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Here’s an early peek at the RotoAce 2012 fantasy baseball rankings for outfield. (more…)
Archive for the ‘Colorado Rockies’ Category
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, June 22
Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From games of Wednesday, June 22.
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Johnny Cueto (72%) keeps getting hotter, holding the Yankees to two hits and one run in seven innings with three walks and six strikeouts on Wednesday. Cueto has yet to allow over three earned runs in nine starts since coming off the DL at the beginning of May and has a tidy 1.63 ERA with a 0.97 WHIP. In his last three starts, Cueto is 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 19-6 K-BB ratio in 21 IP. It is that improved strikeout rate that has us finally ready to recognize Cueto as a fantasy ace. He had a 5.2 K/9 through his first six starts, but he has stepped it up to 8.1 K/9 in his last three outings. This recent outburst has helped lower his xFIP from the low fours to 3.52. Cueto is still benefitting from a .234 BABIP, but he’s suddenly becoming a groundball pitcher, upping his GB rate from 41.7% last year to 55.9% this season. A drubbing to help correct that low BABIP has to be around the corner, but we could be witnessing the birth of an ace as the results start to line up with the electric stuff Cueto has always flashed. (more…)
StockWatch: Friday, June 17
Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From the games of Friday, June 17.
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Brett Myers (37%) may be finally awakening, tossing a complete game against the Dodgers on Friday. Myers allowed four hits and three runs (two earned) with six strikeouts and one walk. Before we get ahead of ourselves and start announcing that the Myers of last year (3.14 ERA, 180 Ks) is back, remember that this is just the third time in his last 11 starts that he has allowed three runs or less. One encouraging sign is that Myers has cut his walk rate in half from 3.2 BB/9 in the first two months to 1.6 BB/9 in June. Myers had always had a problem with the long ball before last year, when his HR/FB rate dropped to 8.5% from his career 14.4%. His old bugaboo has returned this season with a 14.8% HR/FB, so don’t expect a return to last year’s form entirely. Myers’ 4.03 xFIP shows that his 4.75 ERA is a bit inflated, so he should be able to become someone you can use in deep mixed leagues for favorable matchups.
Josh Tomlin (56%) ended his string of three straight six-run outings, limiting the Pirates to one run in 6.2 IP with five strikeouts and no walks. Tomlin dropped his ERA to 3.93 and has a sparkling 1.07 WHIP due in large part to his miniscule walk rate of 1.2 BB/9. As long as he can keep limiting the free passes, his 3.72 xFIP could hold up as long as the league doesn’t figure out how to square up all those strikes he throws. (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…)
Spotlight: Charlie Blackmon
Charlie Blackmon went 1-for-4 with a run scored in his third straight start since being called up Tuesday when the Rockies placed Dexter Fowler on the DL. (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…)
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: Thursday, May 26
Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From games of Thursday, May 26.
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Jay Bruce (97%) was 2-for-4 with a homer and is on a Troy Tulowitzki-caliber hot streak. Bruce had 11 RBIs in the four-game series with the Phillies and is 17-for-35 with six homers and 14 RBIs in his past eight games. Having just turned 24, Bruce is entering his prime years and promises to be one of the game’s premier power hitters for the next decade.
Carl Crawford (98%) is finally back, collecting four hits on Thursday and going 8-for-9 with five runs, five extra-base hits and five RBIs in the past two days combined. Now if only Red Sox manager Terry Francona would return to his senses and put Crawford back in the three-hole. (more…)
StockWatch: Tuesday, May 24
Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses.
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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…)
