Bleacher Report - Articles by Todd Farino

Fantasy Baseball Tonight, Jun. 21: Happy Father's Day!

Todd Farino — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 22:54:00 -0400

A special Happy Father's Day goes out to all of the readers who have children, hopefully your wife/girlfriend/kids spoiled you today.

I had a very nice day today with a nice new shirt/tie combo for work, along with a book that I have been wanting. My wife was also generous enough to take me and the kids to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner for a nice meal of spicy fried foods and beer.

What else can a Dad ask for?

We also had a nice meal with my parents last night, as they were going to be out of town today. My father has been an incredible influence in my life, as well as a fantastic father.

He is truly the reason that I am doing this today, as he instilled both a love of sports and competitiveness in me from an early age. But, even more than that, the support that he has given me throughout my life can never be paid back (or the $$$$, sorry Dad), and I am forever grateful to have such a man in my life.

If I am able to be half the father that he has been, I will be very proud of myself.

I love you Dad, and I could never thank you enough!

C.C. Sabathia left his start with tightness in his biceps in the second inning on Sunday. He was examined during warmups, got one guy out, but, after allowing a hit, he was removed from the game.

The team has termed him day to day, and they say there are no tests planned. When you give a guy $20+ million and he comes out of the game, I'd be willing to bet that there are some tests in Sabathia's future.

Ryan Howard was released from the hospital after spending consecutive nights there with flu symptoms. Howard was able to provide a pinch hit homer in last night's game, but did not play today.

The Phils have an off day on Monday, and you would think that he should be back in the lineup by Tuesday.

Casey McGehee is still playing in place of Rickie Weeks, and the kid is hitting. He hit his second homer of the year and has 17 hits in his last nine games.

I suppose as long as he keeps producing, he will keep playing. McGehee was not a top ranking prospect, so I'm sure there is a stat correction coming in his future.

But, if you need some middle infield help in the short term, McGehee appears to be worth a look.

Mark Buehrle is having another one of those ho-hum Mark Buehrle kind of years. He threw seven shutout innings on Sunday against the Reds, and raised his record to 7-2.

Now there are two reasons, in my opinion, that Buehrle never gets fantasy love.

One is he will never win 20 games. His career high is 19, but that was a long time ago. He usually wins between 12-15 games.

The second is that he doesn't get a lot of strikeouts. Last season, he had just 140 in 218 innings, and he is on a similar pace this year.

However, while a lot of us love the lure of the rookies and the potential of the next big thing, a guy like Buehrle at the end of your rotation is likely more help.

But hey, when is Neftali Feliz coming up?

I'll pick him up!

Brandon Phillips left the game early yesterday with pain in his fractured thumb, but was able to play today. Phillips has a hairline fracture in his thumb, but never hit the Disabled List.

He did not get a hit today, but did drive in a run with a sacrifice fly. I was worried that he might be out a few games again, but it appears that he is tough as nails and is safe to put back into your lineups.

Ricky Romero had his fourth straight good start after coming back from the DL, and he is looking like someone that you can count on each time out. Romero's minor league statistics were nothing to get excited about, so if he starts to go south, don't be surprised and have a backup plan ready.

However, the more and more he pitches, the more confidence that I gain in him.

Jeremy Guthrie was great on Sunday, allowing just one run over seven innings against the Phillies. It seems that Guthrie generally pitches well, even against good competition.

Somehow though, his statistics just aren't very good. Even with the win on Sunday, his record is 5-7, his ERA is 5.09, and his WHIP is 1.37.

He isn't even getting many strikeouts, as he has just 55 Ks in 86 innings. He isn't a bad option at the end of your rotation, but I just have never been a big fan of Guthrie.

Khalil Greene homered for the third straight game, was hit with a pitch, and had to leave. He was 4/7 since coming back from the Disabled List due to social anxiety, but was hit on the ankle with a pitch the at bat after hitting the homer.

Greene has long been a guy with plenty of power potential, but couldn't hit for any kind of average whatsoever. Even if he is able to play tomorrow against the Mets, I still wouldn't be picking Greene up unless you are desperate for help at either shortstop or third base.

With his two home runs on Sunday, Albert Pujols now has 26 homers to go with 27 strikeouts!

Who is the best hitter in the game right now?

Is there even a question?

Just when you started to feel good about Gil Meche, he goes out and does this. Meche got tattooed by Albert Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals. There is no shame in getting crushed by Pujols, as you can see above, most pitchers have been for years.

But nine runs over 3.1 innings?

After six straight starts of two runs or less, you had to figure that something like this was possible. The next start is the important one for Meche. Hopefully, he can get right back on track and pitch effectively again.

But Gil Meche isn't Johan Santana, and my guess is the next one or two outings aren't that great. I'm not saying nine runs again, but he won't see the seventh inning.

Who in the world does Michael Cuddyer think he is?

After 64 games of the season, he is nearly halfway to his career high of 24 homers when he connected on No. 11 on Sunday. He has driven in three runs in his last four games, and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see him get up to 90 RBI.

As long as he can stay healthy, Cuddyer is looking like a solid fourth outfielder, and he could move up farther from that.

Cubs' power hitting prospect Jake Fox is back in the majors, and they actually trusted him with a starting spot today. Fox played third base, and the good news is he drove in three runs with a double.

The even better news is that he didn't commit an error. If Fox can prove that his glove is up to the task, perhaps he will see more starts.

Even though he lost, Dallas Braden has now allowed three runs or less in seven straight starts. He might not have a great record (5-6), but he generally has been good all year, with a 3.26 ERA.

The low strikeout numbers are probably what is holding him back from full fantasy ownership, but, if you catch an injury or have someone you want to drop, give Braden a look to see if he fits what you need.

Kevin Kouzmanoff continues to drive in runs, even if he can't really get his batting average to a respectable place. Kouzmanoff hit his ninth homer of the season on Sunday, and has driven in 14 runs in his last ten games.

I am still not quite believing that he is going to keep this up, but it is possible. He was a pretty highly touted prospect, showed great power in the minors, and his batting average was always in the .300 range. He is a guy that I had a lot of hope in for three years ago, perhaps it is going to come to fruition now.

I wouldn't bet on it just yet, but keep an eye on him.

Alex Rios got my hit streak back on track on the USA Today's 56 Game Hit Streak. I am very close to paydirt as that extended my streak to two.

Please join our group with the link above. The private group is called Fantasy BBall 2nite and the password is fantasy.

Mailing List

If you were on the mailing list, you would have found out about the callups of Matt Wieters, Fernando Martinez, Nolan Reimold and others. The trade of Nate McLouth, and injuries to Jose Reyes, etc.

This mailing list is your way to get a step up on your competition. Anyone who is on the list, please leave a comment below on whether you think that you have benefited from the list.

Send an email to either fantasybaseballtonight@gmail.com or fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com and put Mailing List in the subject line.

As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com.

I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don’t miss the “Fantasy Baseball Tonight” podcast four nights a week from Monday-Thursday. The Big Show on Wednesday is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com.

To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show. Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the the info and craziness we can pack into one hour. A can’t miss if you plan on winning your league.

The Hot 8: Week 12

Todd Farino — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 13:11:00 -0400

First and foremost, Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there! Yeah, I know that it feels like just another day to us, but soak it in while you can. Take some time today or if you're like me and stuck working (you call this work?), set aside some time during the week to spend quality time with the kids. Go ahead and take them to a ballgame, or the race track or to a nearby field or park to play. It's OK to do something you want to do today but include them and let them see why you love going to these places so much and how much fun it can be. Time goes bye so fast and before you know it all you'll get for Father's Day is a phone call that you know they felt obligated to make.For this special Father's Day edition of The Hot 8, I have decided to include a BONUS player who should be able to make a quick impact for your fantasy team. But you'll have to read all the way to the bottom to find out who that bonus baby is...

RED HOT...RIGHT NOW
1) J.P. Howell (LHP - Closer) -- Rays -- Howell is slowly starting to distance himself from the other Rays relievers in the bid to earn manager Joe Madden's trust to finish games. Howell is 2-2 with a 1.93 ERA, three saves, 41 K's in 32.2 IP and a 1.10 WHIP. He had been used primarily as a lefty specialist the past two seasons but has seen plenty of time and actually has been more effective versus righties this season. As it stands now, Howell is the one who will get the most chances to saves games for the Rays going forward. His only real competition may wind up being career minor leaguer and strikeout ace Winston Abreu. Howell is a much safer closer choice than a Mike MacDougal or Kerry Wood and he has more upside than a Matt Lindstrom or Jason Frasor. So, take a moment...open a new window or tab and pick up Howell right now.

READY TO IGNITE
2) Neftali Feliz (RHP - Starter) -- Rangers -- I told you a couple of weeks ago that I will put Feliz in The Hot 8 every single week until either the Rangers call him up or his ownership gets above 5 percent in Yahoo and CBS leagues. Since neither has happened yet here is yet another cry for you to go out and get Feliz while you still can. Since last week Feliz has been roughed up twice in starts for AAA Oklahoma City and his numbers are now looking more pedestrian than when I began this campaign a few weeks ago. But that doesn't affect the most important reasons on why he will get the call to Arlington soon. First of all he has amazing stuff. As one trusted scout told me several weeks ago, "His fastball is best when coming from a three-quarters arm angle where it reaches 96 mph with sharp inward bite to right handers. Then he'll hit you with a sharp tight spinning curveball that has great break down. His changeup is major league ready also registering at anywhere from 83-87 mph with fade making it devastating when looking fastball." The second reason on why you should make the play for Feliz is that the Rangers, as always, need pitching. There is no way they can fight the temptation of what Feliz can bring to the table during a stretch run for the AL West division title or a World Series run. This will be the last week I push Feliz on you though. If you guys don't see the possibility of what Neftali Feliz can bring to the Rangers AND your fantasy team by now then I doubt you ever will. Enjoy second place!

3) Kyle Blanks (1B/OF) -- Padres -- As I prepared for the Thursday edition of Fantasy Baseball Tonight, I did some promotional emails and the such touting a couple of prospects I was going to go into detail with on a segment we call The Farm Report. One of those players was Kyle Blanks to which even my co-host responded with a resounding, "Who?" A day later Blanks was on a plane to San Diego to join the major league club. In my usual tour through minor league boxscores and video highlights this week I happened to notice that Blanks was all of a sudden playing left field. He is actually a pretty good defensive first baseman and a top prospect for the Padres so the move really stood out. I figured that they were getting ready to bring him up and let him play some OF and DH in the next few weeks to see what he could do and that is exactly what happened. Blanks is a huge beast with plus natural power in his right handed swing. He stands 6'6" tall and weighs a solid 285 lbs and can hit the ball a country mile. What makes him even more dangerous is that he has a great eye for the strike zone and is willing to take a walk or hit the ball up the middle or to the opposite field to get on base. I said on Thursday that he reminds me of a young Frank Thomas and the similarities are scary. Adrian Gonzalez and Kyle Blanks are the future middle of the Padres order for sure and if Blanks can get off to a decent enough start these next few weeks he may never see minor league ball again.

ON FIRE!
4) Juan Rivera (Outfield) -- Angels -- I have been waiting and waiting for Rivera to cool off these past few weeks and it just hasn't happened yet. I have never been a big Rivera fan, going all the way back to the hype surrounding his clutch playoff hits for the Yankees back in 2002. Now seven years later he is for the first time resembling the player we were promised all those Octobers ago. He is currently hitting a nice .312/.353/.509 with 10 HR's and 36 RBI in 218 AB's this season. He has kept the Angels offense afloat for the past month while they have been struggling to find the right lineup mix and replacements for their struggling younger players. If the regular playing time holds up which at this point is a no brainer, he is likely to match or exceed his career high in HR's (23) and RBI (85) both set in 2006. You can never really count the Angels out so if they are to get back into the playoff race they will have to do so behind the big bats of Torii Hunter and Juan Rivera. Since he is still available in 65 percent of fantasy leagues right now, it is time we all stop ignoring and start fanning these flames.

5) Marcus Thames (Outfield) -- Tigers -- If you are looking for some power and so many of us are these days, then Marcus Thames is your guy. He is finally fully recovered from a severe rib cage strain suffered in spring training and has been tearing it up of late. In his last 10 games he is hitting .370 with 4 HR's 9 RBI and 5 runs scored while getting steady playing time with the benching of Magglio Ordonez. Thames is one of the best pure power hitters in the game but it consistently undervalued by fantasy players. Even in part time duty, he is sure to get close to 20 HR's and 50+ RBI with big upside if and when he sees full time action as he has the past couple weeks.

WHERE THERE'S SMOKE...
6) Kevin Frandsen (2B/SS) -- Giants -- Frandsen is about to be recalled from AAA Fresno and will right away become the starting 2B for the Giants. The demotion of Emmanuel Burriss cleared the way for Frandsen who is hitting a whopping .335/.383/.517 this season is AAA. While he doesn't possess the speed or pure athletic ability of Burriss, Frandsen will provide another steady bat in the Giants everyday lineup something that is desperately needed. Frandsen has always been a good contact hitter who puts the ball in play much of the time and has decent gap to gap power. With such few options available to us at middle infield positions I suggest grabbing Frandsen now before the vultures swoop down and pluck him from your grasp.

7) Drew Stubbs (Outfield) -- Reds -- This is one of the most exciting minor leaguers I have seen the past few seasons. Stubbs is an all out player who gives it everything he's got in every game and in every at-bat. For those who have not seen him play yet, you will enjoy the heck out of Drew Stubbs. He has the ability to be a superstar in this league. His best skill is his amazing speed. He has 100 stolen bases in just 3 1/2 minor league seasons. He also has made great strides in taking walks and hitting the ball on the ground in order to get himself on base. I believe in the big picture, Stubbs can hit close to 20 HR's a season as well as he has a big enough frame and is strong through the zone. Early in 2008, he made an adjustment in widening his stance which helped him make more solid contact but seems to have sacrificed a bit of power. Either way he is the Reds CF of the future without a doubt. The more Willy Tavaras struggles, the more likely the prospect unfriendly Dusty Baker will be to finally give Stubbs a chance. We could see him as early as July 1 or at late at Sept. 1 but when he finally makes it, he will bring a smile to any fantasy player that needs some speed.

SIMMERING
8) Luis Valbuena (2B/SS) -- Indiana -- It could be just the wind at Wrigley Field but Valbuena put on a clinic this weekend and has been as hot as anybody this past week. He hit .421 this week with three HR's seven RBI and five runs scored. Valbuena was traded to the Indians in the offseason after playing so well in a stretch for Seattle last season that he pushed Jose Lopez over to first base. He is a stocky guy who will surprise people with his quick bat speed and ability to work the count and make contact. Has the power to hit over 12-16 HR's in a season of steady playing time. He's got average speed but is not much of a base stealer. It will be interesting to see what happens when Asdrubal Cabrera comes back in a week or so but in the short term give Valbuena a shot in your middle infield spot.

BONUS BABY!!
John Smoltz (RHP - Starter) -- Red Sox -- Everybody and their brother is recommending picking up Smoltz as he is ready to make his first start for the Red Sox this week. I am not very high on Smoltz, though pitching for the Red Sox alone makes him fantasy relevant. We are all speculating on what the Red Sox do with their seven starters going forward. That's right, I said said starters. Have you SEEN what Clay Bucholz is doing in Triple-A Pawtucket? Dice K is going to take a break for now which is actually good news for all Boston starters. A 6 man rotation would hurt each of their fantasy values as less starts mean less numbers. I think Smoltz will start out hot for the Sox. But this is not a situation I trust for the long term. Smoltz age, arm troubles and bullpen experience are all factors in him possibly not being a durable fantasy starter. Ideally, he is the perfect pitch and ditch candidate but with so many homer Red Sox fans out there that is a very unlikely scenario for most fantasy leagues.

That is the Hot 8 for this week. What do you guys think? Post your comments below or email me at jeff@fantasybaseballsearch.com

Fantasy Baseball Tonight 6/20

Todd Farino — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 23:22:00 -0400

Josh Beckett has officially caught fire. He has now won six of his last seven decisions, and with the complete game shutout tonight, has not allowed even a run in four of his last six starts. He now also has 88 strikeouts in 91 innings, so he is really helping you in that category as well. Beckett is really prone to wild streaks, so this could turn around and he could get cold again. However, he is one of the more talented pitchers in baseball, so continue to start him with confidence.

I was going to write about Luis Valbuena yesterday, but decided against it at the last minute. Apparently, he didn't like that so he went out and got my attention today. He had three hits on Saturday, including two home runs, his third in the last two games. In the last four games he has eight hits and has driven in seven runs. Yahoo lists Valbuena at 5'10" and 190 pounds, but I have also seen him listed at 165 pounds. Those are not the kind of dimensions that scream power hitter to me, so you shouldn't be expecting this to continue. In a short term injury situation, or if you have a spot where you just pick up the hot guy, I think Valbuena qualifies. He is not the second coming of Hanley Ramirez however.

Jhonny Peralta had his third consecutive two hit game, and his first homer in over two weeks. All of you know I came into the season with big hopes for Peralta, and they have now switched to high hopes for Peralta after the All-Star Break. He has only had small spurts of production this season, so if he is out there, I couldn't say that I would send you running to the waiver wire. I do think that he will outperform Mr. Valbuena above, so if they are both out there I would consider him first, unless you just want to play the hot guy.

James Shields had one of the better starts of his season on Saturday against the Mets, but it was interrupted by rain. He had only thrown 87 pitches through seven innings when the game was delayed, and likely would have kept going. But he did allow only one run, didn't walk a batter and struck out four. I have been down on Shields this year, as he hasn't seemed like the same pitcher he had been the past couple of years. You can say that about the entire Rays rotation. But he is definitely capable of having an outing like this most times he goes to the mound. He should be better than he has been this year, perhaps this is the start of a nice roll.

Mat Gamel has started to get regular playing time, and he is showing what his bat is capable of. He hasn't been knocking the ball out of the park, but he is definitely hitting. He was 2/3 today with a triple and two walks, and has seven hits in the last five days. I would definitely like to see him start to drive the ball over the fence, and drive in some runs, but it is good to see him making contact. The power will be arriving shortly if they keep him out there.

Delmon Young is starting to grab my interest just a little. The former elite prospect who has yet to get anywhere near his expectations. But he does have three hits in the last two games, and hit his second homer of the season on Saturday. Now don't take this as advice to run out and grab him. However, sometimes rookies struggle to find their way when they initially come up to the majors. Perhaps this is the start of Delmon settling in and he will start to be productive.

Congratulations to Gordon Beckham on his first major league home run. The kid is hitting more and more, and has started to sneak into my thoughts of actually starting him in the two leagues I own him in. In daily transactions I would likely try to find a spot for him, but I don't think I trust him enough yet for those of you who only set your rosters once a week. That could possibly change in recent times.

Scott Podsednik is back with the White Sox, back to the top of the lineup and back to hitting and stealing again. He has spent the past few seasons mostly in the trainer's room, but right now he is healthy and back to his old ways. This is a guy who stole 212 bases over a four year span from 2003-2006. However, it wasn't just injury that limited his playing time in recent years; he wasn't effective much when he was in there. If you need speed or have a rotating spot he might be worth a shot, but I am not drinking the Kool-Aid on Podsednik just yet.

FINALLY!!!!! Russell Martin got that goose egg out of his home run category, now if he can only get his batting average out of the .240s perhaps he could be worth the draft pick you spent on him. I'd say hopefully he will improve when Manny comes back into the lineup, but it wasn't like he was doing good then either. Keep him in your lineups though, Martin is better than this, there should be a hot streak in his future.

Frank Francisco will be activated from the Disabled List, and hopefully this time it is for good. However, Manager Ron Washington did say that he wouldn't use Francisco as a closer right out of the chute. So, if you see him in the seventh or eighth inning in his first couple of outings, don't freak out or think he's lost his job.

Diasuke Matsuzaka will be skipped his next time through the rotation I guess to give him a little more rest to see if he can get straight again. Matsuzaka will also be examined by team doctors to be sure that nothing is wrong with him. Hold your breath Dice-K owners. I'm not saying something is wrong, but he's been unusually bad. He could just need a rest, or could be something worse.

Coco Crisp could be facing season ending surgery if he has a torn labrum in his shoulder. It could be a rotator cuff injury, but he will be examined in the next couple of days to pinpoint exactly what the injury is. While Crisp is no great fantasy player, he was useful from time to time this season.

Mailing List

I’m not going to stop bringing up the mailing list until I get a day where I don’t get a request to join it. For those of you who haven’t seen it yet, when I find news earlier in the day I will send an email to you about whatever it might be. If you were on the mailing list you would have found out about the callups of Matt Wieters, Fernando Martinez, Nolan Reimold and others. The trade of Nate McLouth, and injuries to Jose Reyes, etc. This mailing list is your way to get a step up on your competition. Anyone who is on the list, please leave a comment below on whether you think that you have benefitted from the list. Send an email to either fantasybaseballtonight@gmail.com or fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com and put Mailing List in the subject line.

As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don’t miss the “Fantasy Baseball Tonight” podcast four nights a week from Monday-Thursday. The Big Show on Wednesday is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com. To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show. Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the the info and craziness we can pack into one hour. A can’t miss if you plan on winning your league.

The Closer Report: June 19, 2009

Todd Farino — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 03:43:00 -0400

Saves: 7

Save Opportunities: 7

Fuentes gets league leading 19th save while K-Rod bounces back for his 18th

by Todd Farino, www.thecloserreport.com

Francisco Rodriguez bounced back from a horrible inning last night, quickly wrapping up Friday evening's game with a one-two-three ninth inning. He didn't strike out any batters but only needed ten pitches to record the save.

Brian Fuentes is the little engine that could! With a few bad innings and a high 1.41 WHIP, Fuentes hasn't exactly been lights-out, and tonight wasn't much different. He gave up a hit, got an easy out on a sacrifice, and then struck out Casey Blake. You'd think he would end the game on the next batter, but instead he walked Ethier before striking out Kemp. It was like a microcosm of this season, in which he's been good, then bad, then good. Right now he is alright and leads the league in saves. You can't doubt his production.

Brian Wilson threw a quiet ninth inning for his National League-leading (with Rodriguez) 18th save. Wilson has saved eight straight, posted 12 strikeouts during the streak, and has lowered his ERA from 4.63 to 3.34. Besides one bad week this season, Wilson has been outstanding and has proven he's a stud closer.

David Aardsma just continues to amaze me. He got his 13th save of the season, and for giggles, struck out the side. But the real reason he is amazing so far is in the numbers: Aardsma has struck out two-plus batters 11 times this season and is currently ranked second among closers with 39 strikeouts. His ERA is at 1.72, but he's maintained that with 20 walks. What does this all mean?

Aardsma is on borrowed time. He is pitching out of his you know what right now, but is bound to start giving up some home runs or paying for some of those walks. Only six of his 20 walks have resulted in scoring this season, so eventually more will burn him; I'd trade him in the next two weeks.

In Toronto the closer saga continues with both Accardo and Frasor pitching tonight. Accardo came in and threw impressive eighth and ninth innings; he struck out four and looked like the Accardo who was saving for Toronto last season.

Then Frasor came in and gave up a run on two hits and two walks. So far Accardo looks to be the front runner for the Jays' closer spot, but we know he won't pitch tomorrow. Look for Ryan to get a chance to close if Toronto has a lead going into the ninth.

Other Appearances:

Francisco Cordero (17): Gave up a run on two hits but scored the save.
Joe Nathan (16): Nathan has surged back among the league leaders in saves. He was needed for 1.1 innings tonight but still only used 13 pitches. A great save for him.
Andrew Bailey (7): Bailey also was called on for 1.1 innings and gave up a hit and walk. Other than that, is was a easy save.
Kevin Gregg: Got his second win in as many days.
Matt Capps: Got some work tonight. He gave up a run on one hit.

Fantasy Baseball Tonight , June 19

Todd Farino — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 00:34:00 -0400

Derrek Lee hit two homers on the day today, bringing his season total to 10. Anyone who has read this blog at all knows that I am very anti-D-Lee. He had that one great year, and has basically been a good average guy with little power that ends up on the DL a lot. Matches his initials, isn't that cute? He is having a pretty good season, but he hasn't really been injured yet, and I still would not touch him. If you have him, I would try to cash in on this time and see if you can trade him for someone a little more safe.

Is there something wrong with Rich Harden? The guy just doesn't look like himself. He hasn't really been that dominant guy we saw last year much at all. Without a spirited comeback by the Cubs today, Harden would have been hung with the loss. He had his worst start of the year as he allowed seven earned runs over five innings, walked three, and struck out two. Harden also allowed two more home runs, which is not like him. I guess that you have to keep starting him if you own him, but I would certainly see if anyone remembers the lights out season he had last year. I'm not sure that something is wrong, but this just isn't Harden.

I keep saying that the future is bright for the Orioles, and their young players keep making it look like it is so. Nolan Reimold had two more hits, including his eighth homer in just 32 games. Rookie sensation Matt Wieters also had two more RBI, giving him four in 16 games. Wieters got off to a slower start, but he has had some pretty good at bats. I don't know if he will quite live up to the hype this season (is that possible?), but you can tell he's a hitter, and the numbers will be coming eventually.

Kyle Blanks was called up by the San Diego Padres on Friday, as the top prospects continue to get the call. Blanks was rated the No. 1 prospect in the Padres organization by Baseball America, and was ranked No. 50 in all of baseball. At worst, Blanks should be up to be the DH while the Pads are in American League ballparks, but they moved him into the outfield in the minors recently so they could keep his bat in the lineup. I expect him to at least get a decent look even after interleague is over. If he hits at all, I would think that San Diego will keep him in the majors. Let's be honest, what do they have to lose?

Antonio Bastardo did allow four runs over seven innings to get tagged with his second loss, but he did strikeout five and he didn't walk a batter. OK, so it wasn't a Koufaxian kind of outing, but it was a nice bounce back from his last start where he only pitched one inning. I wouldn't say he is a guy that I would start no matter what, but I would consider going with Bastardo against some of the weaker hitting teams in the National League.

Jordan Zimmerman has been looking like he is making improvements in his rookie year, and although he won't win a ton of games, is definitely a viable guy to have on your team. He has allowed two runs or less in four of his last five starts, and has struck out at least six of his last seven starts (only three tonight). He doesn't go deep into games and the Nationals are awful, but he is certainly worth having. I had soured on him early in the year, but I am becoming on of the converted. He obviously has more value in keeper leagues, but even in seasonal leagues, he should be at the bottom of your rotation.

Diasuke Matsuzaka had another disasterous outing on Friday, and his record fell to 1-5. With John Smoltz returning next week, there is news that the Sox might go to a six man rotation, or possibly trade Brad Penny. But the way Matsuzaka is pitching, is he in for another "rest" on the DL or maybe a trip to the bullpen? Considering the money they have invested, I doubt it, but they can't keep throwing him out there if he's going to pitch to a 8.23 ERA.

A couple of struggling Cardinal power hitters finally produced some fireworks as Ryan Ludwick and Rick Ankiel both homered, and Ludwick's was a grand slam. I'm not ready to say that they have "broken out of their slumps", but I do have more confidence in Ludwick going forward than I do in Ankiel. Ludwick was off to a great start before his injury, while Ankiel has been struggling all season long. They are both legitimate power hitters and are both worth roster spots in traditional leagues.

Alex Rodriguez will be resting in tonight's game and tomorrow as well. A-Rod missed the first 28 games after hip surgery, and has played every game since. Not sure why the Yankees did that and didn't give him a day off here and a day off there. Now they will sit him for two straight games. I wouldn't be completely shocked if he didn't play on Sunday, as the Bombers are off on Monday and that would give him a four day rest. Keep an eye out for his status on Sunday.

Manny Ramirez will begin his minor league "rehab" assignment on Tuesday, as he is now only 13 days away from the end of his suspension. He will play a handful of games at a couple of different levels as he prepares to get back in the lineup for the Dodgers on July 3rd. I believe that Manny will begin to hit right away as soon as he is back in LA, and that Juan Pierre will be sent back to the bench unless they are able to trade him.

Brandon Webb was sent home after having pain in his shoulder after a throwing session the other day, and the news has taken a sudden turn for the worse. Webb will be evaluated next week by team doctors to see if they can find the source of the discomfort. Us Webb owners were hoping to have him back around the All-Star Break, but right now that seems completely up in the air. Continuing stashing him and hope for better news, but this doesn't sound good all of a sudden.

Arizona's Chris Young could be DHing as early as Saturday, or could get the whole weekend off. I know, that is a sucky update, but that is the news that is out there. He might get the whole weekend off, which would give him four days with the off day on Monday, but apparently Young is feeling better after leaving the game on Friday with a strained groin. If he plays tomorrow, I would say it is safe to play him Sunday, but I wouldn't have him in my lineup tomorrow.

Mailing List

The Closer Report: June 18, 2009

Todd Farino — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 03:14:00 -0400

Saves: 6

Save Opportunities: 9

KROD blows second save, while MacDougal saves second in a row. Valverde returns.

By Todd Farino, www.thecloserreport.com

It was a bad day for Francisco Rodriguez. He gave up a 4-3 lead, losing 5-4. He was all over the place and with 20 pitches thrown, only nine fell for strikes.

The inning started off with a bad curveball that was hit for a double and eventually he walked Adam Jones for the blown save. To be fair, Felix Pie was out on a bang-bang play at third base on a bunt by Brian Roberts, but the umpire got the call wrong.

Mike MacDougal recorded his second save of season and second in row against the Yankees. He came into the ninth with a secure 3-run lead. It was an uneventful save with only a single given up to Robinson Cano. He got another important double play off of the bat of Nick Swisher.

The Blue Jays pulled out every possible closer they had to save tonight's game. The assumed closer Frasor (not by me) came in the eighth inning and gave up the game tying single to Shane Victorino.

The inning ended with Victorino getting thrown out stealing. B.J. Ryan relieved him in the ninth inning and recorded one out and walked one. He was brought in to face the lefties Utley and Howard and was relieved by Accardo who got the final two outs, but not without some drama. Accardo got his first save of the season.

I cannot read what Cito Gaston is doing, but as I figured he likes Frasor for the eight inning. I'm not sure it will stay that way, but you could see a righty/lefty approach to closing with Ryan and Accardo. At least until one of them out pitches the other.

Ryan Madson blew his second save of the season by giving up the go ahead solo home run to Rod Barajas. He looked sharp and only needed 13 pitches for the inning, but threw one bad pitch. For some reason blown saves come in bunches across the majors.

We've had several this week after weeks of great closer performances and save streaks.

Jose Valverde made his long awaited return to closing and looked as though he didn't miss a beat. He only needed 10 pitchers to dispatch the Rangers, striking out big Chris Davis. However, don't get excited about that everyone strikes out Chris Davis. It was his third save of the season.

Other Appearances:
Huston Street (15) - He gave up two runs on three hits and nearly blew the save. Not his best performance.

Fernando Rodney (13) - Low end reliever Rodney scored another save for his owners. He struck out the side in dominating fashion.

Heath Bell - Bell scored his third win of the season pitching two innings and getting two strikeouts.

Kevin Gregg - Came into a tied game and got the win 6-5. He looked sharp on a day where Marmol wasn't.

Mike Gonzalez - pitched a mop up inning, striking out one. He wasn't sharp and lucky it was the Reds.

Rafael Soriano - Pitched perfect inning and struck out the side.

Randy Choate - Choate continues to show he has closer stuff. He threw 11 pitches, and struck out two in an inning of work against the Rockies.

Fantasy Baseball Tonight 6/18

Todd Farino — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 22:04:00 -0400

Magglio Ordonezhas been benched indefinitely by manager Jim Leyland because of this ridiculous slump that he has been in basically all season long. You can expect him to do a lot more of what you see in the picture...watching.

Leyland was quoted talking about Ordonez swing saying: "I don't think he can figure it out. I don't know if anyone can figure it out."

OUCH! You don't think anyone can figure out what is wrong with his swing? Don't you pay a hitting coach to do just that? Bench Maggs until you see he's going to play again, and in 12 team leagues I would consider cutting him if there is something good on free agency.

Tommy Hanson had the best of his three outings on Thursday, although he still struggled with control. Hanson didn't allow a run in six innings and struck out two. Unfortunately, he did walk four guys.

I really expected his strikeout numbers to be better, but I am encouraged that he has been allowing fewer runs each time out. Hanson is one of the three best pitching prospects in baseball this year, and you need to continue to pitch him. He should get a little better each time out.

Joba Chamberlain was slightly above average again this time out against the Washington Nationals, and I am just not sure of what to expect of him going forward.

He obviously is not going to be the kind of guy he was when he was coming out of the bullpen a couple years ago. It seems that he doesn't go all out with his pitches in order to try to last longer into games. His velocity is not near what he showed out of the bullpen, and his effectiveness is the same.

He is still doing good, but a long way from great.

Luke Hochevar fooled us all. He had a good couple starts, and got many of us thinking that perhaps he could have turned a corner and was going to be good.

Oh no, slow down.

He allowed six runs over just four innings. I am glad that I didn't jump back on the Hochevar bandwagon, although I probably told some of you emailers that it was worth a shot with him. I figured against a weak hitting D'Backs lineup that he could succeed.

If you picked up Hochevar, I would hold him for one more start, unless you see something on the wire that could bring you stability.

He was a top prospect; maybe he can figure it out. Can you feel my confidence in him?

Chris Davis finally hit a home run tonight, much to the delight of my co-host Jeff Mans. Of course, it was his only hit of the game and he did strikeout two more times. That now brings him to 43 hits and 97 strikeouts.

I have officially jumped off the Davis bandwagon completely. There is still hope that when it heats up in Texas that he might too, but I can't keep this dead weight on my roster any longer.

Dontrelle Willis is headed back to the 15 day DL with an anxiety disorder, although I'm not sure how that qualifies him for the disabled list.

He had a few effective starts, but most of the time he was wild and erratic (which are pretty much the same thing).

Don't bother stashing him, if you have him. Send him packing.

Ricky Nolasco pitched great again through five innings before the game was delayed by rain. Nolasco allowed just one run over five innings. The best part of the outing is that he didn't walk anyone.

I liked Nolasco upon his return from the minors, and that grows with each start he makes. I can't believe he would still be out there, but definitely pick him up if he's still available.

Livan Hernandez continues to be one of the more dependable pitchers for the Mets, and he could even be used as the last pitcher on your staff.

The win was blown for him by the bullpen, but Hernandez was great again. Livan allowed just two runs over seven innings, and struck out four.

Now, he's never going to throw you a shutout, and he isn't going to whiff ten, but most of the time you can count on him to at least give you a quality outing and should be a reasonable pitcher to have as your fifth or sixth starter.

Mike MacDougalunexplainably got his second save in as many days against the New York Yankees.

After having to pitch out of trouble on Wednesday, MacDougal recorded a pretty quiet save tonight against the Bronx Bombers. He did allow one hit, but it was again erased by a double play.

The Nationals now have 17 wins on the season, which means don't pick up MacDougal and expect a ton of save opps.

Michael Cuddyer is back to his hitting ways. After missing a few games due to injury, Cuddyer had his third straight two-hit game and connected on his tenth homer of the season.

He has only played 140 games or more twice in his career, so you can pretty much count on the fact that he will get hurt again at some point during the season.

If he's out there and you need a little pop, I would give him a look. However, I would keep him on a fairly short leash and be ready to let him go when he either gets hurt or goes cold.

Geovany Soto hit a game-tying home run against the White Sox on Thursday, but he is still struggling badly. Soto is either getting three hits or no hits, and of course most of the time it is no hits.

Considering the state of the catcher position, I would keep throwing Soto out there. He is in a good lineup in a small home ballpark. I still have faith that Soto will turn it around before the All-Star break.

Gordon Beckham has been starting to hit more, and is looking like he belongs in your starting lineup perhaps.

He has now hit in five straight games, and has driven in five runs in the last four games. He should be eligible at short and third, and has only struck out five times since coming to the majors. Of course, he only has seven hits in 40 at bats, but he has been showing signs of improvement.

He is a guy that you definitely should have in a keeper league, unless you are stacked, and in a seasonal league I would definitely monitor him, even if I didn't pick him up right away.

Jose Lopez was placed on the bereavement list and will miss somewhere between the next three to seven days. No specific reason was given, but I believe that the minimum is being out of the lineup for three days. Hopefully all is well with Lopez and his family, and hopefully they will give us a day notice when he is going to return.

I have run my consecutive games up to five in the 56 Game Hit Streakon USA Today. Join our group that is called Fantasy Bball 2nite. Password is fantasy. I am going to choose Evan Longoria versus Fernando Nieve for Friday. The group is currently led by Planet 10 who ran his/her streak to seven with Michael Young.

Mailing List

As always, your comments and questions are welcome atfightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don’t miss the “Fantasy Baseball Tonight” podcast four nights a week from Monday-Thursday. The Big Show on Wednesday is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com. To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show. Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the the info and craziness we can pack into one hour. A can’t miss if you plan on winning your league.

Keeper Korner with Frank Stevens

Todd Farino — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 21:49:00 -0400

It has happened to all of us before. We enter a fantasy baseball season planning to contend and leave the draft thinking our club is unbeatable. You draft names like Brandon Webb, Ervin Santana, Aramis Ramirez, Grady Sizemore, and Manny Ramirez only to lose them to injury and suspension.

The calendar then turns to June, and you find yourself dropping in the standings like a 12-6 curve falling off the table. You search the waiver wire and only get 50 percent of the production you lost. Lucky for you it is a keeper league, and there is always a chance to rebuild.

Each week we will examine a player that can help you do that. These are players deep in the minors and worth watching. We start this week with a Cardinals prospect that has a serious offensive upside.

Player Profile of the Week

Brett Wallace

Position: 3B

Team: St. Louis Cardinals

Birthdate: 8/26/86

Bats: Left

Throws: Right

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 205 lbs

Drafted: First Round 2008 (13th overall)

College: Arizona State

Wallace has always been known for his offense. His eye popping college career at Arizona State (the college that produced Barry Bonds) resulted in becoming the 13th pick in the nation in June of 2008. He continues to work on the defensive game that at times has been below average.

Wallace began his pro career at Class A Quad Cities and hit the ground running immediately. Wallace spent just 153 at-bats there and hit .327 with five home runs and 25 RBI. He was quickly promoted to Class AA Springfield and the domination of minor league pitching continued. He ended the year there, terrorizing pitchers while batting .367 in just 49 at-bats that produced just seven strikeouts and eight extra-base hits (five doubles and three home runs).

In 2009, the prodigy began the year back in AA but did not stay there very long as the Cardinals promoted him quickly to AAA Memphis of the Pacific Coast League. Being just 22 years old in the upper system, Wallace has struggled a bit but has not embarrassed himself. After 108 at-bats, Wallace has hit just .241 with a pedestrian .609 OPS. In his past four games, however, Wallace has gone four for his last 11.

Estimated Time of Arrival and Stat Projections

Wallace's approach and his proven offensive track record will suggest quality numbers in the future. His estimated time of arrival in St. Louis is a late-season cup-of-coffee in 2009 and a chance to perhaps play everyday in 2010 once the defensive issues get ironed out.

Do not expect much for 2009 since on a recent ESPN telecast it was pointed out that St. Louis manager Tony LaRussa has been pining for a veteran bat and feels there could be too much inexperience already in the Cards' lineup. The Cardinals third base position has been spotty at best, and they are now attempting to convert SS Khalil Greene to third.

Overall, Wallace is a premium prospect with a great upside. Think Scott Rolen in his prime without the glove.

The Korner's Final Projection

All projections based on final upside of the player and 550 AB

.290 Batting Average
25 Home Runs
102 RBI
.370 OBP
.500 SLG
.870 OPS

Hump Day Look-See 6/17/09 by J. Ellet Lambie

Todd Farino — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:27:00 -0400

It’s time again for the hump day look-see, a random collection of stats and thoughts to help get you through your fantasy week. The look-see will appear every Wednesday for the remainder of the season. You can make sure you catch each installment by grabbing a free e-mail subscription through feedburner or picking up the RSS feeds on the main page.

Those of you who find yourselves in need of a fantasy pick-me-up in your outfield should wander over to your league page, go to the add player link and search for Juan Rivera. Do it. Do it right now, I'll wait. All set? Good.

Why am I so hastily pushing you in his direction? In his last ten games Rivera is 16-40 (.400) with four home runs, 11 RBIs, six runs scored and has struck out once. That's right, once. Over the last month he's hitting .354 with an OPS of 1.070 and has driven in 22 runs. I'm guessing those numbers are better than at least one of your OF options over that span. T

he best part? If you act quickly he'll be available—he's owned in only 16 percent of Yahoo leagues and 14 percent of ESPN leagues as of this morning.

Ian Stewart is still on a roll in Colorado. If you need some middle-infield assistance, you could do worse. In his last 15 games he's 16-50 (.320) with five home runs, 14 RBIs and 13 runs scored. Like Rivera, he's widely available. He's owned in only 32 percent of ESPN leagues and 44 percent of Yahoo leagues. His dual-eligibility at 2B/3B makes him a quality backup option at minimum.

Mark Reynolds hit 28 bombs and drove in 97 runs last year, but scared many owners with his .239 average and record 204 strikeouts. The 2009 version of Reynolds is still a whiff machine with 90 in his first 234 ABs, but he's blasted 17 bombs already and is hitting a sexy .282 with a .944 OPS. If the Ks don't hurt you in your particular league, then you might want to put him on your wish list. You'll most likely have to trade for him as he's owned in 85 percent of Yahoo and 95 percent of ESPN leagues, but his power and eligibility at 1B/3B makes him an attractive target.

Don't look now but Scott Podsednik is making a push for fantasy relevance once again. He's taken a rocky road in and out of baseball following his break-out 2005 campaign and recently re-emerged with his old team, the White Sox.

He's picked up nine steals in 41 games to go with a .309 average and 18 runs scored. He won't give you power, but if you need average and speed support in your outfield he's a free agent option to consider, at least in the short term. He's currently available in just about 90 percent of both ESPN and Yahoo leagues.

Matt Palmer will face off against Tim Lincecum tonight in San Francisco. Combined, the two starters have a 12-1 record. Before you go nutty over Palmer and his 6-0 mark, take a closer look at his other numbers. In 50.1 innings he's struck out 30, walked 20, and holds an ERA of 4.11. Nothing to write home about. He's getting less than 50 percent of his outs on the ground and half of his wins have come against Kansas City, Seattle and San Diego.

Sometimes guys manage to pick up wins with less than impressive peripheral numbers on a consistent basis (see Tim Wakefield), but more often than not those guys fall off quickly. Just something to think about.

Jason Marquis is another unheralded hurler with unexpected success recently. He's 4-0 in the last month with a 2.08 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. Like Palmer his K to BB ratio over that time has been mediocre (21:16), but he's kept the ball on the ground (58 percent ground balls on the season) and has seen significant run support lately (30 runs by the Rockies over his last five starts). He's available in 80 percent of ESPN leagues and 67 percent of Yahoo leagues if you want to take a chance on him.

His teammate Jason Hammel also has four wins in the last month, not bad for a guy owned in 1.2 percent of ESPN leagues. In the month of June, he's 3-0 with a 2.45 ERA, a 0.93 WHIP and 15 Ks against three walks in 18.1 innings pitched. He's a big SOB at six-foot-six with a power arm and a good curve ball who came over from Tampa Bay earlier this season. I'm keeping an eye on him, you should too.

OK boys and girls, it's time once again for the weekly staple that keeps you all coming back to the Hump Day Look-see - the top 10 hitters and pitchers of the last week. As always the lists below use the rankings from a Yahoo standard 5 x 5 roto league for the last seven days. All stats are accurate as of this morning. Notice there are five players from the Rays and Brewers among the top 10 hitters. Also notice that Albert Pujols was the best hitter in the game over the last seven days. Which makes sense, as he is the best hitter in the game over any number of days.

Top 10 Hitters Of The Last Week:

No 1 - Albert Pujols, STL - .381, 5 HR, 8 RBIs, 7 Runs, 2 SB

No 2 - Alex Rios, TOR - .500, 2 HR, 5 RBIs, 6 Runs, 4 SB

No 3 - Carlos Pena, TB - .391, 4 HR, 7 RBIs, 10 Runs

No 4 - Ryan Braun, MIL - .379, 2 HR, 9 RBIs, 8 Runs, 2 SB

No 5 - Ben Zobrist, TB - .409, 2 HR, 4 RBIs, 10 Runs, 2 SB

No 6 - B.J. Upton, TB - .308, 1 HR, 3 RBIs, 4 Runs, 7 SB

No 7 - Alberto Callaspo, KC - .478, 2 HR, 9 RBIs, 6 Runs

No 8 - Corey Hart, MIL - .400, 2 HR, 7 RBIs, 7 Runs, 1 SB

No 9 - Torii Hunter, LAA - .389, 4 HR, 8 RBIs, 5 Runs

No 10 - Kung-Fu Panda (aka Pablo Sandoval), SFG - .462, 3 HR, 6 RBIs, 6 Runs

Top 10 Pitchers Of The Last Week:

No 1 - Gil Meche, KC - 2 Wins, 17 Ks, 0.00 ERA, 0.75 WHIP

No 2 - Felix Hernandez, SEA - 2 Wins, 11 Ks, 0.56 ERA, 0.94 WHIP

No 3 - Kevin Millwood, TEX - 2 Wins, 7 Ks, 0.61 ERA, 0.82 WHIP

No 4 - Kevin Correia, SD - 1 Win, 9 Ks, 1.93 ERA, 0.43 WHIP

No 5 - Matt Cain, SFG - 1 Win, 9 Ks, 1.00 ERA, 0.44 WHIP

No 6 - Jose Contreras, CWS - 1 Win, 8 Ks, 0.00 ERA, 0.50 WHIP

No 7 - Dan Haren, ARI - 1 Win, 7 Ks, 1.00 ERA, 0.44 WHIP

No 8 - Cliff Lee, CLE - 1 Win, 6 Ks, 0.00 ERA, 0.56 WHIP

No 9 - Javier Vazquez, ATL - 0 Wins, 12 Ks, 1.12 ERA, 0.25 WHIP

No 10 - Tim Lincecum, SFG - 1 Win, 8 Ks, 0.00 ERA, 0.89 WHIP

That's all for today kiddies, but before I go I wanted to call your attention to a new badge on my site. You'll find it in the upper right hand corner, it's a colorful little thing with a Stand Up To Cancer logo.

Upper Deck has teamed up with this wonderful charity to help raise money to fund cancer research. You can support their efforts and help the cause WITHOUT SPENDING A NICKEL. Just click the Help Now button and you can pick your favorite Upper Deck trading card. That's it. Upper Deck will donate to Stand Up To Cancer on your behalf.

As a cancer survivor of more than nine years now I can tell you first hand that lives like mine are saved by research the likes of which Stand Up To Cancer funds. It only takes a minute and you get to check out some cool vintage sports cards.

Until next time....

Hazaa

Have a question or a comment? Leave your thoughts below or drop me a line at jelletlambie@gmail.com

Fantasy Baseball Tonight 6/17

Todd Farino — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 07:55:00 -0400

Corey Hart is really looking like he is back on track and should certainly be back in your lineups. He hit his ninth homer of the season tonight, and in the last week has three homers, 10 RBI, and has raised his batting average 20 points. Another 20/20 season looks well within reach. He will have to pick up the pace on the stolen bases, but he is finally looking like a guy you can trust again.

J.J. Hardy was slumping worse than Hart, but he also had a good night on Wednesday. Hardy was a shortstop that I was high on if you couldn't get one of the elites in the early part of the draft. He was a shortstop that averaged over 20 homers in the past two seasons, but he is hitting below .220 and has just six homers including his one tonight. I still have held him onto him on any team that I drafted, even if he isn't starting for me. I think he is due for a good second half. Can't say I would grab him if available right now, but I would certainly be monitoring him over the next week to 10 days.

Scott Richmond is impossible for me to figure out. Every time that I am ready to tell everyone to send him packing to free agency, he has an outing like he did tonight. Richmond pretty much either gives up one run or five runs. On Wednesday he allowed just one earned run over eight innings and struck out a season high 11. I am still not a Richmond fan, although he has had some pretty good outings. If you own him, obviously continue to pitch him, but I would always be looking to see if someone in your league would want to trade for him.

Was that enough for Chien-Ming Wang to remain in the Yankee rotation? It doesn't really matter for his ownership, but if he was jettisoned to the bullpen that would open up a rotation spot for Phil Hughes. It was laid out to Wang that if he wasn't better in his outing on Wednesday that he would be out of the rotation. Not sure exactly what they Yankees were looking for, but he was certainly better. Wang did take a loss, but he allowed just three runs over five innings, walked just two and struck out four. Everything about the start was better than where he has been, although I would think you might have expected more against the horrible Nats. Wang fell to 0-5, but he did lower his ERA to 12.65. My guess is that he gets another start.

Yunel Escobar is going to crush his statistics from last season, as long as he can stay healthy. Escobar has had trouble doing that over the past few seasons, but he has already met his stolen base number from 2008, is only two home runs shy, and is more than halfway to his RBI number. At worst, Escobar should be on your bench, but I believe he has been good enough to be a utility player or maybe a starting shortstop. I wouldn't love to count on that without having a reliable backup, but Escobar is doing quite well.

Hunter Pence seems to not be getting much love from fantasy owners this season, but I'm not quite sure why. He hit his ninth home run of the season on Wednesday, and he is also hitting a scorching .328. He's a little behind pace to match his 25 home runs from 2008, but he is hitting for a tremendous average, and nearly has matched his stolen base total from last season. Be sure you have Pence in your lineup going forward.

Andrew McCutchen hit his first major league home run and has kept up the torrid start to his major league career. McCutchen continues to get at least one hit in every game, and if you own him, he should likely be in your starting lineup. If you are in a keeper league and he is still available, what the hell are you waiting for? Grab the kid!

Francisco Liriano fell to 2-8 on the season, but there were some positive signs from him. Liriano pitched seven innings, and he hasn't gone that deep into a game since May 4. He only walked one, which he hasn't allowed less than two over his last four starts. Things are improving for Liriano, even if it is in small steps. Keep throwing him out there if you own him, and if he is available in your league, I would likely try to find a roster spot for him. Like I've said many times, that rookie season impact isn't coming back, but he should be a better than average pitcher.

Colby Rasmus is giving the Cardinals what they were hoping for when they gave him a starting job out of spring. Sure, he is striking out a little more than you would like, but it isn't like he is on Mark Reynolds level with the strikeouts. With his two RBI on Wednesday, Rasmus is up to 26 on the season, and he has driven in six runs in the last five games. In a keeper league he is a must have, but even in a seasonal league he at least is worth a bench roster spot.

Josh Whitesell has been much better since being recalled again from the minors, and while he isn't hitting for power, he is driving in runs at a nice clip. In the last week, Whitesell has driven in nine runs, and his average has gone up nearly 100 points. Of course it was right around .100 so it isn't like he had anywhere to go but up. He was hitting for great power in the minors, but has yet to hit his first major league tater. I wouldn't grab Whitesell yet, but I would definitely keep an eye on his progress. If he starts hitting for power, that is exactly what the doctor ordered in Arizona.

Jose Lopez continues to stay hot and has now gotten to be someone you can trust in my opinion. After tonight's home run, he now has five in the last week, along with 13 RBI. He obviously can't keep that pace up, but outside of his average, he is looking like he could meet, or perhaps surpass last season's great numbers. If he is still available in your league, I would certainly pick him up.

Mailing List

I'm not going to stop bringing up the mailing list until I get a day where I don't get a request to join it. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, when I find news earlier in the day I will send an e-mail to you about whatever it might be. If you were on the mailing list you would have found out about the call-ups of Matt Wieters, Fernando Martinez, Nolan Reimold and others, as well as the trade of Nate McLouth, and injuries to Jose Reyes, etc.

This mailing list is your way to get a step up on your competition. Anyone who is on the list, please leave a comment below on whether you think that you have benefitted from the list. Send an e-mail to either fantasybaseballtonight@gmail.com or fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com and put Mailing List in the subject line.

As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fantasybaseballtonight@gmail.com.

I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don’t miss the “Fantasy Baseball Tonight” podcast four nights a week from Monday through Thursday.

The Big Show on Wednesday is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com.

To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show. Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10 p.m. for all the the info and craziness we can pack into one hour. It's a can’t miss if you plan on winning your league.

The Closer Report: June 17, 2009

Todd Farino — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 03:37:00 -0400

Saves: 10

Save Opportunities: 11

Hoffman gets roughed up again, Fuentes leads the pack with 18 saves.

By Todd Farino, www.thecloserreport.com

Today was full of action with over a dozaen closers hitting the field. Bobby Jenks got it all started with his 15th save of the season in a 4-3 win over the lowly Cubs. He needed only 12 pitches to dispatch of the Cub batters, who looked bad the whole day.

Brian Fuentes scored his league leading 18th save over the Giants today. He rolled through the first two batters, but then gave up a drive to center field that fell a few feet short of a game tying home run.

Fuentes has quietly put together four saves in a row and has lowered his ERA to 4.64. His last streak was eight saves and during it, his ERA dropped to 4.08. With all that said, I think Fuentes should be fine and getting better throughout the year. He has been more consistent with his command than he was earlier in the year.

Andrew Bailey recovered quickly from his blown save last night. He threw a quiet ninth inning for a 5-4 save.

Huston Street continued his hot streak recording his 14th save of the season over the Rays. He made quick work of the Rays needing only 10 pitches to end the ninth inning.

Today Jupiter was aligned with Mars. Yes, the Washington Nationals recorded a save. It was the Nats first save of the month. In fact it was the first since May 24, and only the fourth in the months of May and June.

Mike MacDougal scored his first save in his first chance, but didn't do it without the fireworks the Washington bullpen is known for. He had runners on the corners with 1 out, but got Robinson Cano to hit into a double play.

Finally, there was a bit more magic in Baltimore where George Sherrill made an actual SAVE appearance for the Orioles and as usual made it look easy. Sherrill is one of the most oddly peculiar closers in fantasy baseball.

No one wants to believe he is good with his goofy hat and "deer caught in headlights" look. A fantasy baseball analyst I talked to the other day said that Sherrill was a "troubled closer" and felt he was somewhat comparable to Mike MacDougal. Others refuse to youch him and some owners still own Chris Ray.

Sherrill had me at hello or maybe it was 32 saves in 2008. I wasn't a fan of Sherrill till late last year, but I never doubted him this season.

He is for real and gets the job done. It might not be pretty, but he has saved eight games in a row and hasn't blown a save since May 2. Since his last blown save he has lowered his ERA from 5.04 to 2.55 and his WHIP to 1.18.

Other Appearances:
David Aardsma (12) - Another trouble free night for Aarsdma. With Morrow starting, the job is without any doubt his.
Ryan Franklin (16) - An easy save for Franklin.
Francisco Cordero (16) - He recovered quickly from his blown save and his ERA is still below two.
CJ Wilson - Got the win for Texas. He pitched two innings giving up three hits and striking out two.
Jose Valverde - Pitched one inning striking out two. Needed only 13 pitches for the inning and looked very good. Very promising appearance for Valverde owners.
Kerry Wood - pitched a harmless inning.

The Closer Report: June 15-16, 2009

Todd Farino — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 02:16:00 -0400

Saves: 2

Save Opportunities: 4

Madson and Bailey blow saves, while only two get recorded.

By Todd Farino, www.thecloserreport.com

Monday was a slow day with two saves, so I skipped the report. Good thing I did because there was only two saves as well, but plenty of closers pitched. On Monday, both games on the docket were saved.

Trevor Hoffman came back after his first blown save to get his 16th save of the season. He worried his owners with a lead-off single to Travis Hafner, but closed out the rest of the inning. Brian Fuentes came in and got a quick one-third of an inning save after a wild game where the Angels won 9-7.

Tuesday had its own share of action. Mariano Rivera closed out a 5-3 win for the Yankees. He looked sharp gunning down the Nats' batters one, two, three.

Ryan Madson made his fourth appearance as a closer and blew his first save as a closer. He gave up the game tying run walking Lyle Overbay with the bases loaded. The stat line for Madison, not good. Two hits, two walks, and a run. He did strikeout two batters for something positive, but his overall command was terrible tonight.

Andrew Bailey pitched well, but suffered a tough blown save to the Dodgers. After giving up a leadoff single to Orlando Hudson, Orlando Cabrera's fielding miscues put the tying run to second base.

He then got a double play, but gave up the big hit to Matt Kemp. It wasn' t a bad performance with no earned runs, but it was a blown save. Broxton pitched a quiet inning with not much action in the game.

He only needed 10 pitches, so he should be aright for tomorrow. However, I think Joe Torre will do everything he can to give Broxton some rest. The A's lost 5-4 with former closer Zielger taking the lose.

Other Appearances

Francisco Rodriguez (17) - Another save for K-ROD, but he did walk two before striking out two and getting the save.

The Hot 8: Week 11

Todd Farino — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 13:46:00 -0400

Happy Flag Day everybody! It is at this point every season where I feel the need to remind fantasy players to be hoisting up the red, white, and blue flag and not just the all white one.

It is only June 14, and there is plenty of baseball left to be played. Nobody is out of it quite yet no matter how far back you reside in the standings. Just look at the Colorado Rockies, winners of 10 straight games. Anything is possible still providing you are committed to making the necessary moves to get your team back on track.

Those moves begin right here, my friends, every week on The Hot 8.

This week I will be providing a plethora of right-handed arms to get you through the dog days of summer and the dreaded tired arm syndrome. But don't worry, those of you in need of a bat...I've got a power hitting middle infielder and a sweet swinging lefty poised to join the middle of a lineup in the very near future.

1) Sean Rodriguez (Second Base)—Angels

In the May 24 edition of The Hot 8, I ranked Rodriguez as a must watch player who had cut down dramatically on his strikeouts after a disappointing stint with the Angels last season. If you had taken my advice then, right now you'd be sitting with the most coveted waiver pickup since Tommy Hanson.

In the slim chance he is available, make the move right now! A middle infielder who can hit for power and has a bit of speed is a rare find in today's market and an absolute must for anyone even if you already own Chase Utley and Ian Kinsler.

Keep Rodriguez away from the competition or at least make them pay a nice price for his potential.

2) Ryan Madson (RHP, closer)—Phillies

I realize that I am not starting out this weeks Hot 8 with any real surprises. But passing over a guy like Madson can be a critical mistake down the road.

Madson is pitching lights out this season and has taken over the closer duties after Brad Lidge's "injury" to his knee. The fact is that Madson could remain the Phillies closer even after Lidge comes back, especially if he continues this torrid pace. He is registering a K/9 ratio of 10.1 going into this week and has two wins and four saves to go along with a 0.98 WHIP.

The Phillies will have plenty of save opportunities going forward and in shouldn't be long until Madson is considered among the top 10 fantasy closers in baseball this season.

3) Neftali Feliz (RHP, starter)—Rangers

I have decided to keep pounding Feliz's name into your heads until he finally gets the callup sometime in July. I have no doubts that the Rangers will go to him for their stretch run and I envision him being the young catalyst for their eventual World Series run.

Plenty of wins, strikeouts and hype will be accompanying Feliz in the weeks and months ahead. Come October it will seem funny how in June many of us didn't even know who he was or what he could do.

Here is a brief scouting report I posted last week about Neftali Feliz: "His fastball is best when coming from a three-quarters arm angle where it reaches 96 MPH with sharp inward bite to right handers. Then he'll hit you with a sharp tight spinning curveball that has great break down. His changeup is major league ready also registering at anywhere from 83-87 MPH with fade making it devastating when looking fastball."

His time is coming soon my friends.

4) John Bowker (OF/1B)—Giants

Bowker should be getting a call to the majors in the very near future. He is hitting .338/.451/.547 for Triple-A Fresno right now with eight HRs and 40 RBI. He has been red hot, too, making him all that more likely to join the Giants soon.

With the up and down seasons of Randy Winn and Nate Schierholz, Bowker could see a lot of playing time once he does get to San Francisco and also will likely hit in the middle of the Giants order. This sweet swinging lefty is known for spraying line drives to all parts of the ballpark and also for having a great eye and a patient approach.

He did OK last year in the big leagues, hitting 10 HRs in 3326 ABs. Don't be fooled however by his 10 stolen bases for Fresno so far this year, he has little speed or stolen base upside to speak of.

5) Luke Hochevar (RHP, starter)—Royals

It would absolutely stun me if Hochevar was to be sent down again this season. His time as a big league pitcher has come and the Royals must start to actually let him develop in the major leagues the way Zach Grienke was allowed to do the past few seasons.

Hochevar's three-hit complete game, in which he threw just 80 pitches, was a masterpiece and a sign of what could be if he is given the chance. I believe in his ability to get hitters out either by strikeout or by pitching to contact as he did against the Reds last week.

His two seam fastball has natural sink and can induce groundball after groundball out and his curve has a nice late break that can have hitters waving at it all game long, if on.

There will be some ups and downs, but Hochevar is here to stay and should be considered a solid pitch and ditch guy right now and a hold for those with an eye toward the future.

6) Barbaro Canizares (first base)—Braves

This is more of a short term play, but one that is worth noting for sure. Canizares will have a big couple of weeks while on the big league club.

There are many reason why I know this, the most important of which is because of how teams pitch to former Cuban League players. They will either try to bust him in with fastballs, trying to knock the bat out of his hand, or they will feed him a steady diet of off-speed rollers in the dirt trying to get him to fish.

Canizares will turn on an inside fastball at nearly any speed and deposit it into the left field seats or off the wall. He also has good pitch recognition and a patient approach that many Cubans do not share. He'll get on base at a good clip and probably hit a HR or two while filling in for Casey Kotchman.

Who knows, he may even stick around awhile if Bobby Cox likes what he sees out of him.

7) Homer Bailey (RHP, starter)—Reds

I can almost hear the collective groan pour out amongst my readers: "Oh, no...not Bailey!!"

Well my friends he is on a tear down in Triple-A, having gone 6-3 with a 2.16 ERA in 66.2 IP recording 59 Ks and a 1.22 WHIP over his last 10 starts. His past four starts have been fantastic, lasting at least seven innings in each and striking out a minimum or six.

There is a good chance that Bailey gets traded as Reds management just doesn't have the patience for him. But I have heard that a mechanical error in Bailey's delivery while pitching out of the stretch was causing his fastball to straighten out and also control problems.

Louisville pitching coach Ted Power has worked on this with Bailey all spring long and it appears to be corrected and the results are impossible to ignore. Whatever team ends up getting Bailey will be getting a big time talent who may be finally on his way.

8) Vin Mazzaro (RHP, starter)—Athletics

Mazzaro's early success is no fluke. He is the type of pitcher that projects to have long term success in the league not because of his arsenal of plus pitches, but what he does with the few that he has got.

Mazzaro shows a low 90s fastball that he can run in to right handers, sink to induce ground balls or cut it in to left handers. This ability alone with his fastball keeps hitters off balance and guessing on location even after they recognize the fastball is coming. He has been able to command the fastball well over the past two seasons of minor league ball and is now doing it in the show.

Mazzaro also throws a hard mid-90s sinker that is just like his fastball but with much greater drop late in the zone. While he does not have a real off-speed pitch, he does change speed well with his fastball and hard slider that keeps the hitters timing off just enough.

Most of his strikeouts will come due to good command of the strikezone and not over powering stuff. Mazzaro is a solid starter that will not hurt you in ERA or WHIP the way that so many other young pitchers can and will making him quite valuable fantasy player.

That is the Hot 8 for this week. What do you guys think? Post your comments below or email me at jeff@fantasybaseballsearch.com

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Candy: June 14

Todd Farino — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 00:03:00 -0400

June 14th, 2009 JunkyardJake.Com

Sean Rodriguez, LA Angels, 2B
—Oh my, well it's now clear that Angels Manager, Mike Scioscia, was hardly bluffing when he threatened to "shake things up" after Thursday's 11-1 thumping by the Tampa Bay Rays.

The complete details of Scioscia's shake-up plan have not been disclosed as of yet, but John Lackey's postgame ritual of kicking it "Old School" with his turntable and DJ Scratch Mixer is probably out—as are the dugout drinking games, one would imagine.

Assuming the role of most immediate scapegoat in the shakeup plan was second baseman Howie Kendrick, who was summarily demoted to AAA. The good news is that while Kendrick is attempting to expel his .231 batting average demons down in the junior circuit, we should get a look at prospect Sean Rodriquez.

Rodriguez, who was called up to replace Kendrick this weekend, was tearing up the Pacific Coast League with 21 homeruns in 57 games in 2009. In fact, he has shown very consistent power at the AAA level the past two seasons, as he finished his 2008 campaign with 21 homeruns in 66 games.

Available in 87 percent of all CBSSportsline leagues.

Mike MacDougal, Washington Nationals, RP
—Given the debacle known as the Washington Nationals bullpen, Mike MacDougal almost can't help to represent an improvement as the newest closer of last resort.

In fact, after enduring two stints of Joel Hanrahan's late-inning shenanigans, mixed in with a couple games of Joe Abysmal, the Nationals will probably grant MacDougal a fair margin of error, maybe even a couple misdemeanors, before considering another change.

It certainly doesn't hurt that MacDougal throws some pretty nasty stuff, featuring a fastball that can reach 95-97 miles per hour. He also offers a good amount of closer experience, with a total 48 saves on his resume serving as the Kansas City Royals closer during the 2003 and 2005 seasons.

Available in 83 percent of all CBSSportsline leagues.

Scott Podsednik, Chicago White Sox, OF

—Wow, this guy hasn't been fantasy-relevant since back when tribal tattoos were moderately fashionable and Don Imus had a broadcasting career. After an inconspicuous past two years of playing sporadically and batting around .250, Podsednik re-signed with the White Sox in April this year, right after they had just released him.

His subsequent revival has been fairly impressive. After a solid May where he hit .307 with three stolen bases, Podsednik has regularly been batting lead-off in June, and hitting .310 with five stolen bases for the month so far.

Available in 82 percent of all CBSSportsline leagues.

Sean West, Florida Marlins, SP

—A first-round pick in 2005, 6'8" lefty Sean West has been occasionally compared to pitching legend Randy Johnson. Of course, West has a really long way to go before he will be even considered worthy to clean the gutters on Johnson's 300-Win Commemorative Museum.

However, like Johnson, West can consistently deliver a mid-90s power fastball, and also throws some nasty breaking stuff.

Unfortunately—also like Johnson, who struggled with mechanics early in his career—West has been susceptible to his share of erratic outings and control lapses. None the less, the Marlins rookie is someone to watch, and may have offered a glimpse of his fantasy potential when he beat Johnson and Giants with an eight-inning two-hit effort last week.

Available in 77 percent of all CBSSportsline leagues.

Vin Mazzaro, Oakland A's, SP

—With Vin Mazzaro recently joining an Oakland rotation that currently includes Dallas Braden, Trevor Cahill, Brett Anderson, and Josh Outman, the average age of the A's starting pitcher staff is now just slightly higher than that of the Milwaukee chapter of the Jonas Brothers Unofficial Fan Club.

While Mazzaro probably does not have the upside of higher potential prospects Cahill and Outman, he has improved his command over the past year or so, getting his walks per nine innings down to around 2.5 from over four in 2007.

He mostly relies on a sinking fastball, typically in the 90-93 mile per hour range, and complements this pitch with a decent change-up, and a developing slider. Mazzaro almost certainly will not maintain his current 1.37 ERA and 0.97 whip, but he could turn out to be another pleasant surprise from the Oakland pitcher farm.

Available in 65 percent of all CBSSportsline leagues.

Other Players To Consider

Chris Coghlan, Florida Marlins,3B,OF
Available in 89 percent of all CBSSportsline leagues.

Aaron Cook, Colorado Rockies,SP
Available in 62 percent of all CBSSportsline leagues.

Juan Rivera, LA Angels,OF
Available in 78 percent of all CBSSportsline leagues.

Colby Rasmus, St. Louis Cardinals,OF
Available in 64 percent of all CBSSportsline leagues.

Antonio Bastardo, Philadelphia Phillies,SP
Available in 62 percent of all CBSSportsline leagues.

The Closer Report: June 12, 2009

Todd Farino — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 02:47:00 -0400

Saves: 3

Save Opportunities: 4

Only three saves and few appearances make for a slow day.

By Todd Farino, www.thecloserreport.com

Today was a bad day for closers, but a good day for starters—who threw four complete games. There were only three saves, and one wasn't even by a closer.

Daniel Bard came in and shut the door on the Phillies in the 13th inning by striking out the side. The Red Sox were resting Papelbon today and they were trying to Saito, as well.

The only blown save of the day was Ramon Ramirez of the Red Sox, who gave up a blast to Ryan Howard in the bottom of the ninth.

Ryan Madson pitched a one-two-three ninth inning, and struck out the side for his third appearance in three days. It was mentioned that scouts around the league feel that Madson has the stuff closers need, which includes three great pitches. His changeup was nasty tonight.

Fernando Rodney got a big and overdo in a 3-1 win over Pittsburgh. Rodney had a quiet 12 pitch innings and struck out one.

Joe Nathan is on a roll, racking up saves nearly everyday. He recorded his 14th save of the season, dispatching of the Cubs in 10 pitches.

Other Appearances:
Joel Hanrahan: Blew a save today by allowing an inherited runner to score on a ball that Nick Johnson misplayed, but didn't get an error.

The Closer Report: June 11, 2009

Todd Farino — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 03:36:00 -0400

Saves: 9

Save Opportunities: 10

Franklin finally gets another save. Capps and Street continue hot streaks.
By Todd Farino, www.thecloserreport.com

Papelbon capped off a great Red Sox comeback by shutting the door on the Yankees for his 16th save. Paps faced only three batters and avoided pitching to Alex Rodriguez. He has been worked a lot and looks tired. He needs to get some rest and some easy three-out save chances.

Matt Capps was on his A-game as he ripped through the Braves for his 15th save and got his sixth save in a row. It was also his fifth save of the month, but tonight was his first strikeout as well.

Huston Street continued his hot streak with his fourth consecutive save, but got roughed up a bit in the process. Street is far from perfect right now, but he's pitching as well as he can. In June, he's 4-for-5 in saves with seven strikeouts and believe it or not, he has lowered his ERA .26 points.

Ryan Franklin finally got another save. After getting seven in April, five in May, he secured only his second save in June. Either he or the Cardinals are getting cold. He gave up three hits while securing a very nervous save. Is a breakdown coming for Franklin? I'd sell.

Ryan Madson is 2-for-2 in two days. He saved his second consecutive game last night, beating the Mets 6-3. He struck out one and gave up a hit earning his fourth save of the season.

Joakim Soria blew his first save of the season. He should never have pitched, but thanks to a Tony Peña Jr. throwing error, Soria had to come in and gave up a double that scored the tying run. He managed to retire the next four batters he faced.

Other Appearances:

David Aardsma (11) — 1.78 ERA and 32 strikeouts. What a pleasant surprise. Maybe Brandon Morrow should go back to being a starter?
C.J. Wilson (6) — Wilson has the stuff to close and we have no idea how long Frank Francisco will be out.
Joe Beimel (1) — Mike MacDougal pitched three innings over the past two days, so its a rest save for Beimal.
Chad Qualls (13) — the beleaguered closer got his 13th save, but gave up an unearned run. He did strikeout two.

Fantasy Baseball Tonight: June 11

Todd Farino — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 01:16:00 -0400

Max Scherzer continues to pitch very strong, and picked up his third win. This is a kid that I like to continue to progress and, of course, continue to strikeout everyone and their mother. One of Scherzer's problems is that the Diamondbacks aren't very good so his win potential is not great.

His ERA is only 3.63 and he has more strikeouts than innings pitched. If Scherzer is available in your league, I would try to find a way to pick him up. In a keeper league, stop reading now and pick him up...then come back.

Ryan Franklin returned to the save column today for the first time since June 2, but it wasn't because of ineffectiveness. The Cardinals went on a six-game losing streak and then tattooed the Marlins yesterday 13-4.

So, for those of you who were getting frustrated with the lack of chances with Franklin, don't worry about it. The season is 162 games long and EVERY team hits the skids. This was the Cardinals time, and Franklin just wasn't able to get a save.

He pitched 1.2 innings today and didn't allow a run. His ERA sits at 1.14 for the season, and his WHIP is a ridiculous 0.85. I don't see that being his end of season stats, but I do have confidence in Franklin going forward.

Ryan Madson collected his second save since taking over for Brad Lidge. Not only did he get the save, but it was with no real drama. Madson only allowed one hit in the two appearances, unlike Lidge who has fantasy owners reaching for the Tums. Madson should be good at this closer's role as long as he is needed.

I expect his strikeout numbers to rise, and I believe that he will convert most save opportunities that come his way. If you are at all in need of saves and Madson is still out there, don't hesitate to pick him up with one warning: don't let go of someone who will hold a closer's job all season because Madson is not the long term answer in Philly.

Andrew Miller had another strong start on Thursday, and now hasn't allowed more than three runs since Apr. 20. Although he really isn't going deep into games, the kid is starting to come into his own.

He had one of his longer starts of the year when he lasted 6.1 innings, striking out eight. His ERA is still over 4.00, but that can partly be attributed to a slow start. His main problem is still his control, although today he finally didn't walk a batter.

Miller's WHIP is 1.50 on the season, and he has to improve on that before he takes the next step as a reliable starter.

Paul Maholm didn't factor in the decision, but he did have a nice bounce back from his last subpar outing. I've been waiting all year long for the Pirates' starters to come back to earth, and while they have to a degree, it still hasn't been as much as I had anticipated.

Maholm didn't allow an earned run over seven innings, and he also struck out eight guys. Don't anticipate those kind of K numbers to continue, he isn't that kind of pitcher. I still would only add him if he was pitching at home against the Nationals, but I can't argue with the fact that he is doing better than I thought he would.

Ian Stewart took the place of Garrett Atkins in the Rockies' lineup again today, and the young Stewart has now played every day since May 31. His average might not be anything to write home about, but he did hit his team-leading 12th homer of the year. Not bad for a guy who wasn't even playing everyday.

At this point it appears that Colorado is going to try to get him in their lineup as much as they can, and he becomes a very intriguing fantasy player. In keeper leagues he is a no-brainer. In seasonal leagues I would still strongly consider picking him up.

Not only should he be second base eligible, but he would give you great power at a position that isn't exactly known for the long ball. Stewart and Reimold are becoming two of my favorite young players.

Johnathan Sanchez has frustrated his fantasy owners all season long. He either doesn't last long enough to even qualify for a win, gives up tons of runs, or on a rare occasion has a solid outing.

On Thursday he did pitch 5.1 innings, and only allowed one run, but Sanchez walked seven guys, more than offsetting the five strikeouts he got. At this point Sanchez is teetering between a guy on your roster that you shouldn't be starting and banishing him to free agency.

Koji Uehara returned to the Orioles rotation tonight and he was again average. Uehara only lasted five innings, allowed four runs, and struck out only three. He's not bad. He went through a five start stretch where he allowed three runs or less.

He gets a decent number of strikeouts and doesn't walk many. I would consider letting him go, but I would want it to be someone that is fairly solid to do so. He isn't horrible, he just isn't going to do anything exciting.

Ervin Santana was horrible again, and in six starts since coming back from the Disabled List has been good three times, and absolutely awful in the other three. He allowed six runs over 4.2 innings, walked two and struck out three.

I don't think I would make the move to let him go unless there is a really good pitcher that doesn't belong on the waiver wire is available.

I am not the biggest Santana fan in the world by any stretch, but a guy who had a season like he did last season deserves more than six starts before you send him to the scrap heap. Give him two more starts to see what he does. His good starts were pretty good.

David Price is having trouble staying in the game long enough to be an effective starter. Price still has all the talent and the tools to be successful, but is being horribly inefficient with his pitches. Price threw 105 pitches to get through 4.1 innings, and he has yet to last through six.

I am figuring that he will improve a little bit each time out, but it doesn't appear he will be the lights out guy many were expecting. Continue to pitch him if you own him, and if you don't perhaps try and trade for him on the cheap.

Kelvim Escobar was removed from the Angels' rotation because of a lack of strength in his surgically repaired shoulder. Matt Palmer will take the next turn that was supposed to be Escobar's. Obviously it is the right time to drop Escobar, but what will Palmer's value be? He was 5-0, but his ERA was over 4.00 and he struck out just 27 in 44 innings.

He also had some control problems as he walked 17 batters against those 27 whiffs. I could see picking him up at the end of your rotation, but just keep your expectations in line.

Chien-Ming Wang somehow will remain in the Yankees rotation for his next turn, even after his last huge embarrassing failure on the mound.

Wang is just not getting it done right now. He only lasted 2.2 innings against the Red Sox yesterday, and I don't know how much longer the Yankees can keep sending him out there knowing that he is going to burn up their bullpen every fifth day.

Phil Hughes continues to pitch pretty well, and it seems like it is only a matter of time before he is back in the rotation.

Evan Longoria got his first hit since returning from injury earlier in the week, and in true Longoria fashion, the kid made it count with his 14th long ball of the season off of Ervin Santana.

This isn't really breaking news, I just really like Longoria and I was happy he was back hitting again. He's a stud, the ultimate player you want in a keeper league, and should be in your lineup every day.

While David Wright's owners are certainly upset with the fact that he has just four home runs on the season, they should feel good about the fact that he is not only hitting .363, but he also stole his 17th base of the season tonight. Now I know that we all drafted him for speed as well as power, but he is exceeding your expectations in both batting average and stolen bases this season. Could he steal 35-40 bases? He's well on pace to do that right now.

David Ortiz homered again for the Red Sox and now has three in the last five days after having just one in the first 49 games. Now the question is, did he just get all amped up for the Yankee series and get hot? Or is Big Papi coming back?

Fantasy players drafted Big Papi, but all they have gotten is David Ortiz. If he keeps this up for another few days I would feel confident that he will be better for the rest of the season. Like I said the other day, if he is sitting in your free agent pool, I would definitely try to pick him up.

Blue Jays' pitcher Ricky Romero had his best start since coming off the DL, but he isn't someone that excites me. His first three starts were very good before his injury, but I believe he is more of the pitcher that we have seen the last few times out.

But to be fair, Romero allowed just one earned run over 6.1 innings and struck out six. He isn't a great strikeout pitcher, but is decent. My opinion on him is that he isn't the worst guy to own, but I would keep him on a fairly short leash.

The Blue Jays have come back to earth, and his win possibilities will decrease as well. He's not a guy that I own, but he does have a little fantasy value.

My hitting streak in the USA Today 56 Game Hit streak now sits at three thanks to Raul Ibanez. You might laugh and say that three is a long way from 56, but this game is tough.

If you want to join our ever growing group, go to www.usatoday.com/sports and follow the link for the game. Our private group is called Fantasy Bball 2night and the password is fantasy. See if you can do any better. Right now the group is led by Jennifer who has a four game streak thanks to Adam Lind.

Ok, it is Thursday which means it is softball time. Didn't think we were going to get the game in due to the weather but we played through some rain. I got off to a hot start with three hits in my first three at bats with a liner to center, and RBI double down the left field line and a nice single between third and short.

I got mad at myself when I popped up a bunt attempt in my fourth at bat, and then grounded to short in my last. It was a good old fashioned pitching duel that we won 17-15. I played short field again, and made one fairly routine catch and one sliding catch.

I also just came up short on another sliding catch which I tried to sell to the ump, but he was too smart for that. This was the team that beat us for the championship last year, so it was nice to get the win. Our record is now 3-3.

You can also follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/fightingchance, and you can also be my friend on Facebook.

Mailing List

If you were on the mailing list you would have found out about the callups of Matt Wieters, Fernando Martinez, Nolan Reimold and others. The trade of Nate McLouth, and injuries to Jose Reyes, etc. This mailing list is your way to get a step up on your competition.

Anyone who is on the list, please leave a comment below on whether you think that you have benefited from the list. Send an email to either fantasybaseballtonight@gmail.com or fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com and put Mailing List in the subject line.

Hump Day Look See by J. Ellet Lambie (June 10)

Todd Farino — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 07:18:00 -0400

It's time again for the hump day look see, a random collection of stats and thoughts to help get you through your fantasy week. the look see will appear every Wednesday evening for the remainder of the season.

You can make sure you catch each installment by grabbing a free email subscription through feedburner or picking up the RSS feeds on the main page.

If your roster has been ravaged by injuries lately (like many of mine) there may be some good news coming soon.

Pat Burrell and Jason Bartlett of the Rays are both expected to return within a week, giving some punch to the Rays and fantasy lineups everywhere.

While Burrell is middle of the road, fantasy outfielder Bartlett has been among the best shortstop options in the game so far this season.

Chris Iannetta has returned to the Colorado Rockies, now if only his batting average would do the same. In all seriousness, he has eight home runs so far in 108 at-bats.

If he can even get the average back to the .264 level of last season and stay close to this power pace he could be a solid reserve backstop option going forward.

Ricky Nolasco recently returned from his brief "get it together" trip to the minor leagues. In his first start back with the big boys Nolasco lost, I know, Im shocked too.

Kidding aside, he allowed 10 hits and three walks in seven innings while fanning four and surrendering two earned runs (three total). It could have been better, it could have been worse.

Rich Harden will come off the DL Saturday and face the Minnesota Twins that night. Hopefully he can make it through next week without returning to the disabled list.

Marcus Thames returned to the Tigers lineup this past Saturday after missing seven weeks with an abdominal injury. He's 5-14 with one home run, one RBI and two runs scored since then. He's swinging hard and well, and could provide a little short-term pop while your remaining DL'd outfielders heal up.

The last week has been a good one for Colorado Rockies with middle infield eligibility. Ian Stewart is the No. 1 ranked player in all of Yahoo fantasy baseball over the last seven days, hitting .419 with four bombs and 12 RBIs. Teammate Clint Barmes hasn't been far off the pace with 10 RBIs and a .483 average in that span.

Nobody has struck out more hitters in the last week than….you guessed it, Scott Baker of the Minnesota Twins.

What, you didn't guess Scott Baker? Don't worry, nobody did, but alas he's fanned 18 in the last week while picking two wins.

Before you get overly excited, remember that accounts for half of his 2009 total and that his record now stands at 4-6 with a 5.59 ERA.

Now let's get to the hump day staple, the top 10 hitters and pitchers of the last week in Yahoo Fantasy Baseball.

As always players are listed by rank, according to Yahoo, not me, based on the stat categories in a standard 5X5 roto league. Note that Josh Beckett is the No. 1 pitcher for the second consecutive week. I'm going to mail him a cookie.

Top 10 Hitters of the Last Week:

#1 Ian Stewart, COL - .419, 4 home runs, 12 RBIs, 9 runs, 0 SB

#2 Adam Lind, TOR - .500, 4 home runs, 7 RBIs, 8 runs scored, 0 SB

#3 David Wright, NYM - .647 (11-17), 1 home run, 5 RBIs, 6 runs, 2 SB

#4 Scott Podsednik, CWS - .323, 1 home run, 2 RBIs, 6 runs, 4 SB

#5 Andre Ethier, LAD - .435, 4 home runs, 6 RBIs, 5 runs, 0 SB

#6 Prince Fielder, MIL - .500, 3 home runs, 6 RBIs, 6 runs, 0 SB

#7 Lyle Overbay, TOR - .455, 2 home runs, 9 RBIs, 6 runs, 0 SB

#8 Hunter Pence, HOU - .391, 2 home runs, 6 RBIs, 6 runs, 0 SB

#9 Chipper Jones, ATL - .450, 3 home runs, 9 RBIs, 4 runs, 0 SB

#10 Ben Zobrist, TB - .300, 3 home runs, 7 RBIs, 5 runs, 1 SB

Top 10 Pitchers of the Last Week:

#1 Josh Beckett, BOS - 2 wins, 17 Ks, 0.00 ERA, 0.51 WHIP, 13.2 IP

#2 Scott Baker, MIN - 2 wins, 18 Ks, 3.00 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 15 IP

#3 Jered Weaver, LAA - 2 wins, 16 Ks, 2.08 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 13 IP

#4 Jeff Niemann, TB - 1 win, 9 Ks, 0.00 ERA, 0.33 WHIP, 9 IP

#5 Jon Lester, BOS - 1 win, 11 Ks, 1.00 ERA, 0.44 WHIP, 9 IP

#6 Ted Lilly, CHC - 1 win, 11 Ks, 0.66 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 13.2 IP

#7 Andrew Bailey, OAK - 3 saves, 6 K’s, 0.00 ERA, 0.40 WHIP, 5 IP

#8 Jonathon Broxton, LAD - 1 W, 2 saves, 8 Ks, 2.25 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 4 IP

#9 Brad Bergeson, BAL - 1 win, 9 Ks, 1.20 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 15 IP

#10 Johnny Cueto, CIN - 2 wins, 8 Ks, 1.35 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 13.1 IP

Until next time kiddies....

Hazaa

Have a question, comment or useless statistic you want to share? Leave your feedback in the comments below or drop me a line at jelletlambie@gmail.com

Fantasy Baseball Tonight, June 10: Guys Getting Hot...and Pavano

Todd Farino — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 07:17:00 -0400

Troy Tulowitzki is also starting to get hot, or is it just a tease? He homered for the second time in three games, drove in a run for the third time in four games, and six hits over the last four contests. There is an outside chance he might be available in your league.

If so, I still don't think I pick him up, unless you are playing someone outright awful at SS or MI. However, if he gets to the weekend and he is still hitting, that is when I would make a move on him. That rookie season might seem like a long time ago, but the potential to repeat it is there.

Jose Lopez is catching fire in the last few days. With two homers on Wednesday, that is three homers in the last three days, and he now has four three hit games since May 31. He did have 17 homers and 89 RBI last year, and while he might not match those numbers, he is definitely on the uptick.

Depending on your second baseman he might be worth a look, but I wouldn't drop anyone too great to pick him up at this point. Definitely keep a watch on him the next couple of days.

Matt Wieters had his second consecutive two hit game on Wednesday, and fantasy owners across the country are hoping that this is the start of something big. Obviously I don't need to talk about Wieters potential or what you can expect.

But I know a lot of you spent through the nose to get him, and are panicking about his .143 average. Of course, not every prospect pans out, but this kid has got to start hitting soon, right?

Carl Pavano was starting to gain more and more trust from fantasy players, and then, BAM! he gives up nine runs to the Royals. If there is one good thing to say about this outing for Pavano, he did only walk one guy.

I know that is not enough to keep any Pavano owner happy, but I like to look at the bright side of things. I think Pavano can win twelve games, but don't go crazy and think you are going to get this huge resurgent season from him where he will win 17 games.

Gil Meche had his best outing of the season as he shutout the Cleveland Indians over seven innings and struck out 11. After a real rocky start, Meche has allowed two runs or less in five straight starts. His strikeout numbers have been all over the map, but for the season they haven't been bad.

I came into the season liking Meche for a fourth or fifth starter, but I have soured on him some after his rocky start. I don't own him in any league, and even after tonight I'm not running out and grabbing him. He has definitely caught my attention and is on the radar screen though.

Jeremy Hermida homered for the second straight day against the Cardinals, and he now has three in the last 10 days. With three hits on Wednesday, he now has 13 hits over the last 10 days. Now, let me just say two things about him.

One, he was always supposed to be a fairly successful prospect. Two, injuries have consistently derailed any kind of season he was going to have. As most of you know, I try to stay away from the guys who are consistently injured.

I especially don't like big time prospects who tend to be injury prone. I am not buying in to this hot streak with Hermida. Let him be someone else's headache. You don't need the stress.

Cards' rookie Colby Rasmus now has a nine-game hitting streak going, and he connected on his seventh homer of the year for St. Louis. Even more impressive was the fact that he was batting cleanup for the Cards, a clear indication of the confidence that Tony La Russa is growing with him.

At this point, he is definitely woth being on a roster even in a 12 team league, and in keeper leagues, you definitely want to get your hands on him.

Geovany Soto had lost some playing time recently, and it looks like it might have woken him up. He did only have one hit, but Soto did homer for the second time in four games, and has finally started to hit.

He is a guy that I would be picking up if he were available in my league. I know he got off to an incredibly bad start, but I still have confidence in him, but there has to be a hot streak in his future. Stay patient with Soto in 2009, I think that as the season progresses, you will see a rise in his numbers.

Jake Fox was sent back to the minors when the Cubs recalled Aaron Miles. They really never did give him a chance to make an impact, and that is mostly due to the fact that he is absolutely terrible on defense.

He is someone to consider stashing if you are in a keeper league, but I have no idea when he might be back. I am sure they will have him work at some specific position until he gets good enough to return to the majors. He did hit .417 in limited at bats while in the majors.

If I am going to pound on a guy, I have to give him credit when he does something good. I have called Shairon Martis the worst 5-0 pitcher ever. On Wednesday, he only allowed two earned runs over seven innings,and that is a great improvement over where he has been.

However, his strikeout to walk ratio is still a concern, as he walked two and struck out one. Please, continue to let him sit in free agency, he is not worth owning.

Aaron Harang continues to have his impossible to predict season. Harang has hit the whole spectrum of appearances. He has been lights out, he has been average, he has been horrible.

And he goes from one end of the spectrum to the other without any notice and in a hurry. Tonight, Harang threw 7.2 shutout innings, two starts after allowing eight runs. All in all, I think Harang is definitely worth having on your team, and I wouldn't want to trade him. But he certainly will make you crazy at least once a month.

John Lackey certainly took his lumps today, allowing eight earned runs over five innings, walked two and struck out two. I still have plenty of confidence that Lackey will get hot and have a fine season. Remember he missed a ton of time to start the season, and is likely just getting rounded into shape.

I have long thought that Lackey is one of the more underrated pitchers in fantasy baseball. If you have him, stick with him, I believe he will be fine. If you were thinking of targeting him in a trade, now is a great time.

You can also follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/fightingchance, and you can also be my friend on Facebook.

Mailing List

I'm not going to stop bringing up the mailing list until I get a day where I don't get a request to join it. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, when I find news earlier in the day I will send an email to you about whatever it might be. If you were on the mailing list you would have found out about the callups of Matt Wieters, Fernando Martinez, Nolan Reimold and others.

The trade of Nate McLouth, and injuries to Jose Reyes, etc. This mailing list is your way to get a step up on your competition. Anyone who is on the list, please leave a comment below on whether you think that you have benefited from the list. Send an email to either fantasybaseballtonight@gmail.com or fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com and put Mailing List in the subject line.

The Closer Report: June 10, 2009

Todd Farino — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 03:57:00 -0400

Saves: 9

Save Opportunities: 10

Bailey gets ripped by the Twins, giving Nathan his 13th save .
By Todd Farino, www.thecloserreport.com

Andrew Bailey had a nightmare appearance against the Twins. He gave up three runs on three hits and two walks. He entered a tied game, so the only goods news here is that he didn't blow the save. I''ll keep an eye on how this develops with Ziegler waiting in the shadows.

After Bailey's implosion, Nathan came in for his 13th save of the season and has continued his hot streak that started seven saves ago.

Heath Bell continued his torrid pace with his 18th save of the season in a 3-1 win over the Dodgers. His WHIP fell back below 1.00 and he is pitching his best baseball right now.

Brian Wilson also continued to show he can hang with the stud closers with a 6-4 save over Arizona. He struck out the side in a perfect ninth inning. What a season Wilson is having. He has definitely become one of the best draft values of the season.

On his first day as Philadelphia's closer, Ryan Madson got his third save of the season. He looked as sharp as he has all season. He pitched a perfect inning and struck out none.

Francisco Cordero blew his first save of the season, giving up two runs. To be fair, Cordero had to wait over two hours because of a rain delay and he couldn't have been loose after that long of a delay. I think we can ignore this appearance and assume that Cordero is still one of the top closers in the league.

Other Appearances:
Huston Street (11): Awesome performance for Street. He struck out the side for a perfect inning.

David Aardsma (10): Another perfect inning and another strikeout.

David Weathers (1): A nice appearance in a 12-inning game.

Jonathan Papelbon(16): Paps created some late-inning drama with the Yankees, but got the easy save and stranded Gardner on second base.

Matt Capps (14): Came very close to blowing the save. Gave up a home run to Garret Anderson.

The Closer Report, June 8: Andrew Bailey Secures Closing Role With Athletics

Todd Farino — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 01:46:00 -0400

Saves: 6

Save Opportunities: 6

Bell saves number 17; Andrew Bailey gets fifth save

Andrew Bailey has secured the closer role for the Athletics with another strong save.

Monday night he pitched a perfect inning to secure a 4-3 win for the A's. It was his fifth save and third since his last blown save. At this point you might want to cut Ziegler. He will backup Bailey, but right now he isn't pitching well enough to be on a roster.

Heath Bell got his league leading 17th save in a 6-3 for the Padres. He saved the win for Jake Peavy, but created some drama in the ninth inning by giving up a hit and walking the next batter. Overall another solid save for Peavy, who's ERA has settled to 1.42.

Scott Downs finally got another save, getting his eighth save of the season and first in the month of June. It was a tough inning for Downs, who didn't have his best stuff, as he gave up one hit and a walk.

Fernando Rodney started the week strong after being shutout last week. He pitched a strong inning, giving up one hit in the 5-4 victory. Rodney has been a big surprise for his owners. He was named closer late in spring training and now has 11 saves. He does need to work on his WHIP and ER.

Other Appearances:

Mariano Rivera (14): Got another easy save against the Rays. He struck out Upton to end the game.

Mike Gonzalez: Pitched an inning in a non-save situation. Has one save this month.

Randy Choate: Came into a 4-3 game and struck out Johnny Damon before walking Teixeira.

Fantasy Baseball Tonight June 8: Welcome Tommy Hanson

Todd Farino — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 01:03:00 -0400

Like I always say, young players, and especially pitchers, often struggle.

Tommy Hanson got a rude welcome to the majors today as he allowed six runs over six innings.

If there is one good thing about the start, it's that Hanson didn't walk a slew of guys, in fact only one, and he did strike out five in those six innings. Milwaukee is a decent offensive team, but they aren't exactly Murderer's Row either.

Continue to start Hanson, and don't let this one start make you lose any confidence.

Roy Halladay is just straight out NASTY!

The guy threw another complete game shutout today and is now the majors first ten game winner. His ERA is right around 2.50, he is striking out nearly a batter an inning, and his WHIP is among the best in baseball among starters.

What can I say?

If Halladay isn't the best, he's definitely in the top five.

Ricky Nolasco was back for the Marlins today, and, although he took the loss, the start was pretty encouraging. He allowed just two runs over seven innings, walked three, and struck out four.

This obviously wasn't a lights out start, but it is much better than some of the outings he had before being sent to the minors. I like the prospects of a fine season for Nolasco after being recalled, and I think he can win eleven or twelve games.

I continue to read Steve Gardner's blog over at usatoday.com, and I found a new way for us to compete against each other.

USA Today's site has two fun games that I have begun to play, and I set up a private league for us to join. The first is called 56 Game Hit Streak in which you try, each day, to pick a guy who will get a hit.

Sounds easy, right?

I started it a few days ago and haven't picked a guy who got a hit yet. The second is called 3 Play, and that is a weekly game in which you pick an infielder, an outfielder, and a pitching staff and you get points based on their performance.

Points are accumulated for the season. The midseason game starts on Monday. The information you need follows. Both league names are Fantasy Bball 2night, and the passwords are both fantasy.

Please join us and see if you matchup against us.

Antonio Bastardo was called up to the majors to fill in for Brett Myers when he was basically lost for the season. While the Phils have said they would look outside the organization for a long term fix, Bastardo could make them rethink those plans.

Besides having a really cool name, he was having a great season in the minors and is a pretty good strikeout pitcher. He hasn't been going deep into games, but he has had two quality starts, and has been getting pretty good K numbers.

As long as he is in the rotation for the Phillies, he is worth a look as a potential guy at the bottom of your rotation.

Randy Wells had his first major league win blown for him by the bullpen, but he has now made six starts, and he is still yet to allow more than three runs.

Wells struck out four and allowed two runs in 6.2 innings, and now has a 1.86 ERA. I'm still not on the Wells bandwagon, but he is doing quite well in the majors.

I just look at his minor league statistics and he never did this good for any stretch at any level.

It is just a few days away before Fighting Chance Fantasy officially becomes Fantasy Baseball Tonight. Many of you have already made the switch and I appreciate the feedback I have gotten. Anyone who checks out the new site, I wanna hear what you think.

Bronson Arroyo is either all or nothing.

This time it was another great start for him. Arroyo allowed just one run over seven innings, but wasn't a factor in the decision. Arroyo isn't an elite strikeout pitcher and only whiffed two on Sunday.

This start comes on the heels of him allowing five runs against the Cardinals five days ago. I don't like to have a guy like Arroyo on my team. I don't want a guy who will likely allow either one run or eight.

What's wrong with a line of three earned over six with four Ks?

There's room for that on my team.

Livan Hernandez continues his unlikely season with another win for the Mets.

Hernandez is now 5-1 after throwing seven shutout innings against the Nationals. He hasn't lost a decision since Apr. 23, which could only mean one thing...there has to be a few outings coming in the near future.

This isn't 2000 when he won 17 games; Livan is in his mid-30s now and is on the downside of his career. He has been great for the Mets and his fantasy teams, but there has to be a correction coming.

Continue to pitch him, but don't be shocked if there are some bad outings in the future.

You can also follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/fightingchance, and you can also be my friend on Facebook.

Ubaldo Jimenez was great on Sunday against St. Louis and finally got a win for his efforts. He has now given up eleven runs in his last five starts, but this is the first win he had to show for it.

Jimenez allowed two runs over eight innings and struck out nine. Control continues to be his biggest problem, well that and the fact that his team stinks. But, he is steadily improving the more he pitches, and it is looking possible that he could live up to his hype.

If Jimenez is still available, I would consider picking him up, especially in keeper leagues despite the fact his team is in last place.

Vince Mazzaro has now had two major league starts and is still yet to give up a run.

After throwing 6.1 shutout innings in his debut, Mazzaro threw up zeros for 7.1 innings on Sunday. The good news is this time he didn't walk anyone after issuing four free passes his first time out.

Mazzaro was ranked as the No. 8 prospect for Oakland coming into the year, so this isn't completely unexpected. However, he likely has some less than stellar outings in his future.

Jose Lopez is finally starting to show some signs of life after an atrocious start to the year. Lopez connected on his fifth homer of the year, and three of them have come in the last eight days. He has also raised his batting average nearly 20 points in the last week.

It is unlikely he will get to the numbers that he put up in 2008, but he is looking less like he should be in your free agent pool. Another good couple of games and I would think about picking him up—the talent pool at second base isn't the deepest.

Juan Rivera is a decent option for those of you in deeper leagues or leagues that require five outfielders. The Angels OF/DH has had a career full of injuries but a world of potential.

So far, so good on the injury front for Rivera. He had three more hits on Sunday to get his average back over .300, and he now has six homers on the season. He has also driven in a run in seven of his last eight games, including three today.

He isn't going to shift the balance of power in your league, but if you have been rotating free agents waiting to find someone that sticks Rivera could be that guy.

Paul Phillips had a great game for the Rockies, but his time behind the plate for Colorado is likely short lived.

Chris Iannetta is due back from the Disabled List in the next couple of days, perhaps as early as Tuesday. So, even with his four hit game, I would leave Phillips right where he is, likely in your free agent pool.

Mailing List

I'm not going to stop bringing up the mailing list until I get a day where I don't get a request to join it.

For those of you who haven't seen it yet, when I find news earlier in the day I will send an email to you about whatever it might be. If you were on the mailing list you would have found out about the callups of Matt Wieters, Fernando Martinez, Nolan Reimold, and others.

Send an email to either fantasybaseballtonight@gmail.com or fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com and put Mailing List in the subject line.

As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com.

I'm Your Pusherman by J Ellet Lambie: All Your Fantasy Baseball Needs

Todd Farino — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 15:10:00 -0400

Pssst.

Yeah, you.....come here for a minute. I got something I want to show you.

Now listen, I know why you're here, you know why you're here so there's no need to be squemish about this. You're jonesing, I can see it all over your face. That fantasy baseball team of yours is in trouble. You're sweating for a .300 hitting middle infielder or maybe a cheap RBI man. Don't worry, I got your hookup.

What's that? You need OPS, baby I got all the OPS you need and cheap. Homeruns, wins? I got it all. Oh you want steals, the heroin of fantasy baseball itself....yeah, I gotcha covered.

I know your roster is tight, you don't have much to trade, that's cool. You just need a little something on the cheap to get you through until your guys come off the DL? I'm talking free agent pool fixes here. These cats are all available in at least 50% of Yahoo standard leagues. So just tell your fantasy baseball pusher-man what you need and let me ease your pain.

RBI's

What do Casey Kotchman, Michael Cuddyer and Nick Johnson have in common? They each have 20 RBI's in the last month and are widely available at the touch of your add/drop button.

Cody Ross has 33 Rib Eyes on the year and 18 since May 6, and he's available in 87 percent of Yahoo standard leagues.

Your looking for something younger? Ok, be that way. Gerardo Parra has 17 RBIs in the last month, and Andy LaRoche has 16. Both should play regularly going forward and have high ceilings. Parra is owned in 3 percent of Yahoo leagues, LaRoche 8percent.

Batting Average

So all those Adam Dunn/Chris Davis types are dragging down your average eh? Try a little Aaron Rowand. He's hitting .366 in the last month and .302 on the season. He's a career .284 hitter two years removed from a .309 season in which he also hit 27 bombs and drove in 89 runs. He's available in 84 percent of Yahoo leagues.

Randy Winn and Adam Kennedy are both hitting .340 over the last month. While neither is in my opinion a good long-term fix, either can get you through for a month or so until you get someone on your DL back or can pull off a trade. They have something else in common. They are both available in 83 percent of Yahoo leagues.

You want the real sneaky stuff....ok, take a look at Christian Guzman. He's a .333 hitter entering Saturdays game with 19 multi-hit games (out of 40 played) and seven games with three hits. If he can stay healthy you can plug him in for .300 + all summer long. He's available in 59 percent of Yahoo leagues.

Wins

That pitching staff got you down? Let me see what you got there....damn, that is ugly. It's cool, I can fix that too. Now don't freak out when I mention this name, you promise? OK.

Carl Pavano.

Calm down, calm down. The former Yankee bust has six wins on the season and four in the last month. He has a 56 to 15 K-to-BB ratio to boot. He makes me nervous too, I get it, but he's out there in free agent land in 81 percent of leagues and has more wins in the last month than guys like Jake Peavy, Johan Santana and Josh Beckett.

Matt Palmer of the LA Angels is 5-0. Who? Exactly. If you don't know him neither do the opposing hitters. His little run will come to an end at some point when hitters figure him out or when the regular starters get back to form, but until then he's a short-term boost. You can pick him up in 79 percent of Yahoo leagues.

Scott Feldman of the Texas Rangers is owned in 9 percent of Yahoo leagues. He himself owns five wins against zero losses, sound familiar? He hasn't given up more than three earned runs in any of his eight starts so far. Yeah, he's unproven and a bit risky, but sometimes that's what it takes to find a diamond in the rough.

OPS

I'm gonna give you a real under the radar guy right up front, don't tell anybody though—Andruw Jones. His .949 would be among the AL leaderboard if his 90 at-bats qualified. With Josh Hamilton out for who knows how long expect the reclamation project to get swings in Arlington in the summer heat, where the ball flys like it has a passport. He's owned in 5 percent of Yahoo leagues.

Lyle Overbay quietly has a .942 OPS and is also available in 95 percent of Yahoo leagues. Josh Willingham is the owner of a .926 OPS and is owned in 4 percent of leagues. I got one more for you, it's kinda sneaky though.

Travis Hafner.

Fresh off the DL and available in 73 percent of Yahoo leagues, Hafner posted a .931 OPS before his shoulder acted up again. I know he's a humongous injury risk, but he's also a guy who has mashed at a high level before. He'll hit in a hitter friendly ballpark and if he fails, you can cut him loose and forget we ever talked about this. One downside, he's a DH so your options to fit him into your lineup are limited.

Steals

Michael Bourn has 19 steals (and a .302 average) and is available in 50 percent of Yahoo leagues. Willy Taveras has 12 swipes and is owned to the tune of 47 percent. I like Bourn, a little, I don't like Taveras, but either can get the job done.

Brett Gardner, Dexter Fowler and Emmannuel Burriss all have 11 steals and are all available in 90 percent or more of Yahoo leagues. Gardner will fight for playing time going forward, but Fowler and Burriss should see regular at-bats.

Nyjer Morgan also has 11 steals, he's owned at a 30 percent clip. His teammate Andrew McCutchen, recently called up from AAA to fill the Nate McClouth void, stole 10 bases in 49 minor league games this year and has a track record of ripping off bags at a high rate. He's available in 80 percent of Yahoo leagues.

Home Runs

Nolan Reimold has displayed a better power stroke at the big league level than super-phenom teammate Matt Wieters. He has five so far in 69 at-bats since his mid-May call up. He's a solid all around young player that is available in 93 percent of Yahoo leagues.

You could look to guys like Mike Jacobs and Jason Varitek. Both have 10 bombs at this point, but a little baggage in the batting average column as well. I think Jacobs has the ability to hit 35, but doubt he will this year. Varitek is playing way over his head in the power category so buyer definitely beware, although he is a catcher, which makes him a rare find. Jacobs is owned in 17 percent of Yahoo leagues, Varitek 34 percent.

Remember when I mentioned Josh Willingham earlier? In addition to the OPS prowess he has eight home runs in the last month. Only nine guys in baseball have more over that span. As previously discussed he's available in 96 percent of Yahoo leagues.

Jason Giambi and the aforementioned Michael Cuddyer each have seven ding-dongs in the last 30 days. I think Cuddyer is the more well-rounded option going forward, if he can stay healthy. He's available in 55 percent of leagues, Giambi 78 percent.

Now don't you feel better? You don't have to be ashamed to come see your pusher man when you get that fix. I'm here for you baby, all day and all night. Now let's start the music and get outta here the right way.

Hazaa

If you have a pressing fantasy need I missed feel free to drop me a line at jelletlambie@gmail.com or leave your question below, I'll do my best to get back to you quickly.

The Hot Eight: Week 10

Todd Farino — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 01:12:00 -0400

Last week, the Hot Eight told you to do out and grab Tommy Hanson, Gordon Beckham and Ben Zobrist right now. If you made those moves last Sunday then you are now a much better team than you were before reading this little article.

Free agents moves like these are absolutely vital to winning fantasy baseball and the right moves can always turn around a struggling team. This week we've got a (mostly) new batch of talent ready to make an impact on the fantasy world.

1) Gordon Beckham (3B/SS) -- White Sox -- Last week I mentioned how the White Sox had promoted Beckham to AAA Charlotte and have been playing him at 3B. Five days later he was summoned to Chicago where he will now serve as the starting 3B for the rest of the season.

Beckham is a very talented and very confident young man who has all the tools necessary to be a big time ballplayer. He is a Derek Jeter type talent who does whatever it takes to win.

For fantasy purposes, I believe he will hit for some power the rest of the season as he'll be fed a steady diet of major league fastballs which he can handle and is hitting in a great HR ballpark in U.S. Cellular Field.

I would not expect too many stolen bases, although Ozzie Guillen likes to be aggressive on the basepaths with anybody who has functional legs. A 10 HR and 10 stolen base total this season is very likely for Beckham.

The fact that he will be eligible at SS, 3B and possibly 2B makes him a very good pickup for the remainder of this season and especially good in A.L. only and keeper leagues.

2) Carlos Gonzalez (Outfield) -- Rockies -- As I have mentioned numerous times in this column and on Fantasy Baseball Tonight, the Rockies are getting ready to unload both Brad Hawpe and Ryan Spilborghs in the coming weeks.

Gonzalez was called up last week after tearing apart the Pacific Coast League to the tune of a .339 average, 10 HR's and 59 RBI.

It appears that he'll also be given a starting role right off the bat which is a very smart move for the future of the franchise. Seth Smith. Dexter Fowler and Carlos Gonzalez are the future outfield in Colorado and the more playing time they get this year the better players they'll be next year and beyond.

All three of these guys are very talented and in my opinion will all be fantasy worthy in the second half of this season. Gonzalez will reach double digits in HR's and stolen bases this year and should be a big run producer for the Rockies once Hawpe and Spilborghs are gone.

Don't wait around for him though because if you do somebody in your league is bound to swoop in and get themselves a very good player for nothing.

3) J.A. Happ (LHP - Starter) -- Phillies -- James Anthony Happ is having himself a fine season so far. He is 4-0 with a 2.48 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. Then how come he is owned in just 30 percent of fantasy leagues according to Yahoo and CBS Sports? With the struggles and injuries to the Phillies starters this year, Happ's status in the rotation is assured.

Happ uses his fastball to get ahead of hitters early in the count and once ahead has been going to his much improved changeup to get hitters out. His minor league strikeout totals will not hold up but he's still able to punch guys out with good command and a three-way slider that can act as a cutter at times to back-door right handed hitters.

He will need to continue pitching down in order to keep the ball in the park however, something that has plagued him in the past. The wins and good strikeout numbers will be there at seasons end but there will be an adjustment in both ERA and WHIP coming up soon. Still, Happ makes for a very good third or fourth starter on your fantasy team.

4) Andrew McCutchen (Outfield) -- Pirates -- Don't get me wrong here. I like McCutchen's ability and believe he'll be a solid major league outfielder for the Pirates hence why I am recommending him to you this week. But I have heard and read far too many "experts" saying that he will hit for a high average and have above average power numbers. This just isn't true.

McCutchen, as any scout will tell you has issues with his swing which has delayed his progress over the years. He has been able to make up for holes in his swing by "cheating" on hitters counts in the minors and with pure raw talent. I don't expect him to ever hit over .290 in the big leagues and doubt that he'll go for much better than .260 most years.

His true value is in stolen bases, where I expect we'll see him reach 15-20 this season and 30+ in a full season. He's made strides in working counts and getting on base too which will help. McCutchen will hit the occasional HR too and thus is a pretty solid asset to any fantasy outfield.

5) Neftali Feliz (RHP - Starter) -- Rangers -- I would be shocked if Feliz didn't get a callup in by the end of July. With top prospects like Matt Wieters, David Price, Tommy Hanson and Gordon Beckham already getting called up, those of you who were holding onto these players the past couple months have a roster spot available.

I suspect Feliz to be this years young stud pitcher who comes in and leads his team down the stretch.

We've seen this in recent years with Bobby Jenks, Adam Wainwright, Clay Buchholz, Ubaldo Jimenez and David Price. Feliz has an electric fastball. He can rush it up to 100 MPH with an easy motion that appears to have little impact on either his shoulder or elbow.

His fastball is best when coming from a three-quarters arm angle where it reaches 96 MPH with sharp inward bite to right handers. Then he'll hit you with a sharp tight spinning curveball that has great break down.

His changeup is major league ready also registering at anywhere from 83-87 MPH with fade making it devastating when looking fastball. Feliz is the best pitching prospect the Rangers have had maybe ever. The team is doing quite well and should be positioning itself for a AL West Division title.

To achieve this, they will have to trade for another starter or bullpen help and bring this exciting youngster up. Feliz could be the difference this year for the Rangers and will be a fixture there going forward.

6) Ian Stewart (3B/2B/OF) -- Rockies -- This is the year Stewart finally breaks out and proves his major league worth. It's been a long road for the once prized prospect, but he has been a man without a position for the past few years.

Garrett Atkins has been a roadblock in Stewart's was for the past several seasons forcing the youngster to cut his teeth at 2B and in the outfield. But Atkins is facing a possible demotion soon because of a dramatic fall that has his name now linked with other "suspicious" names of sluggers who skills seem to have diminished overnight.

Either way, Stewart is part of a strong core of position players the Rockies have and as they trade off players this summer it will open up opportunities for guys like Stewart to finally blossom. I expect 20+ HR's this season and a bunch of runs batted in too.

This is a guy who will be a valuable commodity down the stretch this season. His versatility makes him all that more useful and thus he should be added to your roster immediately.

7) Chris Tillman (RHP - Starter) -- Orioles -- When the Orioles are raising the World Series trophy in a couple of years, they had better make sure to give a great big thank you to the Seattle Mariners for assisting them back into elite company in the American League.

Adam Jones, George Sherrill, Chris Tillman, Kam Mickolio and Tony Butler all came to Baltimore for Erik Bedard and all will most likely be on the next Oriole team that qualifies for the post season. Tillman is a very polished, professional pitcher. He is a tall guy, standing 6'5" and throws on a nice downward plane.

None of his pitches are necessarily dominant, but he uses his fastball, curve and change quite well and can command all of them down in the zone. Tillman pitches to contact and will give up plenty of hits to be sure. But he'll also last longer in games that way and bring his WHIP and ERA down as a result.

Though he won't be dominant, he will be a steady major league pitcher and could be a nice pitch and ditch option when he is called up in a few weeks.

8) David Murphy (Outfield) -- Rangers -- I just like this guy, OK? I drafted him in both of my leagues and have also dropped him in both of my leagues. But now Josh Hamilton is out for an extended amount of time and an outfield position is available. Andruw Jones cannot be trusted despite having a fine year as the fourth outfielder for the Rangers.

Murphy has good power and can be a big time run producer in a lineup that is a talented as the Rangers is. It is my belief that Murphy will have himself a nice little fun in Hamilton's absence. He hit 15 HR's and drove in 74 last season in just 415 AB's.

A run like that can get any fantasy team through the dog days of summer or at least provide you with an temporary outfielder in place of the suspended Manny Ramirez, the injured Carlos Quentin or the struggling Milton Bradley.

That is the Hot 8 for this week. What do you guys think? Post your comments below or email me at jeff@fantasybaseballsearch.com

The Closer Report (June 5)

Todd Farino — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 01:51:00 -0400

Saves: 5

Save Opportunities: 6

Not many saves tonight, but plenty of closer action.

By Todd Farino, www.thecloserreport.com

There might have only been five saves today, but there was plenty of closer action. Jonathan Broxton battled Brad Lidge in the ninth inning for the game.

Broxton was amazing for his half inning, striking out 3 and allowing a single to Jayson Werth. Lidge got the first two outs of the ninth inning, but then he fell apart. Giving up a single and then walking Loney.

To be fair, Pedro Feliz made an error on a Russell Martin ground ball. He then gave up the big hit to Ethier for the Dodger win 4-3. Lidge threw mostly fastballs and when he threw sliders they were often balls.

Brian Fuentes got an easy one-out save, but the pressure was on with the tying run at third base.

This was Fuentes' 15th save of the season, and he is getting better each appearance.

Francisco Rodriguez pitched a perfect ninth inning and struck out Nick Johnson to end the game. K-Rod looked sharp and pitched perfectly tonight.

Hopefully with Putz out 10-12 weeks, Rodriguez will still get plenty of opportunities.

Joe Nathan continued on his torrid pace, finishing off another perfect save. He struck out two batters, one of them was Ichiro Suzuki to end the game.

If you held onto Nathan during his darker days, welcome to the light! If you traded for him, classically good move.

Other Appearances

Joel Hanrahan - Got hammered again. Granted he pitched more than an inning, it was a terrible performance, he is terrible. At this point, you have to consider cutting him.

Fernando Rodney - Gave up two runs in the ninth inning against the Angels and took the lose. He wasn't sharp in his last appearance against the Red Sox, and he wasn't sharp tonight against the Angels.

Kevin Gregg (10) - He looked very good tonight, but loss command after the first two batters, but had enough for the save.

Brian Wilson (14)- Underrated, ignored, and a 14 save pitcher. He isn't lucky, he's good.

The Closer Report: June 4, 2009

Todd Farino — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 02:14:00 -0400

Saves: 6

Save Opportunities: 6

Papelbon and Fuentes reach 14, while JP Howell gets the call for the Rays.

By Todd Farino, www.thecloserreport.com

It was another day of few saves, but several of the stud closers got the job done. Mariano Rivera got out of trouble against the Rangers to win 8-6. With one out and runners on the corners he struck out Nelson Cruz and got David Murphy to pop up. It wasn't a pretty save, but it was a save.

Papelbon had control issues today and these issues have plagued him his last few appearances. The key to Papelbon's success is his high strike. Today he had problems getting anything up and walked the lead off batter in the ninth and took the next two batters to 3-2 counts before getting the next three outs.

Again, it wasn't pretty and with the amount of pitches he through I don't think we will see Papelbon tomorrow and possibly even Saturday. He is looking tire and is in need of a few days off.

JP Howell got the call for the Rays today and pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. I could say he brought him in to face lefties, but he faced two nighties and one lefty in Mike Jacobs, so Madden probably just felt good about Howell today.

We cannot say that he is the closer and we don't think he is at this point. I would recommend adding him if you have the roster spot.

Brain Wilson continues to demand respect with another great outing. He came in to pitch with two outs in the eighth inning and ended up striking out all four batters he faced. He did walk one and gave up a hit in the process, but overall was an outstanding performance securing a 5-1 win for the Giants. It was Wilson's 13th save.

Other Appearances

Joel Hanrahan - Got absolutely hammered for four hits and three runs in a non-save situation. The Nationals officially have no bullpen.

Brian Fuentes (14)- Struck out the side, but gave up a hit and a walk.

The Closer Report: June 3, 2009

Todd Farino — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 03:56:00 -0400

Saves: 6

Save Opportunities: 6

Soria makes first post-DL appearance, Hoffman saves 14th.

By Todd Farino, www.thecloserreport.com

Today there was some good news for closers. Joakim Soria made his first appearance since coming off the DL. He faced two batters in the eighth inning, striking out one. He looked sharp. He only needed 13 pitches for the two outs. That includes a based runner from a Tug Hulett error.

More good news as there were no blown saves and a few exciting ones. Trevor Hoffman saved his 14th straight game of the season, and has yet to allow a run. His WHIP is a microscopic 0.44 in 15 innings this season.

I think we all agree that Hoffman cannot sustain these numbers much longer. I would shop Hoffman in the next days. Get the maximum value for him, maybe even a package deals with lesser closer.

Jonathan Broxton continued his torrid start with his 13th save of the season. He closed out an exciting 1-0 win for the Dodgers, and pitched a perfect ninth inning.

Broxton now has 42 strikeouts on the season, which is No. 67 in strikeouts in the league. He has more strikeouts then Jair Jurrjens, John Maine, Brandon McCarthy, Andy Petitte, and Paul Maholm. The point, Broxton is a special closer. His ability to easily strikeout over 100 batters in the season gives him a huge advantage in any league. If you can get him in a deal, do it. He is the best closer in the league.

Other Appearances

Chris Sampson (3) - Got a two-inning save since the Astros were resting Hawkins.

Frank Francisco (12)- Continues his hot streak and he's proving he is one of the best in the American League.

Andrew Bailey (3) Pitched 1.2 innings for the save. Tomorrow should be Zeigler's turn after Bailey's long outing. However, Bailey only threw 15 pitches, so he should be able to go again.

David Aardsma - Pitched a scoreless ninth and got the win for Seattle.

The Closer Report: June 2, 2009

Todd Farino — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 04:07:00 -0400

Saves: 5

Save Opportunities: 7

Papelbon faces 6 batters with no runs, Broxton saves 12th

By Todd Farino, www.thecloserreport.com

A five-save day is bad and two blown saves make it even worse. Today was a bad day for closers.

There were plenty of appearances for closers starting with Jonathan Papelbon. It wasn't a save situation since the Red Sox were up 5-1, but after he gave up three straight singles to open the inning with lack of control, he turned it into one. Papelbon then went into what he calls, "punchout mode" and struck out the next three batters.

The new technique hitters are now trying on Papelbon is swinging at the first pitch and almost every other one. It's not working, he is still pitching great.

Jonathan Broxton recorded his 12th save tonight while the Dodgers won, 6-5, over the Diamondbacks. He struck out two in the process and has increased his closer lead strikeout total to 41. His WHIP lowered to 0.69.

One of two blown saves for the day was from a closer in my Closer Dog House.

Kevin Gregg gave up two runs on only one hit. To his defense he struck out Garrett Anderson, but Anderson got to first base on a wild pitch. Jeff Francoeur then blasted a two-run bomb to tie the score. It was another bad performance for Gregg even with two strikeouts. Pinella won't make any moves yet, but Gregg is on a short leash.

Huston Street just had a bad night. Lucky for him he only gave up one unearned run. Street made a bad throw to first base on Michael Bourn's bunt. He then gave up a hit to blow the save and after getting a double play he walked two more batters. This is Street's second blow save in a row. His biggest demon is getting back up after a bad outing. This could last three or four games. Hopefully he will recover by the next save chance.

Other Appearances:

Matt Capps (12) - Capps is on a roll and looking sharp lately.

Mike Gonzalez - Had a tough inning walking one and giving up a hit.

Joe Nathan (10) - Nathan is on fire and pitched 1.1 innings for the save.

Brad Zeigler - Two hits and a walk. Another WHIP blowing performance.

Ryan Franklin (13) - He is a machine. I don't know when the wheels will fall off, but enjoy it.

Fantasy Baseball Tonight: (June 2)

Todd Farino — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 01:52:00 -0400

Jorge Posada is having a tremendous season and is exceeding my expectations. He was 3-for-5 today with his seventh home run, and he has driven in 25 runs already, despite missing time due to injury.

If Posada can stay healthy for the rest of the season, he could have a 25-30 homer season.

In a single-season league, I would definitely keep him. In a keeper league, I would think about trying to capitalize on his good season and try to trade him for a younger catcher.

Antonio Bastardo collected the win in his first major league start, and was pretty effective for that outing.

Bastardo allowed just one run over six innings, walked just one, and struck out five.

He should get himself another start as he fills in for Brett Myers, but the Phillies have announced that they will be looking for outside help to fill the void.

There is a chance that Bastardo can pitch his way into that spot, but I wouldn't count on it.

Rick Porcello finally took a loss, but it came against the potent Red Sox. He was only able to last 4.1 innings and allowed three runs.

Porcello is only 20 years old, and already has a bright future ahead of him. Don't get upset if you own him from one sub-par site; there are plenty more good ones in the coming days.

Manny Parra got shellacked again, and he is now 3-7 on the season. It is rare that a manager leaves his starter in to give up 10 runs, but skipper Ken Macha did.

Parra was roughed up over just four innings. On a good note, he did strike out five, it was still an awful start for Parra.

His ERA on the season is now 6.75, but in the last six weeks or so he's only had two bad starts, including tonight. Hold on to Parra; he will have a fine season.

Anibal Sanchez returned to the Marlins' rotation tonight, and the results weren't that good. He threw 71 pitches over just three innings, allowed just one run, and struck out three.

He is a guy I owned in the beginning of the season in a couple leagues, but he isn't a guy that I am running out to pick back up. I need to see two or three good starts before I would think about putting him on my roster.

Despite my not liking him after his last outing, Randy Wells was good again for the Cubs. He allowed just one run over seven innings against the Braves and whiffed four.

His ERA is just 1.69, and his WHIP is under 1.00. I still don't like him long term, but he keeps putting up good numbers.

If you own him, continue to start him while he is hot, but keep in mind that it could go downhill at any time.

Kevin Gregg blew his second save of the season, but he has given up his fair share of runs. The Cubs bullpen is a mess, as Carlos Marmol also gave up a run tonight.

Gregg should continue to be the closer as long as Marmol doesn't appear to be a better option. If they could ever figure this out, one of them could be a valuable fantasy option. But both are inconsistent at this point.

Vince Mazzaro had an okay, but far from great major league debut. He threw 6.1 shutout innings, but he also walked four and struck out only one.

He was having a fine season at AAA, but he isn't a top-notch prospect. I wouldn't go running out to grab Mazzaro.

I'd want to see another two or three starts like this one (but with fewer walks) before I put him on my roster. Monitor him, but unless you are desperate, I wouldn't pick him up.

Major Announcement

I would like to let you all know that in the near future you won’t be getting your daily fantasy update from Fighting Chance Fantasy any longer.

I have agreed to team up with my podcast mates over at Fantasy Baseball Search. Todd Farino, Jeff Mans, RC Rizza, myself, and the guys are forming a formidable team.

I am not abandoning you, however, but making the coverage better. Over the next couple of weeks I will be transitioning the site over to its new home at www.fantasybaseballtonight.com.

I have already started to post on that page, so feel free to start heading there whenever you want. We are still in the process of doing some work, but your nightly fix will be there. You will see improved features, more professional emails, and better coverage.

You can find a plethora of information at Fantasy Baseball Search as well from me and the guys, but Fantasy Baseball Tonight will just be me and links to the podcast. The email address will also be changing slightly to fantasybaseballtonight@gmail.com, but I will continue to check both for quite a while. I am very excited about this change, and I believe that it will be great for both of us….me and you.

Mailing List

For those of you who are regular readers, or even new to the site, I would like to offer a new service. I am starting a mailing list. Sometimes I see news during the day, but I wait until this nightly article to pass it along to you guys. Prospects coming up, injury news, closer movement, etc. Just send me an email to fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com with “Mailing List” in the subject line and I will add you to the list.

Then, whenever I find news that I feel is breaking and important, I will send it to you as soon as I find out about it. Hopefully, this is something that you will find valuable to make a possible move before your competition.

Also, you can now follow me on Twitter for more updates. Go to www.twitter.com/fightingchance.

I was mentioned on Steve Gardner’s Fantasy Windup blog on the USA Today site. You can check out the post here. It is a great blog, and they also have some good contests for you to check out. I know some of you have already started to participate in some of them and are enjoying it.

Attention League Commissioners! If you are looking to spice up your league some, go and visit Fantasy Sports Trophies. Tom Harkins has put together a great site with all kinds of different trophies to give the winner of your league something besides just bragging rights. There are trophies for fantasy baseball, football (check out the Beer League Fantasy Football Trophy), basketball, hockey, and auto racing. I invite you to take a look at the site and try them out.

As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don’t miss the “Fantasy Baseball Tonight” podcast four nights a week from Monday-Thursday.

The Big Show on Wednesday is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com. To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show.

Join me and Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the the info and craziness we can pack into one hour. A can’t miss if you plan on winning your league.

The Closer Report: Small Slate of Games a Gold Mine for Closers

Todd Farino — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 04:28:00 -0400

There were only nine games in the majors today; not the biggest prospect for saves.

But the short day ended big for closers as eight of nine games ended with a save.

Among the more important saves, the Marlins' Matt Lindstrom came back after his last performance and pitched very well, striking out two while giving up one hit. He didn't walk anyone and had solid command—great news for Lindstrom owners.

Matt Capps owners can breathe a sign of relief as well. Capps pitched a near perfect inning for Pittsburgh in the Pirates' 8-5 win over the Mets. He commanded all of his pitches and looked very sharp. It has been a tough season for Capps, and this appearance can only help him in the long run.

Tony Pena Jr. got the save for Arizona in a 3-2 win over the Dodgers. Pena came in for Chad Qualls, who complained of stiffness in his forearm. It wasn't Pena's finest performance of the season.

He gave up two unearned runs after a Felipe Lopez throwing error, but at that point there was one out and two runners on. He could have gotten out of it unscathed, but gave up the two runs.

I'd be a little worried about Qualls if you own him. I recommend picking up Rauch or Pena in reserve. Our guess is Jon Rauch will get the call if Qualls is down for any length of time. Right now he is considered day-to-day.

Finally, George Sherrill nailed his 11th save of the season preserving a 1-0 lead is Baltimore beat Seattle. These are the kinds of saves we like to see; a closer coming into a 1-0 game and sealing the deal. Sherrill has looked great after a rough start, and with the Orioles winning more he looks to be a 40-save candidate.

Other Appearances

Brad Lidge (13)—This is the fourth consecutive save for Lidge and another strong outing. I'm still not sure if I'm sold, but he is looking calm again.

LaTroy Hawkins (1)—Valverde is out and Hawkins could be chalking up the saves.

Francisco Cordero (14)—Another strong inning and another save for Cordero.