We’re starting to approach fantasy crunch time, so those of us in roto leagues are beginning to scrounge for ways to boost whatever categories we’ve fallen behind in. Pitcher wins is always a popular category, and stocking up on middle relievers that have the potential to steal a few wins down the stretch is a viable strategy. Here’s three guys in a position to vulture some wins during the final seven weeks of the season.
– With Jed Lowrie ready to return from the disabled list, it appears that he and Marco Scutaro with split time at shortstop for the mighty Boston Red Sox. With that lineup, it may not matter to Boston who ends up in the starting lineup, but this is a big blow for fantasy owners. Heading into the season, I had a hard time projecting numbers for both of the Boston infielders due to playing time questions, and did not draft either of them in the process. If for some reason you own one of the aforementioned shortstops and don’t have a backup plan, I feel sorry for you. If you’re looking to add a player off the wire and Lowrie is available, he might not be a bad pickup. If he hits, he’ll stay in the lineup. Bottom line.
Don’t look now, but the San Diego Padres might actually have a useful fantasy hitter. Over the past 30 days, Guzman has hit .343/.384/.600 while receiving regular playing time in the Padres’ lineup. He’s slugging five home runs and stolen three bases in that period as well. While his performance has been impressive, Guzman plays first base — where the level of offense is extremely high. Guzman is riding a hot streak at the moment, however, and could be a useful pickup down the stretch.
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Thanks to TBS’ Sunday MLB coverage, I had the chance to watch a couple innings of Mike Minor’s start yesterday against the Mets. Here are some observations I made note of during the game: Read the rest of this entry »
The trade deadline inevitably impacted the holds rankings, though not as much as you’d think. The elite guys are still elite, but some lesser relievers have coming into primary setup jobs or have returned from injury. Here are last month’s rankings, and here’s the holds leaderboard for reference.
The Toronto Blue Jays promoted third basemen Brett Lawrie from Triple-A Las Vegas yesterday, putting a Larry Walker sized weight on the Canadian born 21 year old’s shoulders. That isn’t to say he’ll be expected to be as good as Walker. He just happens to be the best Candian born player to debut for a Canadian team since Walker with the Expos in 1989.
Not only does Lawrie have the pressure of being the home country kid, he also was the main piece the Blue Jays got in return for trading Shaun Marcum to the Brewers. Marcum was a fan favorite and has continued to put up excellent numbers (3.66 xFIP) for his new team. Lawrie won’t be tarred and feathered if he has a sub-par two months, but he does have lofty expectations bestowed upon him. That being said, what can we expect from him going forward?
Looking at Lawrie’s .353/.415/.661 line at Triple-A without any context makes it seem far more impressive than it is, despite being young for the level. The Jays Triple-A affiliate plays in Las Vegas, one of the best hitters’ parks in the minors. It has a 115 HR park factor for right handed hitters. That’s basically the equivalent of Yankee Stadium to left handed batters. He had a .308 ISO at Vegas, and no matter how good of a hitter’s park Rogers Centre is he won’t come close to that figure. Being that he is just 21 years old I’m not comfortable telling you to take his A (.362 wOBA) and AA (.361) numbers as an indication of his true talent level. That said, he likely falls between those two numbers and his current .459 wOBA. Kids, especially top prospects, can improve greatly in a short period of time.
Lawrie had a preseason ZiPS projection of .254/.309/.400. If his current numbers were factored into that I imagine that triple slash line would improve. Currently the American League average is .256/.322/.401. That should be easily attainable for Lawrie. Third base hasn’t been a very deep position this season so any added production is welcomed. He’s almost certainly an instant upgrade over players like Casey McGehee (all three homer games aside), Danny Valencia or Placido Polanco. Jose Bautista will be shifting back to right field, with Eric Thames moving to left.
The call up of Lawrie means the demotion of Travis Snider. For all his minor league success – he has SMASHED Triple-A pitching – he hasn’t been able to figure it out in the major leagues. He has a career slash line of .248/.307/.423 in 877 plate appearances. His power is vanished, dropping from a .208 ISO in 2010 to just .123 this season. Hopefully, for his sake and Toronto’s, he’s able to figure things out back in Las Vegas.
Today marks the fourth day of a new feature we will be trying out here at RotoGraphs. In an attempt to keep you, the fantastical reader, informed, we will be looking at some of the stories around baseball that have an effect on your fantasy team. Because this piece is ultimately being read by you, your opinion is requested. Please chime in using the comments and let us know what you would like to see from this piece.
– After undergoing surgery on his left shoulder, Cincinnati Reds’ third baseman Scott Rolen will miss at least a month of action. Odds are the Reds are going to give Miguel Cairo most of Rolen’s playing time, and he has actually played well for Cincy this year, already contributing over 1.5 wins to his team. Cairo’s fantasy value is certainly limited, but he may not be a terrible pickup in very deep leagues if you own Rolen. Another player to keep an eye on in Todd Fraizer, but it appears Dusty Baker prefers to keep him on the bench.
Some ottoneu cats have to look to the future, just like the major league teams. How much more to the future can you look than signing 2011 draftees?
Of course, there’s a lot of attrition between now and then. So you have to focus on the top talent. The beginning of the first round boasted two such top talents, Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer. Cole, with super agent Scott Boras puling the strings, hasn’t signed yet. But the third overall pick, Bauer, has signed. How much might you pay for a recently drafted college pitcher? Let’s check in with ottoneu owner and FanGraphs writer Jack Moore, who recently won an auction for Bauer.
Today marks the third day of a new feature we will be trying out here at RotoGraphs. In an attempt to keep you, the fantastical reader, informed, we will be looking at some of the stories around baseball that have an effect on your fantasy team. Because this piece is ultimately being read by you, your opinion is requested. Please chime in using the comments and let us know what you would like to see from this piece.
– Brett Lawrie was lighting the PCL on fire before he missed significant time with a fracture in his left hand, and now he’s back and hitting well again. The 21-year old infielder has hit .319 since coming off the DL, mashing three homers in just under seventy at-bats. The power stroke may not be all the way back, but he could still be up in the majors by the end of the week. If you want to take a chance on him in standard leagues, now is the time to pounce on him to ensure that he is yours.
Over the weekend we saw two impact bats from the same last place Houston outfield get traded to different playoff contenders in the National League East. Lets take a gander at how the productivity of Hunter Pence and Michael Bourn looks from here on out.
