Archive for the ‘New York Yankees’ Category

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Early fantasy baseball rankings: Third Base

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

1. Jose Bautista (left): No. 1 overall on ESPN’s player rater for last year, he’s already produced one encore for his breakout 2010 season, so who are we to doubt he can do it again. The batting average is likely to fall back below .300, but the power numbers are as elite as they come.

2. Evan Longoria: The Rays star missed a full month yet still managed 31 homers and 99 RBIs, so a healthy season could see him rise to the top of the third base rankings if he can get his average back up. (more…)

Early Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Second Base

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

1. Robinson Cano (left): The Yankees’ most consistent hitter is a safe bet to turn in elite numbers everywhere except steals, and even there he turned in a career-high eight last season. The 29-year-old is a slam dunk to be a top-10 overall pick.

2. Dustin Pedroia: Bouncing back from a 2010 season half-ruined by a fractured ankle, Boston’s sparkplug put up career highs in homers, RBIs and steals. Entering his age-28 season, Pedroia is at the height of his powers. (more…)

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: Saturday, July 16

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From games of Saturday, July 16.

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CC Sabathia (98%) is showing what elite aces do – go on monster rolls that carry fantasy pitching staffs. The big lefty held the Blue Jays to three hits and one run in eight innings with three walks and eight strikeouts for his seventh win in seven starts. In his past five starts, Sabathia has a 0.45 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 39.2 IP. Sabathia has been a big second-half pitcher many times in the past, so jump aboard and ride that train.

Javier Vazquez (28%) is back. We declared him dead back in mid-May when his ERA rocketed to 7.55, and he was still stinking in mid-June with a 7.09 ERA. Vazquez posted his first double-digit strikeout game in over two years with 10 Ks against the Cubs on Saturday, allowing four hits and three runs with no walks in a 13-3 win. In his past six starts, Vazquez is 3-2 with a 1.39 ERA and a 29-3 K-BB ratio in 37.1 IP. Vazquez’s resurgence has coincided with an uptick in his lost velocity – his average fastball has gone from 88.4 mph in April to 88.8 in May to 90.5 in June to 90.8 so far in July. He averaged 91.1 mph in 2009 with the Braves when he contended for the NL Cy Young, so see if you can still buy low because of his 5.14 season ERA. (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…)

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: Wednesday, June 15

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From games of Wednesday, June 15.

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Michael Morse (72%) continued his torrid stretch, going 3-for-4 with two homers and three RBIs. On May 21, Morse was hitting .258 with two homers while being relegated to platoon duties because of a slow April. Then Adam LaRoche succumbed to a sore shoulder that would eventually need season-ending surgery and Morse took off when inserted full time at first base. Morse is 34-for-92 (.370) with 10 homers and 29 RBIs in 23 games since, raising his average to .312. The spring training hype is proving to be warranted and Morse’s breakout is beginning to resemble Jose Bautista’s of last season. Morse is finally holding down his first everyday job at age 29 and the 6-foot-5 slugger has the power to put up 40 homers.

Livan Hernandez (4%) hurled a three-hit shutout with no walks and six strikeouts against the Cardinals, lowering his ERA to 3.77. Hernandez has quality starts in five of his past seven appearances as the 36-year-old continues to baffle with his slow stuff. His strikeout rate is up and his walk rate is down from last year, so his xFIP is down to 4.17 from 4.57 last season. Hernandez is mostly an NL-only option, but could be serviceable in deeper mixed leagues if he can keep up his right-handed Jamie Moyer impression. (more…)

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…)

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