Wednesday, June 8.

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Ben Revere (1%) is taking advantage of chance to play regularly in the past week, going 3-for-5 with a steal on Wednesday to lift his average to .302 after an 11-for-30 performance in his past seven games, all consecutive starts. Revere is getting ABs with Jason Kubel on the DL, Denard Span battling dizziness and headaches, and Michael Cuddyer often playing second base while Tsuyoshi Nishioka recovers from a broken leg. Revere moved quickly through the minors on the strength of a combined .326 average and 154 steals in 1490 ABs. What’s not to like about a leadoff hitter with a track record like that? In real-life baseball, Revere has a popgun throwing arm and is allergic to walks, limiting his OBP. Then there’s the logjam of veterans in front of him once Kubel, Span and Nishioka are healthy. Revere is a very worthy AL-only addition right now and someone to target if you’re desperate for steals or in a keeper league, but the speedster is likely headed back to a backup role or even the minors in the near future.

Mark Reynolds (69%) is finally heating up, going 2-for-3 with a homer and a steal on Wednesday. He may still be hitting .199, but Reynolds is 5-for-15 with three homers and eight RBIs in his past five games. If he could just make enough contact to get his average near .250, Reynolds could still be a fantasy force since he’s got a shot to reach 30 homers, 100 RBIs and 10 steals. (more…)

Spotlight: Brian Duensing

Brian Duensing broke out of a slump with eight scoreless innings, allowing six hits and one walk with four strikeouts against the Royals.

Deunsing was 0-5 with a 7.39 ERA over his previous seven starts. Deunsing had a 2.91 ERA with 23 Ks in 34 IP in April before a couple rain-shortened starts began his slide. (more…)

StockWatch: Tuesday, May 31

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From the games of Tuesday, May 31.

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Domonic Brown (28%) went 2-for-4 with his first homer since coming off the DL on May 21. Brown started slow by going 1-for-14 in his first four games, but has four multi-hit games since and is 10-for-19 with a steal. Brown has the talent to become a fantasy stalwart starting now, so grab him if he’s still available in all leagues.

Danny Espinosa (22%) was battling the Mendoza Line as May was coming to a close, but finished the month with a bang, blasting two homers with four RBIs. Espinosa has three homers in the past two days to give the 24-year-old second baseman 10 on the season, putting him on for 30 homers and 100 RBIs. He has a patient enough approach to get his average up above .250, so he may still be a bargain. (more…)

StockWatch: Tuesday, May 24

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses.

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Kelly Johnson (63%) is finally hitting after an April that saw him hit just .180 with three HRs. He 6-for-17 with 2 HRs and 8 RBIs in his past 5 games and is starting to look like a guy who has the potential to put up a 20/20 season at second base.

Matt Joyce (85%) has caught fire since the end of April, as he has hit all eight of his home runs since April 28 and has his average up to .367. He is doing all his damage against right-handed pitchers (.397, 7 HR, 24 RBIs) and his ridiculously high BABIP of .418 probably isn’t going to last long, so enjoy the ride while it lasts. (more…)

StockWatch: Saturday, May 21

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From games of Saturday, May 21.

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Josh Tomlin (67%) out-dueled Homer Bailey by holding the Reds to three hits and one run in seven innings on Saturday to run his record to 6-1 with a 2.41 ERA. Tomlin has now made a quality start in all nine of his appearances this year. He took a .178 BABIP into the game and surely lowered it to even more fortunate levels. With a strikeout rate of 4.5 K/9 and that low BABIP, it would be easy to see his ERA rise up closer to his 3.92 xFIP. Tomlin’s walk rate of 1.5 BB/9 gives him more of a margin for error, so he should remain a decent option, but the fantasy landscape is littered with the carcasses of guys like this – Brian Bannister, Nick Blackburn, John Lannan – you get the idea.

Javier Vazquez (25%) outpitched David Price with seven scoreless innings against the Rays, allowing only three hits with seven strikeouts and two walks. It was just Vazquez’s second quality start in nine appearances, lowering his ERA to 6.41. In his first start since returning from the bereavements list because of a death in his wife’s family, he looked like the Vazquez of old, at least for one day. In NL-only leagues or very deep mixed leagues, he’s worth picking up in case this is the start of something, otherwise we’d like to see him repeat the performance before recommending him for any more. (more…)

StockWatch: Tuesday, May 17

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses.

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Ubaldo Jimenez (97%) took our finger off the panic button by going seven solid innings against the Giants, allowing three runs and eight hits. The best part was the 7-1 K-BB ratio, as he had posted a 23-19 K-BB ratio in his past four starts. Jimenez obviously has the stuff to be an elite ace, but keep an eye on those walk totals.

Edinson Volquez (56%) had his first-inning struggles return, but quickly settled down for his lowest walk total of the season with one. Volquez gave up a three-run homer to Carlos Pena in the first frame (started the season by giving up 13 combined first-inning runs in his first four starts), but allowed just one hit in the next five innings and finished with nine strikeouts. Volquez is in the same boat as Jimenez, with electric stuff but control problems that if curbed could make him among the game’s elite. (more…)

StockWatch: Monday, May 16

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses.

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Fernando Salas (28%) took over as the head of the Cardinals’ closer by committee, pitching a perfect ninth inning for his fourth save. Salas has been superb this season, holding opponents to a .161 batting average with a 1.08 ERA a 0.84 WHIP, so there’s a chance he could emerge as the permanent solution. It’s worth noting that Eduardo Sanchez pitched a scoreless, walk-free eighth inning and could resume closing at some point.

Mark Reynolds (68%) is finally showing signs of life, hitting a homer and stealing a base. Reynolds has now hit in four straight games with two homers, raising his average to .191. There could be a big-time hot stretch coming, or this could just be another tease followed by a strikeout-plagued drought. (more…)

StockWatch: Wednesday, May 11

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses.

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Jason Bartlett (5%) led the Padres’ 23-hit attack by going 4-for-6 with two steals and hitting two RBI singles in an eight-run eighth inning against the Brewers. Bartlett is 8-for-15 in his past three games to raise his average to .256 and now has seven steals. It’s not a coincidence that Bartlett’s three-game uprising has come at the start of a road trip away from Petco Field, where he’s hitting .164 compared to .344 on the road. If you’re looking for steals, grab Bartlett and try to use him for road games. (more…)

StockWatch: Tuesday, May 10

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses.

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J.J. Hardy (10%) came off the DL with a bang, going 4-for-5 with a homer. We were high on Hardy going into the season before a strained oblique shelved him a week in, so now we’re getting back on his side. With a little health and the cozy confines of Camden Yards, Hardy should be worth owning in mixed leagues as a power option at shortstop.

Matt Joyce (30%) recorded his third straight multi-hit game by going 2-for-4 with a homer, raising his average to .356. Since starting the season 1-for-20, Joyce has hit a scalding .432 (35-for-81). Before you get too excited, remember that Joyce is basically a platoon player because he can’t hit lefties (2-for-15), so his counting totals will suffer a bit. If you own him, just be sure to bench him if he’s facing lefties. (more…)

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