Archive for AL outfield

This marks the final version of the American League outfield stream edition and the AL OF rankings and updates as well. It’s been a learning experience and a pleasure. Given the seasons final three games, here are some freely available options that you may want to consider.

Trevor Plouffe – Admittedly, I have fluctuated on what I think of Plouffe an awful lot this season. I still question his talent being stretched over a full season again, but in a three game set in a very home run friendly ball park in the Rogers Centre, I like him to homer once — maybe even more than that. StatCorner has Toronto’s home park at a 119 on their right-handed HR index, making it a well above average place for power righties. Plouffe is available in 30% of Yahoo! leagues and 27% of ESPN leagues. He is healthy and playing.
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After last week’s variation of the American League Outfield Rankings, I decided to write about the final eight or so games in a similar fashion. Just like last week, the following criteria are in mind:

– A sub 50% ownership rate in either Yahoo! or ESPN
– Favorable matchups, either via ballpark or opposing starting pitchers

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Instead of the (somewhat) typical post of ranking and stock watch, this American League Outfield article is in regards to excellent stream candidates. The basic criteria is:

– A sub 50% ownership rate in Yahoo! or ESPN
– Favorable matchups, either via ballpark or opposing starting pitchers

Matt Joyce – Joyce has six straight games in a row against the Boston Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays. Both of those pitching staffs rank in the bottom half of away pitching FIP. The Jays are actually fifth worst, at 4.70. Following that favorable home stand, the Rays are on the road at Boston and then at the Chicago White Sox. Between the home parks and the quality of opposing pitchers, expect Joyce to have an excellent final two weeks. Joyce’s ownership rate is below 40% in Yahoo! and hovering at 43% in ESPN leagues.
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With an average of 20 games remaining for most American League teams, finding the right player (that is still available) to help you in Head-to-Head playoffs or the final weeks of the Roto season is a difficult — if not nearly impossible — find. Luckily for you, dear reader, doing the nearly impossible is what RotoGraphs thrives at. That, and being basement dwelling nerds. Take your pick.

The following is a list of scarcely owned outfield eligible players that should recieve enough playing time and accumulate enough counting numbers to be worth owning.

Jonny Gomes – Gomes is now up to 16 homeruns in less than 300 plate appearances on the year. He has 42 runs and RBI’s and if you play in an OPS league, he is now up to .866 on the season. His strikeout rate is pretty severe at over 30%, but he is hitting for enough power to make it livable. Gomes is owned in just 2% of Yahoo! leagues and all of 0.4% of ESNP leagues. He has been averaging two or three games per week throughout the season and has produced very well despite the partial playing time.
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This week’s American League Stock Watch has a little bit different of a flow. With September right around the corner — and thus September roster expansion and call ups — there should be a strong infusion of minor league talent about to jump onto the scene. To help you get a jump on your leaguemates regarding some of these soon-to-be-available outfielders, here is a list of AL club outfielders that are already on their respective 40-man rosters.

Michael Taylor – He happens to have a top 10 wOBA among Pacific Coast League outfielders and already had a brief stint with the A’s. During his time in Sacramento this year Taylor has amassed 506 plate appearances and although he only has 12 home runs, his triple slash is a robust .289/.406/.449. His power might have waned a bit but his speed is still intact. His SB/CS ratio is a very strong 17/3 mark. His strikeout rate won’t ever impress, but given his combination of plate discipline, still solid power and above average speed, Taylor makes for a potentially intriguing pick up. The only downside to Taylor would be playing time. The A’s are currently juggling Coco Crisp, Josh Reddick, Yoenis Cespdes, and Jonny Gomes on a regular basis. That doesn’t leave too many PA’s for Taylor, especially with the A’s in the playoff hunt and most likely unwilling to give PA’s to a still unproven player.
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Monday is the first day of the work week, and while we all have our jobs to take care of, more importantly, we have fantasy baseball to discuss! It’s what the player has done for the entirety of the season, his past recent performance and then what I personally think each player will do (or is most likely to do) for the remainder of the season.

Bullish:
Adrian Gonzalez – I don’t much care for first and second half splits, but this season has been pretty wild for him. After hitting just two home runs each in April, May and June, many owners began to panic and trade A-Gon. If you were smart enough to hang on to him, you’ve been handsomely rewarded in the second half of the season. He picked up his power stroke a bit by hitting four dingers in July and already had four halfway through August. His month-by-month fantasy numbers have seen a massive uptick as well. The table below spells it out much clearer than my words ever could.

*August is of course still not finished yet. The rate stats will float and the counting stats should increase.
Other than stolen bases (which no one drafted him for anyways), Gonzalez has been doing it all for the past month and a half. Kudos to those of you who either didn’t sell low or managed to trade for him on the cheap. This is the Gonzalez that a lot of imagined when envisioning him in Fenway.

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Per usual, here are the Monday American League outfield stock watch updates.

Bullish:
Alex Rios – Since July 30, the 3rd best AL outfielder has been none other than Alex Rios. Commenter db thought that I should have ranked Rios higher in my last AL Tiered OF Rankings Update, and I may be inclined to agree more now than I was then. I still don’t love his projection, but a lot of his ZiPS is being influenced by his less-than-impressive 2009 and 2011 campaigns. To see this resurgency in Rios shouldn’t be taken lightly at this point. He is a five full category producer in standard roto leagues and barring a major collapse, should easily notch his second 20-20 season, but his first with a .300+ average.
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Today brings you the August American League outfield rankings. With only about eight weeks left in the season, these rankings reflect what I see each player being worth over the course of said eight weeks.

Tier One:
Mike Trout
Jose Bautista
Curtis Granderson

It shouldn’t be much of a surprise to see the first three names listed here. Trout has surpassed everyone’s wildest dreams so far. Bautista continues to hit have questions surrounding his wrist, but even with a second MRI on the way, I am caustiously (perhaps naively) optimistic. Granderson is tied for second in the AL in home runs and hits in a very friendly park for him. Granderson should continue to prove to be an incredibly valuable player despite his relatively low batting average.
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With just hours before the end of the (non-waiver) trade deadline, here are some risers and fallers in the American League outfield.

Bullish:
Alex Gordon – After a pretty slow start this season caused a lot of people to think that his 2011 was a fluke, Gordon has been excellent for the past two months. His June average was .349 and his July average has fallen all the way back down to .333 so far. I had him down in the fifth tier to start July and that ranking is looking increasingly silly. In case anyone hasn’t been paying attention to their team lately, or can only remember Gordon’s start to the season, I’d go ahead and trade for him. The final two months are upon us and Gordon is a valuable asset in any format.
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Today brings yet another installment of the American League Outfield Stock Watch.

Bullish:
Brennan Boesch – I touched on Boesch in a recent Roto Riteup, and since that he has done nothing but continue to hit. After last night’s 2-3 performance (plus a walk) that included a homer, he is looking more and more like the outfielder that the Tigers had hoped he’d become. He now has a home run in back to back games and seven RBI’s in his past five games. By all accounts he is as hot as he’ll ever be. He is still freely available to pick up in 30% of Yahoo! leagues and 28% of ESPN formats. I’d act now before someone else does.
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