Archive for the ‘Texas Rangers’ Category

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StockWatch: Saturday, July 23

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From games of  Saturday, July 23.

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Gaby Sanchez (28%) ended a month-long power outage with a bang, hitting three homers in two games after not going deep since June 21. The 27-year-old went 3-for-4 with two homers and four RBIs on Saturday. Sanchez is a solid first-base option capable of a hot month, but his hot start has him being slightly overvalued. This may be a good time to sell high if you have a surplus at first.

Emilio Bonaficio (82%) is showing that the light can go on for even lesser talents such as this 26-year-old utilityman. Bonafacio went 2-fo4 with two runs and a steal on Saturday, raising his average to .293 amid his 23-game hitting streak. He has 16 steals in his past 21 games, making him one of the biggest surprises of the fantasy season. While there is no power or RBIs to be had here and his career .262 average warns of an impending downturn, Bonafacio can be a useful piece because of his wheels and his versatility (SS, 3B and OF eligibility). (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: Thursday, July 14

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From games of Thursday, July 14.

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Derek Holland (26%) hurled his second straight shutout, limiting the Mariners to five hits with one walk and eight strikeouts. These two gems come on the heels of a miserable two-start stretch that saw him give up a combined 12 runs (eight earned) and 16 hits in 6.2 innings. We’d like to see Holland do this against someone other than the light-hitting Mariners and Athletics before we go recommending him, but he has the talent for a breakout.

Ian Stewart (17%) went 3-for-5 and is 5-for-8 in his past two games to almost double his average from .079 to .141. Stewart has started seven straight games since returning from exile in Colorado Springs and has enough power potential to pick up in deep mixed leagues. He hit a combined 43 homers in 811 ABs over the past two seasons, yet he’s only scratched the surface of the tremendous potential he’s had since the Rockies drafted him in the first round back in 2003. Stewart had regained his power stroke in Triple-A, clubbing 14 homers in 167 ABs, so now it’s time he starts hitting in the majors again. (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: 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: Friday, June 24

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From games of Friday, June 24.

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Guillermo Moscoso (1%) is likely the luckiest pitcher in the majors, posting a 2.68 ERA through 37 innings with the A’s despite a 5.72 xFIP. The peripherals are ugly – 3.4 K/9, 4.1 BB/9, .205 BABIP, 25.2% GB and 4.5% HR/FB. So we’ve got a low-strikeout, high-walk, fly-ball pitcher who has been extremely lucky on balls in play … run away!!! Do not pick this guy up despite his gaudy ERA, as ZiPS projects him for a 5.71 ERA the rest of the way.

Derrek Lee (26%) finally hit his first homer since May 8 and is heating up. The 35-year-old went 3-for-5 on Friday and is 14-for-32 with five extra-base hits in his past seven games, raising his average from .214 to .247. This is most likely just a correction up to the mediocre player he has become in his mid-30s, but he’s at least worth getting in deep mixed-league lineups while he’s hot. (more…)

StockWatch: Thursday, June 16

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From games of Thursday, June 16.

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J.J. Hardy (40%) has been scalding hot since the calendar turned June, failing to record a hit in just one game this month. Hardy went 2-for-5 with his seventh homer on Thursday. He is 21-for-52 (.404) with five homers and nine RBIs in June to raise his season average to .299. Hardy has always been a binge hitter, so surely you’ve had him in this month if you own him.

C.J. Wilson (86%) bounced back from a one-strikeout start against the Twins last time out to record his fifth double-digit strikeout game of the season. Wilson held the Yankees to two runs and seven hits in eight innings with 10 strikeouts, giving him 93 Ks on the season. Wilson has been inconsistent with his strikeout totals, but the double-digit games make up for the five times he’s struck out three or less. (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…)

StockWatch: Wednesday, June 1

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

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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: 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…)

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