Fantasy Baseball Tonight: 4/15

Rich Harden only lasted three innings today, and if you only saw the box score right away you have to think, uh oh, what did he hurt this time?  But it appears that Harden just didn’t have his dominant stuff today. 

Harden allowed four runs, walked four, and struck out eight.  But Harden did throw a whopping 92 pitches in just three innings, so he is healthy, it was just an uncharacteristically bad start.

The Tigers got their second straight strong start (try saying that three times fast!) from young Armando Galarraga.  He allowed one run in his first start, but improved on that, throwing 6.1 shutout innings and striking out five.  That is 13 K’s in two starts for Galarraga and he has only allowed one run. 

Obviously, he won’t keep up doing THIS well, but it is looking pretty good for him to win 12 games or more, and he’s already got two.

How long will Huston Street continue to close for the Rockies?  I received more than one email on this topic tonight.  Since his easy save in his first appearance, Street has allowed runs in three straight times to the mound, and his ERA now sits at 13.50.

It was a non-save situation today, but his manager didn’t trust him enough to let him finish.  If Street falters another time or two, look for Manny Corpas to get another chance at closing games for the Rockies.

Nelson Cruz is living up to his preseason billing.  Cruz was a popular sleeper heading into 2009 (on sites such as Fantasy Baseball Search, among others), and is off to a great start. 

Cruz had two hits tonight including a grand slam (just missed his second) and drove in six runs.  Cruz is now batting .278 and has driven in 12 runs.  Don’t expect him to be hitting in the seventh spot for much longer.

A’s rookie Brett Anderson had a good second start against the high-powered Red Sox.  Anderson lasted seven innings, allowing just two runs and whiffed five guys.  This is much better than his first start, and I like this kid for the future. 

In 2009, I’m not sure if he will make a huge impact, but if you have Carpenter, Matsuzaka, etc., who have recently gone on the DL, Anderson isn’t a bad choice.

Don’t Believe The Hype

Tim Wakefield took a no-hitter into the start of the eighth inning before losing the bid for the no-no, as well as the shutout. But he did still go the distance and got the win as well.  Wakefield allowed two runs and struck out four to get his first win of the season.  Wakefield won’t have another game like this in 2009, so don’t go running to add him to your team.

Mike Hampton threw six shutout innings, walked just one batter, and struck out eight.  PLEASE don’t get tempted into picking up Hampton.  I question whether or not he could do that again, not to mention that the guy hasn’t been healthy since 2004. Why should this year be any different?

Oliver Perez had a much better second start for the Mets.  Of course, it was against the Padres.  Perez got the win, allowing just one run over six innings and struck out four.  Even better for the Mets, he only walked two batters. 

I announced on Fantasy Baseball Tonight on Blog Talk Radio that I was officially off the OP bandwagon.  This was a nice start, but he has been far too inconsistent over the years to feel any confidence in him.

Mike Cameron had two home runs tonight and was 3-3 bringing his average to .370.  Cameron hasn’t been within 100 points of that average in years, so PLEASE do not add Cameron or think that he can continue this great start.  The strikeouts and other bad play aren’t far away.

Injury News

Bad news for Chris Carpenter. The Cardinals ace, who left the game last night got his diagnosis.  Strained rib cage.  Best case scenario, Carpenter misses a month.  Worst case?  Carpenter is out until mid June!  Ugh!

Xavier Nady will miss the entire season most likely with a ligament tear in his elbow.  This means that Nick Swisher will now step into the everyday role.  I know he has been tearing it up lately, and this only adds to his fantasy appeal.  However, the guy hit .219 last season, so if he starts to struggle, don’t be surprised.

Daisuke Matsuzaka was placed on the 15-day DL with what is being called shoulder fatigue.  Can you say WBC?  Early reports have him out until May sometime, but nothing has been all that specific that I have found.  Justin Masterson will make the first start that he will miss, but does this mean that Clay Buchholz might not be in the minors too long?  Check back to find out.

Evan Longoria missed tonight’s game, and will not play again tomorrow due to a “personal issue” which has been reported as a death in the family.  Sit Longoria on Thursday, but get him right back in on Friday.

Chipper Jones will miss the next two games, at the least, after re-aggravating a previous thumb injury.  However, Chipper says he will just miss the two games, but the Atlanta Braves haven’t exactly shared his view yet.  With a guy like Jones, you have to be skeptical that he will make an easy recovery. 

If you own him, he’s most likely out for longer than he says, especially given his injury history.  Wait until you see him play a game before inserting him back into your lineup.

There was some good news/bad news on the Mets’ Mike Pelfrey today.  The bad news is that he had an MRI, and it showed some tendonitis in his forearm.  Pelfrey thinks he will make his next start, but the Mets are far from committal on that issue. 

So what is the good news?  The silver lining is at least there is an explanation for why he has been so bad his first couple of starts.  Keep an eye on Pelfrey’s availability for his next start.

As always, your comments and questions are welcome at [e-mail]. I guarantee a response within 18 hours.

Also, don’t miss “The Fantasy Baseball Gurus Show” every Wednesday night at 10pm EST on Blog Talk Radio. The show 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. 

The Fantasy Baseball Scouting Report is also back!  Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the news, free agent pickups, minor leaguers, and injuries.  A can’t miss if you plan on winning your league. 

I also just met the people over at Baseball Trade Rumors and I invite you to visit their site.   They have a page for rumors for every major league team, constant updates on the latest rumors, interactive polls, and overall some great content.