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Here’s an early peek at the RotoAce 2012 fantasy baseball rankings for starting pitcher. (more…)
Archive for the ‘Los Angeles Dodgers’ Category
Early fantasy baseball rankings: Shortstop
Here’s an early peek at the RotoAce 2012 fantasy baseball rankings for shortstop.
1. Tro
y Tulowitzki: Injuries again caught up to Tulo last season, but not until September in the form of a sore hip or before he had put up his customary huge numbers. He enters his age-27 season primed for a career year if he can avoid the injury bug.
2. Jose Reyes (left): The old hamstring issues cropped up again last season, taking a little of the luster off an otherwise spectacular season that saw him win the NL batting crown with a .337 mark. Now he’s taking his electrifying game to Miami, where he’ll try to live up to his $106 million contract with the Marlins while in his prime at age 28. (more…)
StockWatch: Monday, June 27
Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From games of Monday, June 27.
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Brandon Phillips (98%) has caught fire with six multi-hit games in his past seven contests, going 16-for-32 with a homer and seven RBIs. He was 4-for-5 on Monday to raise his average to .299. Phillips hasn’t attempted a steal during this stretch despite being on base constantly – not a good sign for a guy with just four steals who averaged 24 thefts from 2006-10. The power is way down too, as Phillips has just six after averaging 21 homers over the past five seasons. Phillips turns 30 tomorrow and is already showing signs of decline after dipping to 18 homers and 16 steals in 28 attempts last season. He’s still an excellent option at second base, but the production isn’t matching the name value. This makes him someone to sell rather than buy unless you believe this recent hot stretch is a sign of good things to come.
Aramis Ramirez (91%) is much like Phillips, an aging star who is making up for a slow start. Ramirez went 3-for-4 with two homers and a double against the Rockies on Monday. He is 8-for-16 with three homers and two doubles in his past four games, raising his average to .289. Ramirez’s stats were down last year too, but he went on an extended binge at about this time – hitting a combined .307 with 14 homers and 46 RBIs last July -August. With the ball starting to fly out of Wrigley Field with regularity (Ramirez was one of three players with two homers there on Monday), he is someone to target for possible big returns. (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: Monday, June 20
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Clayton Kershaw (99%) has officially entering the elite class of pitchers that everyone knew he had the potential to do. After two bombings at hitter havens in Colorado and Cincinnati, Kershaw has allowed just six hits and a run in his past two starts, including a complete-game, two-hitter over the Tigers. He is now 7-3 with a 3.01 and his strikeout rate leads all of baseball (9.78 K/9). His 2.83 xFIP is also the fourth-best in the majors behind the Phillies trio of Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee. In short, good luck prying him away from an owner, but if you can get someone to sell, don’t be afraid to pay the price for him because he’s the real deal.
Ivan Nova (7%) had his best start of his young career, allowing just one run on four hits in eight innings, striking out a season-high seven and walking none. You may need to chalk this up to facing a Reds team who had never seen him before, but the seven strikeouts were somewhat of a surprise with just a 4.9 K/9 on the season. The rookie won his third straight start and induced fifteen ground ball outs. Needless to say, if he can get the strikeout rate up a bit and keep inducing that many ground balls, he can win a lot of games with that Yankees offense behind him. (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: Monday, June 6
Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From games of Monday, June 6.
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Adam Rosales (0%) was a key benefactor in a major roster shakeup for the A’s on Monday, as the 28-year-old former Red will get a chance to stake his claim on third base. Rosales had been on the DL all season recovering from a fractured foot, but he didn’t waste any time by hitting a two-run homer in his second at-bat of the year. Rosales’ foot still isn’t 100 percent, so he’ll be on a two-days-on, one-off schedule for now. Recently-acquired Scott Sizemore was called up and could also see some starts at third now that previous starter Kevin Kouzmanoff has been sent down. And top prospect Jemile Weeks was called up with second baseman Mark Ellis headed to the DL. Weeks should get most of the starts at second with Sizemore also getting a look there. We’ll talk more about Weeks after his major-league debut on Tuesday, so it’s Rosales we’re looking at the closest today. Rosales hit .271 with seven homers and two steals in 255 ABs for the A’s after coming over from the Reds in a deal for Aaron Miles last year. Rosales has a little pop, as he hit a combined .299 with 16 homers and 11 steals in Triple-A in 2008-09. You might be able to catch lightning in a bottle, but the ceiling’s not very high here so think of Rosales as more of a stop-gap until he proves more.
Brennan Boesch (32%) put up the line of the night on Monday – 5-for-6 with two homers and five RBIs. Boesch is 10-for-18 with three homers and seven RBIs in his past four games to raise his average to .278. He can run extremely hot and cold, as evidenced by his rookie season last year when he hit .342 with 12 homers and 49 RBIs before the All-Star break and just .163 with two homers after. With this in mind, it’s time to pounce on him if he’s available and hope he can get on a long roll again. (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, 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…)
