Fantasy Baseball Fanhouse

Desert Diaries: Is Josh Bell Ready to Man Third Base in Baltimore?

Knox Bardeen — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:22:00 EST

The Arizona Fall League is chock-full of young prospects looking to make their mark. Desert Diaries is your twice-weekly look at which of these up-and-comers could make a fantasy baseball splash in 2010.

It looks as if there will be a changing of the guard in Baltimore. Melvin Mora, who has 1,323 hits and 158 home runs during his ten year tenure with the Orioles, has been told that his $8 million option will not be picked up. Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun says that the Orioles will look into a number of options at third base this off-season. They'll even consider Josh Bell, who's faring well in the Arizona Fall League.

By declining Mora's option, the Orioles will pay a $1 million buyout and now look to add a third baseman via trade or free agency. The Orioles also could opt to use Ty Wigginton at third until they deem Josh Bell - the prized prospect who was acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers in July in the George Sherrill trade - ready for the major leagues.

In 46 fall at-bats, Bell is batting .326 with a .926 OPS and has six extra-base hits. He spent the 2009 regular season playing Double-A and amassed 448 at-bats hitting .295 with 20 home runs and 76 RBI. With those kind of numbers, the 23-year old could make a very smooth transition to Major League Baseball. If only fantasy baseball GM's knew when to expect him.

Bell may need a bit more minor league seasoning before his call-up to Baltimore. But, with the kind of power stroke that this kid shows and his plate discipline (he has a 10.3% walk rate in his five minor league seasons), it's easy to see that he'll be valuable to fantasy owners upon his arrival -- probably some time in early to mid-2010.

Other Fantasy News From the Arizona Fall League
o.The arguments about Ike Davis and whether or not he's ready to play first base at the major league level rage on, every day it seems. It doesn't matter what side of the fence you sit, as long as Davis continues to hit like he has early in the AFL (.340 with nine extra-base hits in 50 at-bats) he'll find his way to New York in short order. Davis was also selected this week to play in the Arizona Fall League all-star game called the Rising Stars Game.

o. Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus said that Stephen Strasburg hit 99 miles per hour on the radar gun 18 times, 100 MPH seven times, and 101 MPH once on Monday, throwing 68 pitches in all. Goldstein says that all of the hysteria of Strasburg's one bad outing seems to be gone. In 15.1 innings of work, Strasburg has 17 strikeouts and five walks. He's 3-and-1 with a 5.28 ERA.

o. Starlin Castro is leading the Arizona Fall League with a .423 batting average and has four stolen bases to boot in 52 at-bats. Carrie Muskat of MLB.com said last month that Castro, who is only 19 years old, could be playing for the Cubs sometime in 2010. This guy should be on your Keeper League radar.

Desert Diaries: Is Josh Bell Ready to Man Third Base in Baltimore? originally appeared on Fantasy Baseball Fanhouse on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:22:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Desert Diaries: Injuries Take Their Toll

Knox Bardeen — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:49:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Injury Report, MLB Kids Are Alright

The Arizona Fall League is chock-full of young prospects looking to make their mark. Desert Diaries is your twice-weekly look at which of these up-and-comers could make a fantasy baseball splash in 2010.

It's an inevitable side effect of playing extra baseball in an instructional fall league -- injuries will crop up. As much as these prospects, and their parent major league team, want to prove that they can make it at the next level, it's also important to avoid injury. Unfortunately that's been proven impossible for a few Arizona Fall League participants.

Scott Sizemore, who is projected to take over at second base next season for the Detroit Tigers, fractured his left ankle as the result of a collision at second base trying to turn a double play. He just underwent surgery on Tuesday to repair the damage and Steve Kornacki of Michigan Live says that Sizemore should be ready for Spring Training and is still on track to play second base.

Dombrowski was asked if the surgery impacted his thinking on Sizemore's starter possibilities.

"Nothing has changed with that thought process," Dombrowski said. "He should come back just fine. We're fortunate."

Team orthopedist Stephen Lemos performed the procedures on the fractured fibula. Screws were inserted to stabilize Sizemore's ankle joint, and he will be in a splint for two weeks. Sizemore will wear a cam boot once the splint is removed.

The Atlanta Braves chose to play is safe this week when their best prospect complained of a lower-back strain. Jason Heyward had only played in four games in Arizona where he hit .286 with three doubles in 14 at-bats. But his back issues forced the Braves to pull him from the AFL as a precautionary measure. Dave O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution believes that Heyward will be ready to fight for a roster spot next spring.

Heyward, 20, was examined Tuesday by Dr. Marvin Royster, who diagnosed back inflammation that was radiating to Heyward's gluteus. He will undergo treatment, rest for a few weeks and not return to the fall league, which runs through mid-November.

The Braves don't believe it will affect the former Henry County High School star in his preparations for spring training and the 2010 season.

Other Fantasy News From the Arizona Fall League

o. Also dealing with a sore back, Mike Stanton has been shut down for the rest of the Arizona Fall League by the Florida Marlins, according to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post. Stanton was leading all AFL hitters with a .478 batting average and is expected after rest and recovery to be ready for spring workouts.

o. Dayan Viciedo has come down with right elbow inflammation and Scot Gregor of the Arlington Heights Daily Herald says the Chicago White Sox have shut down their hitting prospect for the rest of the AFL. Viciedo had driven in six runs in only four games before the injury put an end to fall league play.

o. Grant Desme has never played ball above the Advanced-A level but is absolutely tearing up Arizona Fall League pitching. He's blasted ten home runs in 12 games and is on pace to crush Brandon Wood's AFL home run record. The 23-year-old Desme hit 31 home runs this past season in 486 minor league at-bats.

Desert Diaries: Injuries Take Their Toll originally appeared on Fantasy Baseball Fanhouse on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:49:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Desert Diaries: Stephen Strasburg Not Ready for Major League Hitters

Knox Bardeen — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:13:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Kids Are Alright

The Arizona Fall League is chock-full of young prospects looking to make their mark. Desert Diaries is your twice-weekly look at which of these up-and-comers could make a fantasy baseball splash in 2010.

In case you missed it while you were at that pesky place called work on Thursday, Washington Nationals prospect and first overall selection in the 2009 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, Stephen Strasburg, made his second appearance in the Arizona Fall League. He didn't do well.

Strasburg pitched 2.2 innings on Thursday, striking out four, walking one and giving up a whopping three home runs which lead to seven earned runs against him. According to Chico Harlan of The Washington Post, the seven earned runs he gave up in his outing yesterday were almost half of the number he gave up in his entire junior season at San Diego State.

In 15 starts and 109 innings earlier this year with San Diego State, Strasburg allowed just 16 total earned runs. He surrendered four homers during his entire junior season.

For Strasburg, the Washington Nationals' No. 1 overall pick, this appearance reinforced some basic truths. A high fastball, no matter how hard it's thrown, doesn't fool anybody. Strasburg's fastball ranged in the high-90s -- he threw at least once that hit 99 mph -- but that pitch, as well as his breaking stuff, stayed up in the zone

I spoke with Frankie Piliere who has been a professional scout since 2004 and recently joined the staff here at FanHouse. I asked him to talk about what happened to Strasburg on Thursday.

"I think it was an enormous learning experience for him.", said Piliere. "It was good to see that the stuff was there, touching the upper 90s, but he's going to need to utilize the third pitch and locate the breaking ball."

Strasburg's start yesterday doesn't mean a whole lot in the grand scheme of things. There will be many more opportunities in Arizona. It was just one appearance -- an outing that he can easily recover from and improve upon. One of the areas of improvement, according to Piliere, is his curveball.

"The big curveball gets a lot of these pitching prospects in trouble early in their careers and he got burned on it in this one. That's what sticks out to me. He learned he can be beat on his fastball and realized his curveball isn't automatic at the pro level like it was in college."

As you can see, Strasburg may not be an automatic addition into the top of the Nationals' rotation. He has work to do this fall and later on in Spring Training. When asked about the readiness of Strasburg and whether he was ready to pitch at the major league level, Piliere said, "At this moment I say he's not".

Other Fantasy News From the Arizona Fall League

o. Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News thinks the New York Mets will sign a righty-hitting first baseman to split time with Daniel Murphy on a short-term basis until Ike Davis is ready to be promoted. If the way Davis hit to end his minor league season and his hitting in the AFL are indicative (.414/.438/.724 with six doubles in 29 at-bats), Davis will force that promotion sooner, rather then later.

o. Jason Heyward, the Atlanta Braves top hitting prospect, is only 20-years-old and only has one week of experience above the Double-A level -- which is one of the reasons, according to Dave O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, why the Braves may look elsewhere for their needed big bat. Another reason might be the minor hamstring injury Heyward suffered which has kept him from AFL action all week.

Desert Diaries: Stephen Strasburg Not Ready for Major League Hitters originally appeared on Fantasy Baseball Fanhouse on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:13:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Desert Diaries: Jenrry Mejia Roughed Up in Arizona Fall League Action

Knox Bardeen — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:55:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Kids Are Alright

The Arizona Fall League is chock-full of young prospects looking to make their mark. Desert Diaries is your twice-weekly look at which of these up-and-comers could make a fantasy baseball splash in 2010.

Hard-throwing New York Mets pitching prospect Jenrry Mejia certainly is an ambitious 20-year-old. And you would expect as much from a guy whose fastball sits between 93-96 miles per hour and reaches 98 at times. But Mejia fell short of a lofty goal he'd set for himself and now he's pitching in the Arizona Fall League to make sure he sets himself up for success in 2010.

"Somebody told me if you play in the big leagues at 20 years old, that's good," Mejia said. "I said, 'I know, but I wanted to play in the big leagues last year.'"

Mejia started 19 games in combined minor league work this season and posted a 3.14 ERA with 91 strikeouts in 94.2 innings. His better work came for Advanced-A St. Lucie where he finished with a sub-two ERA before being promoted to Double-A Binghamton. And even though his ERA ballooned at the next level, he did strike out more than a batter per inning.

Mejia's future is bright enough that Jerry Manuel spent some time in Arizona to see if Mejia was ready to help the Mets in 2010, according to Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News.

Manager Jerry Manuel traveled Tuesday from his home in Sacramento, Calif., to gauge whether Mejia may be able to help the Mets in the bullpen in early 2010.

GM Omar Minaya is also in attendance. Mejia projects as a No.1 or No.2 starter in the majors eventually.

Read closely that the expectations for Mejia are set for the bullpen in 2010 if he breaks camp with the club. Even though the sample size is very small, Mejia's first two starts seem to show that he's not ready for big-league action.

In three innings of work Mejia has given up six hits and six earned runs for an 18.00 ERA. He's also walked six batters while only striking out two. And to make matters worse, batters are hitting .400 against him.

There is still plenty of time to turn things around out in the desert. Especially for a young man who Keith Law of ESPN calls the "most impressive arm so far" in Arizona.

Other Fantasy News From the Arizona Fall League

o. Leading the AFL in strikeouts at this point is 23-year-old Chia-Jen Lo, who pitched most of the 2008 season in Double-A Corpus Christi for the Houston Astros. Lo has eight strikeouts in just six innings spread out over three appearances. He's only given up two hits and hasn't walked anyone. Lo should be on your keeper league radar at this point as he's projected to hit the major league level sometime around mid-2010 and could even close out games in the majors.

o. Scott Sizemore batted a combined .308 in 130 games between Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo in 2009. He also hit 17 home runs and stole 21 bases. He's started the AFL in similar fashion, batting .368 with a 1.409 OPS in 19 at-bats. He's also leading the AFL with three home runs. Sizemore should get a chance in Spring Training to compete for the second base job in Detroit. Lynn Henning of The Detroit News reported earlier this month that Tigers' president and general manager Dave Dombrowski has basically handed Sizemore the job and says that he's ready for the next level.

o. Chris Heisey is tearing up the AFL early on. He's batting .522 with a 1.593 OPS in his first 23 at-bats and has three doubles, a triple and two home runs. He leads the league in total bases, is second in batting average and slugging percentage, and is tied for the lead in base hits. More production like this could land Heisey in the Reds outfield as early as Opening Day, 2010.

Desert Diaries: Jenrry Mejia Roughed Up in Arizona Fall League Action originally appeared on Fantasy Baseball Fanhouse on Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:55:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Which Arizona Fall League Prospects are Fantasy Baseball Ready?

Knox Bardeen — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:30:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Kids Are Alright

The focus of most Major League Baseball fans is directed towards the playoffs right now as teams fight for their chance to play for a World Series title. But the astute fantasy baseball GM should be looking in the desert as the Arizona Fall League has just started.

Why tune in and watch young baseball players with little or no major league experience? Well, in the Arizona Fall League last year, hitters like Drew Sutton, Gordon Beckham and Nolan Reimold tore up the competition -- showing that they could make contributions at the major league level.

You also should not forget about a pitcher by the name of Tommy Hanson. In seven AFL starts last year Hanson struck out 49 batters while only throwing 28.2 innings. He also had a 5-0 record with a 0.63 ERA. We all know what Hanson did for the Braves in 2008 -- and for fantasy GM's who knew his name on draft day.

Who will be this year's Tommy Hanson?

Player	Team
Brandon Allen	Diamondbacks
2008 Stats: .298/.373/.503 - 20 HR \| 70 RBI \| 7 SB
Allen is the Diamondbacks' heir-apparent at first base, but the team doesn't feel that he did enough with his 104 major league at-bats (.202 with four home runs) to be handed the job just yet. A good AFL showing might be enough to convince the Diamondbacks that the 23-year-old who had 48 extra-base hits in 447 minor league at-bats in 2008 should be manning first as early as Opening Day, 2010.
Domonic Brown	Phillies
2008 Stats: .299/.377/.504 - 14 HR \| 64 RBI \| 23 SB
Brown has been on the radar of many major league GM's but the Phillies feel compelled to keep him in the organization even with their stacked outfield. He moved from rookie ball to Advanced-A to Double-A this season and amassed 395 at-bats along the way. The 22-year-old lanky outfielder seems blocked at the moment but he's a bright prospect who won't be keep out of big-league baseball much longer, whether it be with the Phillies or someone else. His major league ETA is more like mid-2010 so don't start adding him to draft boards just yet.
Jason Castro	Astros
2008 Stats: .300/.380/.446 - 10 HR \| 73 RBI \| 3 SB
The catching position on the depth chart for the Astros is pretty thin. And while many feel Castro would benefit from more minor league seasoning, the Astros' need is right now. They could go out in search of a veteran catcher to hold down the spot until Castro is ready or they could hand this 22-year-old the keys with a solid AFL and Spring Training showing. His 31 doubles and ten home runs between Advanced-A and Double-A scream that there's more power to come from Castro. The question is -- when will he arrive?
Jason Heyward	Braves
2008 Stats: .323/.408/.555 - 17 HR \| 63 RBI \| 10 SB
Not only did Heyward mash the ball all year long, but his numbers improved as he was promoted from Advanced-A to Double-A and then to Triple-A. His 17 home runs in 442 at-bats shows that he has power ( a much needed attribute in Atlanta). He also can run and hit for average. Solid off-season results may force the Braves to consider the 20-year-old outfielder sooner then they had planned.
Andrew Lambo	Dodgers
2008 Stats: .256/.311/.407 - 11 HR \| 61 RBI \| 4 SB
Lambo showed a slight improvement in his strikeout rate but his 2008 numbers were a let-down from his explosive 2007 stat line. His 39 doubles and 11 home runs in 492 at-bats give promise to future power, but he still needs work on plate discipline. At the age of 21 he's still got time. And quite frankly, the Dodgers' outfield is crowded and they don't have a dire need at first base either.
Mike Moustakas	Royals
2008 Stats: .250/.297/.421 - 16 HR \| 86 RBI \| 10 SB
Of anyone on this short list, Moustakas needs a strong AFL showing to continue moving forward as a top prospect. His power is legit but the .297 on-base percentage tells the tale of a young 21-year-old hitter who can't get on base enough to make the jump to the majors. He'll likely start 2010 in Double-A but could, if he makes the necessary adjustments, challenge Alex Gordon at third base sometime in mid- to late-2010.
Buster Posey	Giants
2008 Stats: .325/.416/.531 - 18 HR \| 80 RBI \| 6 SB
Let's forget about the 17 at-bats Posey saw at the major league level this season after Bengie Molina was injured. Focus on his 422 at-bats between Advanced-A and Triple-A this season and know that Posey will be given every chance to win the job of starting catcher in San Francisco as early as Opening Day 2010.
Scott Sizemore	Tigers
2008 Stats: .308/.389/.500 - 17 HR \| 66 RBI \| 21 SB
Sizemore has power, speed and hits for average. With his skill set and the fact that 292 of his 520 minor league at-bats came at the Triple-A level he's one of those players who has proven everything he can at the minor league level. Sizemore looks to be ready to take over at second base in Detroit and scouts think he could be a 20-20 type major league hitter. Look for Sizemore to break camp with the Tigers.
Drew Storen	Nationals
2008 Stats: 2-1 1.95 ERA \| 11 Saves \| 49 K's \| 8 BB's
Unlike the Nationals other first-round draft selection this year, Storen signed quickly and notched 37 innings of professional work this year, moving from Single-A to Advanced-A to Double A. He struck out more then a batter per inning and had a nice 6.125 strikeout to walk ratio. Another impressive stat is Storen's 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings. It's numbers like these that will have Storen in the Nationals' bullpen at the start of 2010. He might even make it to closer next year too.
Stephen Strasburg	Nationals
2008 Stats: Did Not Pitch Professionally
Strasburg took his contract negotiations almost to the deadline but finally got a deal done. And can you blame one of the best baseball prospects ever for trying to get paid? Now that he's signed, he'll make his professional debut on Friday in the Arizona Fall League and we'll see quickly if he's ready to be in a major league rotation at the beginning of 2010.

Others to watch:
o. Ike Davis, Mets
o. Jennry Mejia, Mets
o. Dustin Ackley, Mariners
o. Freddie Freeman, Braves
o. Yonder Alonso, Reds
o. Andrew Miller, Marlins
o. Mike Stanton, Marlins

Which Arizona Fall League Prospects are Fantasy Baseball Ready? originally appeared on Fantasy Baseball Fanhouse on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Roto Rush: Wade Davis Hurls a Gem

Tom Herrera — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:20:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Injury Report, MLB Kids Are Alright, MLB Locking Your Lineup, MLB Waiver Wire

Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.

All season long, we've been waiting for David Price to deliver on the hype. But Price's year has been up and down, with counting stats that resemble waiver-wire fodder outside of his strikeout total. Well, there's another Rays starter that may be on track to finish 2009 stronger than Price, and is well worth a spot in all keeper leagues.

Wade Davis, you now have our unbridled attention.

In just his third major-league start, the 24-year-old Davis pitched a complete-game shutout against the Orioles with 10 strikeouts to boot. "I am a firm believer that a young guy like that, if he has a chance to throw a complete game and a shutout, it can really catapult him," manager Joe Maddon said. Take a look at how Davis finished out the game:

- F. Pie struck out swinging.
- N. Reimold struck out looking.
- N. Markakis stuck out swinging.

Davis was shellacked by the Red Sox in his previous start for eight runs, but Baltimore only managed four hits against him. We know rookies will have ups and downs, so the stinker against Boston wasn't a surprise. The important thing to remember is this: he's got a promising future and should be on everyone's radar.

With a .194 batting average against and 22 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings, Davis is worth adding in very deep mixed leagues, and might even make an appearance on R.J. White's Stream Team next time.

Bits From The Box Scores
o. Sick of your under-performing catcher during a run for the money? Check out Miguel Olivo, who quietly smacked his fourth homer over his last nine games. He has eight homers and 23 RBI since the All-Star break. Geovany Soto has just 16 RBI since the break, yet is owned in over 30% more leagues.

o. Speaking of cheap catchers, Kurt Suzuki has been a consistent RBI machine over the past few months. With a three-RBI showing against Cleveland, Suzuki reached the 15-RBI plateau for his third straight month.

o. Edwin Jackson's fantasy value continues to plummet. Honestly, I've cut him in a 10-team league and advise you do the same. Jackson was rocked against the Royals, as he gave up five earned runs in five innings of work. Since the All-Star break, he has an unsightly 4.79 ERA. It's been even uglier over his last four starts (6.12 ERA).

o. Mariners second baseman Jose Lopez was part of Knox Bardeen's draft kit edition of New Studs on the Block. As the season comes to a close, Lopez is showing exactly why he was included. After hitting his 24th HR of the season Thursday, it's only a matter of time before Lopez reaches 25 for the first time in his career.

o. Andrew Bailey, who quietly picked up his 25th save of the year, might be undervalued in 2010 fantasy drafts. But with 85 strikeouts, 1.95 ERA, and a .176 batting average against, there's no reason why you shouldn't consider Bailey a top-10 option next season. He's Joe Nathan Lite.

o. Chris Coghlan is like a 2009 version of Freddy Sanchez. Awesome batting average and runs, but not enough power or steals to play him as anything other than a middle infielder in shallow leagues. Coghlan laced four hits at Cincinnati and his post-break batting average sits at .363. Still underrated.

o. John Danks is once again closing out the season on a strong note. The wins aren't there, but Danks hasn't given up over three earned runs in his past eight starts.

Welcome Back: Rookie of the Year candidate J.A. Happ is ready to return from an oblique injury. He tossed a successful bullpen session Wednesday and will make his start Friday against the Braves. Happ, who has been a must-start with a 2.77 ERA and 10 wins, should be activated in most leagues, though he may be rusty after not pitching since September 2. He's posted a 2.70 ERA over 16 2/3 innings vs. Atlanta this season.

The Afflicted: According to ESPN Chicago, the Cubs are not shutting Rich Harden down for the rest of the season. Tom Gorzelanny will pitch in Harden's spot Monday. However, it does look like the Brewers are getting closer to shutting down Yovani Gallardo because the club wants to limit his workload. Shane Victorino is hoping to return to the lineup Friday after leaving Thursday's game with a stomach problem.

Lineup Lock Time: It's a packed Friday night, with games beginning at 7:05 PM ET.

Roto Rush: Wade Davis Hurls a Gem originally appeared on Fantasy Baseball Fanhouse on Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Roto Rush: The Anticipated Debut of Madison Bumgarner

R.J. White — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Kids Are Alright, MLB Locking Your Lineup, MLB Waiver Wire

Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.

By now we all know of the greatness of San Francisco pitcher Tim Lincecum. He's the best pitcher in baseball this season, with a 2.34 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 233 strikeouts in 200 1/3 innings. But there's another hard-throwing young kid in the Giants organization that, like Lincecum, has a shot to be one of the league's best very quickly. He's a guy you want to burn that No. 1 waiver priority on, in case he sticks in the rotation for the rest of the season. He is Madison Bumgarner.

You want to paint a picture of dominance? In 2008, Bumgarner's first season in professional baseball, he went 15-3 in 24 starts, earning a 1.46 ERA and 0.93 WHIP while striking out 164 guys and walking 21 in 141 2/3 innings. He started 2009 at the Class-A Advanced level but quickly proved he was too advanced for that league as well, posting a 3-1 record, 1.48 ERA and 0.99 WHIP in five starts and notching 23 Ks and 4 BBs in 24 1/3 innings. He was promoted to Double-A, where he continued to dominate.

With Double-A Connecticut, the recently-turned 20-year-old Bumgarner suffered a huge decrease in Ks but found a way to still perform, turning in a great 1.93 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in 19 starts, striking out 69 batters with 30 walks in 107 innings. His 9-1 record makes him 12-2 this season and 27-5 overall in pro ball. The Giants decided to bring him up for a cup of coffee in the big leagues.

He was supposed to work a bit out of the bullpen, but Lincecum was scratched from Tuesday's start with back pain, and manager Bruce Bochy turned to Bumgarner. Despite allowing solo homers to Chase Headley and Kevin Kouzmanoff on balls left up in the zone, the rookie was largely effective, throwing 76 pitches in 5 1/3 innings and striking out four batters. Dynasty-league owners, as well as teams that play in leagues with many keepers, need to spend that No. 1 waiver priority on this kid, as he has a Lincecum-type ceiling in his future.

As far as Lincecum, he'll be reevaluated within the next 24 hours. You can pencil him in for his next start for now, but even in the middle of a playoff-spot race, expect the Giants to use kid gloves with their ace.

Bits From the Box Scores
o. The Rangers and Indians played two games, and the Rangers won both, with a combined score of 21-14 in the two games. Tony Romo threw for -- wait, scratch that. The Rangers out-homered the Indians 5-4, with two coming off the bat of Julio Borbon in Game 1 and one coming as part of a 3 for 4 day by Chris Davis, who has three HRs since returning to the bigs despite not seeing any progress in his K-rate. Borbon was 1-for-12 before Tuesday's game, but his fantastic August should earn him a starting job in 2010.

o. In another game that featured a barrage of homers, the real story was the performance of Clay Buchholz, who shut the Orioles out for seven innings, striking out five while allowing three hits and one walk. This is Buchholz's third straight quality start, and he's looking usable in mixed leagues. As for the homers, Dustin Pedroia smacked two, which was great to see as the Boston second baseman started September in a 3 for 26 funk.

o. In a shocker, Eric Young Jr. hit his first home run before recording his first stolen base. The speedster had 56 steals and seven homers in 472 Triple-A at-bats this year before being recalled in August. Playing in Colorado, you can expect a few homers from Young every now and then, but his future value will be in his SBs. He also hit his first double in Tuesday's game.

o. Also in that Rockies win, Jason Marquis continued his fantastic 2009 season, striking out seven while allowing one run to move his record to 15-10. I would have never expected a sub-4.00 ERA from Marquis pitching with Colorado, especially without an improvement in his K/BB ratio, but here he sits at a 3.75 ERA on the season. Franklin Morales closed out the game for his fifth save, rewarding his owners with a nice run while filling in for Huston Street.

o. After an extended run of disappointing fantasy lines, Raul Ibanez has likely found his way to many fantasy benches and quite a few waiver wires. He hit a solo homer in Monday's game at Houston, and launched two more Tuesday against the Nationals, giving him 30 HRs on the season. After a .193, one-HR August, he's hitting .304 with three HRs in a little over a week in September. Chase Utley also contributed his 30th HR, as well as his 18th steal, in the win.

o. With Pedro Martinez's fourth win on the line, Brad Lidge put two runners on while only recording one out, and manager Charlie Maunel turned to Ryan Madson, who shut down the rally for his fifth save of the season. So Charlie, is Lidge the closer or not? Because he definitely looked like the third-best reliever Tuesday, behind Madson and Brett Myers (1 1/3 IP, 1 H, 2 K). All stubbornness could cost you is an early exit in October -- do the wise thing and make the switch now, before it's too late. Owners in all leagues should add Madson pronto.

o. Nick Swisher hit two homers in the Yankees' 3-2 win over Tampa Bay, with the second being a walk-off shot in the bottom of the ninth inning. He's on a big hot streak, with four homers in September (and another on August 31) and a .333 average in 30 at-bats this month. Across the diamond, Evan Longoria reached the 30-HR plateau in the game, while Jason Bartlett hit his 13th bomb of the season. The slumping Carl Crawford picked it up by going 3 for 4 in the loss.

o. Just another day at the office for the Cardinals: Albert Pujols hit his 45th HR of the season in the seventh inning, and Matt Holliday followed it up with a game-winning HR against Milwaukee closer Trevor Hoffman in the top of the ninth. John Smoltz turned in another solid start, giving up three runs in five innings while striking out seven and walking none. Kyle McClellan earned a rogue save, his third of the season.

o. Scott Kazmir turned in his second consecutive great start with the Angels -- did they fix him? The lefty allowed one run in seven innings, giving up just three hits and two walks while striking out four. Brian Fuentes gave up a HR to Mike Sweeney to blow the save, but a game-winning RBI single by Erick Aybar in the tenth preserved the win. Torii Hunter recorded his first SB since August 24.

o. Rajai Davis and Garrett Jones are proving to be two awesome waiver-wire pickups. Jones smacked his 19th homer of the year, and he's the leader in the clubhouse to garner Chris Davis-type hype in 2010. Davis went 3 for 6 with three runs and another steal, his 32nd of the season and 17th since the beginning of August. If either of these guys are free agents in your league, drop that slumping slugger and add 'em.

The Afflicted: Carlos Beltran has finally returned! He hit a double in his four at-bats on Tuesday, and his presence in the New York lineup gives the team a pretty solid 1 through 4 for now. Corey Hart also returned as a pinch hitter, staying in the game after his seventh-inning appearance. Adam Jones has been placed on the DL and don't expect him to return this season. He made for a great pick near the end of your 2009 draft. J.A. Happ will miss another start with an oblique injury; I wouldn't be against cutting him if you have decent options on your wire. Manny Parra only pitched an inning Tuesday due to neck spasms, but if you're still using him your season was likely over anyway.

Lineup Lock Time: Texas and Cleveland square off at 12:05 PM ET, followed by a Cubs-Pirates game at 12:35 ET. Adam Wainwright goes for his 18th win at 2:05 ET, while San Diego and San Francisco are also scheduled to start in the afternoon.

Roto Rush: The Anticipated Debut of Madison Bumgarner originally appeared on Fantasy Baseball Fanhouse on Wed, 09 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Buster Posey Gets Call, Fantasy Spin

Matt Snyder — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Kids Are Alright

For much of the season, it appeared the Giants were willing to leave Buster Posey in the minors for the duration of the 2009 season. After all, they have Bengie Molina on the major league roster and Posey is only 22 years-old. It would appear there has been a change of plans, possibly motivated by Molina's quadriceps issues of late.

As reported earlier today by Jim Henry of FanHouse, Posey has been beckoned and will suit up for Wednesday's game against the Phillies. Molina has been unable to start since August 24. The uninspiring Eli Whiteside has been getting the starts in the meantime, but Posey's presence is added insurance.

In fact, considering Molina is a free agent after the season, Posey has a shot to earn the starting job for next season during this month. I recall a similar situation in Chicago two years ago. Geovany Soto was coming off a stellar offensive season in Triple-A and continued his hot hitting in September for the big-league Cubs. He even hit a home run in the Cubs' dismal playoff showing. In 2008, he won the NL Rookie of the Year.

Sure, there are differences between the two. Soto was several years older than Posey is. Of course, Posey has a lot more offensive talent.

The Giants' 2008 first-round pick was one of college baseball's biggest stars at Florida State, earning the Golden Spikes Award.

In two minor league stops this season, Posey had consistent success. His combined numbers were .325 with 18 home runs, 80 RBI, 31 doubles and a sparkling .947 OPS. He even stole 6 bases without ever getting thrown out. He made the jump from Class A-Advanced directly to Triple-A several weeks ago, and played 35 games in Fresno (the Giants Triple-A affiliate). In those 35 games, he hit .321 with a .902 OPS while driving home 22 runs.

Of course, the question is going to be playing time. The Giants are right in the thick of the pennant race, and they don't have time to allow a rookie to acclimate himself to the bigs. That being said, Whiteside is a pretty terrible hitter (.576 OPS). Posey's a good enough receiver behind the plate to hold his own, too, so it's not like they'd lose a bunch defensively. If Molina continues to have issues with his legs, it can't hurt the Giants to see what they have in Posey.

For now, from a fantasy perspective, it's a wait-and-see approach with Posey in most leagues. He should have already been owned in all dynasty leagues, and now would be a good time to take a look in larger keeper leagues. I'd grab him in two-catcher NL-Only leagues if you currently have a scrub at your second slot.

It's always exciting to see a promising prospect like Posey get the call. Let's hope he's initially more Soto than Matt Wieters, but a bad start doesn't change the fact that there is a future star suiting up.

Buster Posey Gets Call, Fantasy Spin originally appeared on Fantasy Baseball Fanhouse on Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Brett Wallace on Power Binge in Minors

Matt Snyder — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Kids Are Alright

These Kids Are Alright is FanHouse's look at minor league prospects who could have a fantasy impact in the near future.

Even if you don't avidly follow prospects or the minor leagues, you have probably heard of Brett Wallace before. Remember, he went to the Oakland A's in the Matt Holliday trade. At the time of the deal, R.J. White mentioned that Wallace will likely end up at first in the future. He has played five games at first base for Oakland's Triple-A affiliate (the Sacramento River Cats), while staying at the hot corner 24 times. Another thing he's been doing? Hitting home runs.

In 62 Triple-A games for the Cardinals' affiliate, Wallace had six home runs and 19 RBI. In exactly half the appearances to this point, Wallace has the same 19 RBI and has already exceeded the home run total with seven. He's hit a home run every 18 at-bats since the trade. He actually had a stretch last week where he hit five home runs in four games and is hitting .341 in his last 10 games.

We already knew Wallace, the first-rounder from Arizona State could hit, but it's nice to see the power stroke emerge. Plus, he's in a better situation to get immediate playing time than he was in St. Louis. The A's are way out of the race for 2009, and are looking to get into rebuilding mode quite quickly. They are plugging along with Adam Kennedy at third base. They've been getting by with the uninspiring trio of Tommy Everidge, Daric Barton and Nomar Garciaparra at first base. Eric Chavez is reportedly going to be ready to go for next season, but we've heard that song and dance before.

The simple fact is that the path is really clear for Wallace to begin making noise in Oakland pretty soon. When September call-ups happen, he'll be on the first bus to Oakland, and then the A's will have every reason to see how major league ready he is.

You can look for him to help in deep AL-Only leagues this September, and he's a must-own in mixed dynasty leagues (in AL-Only dynasty leagues, he should have already been picked up).

A final note: Wednesday is Wallace's 23rd birthday. What better time to hype him up?

Brett Wallace on Power Binge in Minors originally appeared on Fantasy Baseball Fanhouse on Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Drew Stubbs Making Reds Debut

Matt Snyder — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Kids Are Alright

These Kids Are Alright is FanHouse's look at minor league prospects who could have a fantasy impact in the near future.

With the news that Willy Taveras is heading to the disabled list came some new fantasy blood -- at least if you are looking for a late surge in steals. Taveras will be replaced on the Reds roster by a 24-year-old speedster named Drew Stubbs. Stubbs was the Reds' first round selection (picked eighth overall) in the 2006 major league draft. He's a highly touted prospect in the organization due to his incredible athleticism. In his lanky (6-foot-4, 200 pound) frame, Stubbs is a stellar defensive player with great base-running skills.

The move should actually provide the Reds with some continuity in center and on offense, because Stubbs is cut from the same cloth as Taveras. He was hitting just .268 with 3 home runs this season in Triple-A, but he had already racked up 46 stolen bases in 107 games.

On the flip-side of Taveras, though, Stubbs will actually take a walk, and his minor league on-base percentage was .353 at the time of his call-up.

Those looking for a late surge in steals should take a look at Stubbs (only after making sure Nyjer Morgan, Rajai Davis and Julio Borbon aren't available), because it sounds like Dusty Baker is going to let him play.

"I don't know exactly how I'm going to use him," Baker said. "But I will give him an opportunity to play, spot him against some very tough guys once I see how his stroke has progressed from when I saw him in the spring. You want to give guys the best chance you think they have to succeed."

Stubbs is leading off tonight for the Reds against Barry Zito and the Giants. Stay tuned.

Drew Stubbs Making Reds Debut originally appeared on Fantasy Baseball Fanhouse on Wed, 19 Aug 2009 20:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Alcides Escobar Makes Immediate Impact

Matt Snyder — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:55:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Kids Are Alright

These Kids Are Alright is FanHouse's look at minor league prospects who could have a fantasy impact in the near future.

Wednesday morning, the Brewers front office performed a bit of a house-cleaning, and one beneficiary of the maneuver will be 22-year-old phenom Alcides Escobar. The Brewers covet Escobar so much they refused to part with him as part of a potential deal for Roy Halladay at the trade deadline.

He possesses a sparkling defensive repertoire at shortstop, blazing speed, and he hits for average. Wednesday night, he made an appearance in the game as a pinch runner for Prince Fielder in the ninth inning. Escobar wasted little time making an impact, as he stole second base and then advanced to third when the errant throw skipped into center field.

Anyone who has followed Escobar in the minors isn't the least bit surprised he was set loose on the base paths the first chance he got. He already had 42 swipes in 109 Triple-A games this season. On his career, Escobar has 176 steals in 647 minor league games. He's not a power hitter, but what he has is what the Brewers need: A table-setter for all that thunder in the middle of the order.

Escobar can be that guy. He had a .363 on-base percentage in 2008 for Double-A Huntsville and .353 OBP for Nashville this year. Those aren't great figures, but they are good enough to accumulate steals and runs scored, especially if he's got people like Fielder and Ryan Braun hitting a few spots behind him.

As I write this, Escobar is 1-4 with a run scored in his first major league start. There are plenty more where that came from.

He'll have his ups and downs this year, but you can still count on him for steals and runs. He should be added in large NL-Only leagues where you need help in steals. Long term, he'll be one of the best in baseball at providing steals and runs while also putting up a quality batting average, so he's a must-own in dynasty leagues.

Alcides Escobar Makes Immediate Impact originally appeared on Fantasy Baseball Fanhouse on Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:55:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The J-Roll Train Is Speeding Away

Tom Herrera — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 14:10:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Injury Report, MLB Kids Are Alright, MLB Waiver Wire

Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.

Nearly a month ago, we ran out a roundtable on Jimmy Rollins, advising you to trade for the underperforming shortstop. Well, his struggles seem like a distant memory now. Rollins is not only back, he's one of the hottest middle infielders in fantasy baseball. Oh, and he's also one funny dude (great Dick's commercial if you've never seen it).

Just how hot is J-Roll? Let's go to the statistical tape ...

Since July 5, Rollins has homered seven times, including in three straight games to start August with a bang. Twenty-four of his 51 RBI have come since July 3, and he's also hitting over .300 in that span after not posting an average over .240 through the first three months of the season. And if that wasn't enough for you, he's swiped 13 of his 23 bases since July 1.

Rollins is the perfect example of why you need to show patience with established vets who are still in the prime of their careers. Granted, there is always going to be a Vernon Wells, who has been so disappointing that fans have started a Vernon Wells Sucks Forum. But more often than not, we'll see a progression (or regression) to the mean, assuming there are no significant injuries or off-the-field issues weighing the player down.

Bits From the Box Scores:
o. "This guy here is dead!" ... "Cross him off, then!" Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports the unfortunate news that Francisco Liriano is in danger of losing his spot in the starting rotation. Minnesota doesn't have very appealing options, especially now that Kevin Slowey underwent wrist surgery, but Liriano has been simply dreadful, despite the mini-turnaround he flashed in June. He continues to issue too many walks and posted a 5.32 ERA in July. He didn't fare any better in Wednesday's start, issuing four free passes and giving up four runs in five innings of work. For any Liriano owners still holding out hope, it's time to let it go. No use carrying this albatross over the stretch run.

o. Tommy Hanson is pretty special, huh? The 22-year-old Braves starter and fantasy gem notched his sixth victory in 11 starts on Wednesday, striking out another five in the process. For the season, Hanson's ERA stands at 3.22 and he's holding opposing batters to a .243 average. The scary part? He hasn't even mastered his command yet. Keeper swoon.

o. Maybe David Wright was inspired by his pal Mark Reynolds. He's homered three times since July 25 after languishing a month without hitting one. Reynolds is still the fantasy boss. Can you believe Reynolds was drafted over 15 rounds later than Wright? Welcome to Crazytown, USA, where Wright's fantasy owners have pulled all their hair out.

o. Redemption, thy name is Ryan Zimmerman. He's on pace to smash his career-high in home runs, seven of which have come since July 24. One of the great things about Zimmerman is he's been consistent, a bonus for head-to-head leagues. Coming into Thursday's games, his total hits and batting average were an identical 61 and .293, both on the road and at home.

o. Nyjer Morgan's trade to Washington has been superb for fantasy owners; sixteen of his 34 steals have come since July 3.

o. Another reason to despise wins: Edwin Jackson now only has eight of them. I mean, we're talking about a 2.62 ERA and a .217 batting average against. Ridiculous. Maybe he can go out drinking with Javier Vazquez when they get stiffed in Cy Young voting.

o. Padres outfielder Will Venable -- getting regular playing time now -- homered for the fifth time in seven games. This kind of power isn't sustainable for Venable, but you can't deny the surge, just ride it. He's unowned in about 90 percent of leagues.

o. Keep the faith in Marc Rzepczynski, deep-leaguers. Even though he gave up four runs, that was a strong performance against a tough Yankees lineup -- including seven strikeouts and only one walk. His ERA stands at 3.74. More impressive? A .197 batting average against.

The Afflicted: Justin Upton, one of the biggest breakouts of the season, left Wednesday's game with a strained oblique muscle and appears headed to the disabled list. Jose Reyes has "significant scar tissue" in his hamstring, according to a New York Daily News report. Nice knowing you, Jose. (sigh) Erik Bedard could be done for the season after experiencing discomfort in his shoulder following a bullpen session. An MRI is scheduled for Friday, but the results probably won't bring any smiles.

White Sox closer Bobby Jenks, sidelined with kidney stones, is hoping to be available Friday. "I don't think we're going to put him in right away," manager Ozzie Guillen told the Chicago Tribune. It looks like we may not see Torii Hunter until September. The Angels star failed a strength test Wednesday and will not be allowed to start his rehab assignment yet. Jason Bay likely won't play Thursday night after aggravating his hamstring. It's possible Bay could miss Friday's game, as well.

Down on the Farm: Kam Mickolio didn't let a quick hook to the minors phase him when Brian Matusz was called up. Baltimore's possible future closer fanned two in another inning of late relief in Triple-A. Jake McGee, returning from Tommy John surgery, didn't even record an out and gave up five runs in Hi-A. At one point it looked like the lefty had a brighter future than fellow Rays prospect Wade Davis, but McGee has a long road before he potentially returns to dominant form. Davis, on the other hand, is pitching quite well for Triple-A Durham.

Craving more fantasy baseball? Even this late, you can still play at Fleaflicker.

The J-Roll Train Is Speeding Away originally appeared on Fantasy Baseball Fanhouse on Thu, 06 Aug 2009 14:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Roto Rush, Deal Edition: Cliff Lee, Jarrod Washburn, George Sherrill and More

Tom Herrera — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Injury Report, MLB Kids Are Alright, MLB Value Machine, MLB Waiver Wire

Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.

Apologies for the lack of R.R. yesterday, but we're hitting you with a special extended trade edition today to make up for it. There's been a lot of activity over the past few days, especially with top pitching commodities like Cliff Lee, Jarrod Washburn and George Sherrill. We've also seen a pair of Pittsburgh starters head outta town and two prized minor-league prospects change locations. Time to break it all down from a fantasy perspective.

More Trade Analysis: Fantasy Impact of V-Mart to Boston Deal

Trade Winds:
o. Washburn (8-6, 2.64 ERA) has been one the biggest steals of the fantasy season, but he owes some credit to the outstanding outfield defense that's backed him in Seattle. Now that he's heading to Detroit, I expect his ERA to rise a bit; did we really believe Washburn would keep an ERA under 3.00 all year, anyway? His run average sits at 4.65 if you look at Expected Fielding Independent Pitching, an experimental statistic you can read up on over at The Hardball Times. Despite the predicted regression, he'll still be a valuable part of fantasy rotations.

o. Cliff Lee couldn't have asked for a better matchup in his first game for Philadelphia. He'll face the Giants on the road Friday night and should get his National League career off to a strong start. Lee has really been sharp over his last five outings, with a 2.37 ERA and 26:5 strikeout-to-walk ratio over that span. Usually, I'm a very big fan of American League pitchers shifting over to the NL (see Javier Vazquez), but I don't think Lee's value changes all that much in this case. He will have to make his home starts at a hitter's park now, with a short timeframe to make any adjustments. That said, if you're bidding in NL-only leagues and need the pitching, I'd break the bank. There's a slim chance any minor-league call-up will help you as much as Lee this late in the game. No more Tommy Hansons around the corner.

The other two players affected in this swap are outfielder Ben Francisco and pitcher Carlos Carrasco. The Phillies will use Francisco off the bench once Shane Victorino is healthy, so his shot at a 20-20 season likely goes out the window. Francisco, who hit 10 homers and swiped 13 bases for Cleveland, is batting .324 over his last 23 games. Carrasco has struck out an International League-leading 112 and could take a spin in the Indians' rotation in late August. At age 22, he still has a lot of learning to do, but is well worth monitoring in AL-only leagues.

o. George Sherrill loses most of his usefulness in the Dodgers-Orioles swap, while Baltimore reliever Jim Johnson is actually the biggest winner. Unless your league favors middle relievers or counts holds, Sherrill the specialist won't do much for you. It's been a stealthy 20 saves for the lefty, but now we'll see Johnson get his shot to close games for the Orioles. The 26-year-old has been roughed up over his last 10 appearances to the tune of a 5.91 ERA, so it'll be interesting to see whether he can keep the gig on lockdown. Johnson is worth snagging in all mixed leagues and will draw a fairly high bid in AL-only. If he falters in the role, Danys Baez could be next in line to pick up saves.

o. The Tom Gorzelanny to Chicago deal is semi-intriguing, if only because the Gorz was pitching so well for Triple-A Indianapolis. Even though he's struggled in the bigs, don't forget he's only two years removed from a strong 14-win season. There's hope left for the 27-year-old lefty, but we'll have to wait a while to see what he can do for the Cubs.

o. Freddy Sanchez hasn't been all that exciting for fantasy purposes, so seeing him get dealt to the Giants generated a "meh." The real player to watch closely is Tim Alderson, all of 6-foot-6 and 20 years old. The pitching prospect formerly with San Francisco's Double-A club was 7-2 with a 3.65 ERA in 18 starts. He could have a very bright future ahead of him, even if he sticks in Pittsburgh long-term.

o. First baseman Ryan Garko was also traded to San Francisco, but with only 11 homers and 39 RBI at a power position, he wasn't starting in most mixed leagues. The real boon will be for NL-only owners who can pick up a solid hitting boost. With no other decent corner bats heading to the NL, he'll come at a strong price.

The Afflicted: As if we couldn't have already surmised, Brandon Webb's season is likely over, and his Diamondbacks career could be, too. I really believed Webb could make it back to the mound at some point, but after yet another setback on his ailing right shoulder, it's a season to forget for fantasy owners. In other injury news, the Orioles put waiver-wire gem Brad Bergesen on the DL with a bruised leg and activated Chris Ray. Those who are losing Bergesen may want to jump on the Tommy Hunter bandwagon if replacements look meager. Over his six starts in the bigs this year, the Rangers youngster has posted a 2.00 ERA and held opposing batters to a .226 average. Blue Jays left-hander Marc Rzepczynski (3.25 ERA, and pronounced zep-chin-ski for your information) is also a good option.

Down on the Farm: Let's stick with the pitching theme. Jarrod Parker, already being heralded as the next great D'backs starter, got roughed up over four innings of work but struck out five and walked one. His ERA stands at 3.68 and he remains on target for a rotation appearance sometime in 2010. Red Sox prospect Michael Bowden has been mentioned in various trade rumors, but he just keeps doing his thing in Triple-A. After seven innings of one-run ball with six punch-outs, his ERA dropped to 2.96.

Want more rotisserie baseball tidbits? Follow Fantasy FanHouse on Twitter.

Roto Rush, Deal Edition: Cliff Lee, Jarrod Washburn, George Sherrill and More originally appeared on Fantasy Baseball Fanhouse on Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Roto Rush: Mark of Perfection

R.J. White — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:30:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Kids Are Alright, MLB Locking Your Lineup, MLB Waiver Wire

Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.

By now you've seen the highlights. An eighth-inning rocket by Pat Burrell that pulled an inch foul while nearly taking out the third-base umpire. An unbelievable catch, juggle and save by DeWayne Wise in the ninth inning. Alexei Ramirez fielding a Jason Bartlett grounder and firing across the diamond for the final out. Mark Buehrle with his hands on the top of his head, all smiles as he completed the 18th perfect game in major league history.

Buehrle, who already had a 2007 no-hitter to his credit, threw 76 of his 116 pitches for strikes. The biggest called strike of those 76 came on the outside corner in the eighth inning with Carlos Pena at the plate, causing Pena to turn and argue with home plate umpire Eric Cooper (incidentally, also the umpire in Buehrle's no-hitter). The biggest swinging strike came on a 3-2 punchout of Michael Hernandez with one out in the ninth.

While July 23, 2009 will be etched into Buehrle's memory for the rest of time, be careful not to overvalue the White Sox pitcher based on Thursday's performance. He'll get you wins (11 on the season), he'll keep your WHIP down (now at 1.10), but he's not going to give you much in the way of strikeouts. In fact, Buehrle only had nine strikeouts in four July starts heading into the perfect game.

In my points league, a good start from a pitcher nets you 20 points, while a great start pushes you over 30. Buehrle posted an astonishing 53-point game Thursday, sealing a win for his manager heading into the weekend. The perfect game rocketed the Chicago pitcher into 11th in pitcher points on the season, just behind Matt Cain and Javier Vazquez.

I bring this up to suggest that now is the perfect time to sell high on Buehrle. Play up that his perfection came against one of the league's top offenses, and see if you can pry a high-strikeout pitcher with good ratios from someone.

Bits From the Box Scores

o. Alex Rios sure made things interesting (who hasn't?) for Kerry Wood and the Indians in Cleveland's 5-4 win against Toronto. After Wood plunked Rios to lead off the ninth, the Blue Jays right fielder stole second base. With Lyle Overbay at the plate and two outs on the board, Rios went ahead and stole third as well. Overbay ultimately struck out, but Rios came through for his owners with a total of three steals on the day, giving him 18 for the season.

o. Also worth a mention in that game is Aaron Hill, who entered the Cleveland series in an 0-for-16 slump and tallied at least one hit in each of the three games with the Indians. Hill also smacked his 22nd homer on the season (this one off David Huff in the fifth inning). When combined with Hill's homer in Wednesday's game, it appears Hill has his power stroke back. Hopefully the average will follow.

o. In a rain-shortened outing that was a makeup of a previously postponed game, Adam Wainwright put together a complete game, going six innings and giving up one run while striking out seven. It was surprising to see him back on the hill after a 76-minute delay in the fourth, but Wainwright owners aren't complaining about the results.

o. You never know what kind of start you'll get from Barry Zito. Despite allowing five walks to the red-hot Braves offense, he was able to limit Atlanta to one earned run in seven innings en route to securing his sixth win of the season. Yunel Escobar hit his 11th home run (a new career high) to continue his hot streak -- he's currently turning in a .396/.484/.755 line in July. You want Escobar, you don't want Zito.

o. Kyle Blanks homered for the second time in three games -- more importantly, this was his third consecutive start for the Padres. If he's playing everyday, he'll bring your lineup some decent power the rest of the way. In the other dugout, Jimmy Rollins kept his hot streak alive with a 2-for-4 game and a stolen base.

o. Dan Haren had an off night (one of the few) against Pittsburgh, giving up four runs in five innings. The Diamondbacks bullpen was brilliant, perfect in the final four innings, while the Arizona offense mustered up seven runs in the seventh and eighth innings to win the game. Ryan Doumit hit his third HR in the last two games.

o. The 35-year-old Jarrod Washburn pitched yet another gem yesterday, holding the Tigers to two hits and two walks in seven shutout innings. Washburn has allowed a total of two runs in his last four starts, dropping his ERA to 2.71. Like Buehrle, Washburn is pitching to contact and making it work. David Aardsma closed out the game for his 24th save.

Down on the Farm: Rockies top prospect Jhoulys Chacin is making the leap from Double-A to pitch in the Rockies' depleted bullpen. Chacin will join newly-acquired Rafael Betancourt as Colorado tries to piece together a relief staff that will keep them in the playoff hunt. Redraft leagues need pay no attention to Chacin. I was able to catch a start of his in Double-A, and any time he tried to dial the fastball above 90 mph, he had no idea where it was going.

Lineup Lock Time: We're looking at a 1:05 ET lock time due to a couple of early Chicago games.

Roto Rush: Mark of Perfection originally appeared on Fantasy Baseball Fanhouse on Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chris Tillman Likely Headed to Baltimore

Matt Snyder — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Kids Are Alright

These Kids Are Alright is FanHouse's look at minor league prospects who could have a fantasy impact in the near future.

I had planned on writing about Chris Tillman, a pitcher in the Orioles' system, for the latest edition of Kids anyway, but now the piece has added significance. Reports have been rampant around the web that Tillman will be getting the call early next week. We knew that, but Tillman has now been scratched from his scheduled start Wednesday night in Triple-A. Considering no injury is being reported, it would appear the Orioles are ready to let the youngster get his first taste of of the bigs very soon.

Tillman is a 6-foot-5, 21-year-old right-hander who has had good success in the minors.

To this point, he's 8-5 in 2009, with an ERA of 2.42 and a 1.09 WHIP. He's struck out 95 batters in 93 innings while only walking 22. Tillman has been especially sharp in his last three outings. He's 3-0 with a 0.44 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 20 strikeouts and only one walk in 20 1/3 innings of work.

Last season, his first in the Orioles system (we'll get to that), Tillman went 11-4 with a 3.18 ERA in Double-A. He struck out 154 batters in 135 2/3 innings. According to many Baltimore-area reports, scouts have become increasingly impressed with how much he's grown in the past two seasons, especially in terms of commanding all his pitches.

The combination of Tillman's progress and the continued dreadful work of Rich Hill (already mentioned in today's Roto Rush) is likely what prompted the move. Hill obviously has no place in a major league rotation and he's 29-years-old. At some point, you have to start looking to the future instead of watching a former prospect take his lumps -- further hammering home the fact that he's a bust. Giving Tillman the ball to see if he's ready is the right step for the Orioles, assuming that's what they are doing.

As far as what we can expect from a fantasy perspective, Tillman is more of a long-term prospect than short term. He'll have a rough go when having to deal with some of the AL East powerhouse offenses initially. Watch his early progress and he could be worth spot-starts in mixed leagues this year, but he mostly looks like an AL-Only league player right now.

Finally, I mentioned earlier the Orioles acquired him before last season. He came over with Adam Jones, George Sherrill and two others. Sound familiar? That's right, looks like the decision to trade Erik Bedard worked out juuuuuuuust fine for the Orioles.

Maybe the Blue Jays should take note?

Chris Tillman Likely Headed to Baltimore originally appeared on Fantasy Baseball Fanhouse on Wed, 22 Jul 2009 17:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2009 Fantasy All-Stars, All-Scars, All-Sleepers and All-Keepers

R.J. White — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Kids Are Alright, MLB Sleepers, MLB Value Machine

Ah, the All-Star break. A time for fantasy owners to take three days off from the grind of a six-month baseball season. To most, it's a welcome reprieve. To myself and other baseball-obsessed individuals, it's the three most excruciating days of a season. By the time Thursday rolls around, I'd even be willing to watch the Mets play.

Since we have to find some way of passing the time till then, let's name some illustrious fantasy squads -- one comprised of the best players at each position, another comprised of players that scarred their teams' chances of postseason glory, the third comprised of the draft picks that brought us the most bang for our buck, and the last comprised of the best young talent around. The voting for these three teams opened on July 4th at 8:00 PM and closed promptly on July 4th at 8:01. Since I was the only one to submit a vote, these teams might be a little skewed to my point of view.

Midseason Fantasy Baseball: Play for Free at Fleaflicker.com

The Albert Pujols All-Stars

1B: Albert Pujols. Duh.
2B: Chase Utley. Remember when some injury concerns caused Utley to drop to the second round? Yeah, neither do I.
3B: Mark Reynolds. If you would have told me I'd get 24 HRs, 15 SBs and a .258 average from Reynolds this year, I would have taken it. He has that -- and two-plus months left in the season.
SS: Hanley Ramirez. Am I the only one that thinks Hanley would've traded this awesomeness to be the starting SS of the Red Sox?
C: Joe Mauer. Anyone that played the over on "Number of Joe Mauer homers in 2009" can already cash in their winning ticket. Mauer Power checks in at 15 HRs and counting.
OF: Carl Crawford. After eight HRs and 25 SBs last year (along with an un-Crawford like .273 average), this year's eight HRs and 44 SBs (along with a .310 average) put Crawford in the OF elite.
OF: Torii Hunter. A strained abductor will likely end Hunter's chances of staying on this list at season's end. Can't complain about the 17/13 HR/SB combo and .305 average he's given you.
OF: Ryan Braun. The HRs seem a tad light, don't they? He's still swiping a handful of bases and hitting for great average. Fear not, a power surge will come and he'll end the year with 35-plus dingers.
UT: Prince Fielder. Block Pujols' season for a second and consider how great a step forward the big man has taken. .315/.442/.614 and 22 HRs make him the close choice for our utility slot.
SP: Dan Haren. Some owners are dealing the ace based on fear of future volatility. I think he'll be winning leagues across the nation for shrewd owners.
SP: Tim Lincecum. Honestly, Lincecum could throw eight no-hitters this year with his stuff and it wouldn't shock anyone. The Giants have the young pitching in place to make a dynastic run -- if only they could find some bats.
SP: Zack Grienke. Any pitcher that can win ten games by the ASB playing with the Royals deserves all the credit in the world. Once upon a time, he made DL stints for unstable young talents all the rage.
SP: Felix Hernandez. Lights out since May 24, the former buzz-inducing young phenom (you know, before Lincecum took the crown) has been an excellent mid-round bargain.
RP: Joe Nathan. Nathan's line: 1.31 ERA, 43 Ks, 7 BBs, 23 saves. And he hasn't allowed a run in 21 consecutive outings, racking up 17 saves in that time. So, you know, the anti-Brad Lidge.

The Russell Martin All-Scars

1B: Chris Davis. In December, he was an intriguing 10th-round pick. By February, he was a popular eighth-round selection. By March, he was going in the fifth or sixth round. If the season started in May, he'd have been the No. 1 pick.
2B: Howie Kendrick. Even if the power numbers aren't there, at least you can be confident that Kendrick will bring a high .300-plus average to your squad. Oh, .239 you say? Are you sure that's not Kyle Kendrick?
3B: Garrett Atkins. I know, you drafted Davis and Atkins to play your corner infield spots and entered the season with unbridled enthusiasm. Atkins recently went 8-for-13 with a HR in a three-game stretch -- hope you sold high.
SS: Jimmy Rollins. Sorry, Jimmy. You know I love you, but it's going to take more than a hot two weeks in July to undo all the damage you've wrought to our teams.
C: Russell Martin. Hindsight is 20/20. Which Russell Martin never has a chance of being. Sorry, guys that still hold a connection to the 2007 Martin, it's time to let go.
OF: Josh Hamilton. I want to give Hamilton a pass due to his time on the DL. He'd make it easier if he hit some homers. 150 at-bats of suckitude is enough to put him on the All-Scars. I'll spare Vladimir Guerrero and Carlos Quentin though.
OF: Magglio Ordonez. Maggs was able to lose the ability to hit for average and power at the same time, not an easy task to accomplish. Now he's platooning with someone name Clete, who really sounds like a Nike spokesperson.
OF: Chris Young. Did you know that Chris Young the pitcher actually has a higher average than Chris Young the outfielder? OK, that's a lie, but it's sad I had to look that up to be sure -- wait, check that. The pitcher is batting 65 points higher. And he plays half his games in Petco.
UT: Rafael Furcal. 2009 has been a mirror opposite of 2008. No power and no speed while showing the uncanny ability to stay healthy and in fantasy lineups everywhere.
SP: Francisco Liriano. At this point, his owners are probably praying for another injury. Liriano has done a good job in the last six weeks of bringing the ERA down to the mid-fives. Not good enough, however.
SP: Ervin Santana. I'm convinced that Ervin has an identical twin that sells baked goods in some quiet Midwestern town, and that they switch lives every 12 months. Fine then, you explain it.
SP: Rich Harden. Remember the good ol' days when Harden would give us a handful of fantastic starts and disappear to the disabled list? I miss those days.
SP: Joba Chamberlain. He was supposed to be the Next Big Thing. I had him in Roy Oswalt territory heading into 2009. To me, he's probably the most disappointing of these names
RP: Carlos Marmol. This was the year Marmol was to inherit the Cubs' closer gig -- or so you thought. Flash forward to now, and Marmol's "breakout" three-save season (complete with horrible WHIP) has you once again cursing the overhyped mid-round closer.

The Justin Upton All-Sleepers

1B: Russell Branyan. You grabbed him thinking he'd supply you with some late-round pop and nothing more. Who knew he'd match Ryan Howard's first-half HR total, while hitting for a better average to boot?
2B: Aaron Hill. A concussion cut Hill's 2008 short. As a repayment, he's making as many AL pitchers' heads hurt as possible in 2009.
3B: Reynolds. Sell high. No, I'm serious -- stop reading and go get your buddy on the line. The guy that's in eighth place and needs a shakeup. It's OK, we can wait.
SS: Jason Bartlett and Ben Zobrist. I really wanted to include Reid Brignac in this list too, but three Tampa Bay shortstops would just be overkill.
C: Pablo Sandoval. We knew he was capable of a high average. Where did the 15 HRs and four SBs come from? Oh, and if Sandoval isn't a catcher in your league, we'll give you Brandon Inge.
OF: Justin Upton. 21-year-olds shouldn't be this good in the majors. If he keeps this up, he's joining Pujols and Lincecum in the soon-to-be-created all-universe league.
OF: Raul Ibanez. What were the Phillies thinking, signing this old dog to a four-year contract and letting Pat Burrell walk? Yeah, I never questioned it either.
OF: Jayson Werth. He's putting up Jason Bay numbers at a fraction of the cost. If the Phillies can add some good pitching at the deadline (like they did with Joe Blanton last year), they'll run away with the NL East.
UT: Adam Lind and Shin-Soo Choo. I couldn't decide between these two, so let's give them half-a-vote each. The two lefties exhibit different skill sets, but neither cost a high draft pick and both are top-ten outfielders at the break.
SP: Chris Carpenter. Sure, he missed a little time at the beginning of the season. He's been great since, with only one six-run game in June tarnishing his 2.47 ERA and 0.87 WHIP.
SP: Edwin Jackson. The Tampa Bay Rays traded Jackson to the Tigers for Matt Joyce, or as he's affectionately known as now, a bag of balls.
SP: Josh Johnson. How mad are you going to be when Johnson signs with the Yankees or Red Sox after his arbitration years run out? 14, maybe 15 on a ten-point scale?
SP: Jarrod Washburn. I couldn't tell you how he's doing it, but Washburn enters the break with a sub-3.00 ERA and an excellent 1.09 WHIP. Who does he think he is, Cliff Lee?
RP: Ryan Franklin. It's time to come off the ledge, Chris Perez owners. You thought you had a bargain, but it just wasn't in the Cards. See what I did there? Hey, where are you going?

The Matt Wieters 25-or-Under All-Keepers

1B: Fielder. A year younger (at least) than Miguel Cabrera, Fielder is an easy choice here. I'd still trade either for Pujols in a keeper league, but I'm just sayin'.
2B: Ian Stewart. The guy is 24 and looks like he's on his way to figuring it all out. The power has come, now will the average?
3B: Evan Longoria. The 23-year-old Tampa Bay third baseman has quickly become one of the top options at the hot corner. We hope he's the next A-Rod (unless you're a Tampa Bay fan).
SS: Ramirez. Hanley is still only 25, making him by far the No. 1 keeper league commodity in the majors.
C: Brian McCann. Be patient, my Matt Wieters-owning friends. I know the category is named after him, but the sweet-swinging McCann is only 25 and is far more proven than the Baltimore rookie.
OF: Braun. Remember when we were worried about Braun's long-term stock when the Brewers moved him off third? Turns out a 35-HR, 100-plus RBI bat plays anywhere. Who knew?
OF: J.Upton. At your live draft, the B.J. Upton owner laughed at your Justin Upton pick in the late rounds. "Sorry dude, but I got the only Upton that matters." Loser.
OF: Matt Kemp. Any other manager would waste Kemp's huge potential by hitting him in the top half of the order. That's why Joe Torre makes the big bucks, because he understands baseball better than you.
UT: Matt Wieters. C'mon, you know I couldn't put together a keeper list without the Baseball Jesus. I've already cleared a weekend in 2030 for his Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
SP: Lincecum. He'd be the first pitcher taken in any redraft, keeper, dynasty, NL-Only, roto, H2H, points, animated-pitchman, Fleaflicker, or any other league. (By the way, sign up for your post-ASB leagues here.)
SP: Chad Billingsley. Sure, he walks too many people, but that type of talent can't be forsaken. He could have a Hamels-like run en route to leading the Dodgers to a title this year.
SP: Yovani Gallardo. Racking up strikeouts quicker than a fantasy baseball writer at a Victoria's Secret fashion show, Gallardo mixes sheer awesomeness with the consistent ability to be unabashedly amazing.
SP: Tommy Hanson. Premature? You bet. But I had to get a man-crush in here somewhere. Tommy Boy will eventually lose the walks. I hope you've traded for him by that point.
RP: Joakim Soria. I'd take him over Jonathan Broxton if I had the choice. Soria has posted sub-1.00 WHIP seasons in 2007 and 2008, as well as a sub-1.00 WHIP season in the first half of 2009.

2009 Fantasy All-Stars, All-Scars, All-Sleepers and All-Keepers originally appeared on Fantasy Baseball Fanhouse on Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Smoak, and Bad Puns, on Horizon

Matt Snyder — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:30:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Kids Are Alright

These Kids Are Alright is FanHouse's look at minor league prospects who could have a fantasy impact in the near future.

The upside of Justin Smoak is quite large. Unfortunately, so is the potential for the bad puns with his last name when he does arrive in the bigs and start to play well. Let's see, there will probably be derivations of "Where there's Smoak, there's (insert something instead of 'fire')," "Smoakin' Hot" and "Justin Smoaks Home Run in Rangers Win." Sigh. You know it's coming.

Regardless, none of that journalistic laziness/lameness should deter us from keeping an eye on Smoak in fantasy baseball. The 22-year-old Smoak is a 6-foot-3 switch-hitter. He has a tad bit less power than the recently demoted Chris Davis, but he's also a much better overall hitter -- something the Rangers would welcome after Davis' 114 strikeouts and paltry .256 on-base percentage.

If Davis can't get things figured out in the minors -- FanGraphs has discussed the main culprit for his struggles further in depth -- Smoak should be making a stop with the big league club quite soon. He was their first-round pick in 2008 from the University of South Carolina, where he hit .383 with 23 bombs and 72 RBI with an absurd 1.262 OPS in 63 games.

So far this season, Smoak has ascended through the minors quite quickly. He began in rookie ball, but that didn't last long. After just 2 games, he was 4-6 with a triple, 2 home runs and 5 RBI. So the Rangers moved him up to Double-A. In 50 games at that level, he hit .328 with 6 home runs and 29 RBI. He has been the anti-Davis especially in plate discipline. Where Davis had a 114/17 K/BB ratio in the majors, Smoak has walked 43 times to only 41 strikeouts this season in three levels of the minors combined. So, in addition to hitting with some power, Smoak currently has a .444 on-base percentage. This would be a much bigger help to a Rangers team that is hardly lacking home run power (they are only second to the Yankees in going yard this season, and that's with Josh Hamilton missing some time due to injury), but could use more on-base guys (they rank 11th in the AL in on-base percentage).

Smoak hasn't had a great start in Triple-A -- he's just 1-for-13 in four games -- but he's certainly worth keeping an eye on in all fantasy baseball formats. He'll adjust quickly and get things turned around. When he does, expect a call. That Rangers lineup is pretty cozy, so he'd help you in the four non-base-stealing categories. He's a must-own in larger keeper leagues, because there's a high amount of upside here.

Smoak, and Bad Puns, on Horizon originally appeared on Fantasy Baseball Fanhouse on Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Why Is Ricky Romero on Waiver Wires?

Tom Herrera — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Injury Report, MLB Kids Are Alright, MLB Waiver Wire

Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.

There are times where you see a possible gem sitting on the waiver wire, but you decide to wait. Your gut is pleading with you that he's legit. You just don't want to make a trade-off, dumping one of your struggling stars for the "new flavor."

This time, please know Ricky Romero is more than a new flavor.

Believe it or not, Romero is available in roughly 50 percent of leagues, depending on where you feed your fantasy addiction. That's just absurd. This is a pitcher -- a lefty at that -- that has six wins and a 2.85 ERA. He won his third straight game on Wednesday, a dominant eight innings over an AL powerhouse. The awesome showing came on the heels of making the World Series champions look silly over seven innings.

Since the beginning of June, no one has found an answer for Romero. He finished the month with a 2.36 ERA, a .211 batting average against, and 33 strikeouts in 34 1/3 innings with only 10 walks. As Will Brinson would say, "Romero is the balls."

He could be a 24-year-old ace in the making. Don't leave him sitting atop the waiver pile any longer.

Bits From the Box Scores:
o. If you missed the bandwagon on Romero, there are some very solid candidates also on the wire. One of them is Brad Bergesen, who finished June with a 2.23 ERA and picked up right where he left off on Wednesday, holding the Red Sox to four hits over eight innings. Knox and I also mentioned other surprising pitchers in the last cram session podcast.

o. Leo Nunez picked up the save for the Marlins, striking out two in a perfect inning of work. The situation may read "closer by committee" on the surface, but Nunez is the guy you want in Matt Lindstrom's absence.

o. Juan Rivera's blazing hitting display would elicit "He's on fire!!!" from NBA Jam commentators. He homered yet again and is coming off a month where he knocked eight out of the park and drove in 24. He's starting outfield material even in mixed leagues.

o. Via Matt Snyder: "[Randy] Wells is legit. He's a true pitcher -- as opposed to a 'thrower.' He hits his spots, changes speeds, and mixes pitches well."

o. Imagine how good Clayton Kershaw could be if he wasn't a walk machine? Colorado only managed one hit off of him -- over five innings. Kershaw was pulled after 97 pitches and five walks. His stats would be incredible if he harnessed enough command to pitch six or more innings consistently. All in due time. He's just 21 years old (!).

o. The on-again, off-again full closing duties for Frank Francisco continues. Manager Ron Washington announced that Francisco is back as the team's full-time closer, leaving C.J. Wilson worthless other than as a vulture to keep around in deep leagues.

Don't Forget About: Troy Glaus. He's not on anyone's radar yet -- deep NL-only leagues aside -- but in a few weeks he might be. Glaus is heading to the Cardinals' spring training facility in Florida to continue his rehab, and it looks like he might return to the lineup in August. We'll see how the shoulder holds up, but he could be a decent source of pop at a thin position if he recovers OK.

The Afflicted: Don't expect to see Raul Ibanez (groin) back this weekend; his rehab assignment was pushed back. Josh Hamilton, on the other hand, is raring to go after recovering from abdominal surgery. He's expected back in the lineup this weekend, possibly even Saturday. Mark DeRosa is day-to-day with a mild wrist strain. He received an injection and should return in a few games. Alexei Ramirez will undergo X-rays on his right middle finger after leaving Wednesday night's game. It doesn't sound like he'll be out for too long. Alfonso Soriano isn't hurt, but Sweet Lou is giving him another day off so the streaky star can clear his head. He had an awful June with a .198 average and very little pop, but remains a strong buy-low candidate.

Down on the Farm: I gotta give Reds prospect Todd Frazier some love (Rutgers represent!). The shortstop-turned-outfielder is killing the ball in Double-A ball with 30 doubles, 42 RBI and a .317 average. He also has a healthy amount of walks to strikeouts (27:35). I think he could get called up for a cup of coffee in September, and will certainly have a shot at regular playing time in 2010.

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Why Is Ricky Romero on Waiver Wires? originally appeared on Fantasy Baseball Fanhouse on Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Madison Bumgarner Too Good for Minors

Matt Snyder — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Kids Are Alright

These Kids Are Alright is FanHouse's look at minor league prospects who could have a fantasy impact in the near future.

We've discussed Madison Bumgarner before, but the assumption has always been that he was a future prospect, slated to make the majors sometime during the 2010 season. I mean, he's only 19 years old for God's sake. Yet, as the Giants look to be a legitimate playoff threat, this kid is just tearing up the minors. He started the season in Class A, where he made hitters look stupid for five games (1.48 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 23 K, 4 BB in 24 1/3 innings). So he was promoted to Double-A and the numbers are almost as staggering.

In eight games (seven starts), the left-handed Bumgarner rocks a 5-1 record with a 1.96 ERA. He's struck out 38 hitters in 46 innings. Assuming he continues to blaze along this path, there could be a spot in the Giants rotation by mid-August. Remember, Jonathan Sanchez has been absolutely brutal, to the point the Giants have demoted him to the bullpen. In his place, Ryan Sadowski threw a nice game Sunday, but he's not near as electric as Bumgarner.

Last week, Jeff Fletcher reported that Giants general manager Brian Sabean believes Bumgarner is the type of pitcher who "may not have to pitch at every level" before heading to the majors. Well, Bumgarner's already in Double-A, so we can put two and two together. In the same piece, Fletcher noted that Sabean is untouchable in trade talks, as the Giants look to bolster their offense.

It's possible Bumgarner doesn't join the Giants rotation until 2010, but that's the absolute latest he will. He's progressing so quickly, he bears watching in all fantasy baseball formats.

As a final, non-fantasy note, can you imagine the potential of that Giants rotation with Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Bumgarner at the top? And that's not even scratching the surface. The Giants have more pitching prospects like Tim Alderson. The future in the Bay Area is certainly bright.

Madison Bumgarner Too Good for Minors originally appeared on Fantasy Baseball Fanhouse on Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Looking for a Last-Place Fantasy Finish? Sign Homer Bailey

Knox Bardeen — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Kids Are Alright

According to my esteemed colleague, Matt Snyder, Homer Bailey is being considered for the vacant 5th spot in the Cincinnati Reds rotation. In fact, he could be called up from Triple-A to pitch for Cincinnati on Saturday.

He went so far as to elude that Bailey is rosterable.

...but Bailey bears consideration in nearly all fantasy leagues where you have bench space. Watch that start Saturday -- assuming he gets it -- and see what he's got. He might just be (finally?) ready to take the next step in his career

I'm here, as a voice of reason, to debunk this theory.

I jumped on the "Homer Train" back in 2007. It was a bumpy ride. In nine starts Bailey was 4-2 with a 5.76 ERA. I chalked the poor ERA up to the kid being 21-years-old. I blindly overlooked the fact that he only struck out 28 batters in 45.1 innings. He did all this while walking 28 batters as well. That should have been my first warning sign.

The "Homer Train" moved forward a bit more in 2008. I, once again, climbed on board. In Bailey's eight starts he went 0-6 with a 7.93 ERA. I didn't stay on the train for long as I finally noticed that he didn't belong in the big leagues. He only struck out 18 batters in 36.1 innings and still walked 17. I don't think I need to remind everyone that walking as many batters as you strikeout isn't a good thing at all.

Homer Bailey also has made one start in 2009. It wasn't pretty. He escaped with a no-decision, but Dusty Baker made the decision almost instantly to send the kid back to Triple-A. In his one start, Bailey walked six and struck out only three in 4.1 innings and came out with a 12.46 ERA.

As Bailey gets older, he's supposed to be learning his trade... mastering his skill set. However, in each year his ERA has gotten worse and he never has learned any kind of strike zone control.

Let me make a few more comments, further proving my point:

1. I'm tired of the argument that Homer Bailey "is only 23-years-old". Dude has been playing professional baseball for six years. I'm not asking him to become a Cy Young contender in that short amount of time, but I would like him to prove to me that he's progressing. He's failed at doing that.

2. I'm weary of folks saying that Bailey is tearing it up in the minor leagues. He's always fared much better in the minors than he has in Major League Baseball. Each season he does well enough to be promoted and stink up the Cincinnati mound for a handful of starts. This season, while at Triple-A, he has shown some performance improvements. This could be because of his new splitter he's been working on or he could be getting better. But remember, he's never, and I mean NEVER been able to carry over his success in the minors and pitch well in Cincinnati.

I'm avoiding Homer Bailey in every single league I'm in. I don't care if it's a deep mixed-league or a deep NL-only league, picking up Bailey from the waiver wire will only lead to heart break and inflated team ERA.

If Bailey can come up this Saturday or sometime soon and pitch well for the rest of the season, maybe I'll consider adding him to draft lists in 2010. Here's what it's going to take:

1. A sub-four ERA or something close to make me consider that move.

2. Bailey is going to have bring his strikeout to walk ratio up considerably. I'm talking above two, maybe even closer to three. His current standard of one walk for every strikeout is not going to cut it.

3. He's going to have to stay healthy. I want one start every fifth or sixth day from here until the end of the season.

I'm only asking for three things. That's not a lot to ask, is it?

Until I get those three things, Homer Bailey is fantasy irrelevant.

Looking for a Last-Place Fantasy Finish? Sign Homer Bailey originally appeared on Fantasy Baseball Fanhouse on Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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