Archive for Meta Analysis

Brian Anderson was activated from the disabled list Tuesday afternoon and is expected to resume his role as the White Sox’ starting center fielder. The 27-year-old was pleased with his short rehab assignment at Triple-A Charlotte. “I got some good at-bats with those guys, and it was just fun to be back in the mix playing baseball,” said Anderson, who missed about three weeks with a strained right oblique.

Anderson left the MLB scene in late April with a relatively impressive stat line — a .268 batting average, .359 on-base percentage and two stolen bases in 56 at-bats. Those numbers won’t gain a player fantasy relevancy in most mixed leagues, but that he’s even making a small splash in AL-only leagues this season says something about his progress as a hitter. Anderson hit just .232 last season with a .272 OBP and was completely off the fantasy map. Now that he’s back in the lineup, let’s get better acquainted.

I don’t expect Brian to hit .350,” Ozzie Guillen told the Chicago Tribune at the beginning of the 2009 season. “A lot of people forget we gave Brian all year long [in 2006] and he never [kept the job]. Now he’s mature, he’s a better player and he knows what he’s doing. I don’t expect him to be comfortable with being a backup outfielder. He should be better than that.”

The Chicago coaching staff has noticed an improvement in Anderson’s approach at the plate.

”I felt good about Brian for a couple years now,” hitting coach Greg Walker told the Chicago Sun-Times in late April. ”We’ve seen pregame work now for two years that we think equates into game performance. We’ve challenged him a little bit where, ‘Hey, it’s time to step it up and start taking this pregame work into games.”

On to the links…

Mark Hinton of CrookedPitch.com outlines several “Fantasy Situations To Avoid.” At the top of his list? The Nationals’ bullpen.

Charlie Saponara of FantasyBaseball365.com asks a bold question: “Is Garrett Atkins done?”

If you haven’t already, check out this week’s “Fantasy Roundtable,” hosted by Razzball.com.

Mark St. Amant of Rotoworld is “crushing” on Adrian Gonzalez this week. “I’ve never managed a Major League game in my life,” St. Amant writes, “but I know how to win every game against the San Diego Padres — never, ever, ever. Ever. Ever pitch. Never. Pitch to Adrian Gonzalez.”

Find something of interest or have a question? Send me an e-mail anytime or hit me up on Twitter.

Giants second baseman Emmanuel Burriss is on an 18-for-44 (.409) tear to open the month of May and was permanently awarded the Giants’ leadoff role on Monday. “He can bunt, he can steal a base. He can do some things you want your leadoff man to do,” beamed manager Bruce Bochy, upon announcing the lineup change.

Burriss is an interesting fantasy case. He has next to no power (1 HR in 350 career at-bats), but he’s displayed good plate discipline at every level of baseball and has the kind of speed that most managers love at the top of the lineup. Plus, he’s a switch-hitter. Through Tuesday night, he had racked up nine stolen bases, good enough for second in the National League.

Burriss was rushed to the majors last year as the Giants began calling on all the troops during the second half of a wasted season, but he may have been the most impressive of the club’s youngsters. At just 24 years of age, he still has time to build a little more strength. Burriss is never going to be a double-digit home run hitter, but an ability to drive the ball into the gaps, combined with his already impressive speed, will help him tally doubles and triples in bunches.

Warren Greshes of the San Jose Mercury News loves his potential, both offensively and defensively. “First off, Burriss’ speed and intelligence on the bases (highest baseball IQ of any of the Giants youngsters), has injected a much needed shot of energy into this team,” Greshes wrote last season. “His range and strong arm around second base has conjured up comparisons (albeit VERY premature) to Roberto Alomar, the best defensive 2nd baseman I’ve ever seen.”

Burriss is a native of the Washington D.C. area and spent his college career at Kent State. It’s an odd route to the major leagues, as Cameron Smith of the Washington Post noted in early May.

MASN’s Debbi Taylor collected a plethora of compliments about Burriss on Tuesday. Nationals manager Manny Acta said he “likes the speed and energy Emmanuel brings to the game.” Giants hitting coach Carney Lansford can attest that the young second baseman “has great work habits.” And Bochy added that he “likes Emmanuel’s approach,” calling him, in essence, “effectively aggressive.”

Burriss may never top fantasy draft boards, but he boasts a decent amount of value in NL-only leagues and mixed leaguers desperate for stolen bases may as well give him a look. He has scored only 10 runs heading into Wednesday’s full slate of action, but he’s sure to see a nice boost in that category as the new leadoff man.

On to the links…

Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes that Albert Pujols would bat .370/.456/.691 with 219 Hits, 44 home runs, 132 RBI and 136 Runs if he faced Pirates pitching every at-bat over the course of a season.

Rotoworld’s Aaron Gleeman discusses the Blue Jays’ decision to stick with Scott Downs at closer, even with the high-priced B.J. Ryan returning from the disabled list.

Andy Behrens of Yahoo! Sports breaks down the Rangers’ and Nationals’ closer issues. C.J. Wilson and Joel Hanrahan would appear to be worthwhile pickups.

Hi, my name is Drew Silva. And I’m a baseball addict.

It’s my first post here on this wonderful website and I’m absolutely ecstatic. I’ll spare you too many details about my arrival, but I just want to let the Fan Graphs and Roto Graphs community know how grateful I am to be a part of this movement toward better understanding the game of baseball and, in particular, player performance. Hopefully I can add something to the fray. Just as my man Albert Pujols never squanders an at-bat, I’ll never put forth minimal effort on a post. 110 percent, and all that jazz.

My role on here is two-fold. I’ll provide semi-daily “meta analyses” of individual players, pulling information and opinions from a variety of resources to further understand the characteristics and potential of these chosen athletes. I’ll also be providing links to quality fantasy articles from other websites. If you ever come across, or personally produce, something you feel should be shared, feel free to hit me up.

I may tweak the format from time to time as I get settled in, so bear with me. I’m like the 2008 version of Ryan Howard — I’ll get around to mashing eventually.

The Dodgers’ Andre Ethier is gaining increased attention these days with Manny Ramirez in the penalty box. His club is in first place in the NL West, with a major league-leading .667 winning percentage, and the 27-year-old outfielder is off to a fine start. Ethier is out-pacing his ZiPS projections in nearly every category with seven doubles, six home runs, 27 RBI and 23 runs scored through 123 at-bats. Let’s get further acquainted.

Ethier hosts his own blog on MLB.com, where he can be found reviewing restaurants and likening playoff losses to being “kicked in the stomach.” In a post dated October 16, 2008, he took partial blame for the Dodgers’ early exit against the eventual champion Philadelphia Phillies:

“We just had a lack of execution,” he wrote. “I’m guilty. I was not getting on base in front of Manny so he could drive me in. He hit something crazy like .538 but we didn’t score enough runs. I have to get the job done a little better. I have to come back next year with the knowledge I’ve gained from this and be a better baseball player.”

The Dodgers decided to move Ethier behind Manny in the lineup this offseason and all was well until a few days ago, when Ramirez’s PED-tainted urine knocked everything out of whack. Ethier was doing an excellent job of getting on base, with a .419 OBP through the month of April, but things have obviously changed in Chavez Ravine. He is now being shifted around the lineup on a nightly basis and is being challenged more often than ever by opposing pitchers. He hit third on Saturday, then cleanup on Sunday. In both games, however, manager Joe Torre slotted him behind Orlando Hudson. Torre’s logic is fairly obvious; he wants speed in front of power. But how will it affect Ethier’s offensive totals?

Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times wrote a piece on Ethier just days before news of Manny’s suspension broke. Today’s subject had been drawing walks, including intentional passes, at an unusually high rate. “He walked 14 times in the Dodgers’ first 19 games, putting him on pace for 119,” Hernandez noted. “He drew 59 free passes last season.” Hitting behind Manny during the first several weeks of the ’09 season, he was being awarded first base whenever the dread-locked slugger failed to reach. He’ll no longer get that treatment, and it’s sure to affect his on-base percentage, among other things. Will it also derail his already impressive RBI and run totals?

No player in the Dodgers’ lineup will get on base as frequently as Manny did. Hudson has a career OBP of .349. Not terrible, but also not too sexy when compared to Manny’s career .412 mark. It’s simple math – there won’t be as many ducks on the pond when Ethier digs in. Expect a step back, unless Ethier can truly step it up.

On to some links…

KFFL asks the age-old fantasy question, “When is it time to punt a category?”

Mark St. Amant of Rotoworld has this week’s Fantasy Man-Crush Index. That third baseman from Tampa Bay, and his .480 wOBA, predictably tops the list. “Our current mesosphere, stratosphere and troposphere just aren’t high enough to contain the skyrocketing value of one Evan Longoria,” writes St. Amant.

Ballpark Bob of Fantasy Baseball Dugout believes WHIP should somehow incorporate HBPs as well. “There have been exactly 10% as many hit by pitches as walks” this season, reports Bentz . Hard to ignore.

Hans Horn over at Crooked Pitch analyzes the fall of David Ortiz. Big Papi has suddenly become “Big Pop-Up.”