Adam Eaton’s impending return is certainly a cause for concern for Gerardo Parra owners. Those who scooped up the Venezuelan outfielder upon Eaton’s then reported 6-8 week injury have reaped the rewards of a .300 average, just under 25 runs scored and four stolen bases. The issue now with Parra is the same issue as spring training began. There are too many outfielders in Arizona for all of them to get equal playing time, and Parra is the quintessential fourth outfielder when looking at the other available options.
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I’ve received a number of emails over the past two weeks asking about players to either pick up or drop and two catchers who have been the most asked about are Evan Gattis and Ryan Doumit. Each seem to be moving in opposite directions right now, but rather than just keep it limited to personal responses, let’s address each player here so that the public can get involved. Read the rest of this entry »

We’re starting to get on a roll in this corner of the internet now, with a 60% success rate overall and back-to-back weeks going 3-for-4. We also haven’t had a blow up in two weeks, meaning at the very least I haven’t been destroying your teams.

Let’s jump right into it – we have a Friday/Saturday set with 27 probable pitchers owned in less than 50% of ESPN leagues, giving us a deep pool to select from. But are there any arms worth trusting?

Dan Straily (3.5% owned) – No love for my guy? I’ve held Straily since draft day in the league I care about the most (small cash but big bragging rights among friends, including a trophy). While he’s rewarded me with 21 strikeouts in 16.2 innings, he’s posted just one quality start and a 5.94 ERA. Fortunately, a 2.94 FIP, 3.12 xFIP, and 5.25 K:BB ratio all lie below that unsightly ERA, making him a solid add while he remains in the rotation. Even better, Straily draws the Mariners at Safeco Field. The Mariners walk less than almost any other team and also sport just a .298 wOBA against righties. Buy, buy, buy.
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Center fielder Brian Goodwin has quickly become one of the brightest lights in the Washington Nationals farm system. Goodwin tantalized amateur scouts with his tools since high school. There was  some questions about how ready he was for pro ball, but so far the Nats look like they made a shrewd investment in the talented prospect.

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Today is southpaw day apparently, as a trio of lefties get newsed and noted, two of which are named Scott. Is there another left-handed Scott pitcher I should have included instead of Hector Santiago?

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Today’s Riteup is full of goodies, mostly because this handsome author couldn’t decide what topics to focus on.

On today’s agenda:
1. Derek Dietrich gets the call
2. Tyler Cloyd and Roy Halladay’s shoulder
3. Jason Heyward’s insides
4. Mike Olt’s eyes
5. Josh Reddick caves to injury

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• J.J. Putz hit the disabled list and the news isn’t good. The notoriously injury-prone reliever is said to be likely in need of surgery and, regardless, “he’ll be out a long time.” It seems that Putz’s 2013 BB% (14%) is double that of his career average could be a manifestation of a partially torn ligament and, reading the tea leaves, season-ending surgery is a real possibility for the 36-year-old. You might as well wait a couple days if you don’t need the spot, but feel free to drop him in shallow leagues or if you have an eye on another guy on the wire.

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In an effort to help you sniff out third base options should you still be waiting for David Freese to find his contacts, Jeff Keppinger to draw a walk, or Placido Polanco to do… anything — I’ve got a few ideas for you. They may not be good ideas, but they are ideas nonetheless, and third base has kind of necessitated the use of hairbrained thinking.

You might have already noticed this because it happened weeks ago, but Jose Bautista has three appearances at third base. Eligibility rules vary, but in Yahoo and Ottoneu formats, he only needs three more starts to qualify at third. In ESPN, he will need seven additional appearances.

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After putting together one of the best single seasons in relief pitcher history last season, Craig Kimbrel has ran into a rough patch in the early portions of this year, with many asking if anything is “wrong” with the flame thrower. With three blown saves and a 3.38 ERA compared to his career mark of 1.61, the first glance would point to there being some type of issue. However, when you realize he has thrown just 13.1 innings it becomes less evident. We all know how weighing early season small samples can distort analysis, and that is especially true with relief pitchers.
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While a month still isn’t the greatest of sample sizes to cast judgment, now is when you have to start making some of the tougher decisions as to whether or not it’s in your team’s best interest to give up on certain players and start picking up guys who can help you in specific categories or if you should just continue to grin and bear it through their hard times. The decision of whether or not to cut someone is a little easier to make (or not make as the case may be) in deeper leagues as the waiver wire is far from flush with talent, but in leagues more shallow, there’s plenty still from which to choose. Here’s a look at two who, based on ownership percentages, could be available in your league… Read the rest of this entry »