With the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline approaching, you should be looking into possible MLB trade scenarios that could have a direct impact on your fantasy roster.  Maybe you own the player on the move, maybe you own a guy who is about to start losing playing time, or maybe you own a guy who will say bye-bye to a teammate and land some extra PT. Whatever the case may be, your league’s trade deadline is rapidly approaching as well, so staying alert and showing some foresight could help you land some much-need production from a relatively soft position. Read the rest of this entry »

In the FanGraphs Experts League (most recently discussed here), my team (Amateur Hour) has been in a free fall, sinking from first all the way to 8th and 15 points out of the top three.

But I am thinking of acquiring at least one rental, if not two or three, to try to make a push this year. Before doing so, I want to lay out my case here and explore why a team in the bottom half of the standings might decide the time is right to make a run.

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Today’s Roto Riteup is being written while I impatiently wait for my internet to load episode two of The Newsroom. If you haven’t heard of this show yet, don’t worry, you will soon. Simply put: this show is amazing.

• Over the past week Brennan Boesch is hitting .417 with a .583 slugging. Given how poorly he started the season, any sign of life — even a BABIP fueled one — is welcome. After his home run last night, his recent batting line will only improve. Many people (myself included) gave up on Boesch already, but maybe this is when things turn around for him. His paltry career walk rate hurts him in OBP leagues but in standard 5×5 formats he should still be considered an asset. His current ownership rate in ESPN leagues is 20% and he is owned in 27% of Yahoo! formats. If you are hurting for an outfielder, Boesch makes for a solid rebound candidate.
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• It’s sometimes hard to take Ozzie Guillen seriously, but when he said that the Marlins will use a closer-by-committee approach for their ninth inning duties he didn’t seem to be joking as Mike Dunn converted his first save of the year tonight. While Dunn is great against lefties (.254 wOBA against), he doesn’t fare as well against righties (.317 wOBA against) but a pairing with the righty Steve Cishek, with some platoon problems of his own, could make for an intriguing committee. Heath Bell has pitched in the eighth inning the last two nights, and although he hasn’t received a save opportunity he’s pitched two scoreless innings should be seeing the ninth inning again this season. For the time being however, the Marlins are going with a committee and look for Cishek, Dunn and Bell to get the nod depending on the matchup.

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Stephen Strasburg is possibly the best starting pitcher so far this season. Here is a quick sampling of his stats:

11.6 K/9, 32% K%
2.6 BB/9, 7% BB%
2.82 ERA, 2.42 FIP, 2.60 xFIP, 2.60 SIERA

These numbers are good enough that I have him ranked as the best fantasy starting pitcher without taking the number of innings he pitches into account. The only knock against him is that he is not a ground ball pitcher with has led to a career BABIP 0.308. When he is on the mound, he is arguably the best fantasy pitcher in the in the game.

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I hope you all had a fantastic weekend, I know I did. I assume that you’re all ready and can’t wait to get back to work, I know I am (just in case the boss sees this). What better way to spend your Monday lunch break than reading up on the current state of my opinion on the American League Outfield?

Bullish:
Nick Markakis – Although its only been three games since his activation from the disabled list, Markakis is showing us that he hasn’t missed a beat. He has four extra base hits already, all of the doubles variety. He is currently owned in just 58% of Yahoo! leagues and 64% of ESPN leagues. He is guaranteed playing time and at his best he is able to fill all five major fantasy categories. He deserves to be owned in all but the shallowest of formats.
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Let’s kick off the week with an outfielder and an infielder…

Rajai Davis | OF | Blue Jays | Owned: 13% Yahoo! and 16.0% ESPN

This probably isn’t the best time to suggest grabbing Davis for your outfield — he’s currently mired in an ugly 0-for-23 slide (27 total plate appearances) with more ground ball double plays (three) than walks (two). He’s only struck out six times during the slump, so he’s not completely lost at the plate just yet. Rajai’s season batting line is down to .243/.300/.376 after sitting at a much more respectable .273/.324/.412 prior to this slump.

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Starting pitchers. Man, there are so many of them. And every week, there’s a no-name that throws a shutout and burns bright for a few days. Those matchstick burns very rarely turn into anything substantial.

And yet we have to wait five days between starts, wondering what the next heaping pile of information will tell us. Imagine if a position player got 30 plate appearances every five days, we’d spend a lot of time thinking about them in between, too. Maybe this is the appeal with fantasy football, eh?

Off-topic. Point is, information about starting pitchers comes in leaps and surges. That makes them particularly tough to rank, but it also provides opportunity.

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Ben Sheets has returned with a vengeance. In his first start since July 2010, Sheets made a big statement. Sheets pitched six innings, striking out five batters against the New York Mets on Sunday. He did not allow a run. With the Braves in need of some stability in their rotation, Sheets could parlay this opportunity into a full-time role. If his first start is any indication, it looks like he might have some value in fantasy leagues.

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On Saturday, I analyzed the five hitters whose HR/FB ratios have increased the most since last season and using various tools and metrics, tried to determine whether we might see a decline in the second half. Today I will look at the opposite end of the spectrum, those hitters whose HR/FB ratios have declined the most. Will they experience a second half power surge?

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