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Here’s an early peek at the RotoAce 2012 fantasy baseball rankings for closers. (more…)
Archive for the ‘San Diego Padres’ Category
StockWatch: Tuesday, Aug. 9
Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From games of Tuesday, Aug. 9.
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Kyle Blanks (2%) looked like he was becoming the latest victim of the Petco Park effect, going 3-for-32 in his return from Tommy John surgery that cost him over a calendar year in the majors. After a dreadful 1-for-19 homestand, Blanks has hit the road with a vengeance, collecting two hits in each of his five games on this current road trip. The 6-foot-6, 270-pound beast is 10-for-20 with two homers and seven RBIs in five games, flashing the form that saw him hit 10 homers in 148 ABs with the Padres in 2009. Blanks could be one player who can shake the Petco Park effect, as his enormous power has played well in an albeit small sample size over the previous two seasons combined – eight homers in 126 ABs at home and five homers in 124 ABs on the road. We’re never too crazy about recommending Padres hitters, but Blanks could at least be useful in deep mixed leagues, especially if he can prove capable of hitting in Petco.
Jesus Guzman (26%) is doing his best to prove us wrong about Padres hitters, going 2-for-4 on Tuesday to run his hitting streak to 10 games. Since Anthony Rizzo last started with the Padres on July 19 before being sent down a few days later, Guzman has gone on an amazing tear – 26-for-69 with three homers and 21 RBIs in 19 games. Even more incredible is that Guzman is batting .452 with four homers at home compared to .286 with one homer on the road, showing he has some kind of immunity to the Petco Park effect. The incredible thing is that Guzman is just now getting a shot at regular playing time at age 27 after doing nothing but rake in the minors. Guzman hit .364 in Double-A in 2008, .321 in both 2009-10 at Triple-A and .332 this season with Triple-A Tucson. He has had just moderate power in the minors, averaging 17 homers from 2008-10, but Guzman has blossomed in San Diego with five homers in 119 ABs. Guzman has shown enough to make him a solid sleeper in deeper mixed leagues the rest of the way. (more…)
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: 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: 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: Tuesday, May 31
Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From the games of Tuesday, May 31.
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Domonic Brown (28%) went 2-for-4 with his first homer since coming off the DL on May 21. Brown started slow by going 1-for-14 in his first four games, but has four multi-hit games since and is 10-for-19 with a steal. Brown has the talent to become a fantasy stalwart starting now, so grab him if he’s still available in all leagues.
Danny Espinosa (22%) was battling the Mendoza Line as May was coming to a close, but finished the month with a bang, blasting two homers with four RBIs. Espinosa has three homers in the past two days to give the 24-year-old second baseman 10 on the season, putting him on for 30 homers and 100 RBIs. He has a patient enough approach to get his average up above .250, so he may still be a bargain. (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: Monday, May 16
Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses.
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Fernando Salas (28%) took over as the head of the Cardinals’ closer by committee, pitching a perfect ninth inning for his fourth save. Salas has been superb this season, holding opponents to a .161 batting average with a 1.08 ERA a 0.84 WHIP, so there’s a chance he could emerge as the permanent solution. It’s worth noting that Eduardo Sanchez pitched a scoreless, walk-free eighth inning and could resume closing at some point.
Mark Reynolds (68%) is finally showing signs of life, hitting a homer and stealing a base. Reynolds has now hit in four straight games with two homers, raising his average to .191. There could be a big-time hot stretch coming, or this could just be another tease followed by a strikeout-plagued drought. (more…)
