Archive for jordan danks

About a quarter of the regular season remains, so fantasy baseball players can’t expect much of an influx of talent in their leagues’ free-agent pools. What talent does hit the wire is running out of time to have a say in the standings, too.

The players I wanted to audition for a second entry in my WW this week have been profiled in the last few days. I hoped to find an American League player, one who had just come into some playing time or has an attractive schedule upcoming.

I should have known better than to think that anyone would beat Mike Podhorzer to a write-up on Carlos Carrasco. I like the Cleveland Indians’ latest starter more than Eno Sarris seems to like him – not so much because I think there’s a change, and more so because the news gives me a little hope that he’ll buck the confidence issue which has plagued him. Now that Cleveland has pretty much given up, there won’t be much pressure on him, relatively speaking. I like J.A. Happ for the reasons Brett Talley cites, especially the LHP’s upcoming schedule – in spite of last night’s hiccup at the Seattle Mariners. And Podhorzer jumped on Jake Marisnick about a week and a half ago. The Houston Astros’ deadline acquisition figures to play regularly, at least for the next couple of weeks thanks to a George Springer (strained quadriceps) setback.

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The White Sox outfield is returning all three starters from the 2012 season and none of them seem to be in danger of losing any playing time, given the lack of experienced and/or talented depth behind them. That means we can focus primarily on their overall fantasy value rather than what they must do to maintain their current status on the depth chart. Obviously, should someone completely tank it, we can visit the ‘what if’, but at this point, that doesn’t seem necessary or productive. Read the rest of this entry »

Let’s have a look at some of the prospects doing well during the fall developmental league in Arizona. All the players listed below could pop up on Major League rosters in 2010, so you may want to remember their names.

Andrew Lambo, OF, Los Angeles NL
Lambo is having some luck in the AFL after a down year in double-A as a 20 year old (He turned 21 recently). During the regular season, the outfielder hit .256/.311/.407 in 492 at-bats. He posted a low BABIP at .298 and did not walk much (7.3 BB%). The left-handed batter did show good gap power with 39 doubles (and 11 homers). Interestingly, he hits southpaws better than right-handers: .317/.372/.523 vs .270/.333/.422 in his three-year career. Manny Ramirez will be a free agent after the 2010 season, right about the time Lambo should be ready for a full-time gig in the Majors. With Ramirez’ advancing age, it becomes more likely that he could spend time on the disabled list in ’10. Lambo could be one of the first players in line for playing time should that happen.

Jordan Danks, OF, Chicago AL
The key with the AFL is too not get too excited with the batting average or how many homers a player hits. Most players are there for extra work, which likely means there is something that they need to improve upon. Danks is a perfect example of that… He was off to an excellent season in ’09 before fading at double-A in the second half. His raw power does not play well in games, in terms of home run power, and he hit just nine homers this past year in just over 400 at-bats. As a result, his strikeout rate of 26.0% is rather high. Danks has made nice strides in the AFL by striking out just 10 times in 58 at-bats. Even better, he’s walk 12 times. If he can keep that up, it will significantly improve his other numbers, which will then make him a more valuable addition to your fantasy squads.

Josh Wilkie, RHP, Washington
The non-drafted free agents are always a good story. Wilkie went undrafted out of George Washington University and he was picked up by the Nationals shortly after the ’06 draft. He posted solid numbers in high-A ball in ’08 and he made it all the way to triple-A in ’09. The right-hander, who is eligible for the Rule 5 draft, began this past season in double-A, where he allowed 48 hits in 49.1 innings. He also posted a walk rate of 2.37 BB/9 and a strikeout rate of 7.30 K/9. His rates improved in 22.1 triple-A innings to 1.61 BB/9 and 10.07 K/9. He also improved his ground-ball rate over ’08 by almost 10% to 54% in ’09. Wilkie has saved 23 games over the past four seasons in the minors, so he has an outside shot of eventually becoming a setup man, and possibly grabbing a few saves here and there, although he does not have a knock-out repertoire: 88-91 fastball, curveball, change-up.

Josh Judy, RHP, Cleveland
A good, reliable reliever is hard to find. Judy is off to a good start in his career. Judy has a better chance of seeing save opportunities in the Majors than Wilkie (above) because the Indians prospect has a stronger repertoire: 90-94 mph fastball, slider and occasional change-up. This past season in double-A, the 23-year-old hurler allowed 35 hits in 49.1 innings of work. He posted a walk rate of 3.28 BB/9 and a strikeout rate of 11.49 K/9. Judy also allowed just two homers (0.36 HR/9). He does a nice job of keeping the ball on the ground with a career ground-ball rate right around 50%. In ’09, Judy limited batters to a line-drive rate of just 9.6%. If Chris Perez or Jess Todd (or dare I say Adam Miller) are not the long-term closer answer in Cleveland, Judy could be.

Donnie Veal, LHP, Pittsburgh
Is he just teasing us? Veal has long been an interesting pitcher because of his hard stuff from the left side. However, the 25-year-old hurler has never been able to find the plate on a consistent basis. For example, in 16.1 MLB innings in ’09 out of the ‘pen, Veal posted a walk rate of 11.02 BB/9. However, in 12.2 innings in the AFL, he has allowed just two walks. Don’t get too excited, due to the small sample size and level of competition, but keep an eye on Veal in spring training to see if his adjustments stick for the long term. If they do, keep him in mind in deep NL leagues if you need an extra starter. He could even end up as a closer in Pittsburgh, where he could stick to his fastball/curve combo.