Fantasy Baseball 2012: Week 4 National League Revelations

Here are some fantasy revelations from a crazy Week 4 in the National League.

1. Joey Votto is neither the fantasy equivalent of Bryan LaHair nor Adam LaRoche right now—but that'll change soon.

Thank goodness the baseball season is six months long, or we'd be assigning Round 1 value to LaHair (four HRs, 12 RBI, 10 runs, .382 batting) and/or LaRoche (four HRs, 17 RBI, nine runs, .329 batting) for 2013 fantasy drafts while trying to find nice ways to label Votto as a mild disappointment.

But has Votto really been that underwhelming? Absolutely not.

Through April 29, Votto (two HRs, 15 RBI, 12 runs, one steal, .289 batting) has virtually identical stats to Rockies 1B/2B/OF Michael Cuddyer (runs, hits, doubles, homers, batting average, OPS), but with a 90-point advantage for on-base percentage.

He also leads the National League in doubles and walks, strong indicators of a sustained power surge in the coming months. After all, why else would Votto be swinging at pitches outside of his personal hitting zone? Votto has earned the benefit of the doubt with umpires (and by extension, fantasy gurus).

Bottom line: In this fickle world of immediate fantasy gratification, there is no better buy-low option among elite hitters than Votto—and that includes deals for slumping Angel Albert Pujols.

2. Don't fear the after-effects from Anibal Sanchez's 14-strikeout effort against the Diamondbacks.

Sanchez has been a reliable source for a sub-4.00 ERA for some time, but his fantasy prospects really blossomed on last year's 202 strikeouts. And now, with four straight games of two earned runs allowed and 33 total strikeouts (fourth in the National League), it's fair to wonder if Sanchez hasn't already begun the process of taking another bold leap in fantasy circles?

A great litmus test comes with the next three or four starts. Sanchez (1-0, 2.73 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 33/8 K-BB) has never posted back-to-back games of double-digit strikeouts, but this might be his best opportunity to repeat the feat.

If that happens, it might be time to bump Sanchez from the list of eminently replaceable assets on the trade market and into a class of starting pitchers who should never be dealt, outside of a season-changing move.

3. Tim Lincecum has unlocked the secret to fantasy success—minimal hits allowed, fewer walks.

OK, so it took Lincecum 121 pitches to endure eight innings of three-hit, one-run ball against the Padres on April 28, but it was still a marked improvement from his four previous outings; and it was one less free pass than a sluggish performance against the Mets five days earlier (in blustery weather, granted).

Slowly but surely, Lincecum is recapturing his mojo from the last four years (his ERA has dropped from 12.91 to 10.54 to 8.20 to 5.74 in consecutive outings). Fantasy owners are also warming to the idea of sticking with Lincecum instead of trading him to the highest bidder at a likely rate of 70 cents on the dollar.

My advice: Short of a one-for-two trade where you'd get a top-10 outfielder and top-15 pitcher in return, there shouldn't be much motivation to deal Lincecum right now. We're talking about a superstar with per-season averages of 15.5 wins and 243 strikeouts from 2008-11.

Has he not earned the benefit of the doubt to repeat those numbers? Has he not earned the chance to carry fantasy staffs throughout May and June?

4. Jose Altuve is a leading MVP candidate among hitters with less than two home runs.

Obviously, no one in the National League can touch Matt Kemp (11 HRs, 24 RBI, 23 runs, two steals, .425 batting, 1.382 OPS) and his assault on all the record books, but of the non-power hitters in the Senior Circuit, no one had a better April than Houston's Altuve (one HR, 10 RBI, 15 runs, four steals, .373 batting, .984 OPS), universally the 17th second baseman taken in spring fantasy drafts.

At 5'5" and just 22 years old, it's easy to see why Altuve was largely overlooked on draft day. But there are no more excuses with this explosive talent and his 12-homer/40-steal potential.

He'll be a modest fantasy force in all five categories and a prime reason why your club is contending for a title in September. But Altuve's trade-market price can only stay at "reasonable" for so long.

Act now or miss the boat on a dynamic middle infielder.

Jay Clemons can be reached on Twitter, day or night, at @ATL_JayClemons.