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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…)

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.

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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: 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…)

StockWatch: Wednesday, May 18

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From games of Wednesday, May 18.

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Bartolo Colon (28%) pitched his best game of the season, going eight scoreless innings with three hits, one walk and seven strikeouts. Colon lowered his ERA to 3.16 and has a 48-11 K-BB ratio in 51.1 IP. His xFIP sits at a glittering 2.89, which is more than a full run better than his career best of 3.91 in 2005, when he won the AL Cy Young. At this point, the only worry is his health and whether those stem cells help stave off injuries.

Jonathon Niese (8%) finally pitched a stellar game like he had several of in the first half of last season – 7 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K. Niese can be a pretty solid mixed-league SP, as evidenced by his first half last year (3.61 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 7.3 K/9). With his current xFIP of 3.85 nearly matching last season’s 3.80, he should be owned in deeper mixed leagues and has the upside to be a must-start. (more…)

Spotlight: Michael Pineda

Michael Pineda continues to dazzle, firing seven scoreless innings with no walks and seven strikeouts against the Twins.

Pineda, who is already the slam-dunk favorite to win AL Rookie of the Year, has yet to pitch a bad game and is even improving his control as he goes. The 22-year-old flamethrower has issued just one walk in his past 20 IP after walking 11 in his previous 25.1 IP. (more…)

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