Andrelton Simmons is slated to return to the Braves within the first week or so of September, which should be a big boost for the team down the stretch run but likely will not be that big of a boost to your fantasy team during that same stretch. Simmons is an extremely talented player, but expecting him to perform for the final three weeks of the season as he did during his first 33 games in the majors is unwise.
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The future position of Xander Bogaerts has become a hot button issue this season. Baseball Prospectus’ prospect guru Kevin Goldstein cited a potential move down the defensive spectrum, possibly even out of the infield, as a reason the 19-year-old didn’t make his mid-season top 50 prospect list.* Goldstein’s rationale drew the ire of many despite the commonly overlooked fact that Kevin is far more connected and knowledgeable than just about everyone who hurled accusations at him. Why does Boegarts’s future position rile up so many? Rabid Red Sox fans and the fantasy implications. Read the rest of this entry »

Spinning off of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ promotion of Tyler Skaggs to the majors earlier in the week as they try to make a push for a playoff spot, it seems fitting to do a rundown of all the National League contenders and their prospects who might be in line for a call-up down the stretch, especially once rosters expand in September. Some of these players might seem to be another half-season or so away, but many are are on the verge of getting a shot, just like Skaggs was.

As for fantasy implications, the focus remains on 2012 impact, but this also will help any keeper and dynasty league owners whose settings require a player to debut in the majors before they can be acquired in fantasy.

You can find the American League version here.

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As the Dodgers suffered through their incredibly painful first half of 2011, besieged mostly by injuries and the ongoing saga of “will Frank McCourt make payroll this week?”, one of the fun diversions for Dodger fans was watching the progress of flamethrowing young righty Rubby de la Rosa. At 22, the organization’s 2010 Minor League Pitcher of the Year had added an improving slider to his overpowering fastball in eight starts for Double-A Chattanooga, striking out 52 in just 40 innings.

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I’m making it rain this morning, at least when it comes to fantasy baseball opinions!

• In his longest outing with the Toronto Blue Jays, J.A. Happ pitched 7.1 innings of one run ball. He struck out seven, unfortunately he also walked three. This makes excellent back-to-back outings for Happ now, as his August 17 start was six innings of single run action with eight strikeouts. I wouldn’t go touting Happ for the Cy Young just yet, but this is at least encouraging. To see him have these consecutive starts against the Texas and Detroit offenses is cause for even more celebration. He could be a sneaky add late in the year. Happ is available in about 95% of ESPN and Yahoo! formats.
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• After quittin’ time on Wednesday, Aroldis Chapman saved his 23rd consecutive game — tying a franchise record held by John Franco (1988) and Rob Dibble (1991) — to up his successful save tally to 31 on the year. Chapman continues to make his case for Cy Young consideration, as he now holds a 1.31 ERA and a 16.26 K/9 (7.47 K/BB) while holding opposing batters to a .138 average.
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Over the last two seasons, Johnny Cueto’s ERA (2.38) has been lower than any other pitcher in the majors. His ERA is about one full point lower than his FIP (3.24) and xFIP (3.75). I will look at how he achieved the low ERA and if it can be maintained.

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There is one huge flaw that is keeping Danny Espinosa from reaching the upper echelon of middle infielders in fantasy baseball, an enormous strikeout rate. While the strikeout rate is unlikely to come down, Espinosa can still be a rather useful fantasy player. His dual eligibility at both middle infield spots makes him extra valuable, but it is nice to see that we can pretty much expect what type of player he is for the foreseeable future.

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I received an email a few days ago with an ethics question regarding the fantasy game and given some of the discussions this column has prompted in the past, I thought bringing it here might help the person out  little more. Obviously I have my own opinion on the matter which I happily shared, but also mentioned that I might put it in more of a public forum to garner additional thoughts. After mulling it over for a bit,  I thought the FanGraphs/RotoGraphs community would be a good group to provide further insight. Read the rest of this entry »