– Is there any way Starlin Castro turns himself into a .300-15-20 guy next year? Because that would sure be sweet. I don’t think owners have noticed that Starlin has hit for more power this year and stolen over twenty bags, but I’m sure it’ll be advertised enough this offseason that he won’t be a value pick come draft day.
– If MLB.com is to be believed, the second game in the Red Sox-Orioles double header will be one for the ages. Brian Matusz, owner of a 9.84 ERA, will face off against John Lackey, who sports an ERA over 6.00. If you’re a betting man, I’d suggest putting all your monopoly money on the over. It doesn’t matter what the line is, because no line could be high enough for this game.
After struggling in his past few outings, it appears that Alexi Ogando is going to pitch the rest of the way out of the bullpen. Luckily for you, I have some thoughts.
– The Rangers haven’t made a final decision on this matter yet, but I’m willing to bet they ultimately decide to bulk up the bullpen instead of letting Ogando struggle in the rotation.
It’s been about a month and a half since the Cardinals dealt Colby Rasmus to the Blue Jays, so why not check in on that whole situation?
– Since the move, Jon Jay has responded by hitting around .300 with a few homers in just over 30 starts for St. Louis. Unfortunately, he’s not really stealing bases, so it looks like he’ll simply be a batting average guy next year. It shouldn’t be too hard to snag him late in drafts, just don’t expect more than .290/10/5.
– Unofficial crowdsourcing question: Will Dan Uggla be overvalued next season because of his hitting streak, or will he be undervalued because of his extremely slow start? You may not say he will be valued appropriately, because we all know that never happens.
– Ian Kinsler has decided that now is the time to turn on the jets and get going before the playoffs start. In a little over a month, the second baseman has hit ten homers and stolen a couple bases, all while hitting a contextually low .278 thanks to a poor BABIP. Sometime this week, Kinsler will set a personal best in games played, yet his uncharacteristically healthy season has gone mostly unnoticed. His batted ball times are a little worrisome, but I’d like to think he could be a .270/20/20 guy next season, and that’s assuming he misses time. Add in his production if healthy or replacement level production when he’s on the DL, and you have a very good fantasy second baseman.
– Even though I get to watch him almost any time I want, it’s still strange to see Mike Carp take home the AL Rookie of the Month Award (presented by, who else, Gillette). Looking toward next year, Carp’s BABIP may be high, but he tends to absolutely crush the ball when he’s at the dish. He started to flash a little bit of power last year in the hitter friendly PCL, but he really crushed the ball in AAA earlier this season, and it may have finally translated over to big league success. If I were to predict a line for next season, I’d like to think Carp could hit at least .270 while smacking 25 homers out of the park and posting a league average walk rate. Plus, if you can only draft players with facial hair of some kind, then Carp is eligible for your roster.
Thanks to his outstanding start Monday night against Minnesota, here are some thoughts on Chicago White Sox pitcher Zach Stewart:
– While Stewart performed well enough to throw a one-hitter Monday night, his pitch mix was very interesting. He threw one change-piece against the Twins, opting to use just his fastball and slider. Scouts and prospect analysts have argued over whether Stewart is going to be a back or middle of the rotation starter, or delegated to bullpen duty in the long run. Unless he puts some work on developing and using a changeup, he’s going to be forced to the pen sooner or later.
– Happy Stephen Strasburg day, everyone. Strasburg is set to pitch tonight’s Nationals-Dodgers affair against Ted Lilly. Could there be a bigger difference in pitchers in a single game? This author thinks not. While we don’t have a definite pitch count for Strasburg, the righty threw seventy pitches in his final rehab outing, so it’s probably safe to assume he’ll sit around the same mark during his first major league start of 2011.
It may be Labor Day, but fantasy never takes a day off. Except for the All-Star break. And all those days from October to April. You catch my drift, though.
– Johan Santana seems to finally be making his way to the big leagues this season, as reports indicate he will make his 2011 Mets debut sometime during the middle of next week. Clearly, he won’t be a fantasy option unless you choose to stream him in NL-only leagues, but keeping an eye on his performance is recommended, as he could be a nice mid-round pick in drafts next year should he prove to be healthy. Hopefully Johan comes back and looks great, causing some owners (and probably a silly New Yorker) to way overvalue him based on a small sample and past performance.