Archive for the ‘Oakland Athletics’ Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

StockWatch: Wednesday, June 1

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From the games of Wednesday, June 1.

Stock Up

Colby Lewis (70%) threw eight shutout innings for his fifth win and has really bounced back since April, when he had a 5.70 ERA in five starts. His ERA (3.48) and WHIP (1.15) are already back in line with his breakout season a year ago and the strikeout is improving with each start since his inexplicable start on May 10 when he struck out none in 7.1 innings.

Nelson Cruz (98%) had his second 3-hit game since returning to the lineup on May 23 and has gone 9-for-21 in his current five-game hit streak. Imagine how much better he would be going if he hadn’t gone 0-for-7 in last week’s 14-inning victory over the Royals. (more…)

StockWatch: Tuesday, May 31

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

Stock Up

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…)

Fantasy Baseball Prospects to own

May is over and the service time clock is no longer much of an issue, so it’s time for clubs to start replacing some of the dead weight on their clubs with actual players with upside. In fact, some clubs have already started the process. Here’s a look, alphabetically, at some fantasy baseball prospects who should be owned as they are already in the majors or may be called up soon: (more…)

StockWatch: Sunday, May 29

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From games of Sunday, May 29.

Stock Up

Corey Patterson (16%) has caught fire, collecting nine hits in two days after going 4-for-5 with a homer and three RBIs on Sunday. Patterson has raised his average to .301 with the binge and his combination of power (four homers) and speed (seven steals) makes him a solid start in mixed leagues.

Jeremy Hellickson (78%) held the Indians to three hits in seven scoreless innings with two walks and six strikeouts to improve to 6-3 with a 2.80 ERA. Hellickson is 4-1 with a 1.36 ERA in May, but there are still some warning signs that this may be a good time to sell high. Hellickson’s strikeouts are down, walks are up and his BABIP is an unsustainable .202 in May. In April, Hellickson’s ERA of 4.31 was nearly identical to his 4.32 xFIP, but while his xFIP has stayed basically the same at 4.29, his 1.36 ERA in May is due mostly to good luck. We are still high on Hellickson’s long-term prospects, but right now he’s not as good as his 2.80 ERA makes him look. (more…)

StockWatch: Tuesday, May 24

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses.

Stock Up

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: Monday, May 23

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From games of Monday, May 23.

Stock Up

Jay Bruce (96%) was 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs on Monday. He is 15-for-30 with four homers and nine RBIs in his past eight games to raise his average to .282. This is the power stud fantasy owners were expecting before a slow start temporarily dampened enthusiasm.

Alexi Ogando (76%) continues to establish himself as the breakout ace this season by tossing a five-hit shutout at the White Sox with six strikeouts. Ogando is 5-0 with a 1.81 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP. He continues to benefit from an impossibly-low BABIP of .199 (second only to the Indians’ Josh Tomlin), so his xFIP is 3.75. The bigger concern than his BABIP will be the workload of being in the rotation, as Ogando compiled just 72.1 IP last year between the minors and Texas. He’s already thrown 59.2 IP this season, so watch to see if his velocity starts to come down from the 94.4 mph he’s averaging on fastballs. (more…)

Spotlight: Josh Outman

Josh Outman completed a long road back from Tommy John surgery he had almost two years ago, pitching seven solid innings against the Angels. Outman allowed five hits and one run with three walks and two strikeouts. (more…)

StockWatch: Tuesday, May 17

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses.

Stock Up

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: Sunday, May 15

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses.

Stock Up

Justin Turner (1%) is cashing in on an opportunity to get ABs while Ike Davis is on the DL, as the Mets have moved Daniel Murphy over to first base so that Turner can play second. Turner went 2-for-4 with a homer and five RBIs on Sunday and is now hitting .308. Turner is a career .309 hitter in the minors, so he can be a solid NL-only fill-in and possibly even take some ABs away from Murphy when Davis returns.

Jose Bautista (98%) continues to amaze, clubbing three more homers to give him 16 on the season. Even more impressive is the .368 average, up over 100 points from last year’s .260. Bautista has cut his strikeout rate from 20.4% last year to 16.7% and raised his walk rate from 14.6% last season to 23.3%. If you own Bautista, just sit back and enjoy the ride during one of his now-patented hot streaks. (more…)

StockWatch: Monday, May 9

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses.

Stock Up

Gaby Sanchez (72%) is on a power binge, going 3-for-4 with his second homer in two days. Sanchez is 7-for-8 with five extra-base hits and six RBIs in that time, good for a 2.000 SLG and an amazing 2.889 OPS. Sanchez is erasing doubts about his power, which was pegged to be around his 19-homer total from last season. But with six homers already, Sanchez could approach 30 and become an elite option at first base.

Josh Willingham (14%) went 2-for-4 with a homer and five RBIs against the Rangers. Willingham should approach 25 homers and 90 RBIs as the A’s cleanup hitter, but could probably be had for a discount since he’s hitting just .235 and it is assumed being in Oakland will limit his power numbers. (more…)

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »