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Here’s an early peek at the RotoAce 2012 fantasy baseball rankings for starting pitcher. (more…)
Archive for the ‘Seattle Mariners’ Category
Early fantasy baseball rankings: DH
Here’s an early peek at the RotoAce 2012 fantasy baseball rankings for designated hitter.
1. David Ortiz (left): Depending on how old you think Big Papi really is, he technically enters his age-36 season coming off a throwback year when he put up a .309-84-29-96-1 line. Ortiz managed to avoid the slow starts that plagued him in the recent past, but expect a little more to go wrong and numbers that come up a bit short of last year.
2. Billy Butler: Eric Hosmer’s arrival sent Butler back to DH, where he put up another solid but not spectacular season. Butler turns 26 in mid-April, so if a power spike is coming then this will likely be the season.
3. Jesus Montero: It took Montero almost two full seasons in Triple-A before finally getting the call to New York, where he was even better than advertised with a .996 OPS and four homers in just 69 plate appearances. Being traded from the Yankees’ offense-friendly lineup and ballpark to the Mariners’ league-worst offense and ballpark will limit Montero’s fantasy impact this season. (more…)
StockWatch: Jesus Montero
Sometimes in fantasy baseball, all it takes is a trade for an uber-prospect’s value to change dramatically one way or another. The question with Seattle’s new C/DH Jesus Montero now is: Which way will the trade swing his value?
Montero immediately becomes the Mariners’ top hitter in terms of their lineup and overall future value, but playing for an offense-challenged team in a pitchers’ ballpark is going to be drastically different than playing in the bandbox that is Yankee Stadium with one of the league’s top offenses.
I think the difference here may be playing time and pressure. Seattle manager Eric Wedge plans to keep his bat in the lineup nearly every day by playing him at catcher and DH and the Mariners can even play him higher in their lineup. The Yankees, however, would probably have played him towards the bottom of the order and would have been more likely to sit him during a prolonged slump.
RotoAce thinks the trade will help him overall, though playing in Safeco will surely bring a hit to his power numbers. But as Adrian Gonzalez proved, playing in an extreme pitchers’ park doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t hit for power. Extreme talent always wins out. Plan for a nice .275-.280 average with 19-21 homers and 65-70 RBIs in his first year and those of you in keeper leagues can expect better numbers down the road.
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…)
StockWatch: Sunday, July 3
Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From games of Sunday, July 3.
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Rajai Davis (37%) broke out of a hideous 7-for-76 slump since his last stolen base back on June 4, going 3-for-4 with three steals on Sunday. With the skid likely behind him, it’s a good time to get the speedster in if you’re in need of steals.
Nick Markakis (79%) continued his June rampage on into July, going 5-for-5 with a steal on Sunday. Since June 8, Markakis is 44-for-101 with three homers, 14 RBIs and three steals in 22 games, raising his average from .236 to .296. It’s good to see Markakis sprinkling in some steals, which helps make him a solid mixed-league option going forward. (more…)
StockWatch: Sunday, June 26
Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From games of Sunday, June 26.
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Jeff Keppinger (6%) just keeps doing the one thing he does best – hit for average. The Astros’ second baseman went 3-for-3 with a homer on Sunday, raising his average to .336. Keppinger is 17-for-42 in his past 10 games with six multi-hit performances. Because he has just two homers and no steals, Keppinger is more of an NL-only guy, but he can help out in deep mixed leagues too.
Ricky Romero (90%) hurled a four-hit shutout with two walks and five strikeouts against the Cardinals on Sunday. Romero has given up just three earned runs in his past three starts covering 24 innings with 21 strikeouts. His 2.74 ERA and 1.16 WHIP are both big improvements on last year’s breakout, as Romero is taking his place among the elite starting pitchers in all of baseball. (more…)
StockWatch: Thursday, June 23
Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From games of Thursday, June 23.
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Chris Carpenter (89%) finally earned his second win of the season with seven solid innings against the Phillies (5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K). Carpenter may be the best buy around right now, as his strikeout of 7.2 K/9 is his best since 2006 and his walk rate of 2.1 BB/9 is down from last year. His xFIP of 3.27 is his lowest since his Cy Young season of 2005 and is a full run lower than his 4.26 ERA. Since coming to the NL in 2004, Carpenter has kept his BABIP under .280 in every full season. But this year Carpenter is suffering from a .323 BABIP. Keeping with the theme that there are really no red flags on Carpenter, even his average fastball velocity is up from 91.4 mph last year to 92.3 this season. Buy now.
Add of the Day: Chris Capuano (7%) is showing that it’s possible to return to being a solid starter even after having two Tommy John surgeries. He missed all of 2008-09 before returning halfway through last season and posting respectable numbers (3.90 xFIP, 7.4 K/9, 2.9 BB/9). Capuano has been even better this season, raising his strikeout rate to 7.5 K/9, lowering his walk rate to 2.5 BB/9 and posting a career-low 3.74 xFIP. His ERA lags a little behind at 3.99 because of a .320 BABIP. On Thursday, Capuano tossed six shutout innings against the A’s with no walks and seven strikeouts. In his past four starts, Capuano is 3-1 with a 1.08 ERA and a 22-7 K-BB ratio in 25 IP. He continues flying under the radar, but Capuano is a nice sleeper as a solid strikeout hurler in a pitcher’s park. (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: Friday, June 3
Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From games of Friday, June 3.
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Jason Vargas (9%) continues his Jekyll and Hyde ways, hurling a four-hit shutout against the Rays on the heels of a two-game stretch where he gave up a combined 11 runs and eight walks in 7.2 innings. Before that, Vargas had a 16-inning scoreless streak. Vargas has his ERA back down to 3.96, but the inconsistency and the 4.25 xFIP make him someone to shop rather than buy.
Jeff Karstens (2%) continues to fly under the radar while putting up solid numbers, limiting the Phillies to four hits and one run with no walks and two strikeouts in seven innings on Friday. Karstens matched the Phillies’ Cole Hamels in a game the Pirates would eventually win in 12 innings. Karstens hasn’t walked a guy in his past 20 innings while lowering his ERA to 3.30 and WHIP to 1.20. He was a solid prospect with the Yankees before coming over in the Xavier Nady trade in 2008, but had struggled with the Pirates before this season. Karstens’ strikeout rate has gone up each season with Pittsburgh, reaching a solid 6.6 K/9 this year to go with a shrinking walk rate of 1.7 BB/9. His 3.34 xFIP matches up with his ERA, so if he can keep up his 42-11 K/BB ratio then he could be a decent mixed-league option this season. (more…)
