A great band name?  Definitely.  Especially if you’ve got a series of gigs in downtown Cincinnati.  But we’re going to stick to fantasy baseball here and talk about the fact that Drew Stubbs’ league leading 205 strikeouts (yes, that’s right, he struck out more than Mark Reynolds) may just help you land what could be one of 2012’s most valuable fantasy assets.  Sure, his 15 home runs and 40 stolen bases will keep him on most people’s radar, but the .243 average, those strikeouts, and the overall decline from 2010’s breakout season should help keep the price down and allow you to grab him at a more bargain cost.

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It’s a light schedule today, with two American League games on the docket. But there’s still fantasy to be played — ottoneu Pick Six continues through the playoffs — so let’s take a look at a couple matchups for tonight.

Matt Joyce ($0.50)
Joyce comes with the right price and will probably end up on a lot of teams today because of it. His two-run home run in game two might make him even more tempting. But really the best reason to pick up Joyce is his platoon advantage against a pitcher with platoon problems. Joyce the lefty is going against Colby Lewis the righty, who has shown a 4.67 xFIP against lefties over his career (and a 3.97 xFIP against righties which has dropped to 3.5ish the last two years combined). The slider is Lewis’ best pitch, and the slider has platoon issues. Oh and Joyce likes sliders (+2.8 runs by linear weights). If only this matchup was in Texas, where those fly balls Lewis gives up turn into home runs more often. That’s okay, this is still a great matchup for the hitter.

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It’s the death throes of the fantasy season, but some of you are still looking for every single at-bat you can get. Here are a couple players that might get you an extra hit or run. Who knows, it could make a difference!

Jason Pridie (0% owned)
You know the Mets’ season has taken an even sharper turn for the worse when their announcers are stupefied by something. But when Angel Pagan brained himself on a swing last week… well.. Let’s let the video speak for itself:

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With the season swiftly coming to a close, I thought I would take a look back at some of my deep league waiver wire recommendations from early in the season. This exercise is not to gloat, but to examine the players and if their performance this year changes their future outlook and role for next season. Upon reviewing my recs, most did not do much, but two guys really stood out: Ryan Roberts and Chris Heisey.

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Let’s continue looking ahead to the 2012 fantasy baseball season by highlighting the potential impact rookies at each position. Why? Because it’s never too early to begin thinking about next year, even if you’re still trying to win your league right now. And for those of you in keeper leagues, particularly deeper ones, these primers will be especially helpful, because you’ll find out which young players may be worth snatching up now — before other owners get a clue — so you can hang onto them next season, when their value kicks in. Think of it like an investment requiring only a little up-front cost that could pay off big in the near future.

Much like my Mining the Minors columns on this site, which focus on current-season impact more than long-term upside, these 2012 rookie primers are meant for players who will fulfill or are expected to fulfill their rookiedom next year. Also much like my MTM work, the point here is to find the right mix of opportunity and talent, so that you’re picking up a player who can contribute, either in a starting role or as a reserve, from Day 1 or soon thereafter. Chances are, I’ll hit on many of these same players in depth at some point in future Mining the Minors columns, but for now, it’s good to get ahead of the curve with a snapshot of the talent at each position.

To give you a brief idea of just how this sort of thing can be worthwhile, I’m in two deep keeper leagues, one AL-only and one NL-only, and around this time last year, I picked up Mark Trumbo, Jordan Walden and Brandon Beachy. Worked out pretty well, if I do say so myself.

Click on the position to see previous primers: Catchers, First Base, Second Base, Third Base, Shortstop

Up next? Outfielders.

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Injuries at this time of year, especially to your star players, can be absolutely brutal.  Head to head league owners are playing in championship games and every little bit of production helps as your roto season winds down.  With the likelihood that your waiver wire has been picked cleaner than a Thanksgiving turkey at Fatty McButterpants’ house, grabbing a last minute injury replacement just might be enough to carry you to the end.  For you NL-only leaguers and deep mixed league owners, here are two you might consider.

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At this point in the season, your needs are sharply defined. There’s no time to grab a well-rounded player off the wire — if those were ever on the wire in your league in the first place. Now it’s time for all of those one-dimensional dudes to come to the fore and play their roles. In an effort to best help you find these role players, we’ll group today’s discussion about National League outfielders by stats.

Speed Stats
Stolen bases are not highly correlated with winning unless the player steals them with a high success rate. But stolen bases are highly correlated with runs on a player-by-player level. In other words, fast guys play at the top of the lineup and therefore steal bases and score runs.

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In the spirit of trying to help and really give the public what they want, this ongoing series does, in fact, take requests.  A few pairings have been mentioned in previous posts and have been discussed in the comments sections, so today’s was pulled off of Twitter (feel free to submit yours to @rotobuzzguy) and brought here for discussion.  It’s more upside vs proven talent, but this time we’re talking speed….and a lot of it!

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There are three certainties in life: death, taxes, and Nelson Cruz hamstring injuries. The Texas slugger missed 54 games in 2010 and was on the DL three separate times thanks to his hamstrings. He even tried incorporating a new running style this season, one where he would focus on being more upright, to try and lessen the impact on his hammys. Apparently that hasn’t worked as he went on the DL August 29th. The Rangers have never been short on outfielders, and David Murphy has made the most of the increased playing this he’s received.

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Just one month to go in the regular season, so every little bit of help could make the difference between a top 3 finish in your league and wallowing in the mediocrity of finishing sixth.  With the numerous injuries that are popping up, you might just be in need of a quick fix, so here’s a pair of guys that can contribute in one way or another…

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