Fantasy Baseball: Wednesday News and Notes

Kevin Orris has done a couple pieces on the uses of Twitter over at FantasyPros911.com. His comments are very true, and deserve to be echoed. From a fantasy baseball perspective, it is becoming an undeniably strong resource. 

Whether it is an injury or lineup adjustment, news is making its way around Twitter faster than it can hit the internet web pages. The call up of Matt Wieters is a good example. Yesterday, I found out that Wieters was going to be called up a solid two hours before it hit ESPN.  

Why was that important? Knowing he was getting the call, I was able to adjust my lineup in one of my major leagues to make room for him, pick him up, and stash him away for Friday night's contest. Without this information, I would have been fighting with 11 other people this morning for the right to own him. 

The same is true with lineup adjustments. There are several great resources to help you determine your lineup before the game begins. In many cases, it's by a couple of hours. Those can be key at bats over the course of a week. 

Who should the fantasy owner be following on Twitter? Well, there's @TheRoundtable, of course! Still, many others provide fantastic insight, stuff you will never find on a website, blog, or otherwise. 

Be sure to check out @crookedpitch, @fakebaseball, @therotofeed, @kevinorris, @seanroto, @bigjonwilliams, @mlbCoz, @FP911, @jasoncollette, @jhalpin37, and @bradrysz just to name a few. Don't forget that @bleacherreport is on there as well! 

On to the notes. 

Tuesday Rewind

• Knox Bardeen brought up a great point yesterday on how hitters seem to just be pounding Jon Lester's fastball. After watching last night, let me provide my insight. Lester's off-speed pitches aren't being thrown for strikes consistently. It's causing him to be in a lot of fastball counts. Not just normal 1-0 or 2-0 counts, but 3-0 and 3-1 counts. Those then become "get me over" fastballs. Add to that, he doesn't have the confidence to throw breaking pitches for the first pitch, meaning guys are getting more first pitch fastballs. And they're just waiting for them.
• The big news yesterday was Matt Wieters. I'll have a special blog post on him over at FantasyPros911.com tomorrow. My initial opinion, though, is that he should be considered a top-ten catcher for the rest of the season. If you're starting Jorge Posada, John Baker, even Chris Ianetta and the like, Wieters is a better answer. Expect .275/14/50 if he gets the majority of the work, which I think he will.
• The Mets made a couple moves yesterday as well, all necessitated by injury. Jose Reyes hit the DL with a calf injury, and Ryan Church was right behind him. While Reyes represents an issue because of the position, the move of Church allows Fernando Martinez to be called up from AAA. Martinez is considered the best prospect in the organization. He can hit, no doubt about that. Deep league owners should take not, but mainly 14-team leagues or NL-only formats in the short-term. He's not a guy you will need to rush to grab.
• Another shortstop hit the DL yesterday, as Jason Bartlett's ankle injury will sideline him for a couple weeks. Between Reyes and Bartlett, shortstop help will be at a premium. The good news on Bartlett's side is he was likely a waiver grab, and owners should have a second shortstop. There is short-term help available. Orlando Cabrera is hitting .293 in the last two weeks, posting two home runs and ten RBI. You can also find Jhonny Peralta (.333 in the last 15 days) in 30 percent of leagues. Elvis Andrus (.310, 3 SB), Christian Guzman (.308), and Ben Zobrist (.317, 3 HR) are all available in at least 40 percent of leagues.
• Zack Greinke threw his fourth complete game in 11 starts last night. Greinke has simply been dominant, and his stats don't begin to underscore the value that he brings to the table. He's a guy that you virtually can't trade if you own (and shouldn't) and one that you can't offer enough to get if you want him. Without Joakim Soria in the short run, Greinke is going to need to eat more innings. That bullpen is just awful.
• Carl Pavano is not yet dead. He has now won five of his last six starts, allowing just one run on four hits over seven innings last night. It's hard to recommend a guy that we view as injury prone, but, after his first outing, Pavano has been relatively solid. In deeper leagues, look to him as an add.
• Melky Cabrera left last night's game against the Rangers with a strained shoulder. Cabrera hit the wall hard and came up in pain. Brett Gardner replaced him in the field. He would be the choice if the injury does linger and keeps Cabrera out of the lineup for a few days. Need help filling in your outfield voids? Check this out.
• When Roy Oswalt can't even get a win against the Reds, you likely have to question his long-term situation on your roster. While he didn't take the loss, he did give up four runs over six innings last night, scattering seven hits and two walks. The good news? Over the last three season, Oswalt's ERA is one and a quarter runs lower after the All-Star break. Keep that in your back pocket if you look to buy low.
• Well, so we learn, again, that stats can lie. As good as Jeff Suppan has been recently and against the Cardinals overall, he was as bad yesterday. He'd allowed three runs or fewer in his last seven starts, but gave up five earned over three-and-two-thirds yesterday. It's the gamble owners need to take when riding this horse.
• Yesterday's results: 2-2-1; Season: 114-83-10

Wednesday Notes

• Look to Andruw Jones against A.J. Burnett in Texas tonight. While Jones is a .281 hitter, three of his nine hits have gone for home runs. Play the rest of the Texas lineup as normal in this matchup. Burnett has struggled on the road all season, posting a 5.88 ERA. In May, he's 0-2 with a 5.13 ERA.
• The only active Pirate with a home run against Carlos Zambrano is Brandon Moss. Without Ryan Doumit's bat in the lineup, the Pittsburgh lineup is decidedly weak against Zambrano overall. While he's still recovering from his hamstring injury, this is a good matchup for him. I'd reserve as many Pirates as you can. Nate McLouth's .263 is the best you have to go with. Zambrano is particularly strong in May. He's 9-3 in the last three years with an ERA just north of 3.00.
• Keep throwing Ubaldo Jimenez out there at home, right? Not so fast. Jimenez has had a lot of problems with the Dodgers this season. In two starts, he's only gone a total of eight innings and given up 13 runs. His other starts this season have all been good, just not against Los Angeles. Think twice here.
• The Cubs have destroyed Zach Duke. In this case, you need to start any and all of them against the Pittsburgh pitcher. The Cubs have hit .356 against him as a team. Duke is 2-5 in his last 11 starts against the Cubs, allowing them to his .303 against him in that time.
• Clayton Kershaw has been very strong in four of his last five outings. In those four, he's allowed one run or less each time out. He's actually done that in six of his nine starts this season. Still, he was roughed up in his only start this year at Colorado, a place where he seems to have trouble locating his curveball. He has command issues, and they can show up enough to kick him out of games early. Not a fan of this matchup for him.
• Unless you were starting Darin Erstad or Geof Blum, every Astros starter is worth playing against Bronson Arroyo. Even factoring in that those two have averages of .217 and .182 respectively, the Astros have a .294 average against Arroyo collectively. When you add in Arroyo's struggles at home, the math works in the favor of Houston.
• While Jake Peavy was a tough luck loser against the Diamondbacks last time out, giving up just two runs over seven innings while striking out 12, he has had problems with Arizona in the past. Despite seemingly dominant numbers against the entire lineup, Peavy is just 5-6 in his last 13 starts against them, posting an ERA over 4.00 in those starts. He's struggled on the road (1-2, 4.32 ERA) this season, and is just 2-3 with a 4.77 ERA at Arizona.
• While you aren't going to sit Johan Santana, don't shy away from your Nationals today. Christian Guzman, as talked about above, has been hitting well and is a .571 hitter against Santana. Ryan Zimmerman has hit .333 against the Mets starter. These two provide the best options for success today, and Guzman is a sneaky play to steal a couple hits.
• Manny Parra is quickly becoming a home/road play. At home, batters have hit just .179 against him, as opposed to .317 on the road. He's beaten the Cardinals once already this season, and holds an ERA under 3.75 in six starts against them for his career. Not a bad option in this one.
• Spot Starts: Manny Parra, Rick Porcello, Trevor Cahill
• Keep on the Bench: Gavin Floyd

Thursday Notes

• Very limited slate of games, as just ten teams will take the field on Thursday.
• Josh Beckett is slowly rounding in to form. He's had four straight quality starts, and his best start was his most recent. His breaking pitches have been much sharper, as evidenced by double-digit groundballs in his last three starts. His ERA is skewed right now, but there should be no concerns in this one.
• Stephen Drew has seen a fair amount of Derek Lowe, and he likes what he sees. Drew is 14-for-27 against the Braves starter and is a solid play in this one. Keep most of your regular Diamondbacks in the lineup, as Mark Reynolds, Felipe Lopez, and Eric Byrnes are all over .300 against him. No concerns on Lowe overall, he has a decent record against Arizona.
• Armando Galarraga is still winless in May, and his ERA is 9.96 for the month. As good as he was in April, he's been just as bad this month. Lefties are simply killing him, hitting over .300 for the season. Another bad outing may seal his fate as far as keeping a spot in the rotation once everyone is healthy in Detroit.
• Randy Wolf has been good overall against the Cubs. Derrek Lee's .270 is the best that you're going to see against the starter. I wouldn't look to actively avoid the Soriano's of the world, but certainly temper expectations accordingly. Wolf is 1-0 in five May starts, posting an ERA of 2.59. His road numbers aren't bad this season either, as he's 2-1 with a 2.87 ERA and .211 BAA.
• Spot starts: Randy Wolf. Not much to go with otherwise.

Collin Hager writes The Elmhurst Pub fantasy blog. You can get your questions answered by sending an email to [e-mail]. He's also on Twitter @TheRoundtable.