MLB Fantasy Baseball: Wednesday News and Notes

What a difference 24 hours can make in fantasy perception, huh? We leave yesterday and Mark Teixeira is a Brave, playing in one of the most hitting-friendly divisions with regards to ballparks. This morning, Big Tex is an Angel and gets to play in one of the worst pitching divisions in the league. Pretty impressive run for the guy.

I'm still comatose from watching the lack of Boston offense, but we'll power through here and get to the notes.

• Staying with Teixeira, it might be possible to make the ballpark comparison, given that he now is in a division that has two of the toughest parks to hit home runs. However, one of those parks is in Seattle, where they continue to not know how to pitch. I think this is a wash of a move that doesn't hurt his fantasy impact in the least.
• Casey Kotchman could see an increase in value. He'll be the everyday guy in Atlanta and will be in a much more hitter-friendly division. I think we'll see a jump in his power numbers, even as he adapts to the different pitching styles across the league.
• So, we here at the 'Table do sometimes get things wrong. Last night, John Lackey dominated the Red Sox, forcing them to swing at an array of splitters and other pitches in the dirt. It was filthy, but the Red Sox offense didn't even seem to want to be there. He took a no-hitter to the near end and looked good while doing it. We continue to think he'll be the best in baseball the rest of the way.
• Micah Owings was optioned by the Diamondbacks to AAA. Owings hasn't been good or consistent all season. This is the final straw in his fantasy viability, and there is no reason to hold on to him or hope he has value upon his return. He'll be available on waivers should anything good come from him.
• An interesting point on Jose Guillen. He's developed a fair amount of value in the Royals' lineup and now seems to want to be traded. Should that happen, he could be an even bigger boost to fantasy lineups, if he were to fall with a team that would create some slight protection. He has the power, no doubt about that, and he has the ability. A new team might do him well from that perspective.
• Had a question come up on what we think of Randy Wolf as an Astro. His ERA was good in one of the best pitcher's parks in baseball. Now, he's heading to a park that can't keep much inside and has very little foul territory. It could really be an out and out disaster. I'm not sure how this move benefits any fantasy owner, and Wolf should be held out of all lineups until proven otherwise. Even the boost in offense he might be in Houston is negated by the home/road split he has in ERA.
• Xavier Nady's value the rest of the way could be interesting. In Pittsburgh, he was an everyday player, and he should still see a fair amount of time in New York. Johnny Damon, though, returned to the outfield last night, and they still have Melky Cabrera, Sexson and Giambi, who can both be used as DH's, and Hideki Matsui, potentially, in waiting. I'd sell high on this one and get what you can get.
• If you thought Brett Myers was going to pitch well last night, raise your hand? Anyone? Anyone at all? Didn't think so. Don't look at this as something to go out and grab him for. He's a borderline player in NL-only leagues at best. Make him prove he can be consistent before jumping back on any bandwagon with Myers as the leader.
• Clay Buchholz actually looked much better last night than the line would indicate. He was able to locate his fastball for what feels like the first time all season. Buchholz still needs to be looked at carefully, but should provide matchup value moving forward.

Notes for today's games:

• Edwin Jackson has struggled in two outings against Toronto, but has been much better lately. In three of his last four outings, he's allowed two runs or less. He's a healthy gamble, should you need some strikeouts or a cheap win. Don't count on WHIP, because he has been "effectively wild" for the better part of the season.
• Brian Bannister is 0-2 in July with an ERA well over seven. He's been bad on the road and awful against Oakland. Certainly better options, but start all your A's.
• Chris Carpenter is back for St. Louis today. Let's hope his return is better than that of Mark Mulder. Carpenter could be a boost to many teams the rest of the way, but watch this outing closely before grabbing him off waiver.
• Mentioned yesterday that Joe Saunders has come back to earth on the road. Very true statement, even more so given control and peripherals than win totals. Boston's offense has been sluggish, though, and he has been able to pitch around some of the bigger threats in the lineup. Keep your stars in, but don't go reaching.
• Nate Robertson has just been awful on the road as well. It seems to be a recurring theme across baseball, no? Robertson's ERA is near seven on the road and near seven for the month of July. Start every Indian, as they have been swinging the bats well.
• Miguel Batista is another Mariner pitcher that doesn't necessarily deserve to be started. Batista has been all over between the bullpen and starting but still hasn't found much success. The Rangers' offense is one of the better ones, and they'll be at home, where they perform even better. Just a good reason to keep them all playing.
• Tim Redding has been good against Philly this season, sporting a 2-0 record and a .170 BAA. He hasn't allowed an earned run in over 13 innings of work. It's a good matchup for him. I won't expect the same perfection, but he seems to be in control against the Phillies.
• Spot starts today? Go with Manny Parra (8-1 in his last 13), Gavin Floyd, Redding, and Jackson.

Notes ofr Thursday:

• Rich Harden's venture to the NL has been good, outside the win totals. Harden has been very good and should continue to be started. The wins will come, we all know that. He just has to stay healthy.
• Dave Bush is a great home-park pitcher. Bush is 4-2 at home, with a 2.85 ERA and .226 BAA. He's the best spot-start available, even against a hot-hitting Cubs team.
• Andy Pettitte is one guy that is not happy that the Angels grabbed Teixeira. He's hitting .474 in 19 at-bats against Pettite. The Angels as a whole have done very well against him. Pettite should be benched unless you need to put the innings up.
• Looking across all starters, unless you have a stud, you probably will want to keep them on the bench tomorrow. There isn't much success on the road across all parties, and the ones with limited success are going against teams they haven't fared well against. It's tough to put out a blanket statement like that, but the limited slate of games doesn't yield much opportunity for aces to shine. The exceptions to this? John Danks, Justin Verlander, Rich Harden, and Brandon Webb. That's the list. Any other road pitchers, find other options or leave them be.
• Spot starts tomorrow? Danks, Bush, John Lannan, and, you guessed it, Scott Baker. Baker is going to show up on this list until he's at least 80 percent owned. This is much different than the man-crush on Dana Eveland. Baker justifies it and backs it up at home and on the road.

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