Fantasy Baseball Tonight: June 6

David Price didn’t give up a ton of runs, but he was far from spectacular.  Price threw 107 pitches in 5.2 innings, and it was his control that got him in trouble again.  He allowed only one earned run, but walked five and struck out just three. 

This isn’t quite the dominant performances that we were all counting on when he was called up, but he still hasn’t been bad.  Continue to start Price with the utmost confidence.  On day it is all going to click and he will be the guy we saw in the playoffs last season.

I am officially on the Ben Zobrist bandwagon for 2009.  Zobrist homered again and tripled again, and is now hitting .304 on the season.  With Akinori Iwamura out for the year, and with the way he is hitting, it is nearly guaranteed that he will stick in the lineup even when Jason Bartlett comes back. 

He has already surpassed his RBI total from last season, and he is just one homer away from that mark.  This is the first chance he has really gotten in his career for regular at bats, and he is looking good.  I would imagine the power has to subside some, but he looks like a quality player for this season.

Luke Hochevar was called up by the Royals to make a start, and he actually did really well.  He went 6.2 innings, allowed just two runs, and struck out three.  I am a long way from having any confidence in this guy, and unless it is an AL-only league, I wouldn’t think about picking him up.

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.

Gavin Floyd was great again, and he has been good for his last four starts now.  Floyd lasted 6.2 innings, allowed just one run and struck out seven. 

He continues to keep his walks under control, with just one on the night, and he has definitely rebounded from his awful start.  I am unsure of what to expect from Floyd for the rest of the season.  I don’t have any great confidence in him, but

Brad Lidge blew a save for the second consecutive day, and things are not looking good for him. 

He gave up a homer to Rafael Furcal (his second of the season) in the ninth inning, and his team eventually lost the game in the 12th.  After that horrendous Yankee season, Lidge had saved five in a row without allowing a run and we all thought he had turned the corner.

Unfortunately, it was another rough weekend for the Phillies’ closer.  I think due to financial reasons, Lidge is still on a decent length leash, but he can’t keep doing this for his fantasy owners.  You can’t trade him, all you can do is ride this out.

Andre Ethier looks to be getting his stroke back, even before the return of Manny Ramirez.  Many people questioned his talent when he struggled after Manny’s suspension.

But he now has three homers in the past five days, and his average is back over .271.  I still really like Ethier, and think that he will get close to 25 homers on the year.  He also should drive in somewhere between 80-90 runs.

Kelvim Escobar returned from the Disabled List, and although he took the loss, he wasn’t that bad.  He only lasted five innings, but allowed just two runs.  He did strikeout five, but also walked four. 

But he was able to throw 92 pitches, and he is generally a good strikeout pitcher when he is healthy.  If Escobar is still available, I would analyze your pitching staff to see if he could help you.  He is hurt a lot, but when he’s in there he is a pretty good pitcher.

I am starting to climb aboard the Edwin Jackson bandwagon.  He threw a complete game today against the Angels, and is now6-3 on the season with a 2.16 ERA and a WHIP of just 0.96.  He isn’t an elite strikeout pitcher, but he isn’t bad either.  So far in 2009, he has struck out 62 batters in 83 innings. 

The Tigers certainly appear that they have bounced back as a team from the disaster that was 2008, so he should still be able to win a good number of games.  I’m not ready to call him an ace yet, but I am coming around to the idea.

John Lannan went the distance for the Nationals tonight against the Mets, but he still isn’t a guy that I would consider owning unless you are in an NL only league, or one with 20 or more teams.  

His ERA is respectable at 3.68, but he is now just 3-5, part of which can be attributed to the team he plays on.  But his strikeout and walk numbers are just not good, and he isn’t worth having on your team.

Geovany Soto was back in the Cubs lineup after being out for the past three days to try to “clear his head”.  He only did get one hit, but Soto made the most of it, when he hit his second homer of the season. 

Hopefully the few days rest was exactly what the doctor ordered and he will be back in the lineup regularly. I have to believe he will be, their backup options are not good.

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.

Jon Lester is starting to look like the guy we knew last year again.  In three of his last four starts he has only allowed one run, and he struck out double digits for the second consecutive outing.  Lester threw a complete game on Saturday and struck out eleven, evening his record at 5-5. 

The time has probably passed now to buy low on him, but I would probably kick the tires on his owner to see if you still might be able to get him a little cheap.  I like Lester to continue his resurgence from the bad start.

David Ortiz finally hit his second homer of the season, and although it wasn’t the most impressive shot I have ever seen, MAYBE this is the one that gets him off the slippery slope he’s on.  I wrote after the last homer that the next week would tell the tale on Papi’s season. 

However, that was May 20.  It is now June 6 and he hit his next homer.  He is still hitting below .200.  I still don’t think that I would let him go, but he definitely should be on your bench.  The big man could have a hot streak in him, but I don’t see him getting near 25 homers this season.

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Ian Stewart has been getting regular playing time the past few days, and he is definitely making the most of it.  With his two homer game against the Cardinals, Stewart now has four in the last four days, and leads the team with eleven on the season. 

True, his batting average is only .231, but if this kid could get regular at-bats he would quickly be a very popular player in fantasy.  In leagues with large rosters, or in keeper leagues where you can afford it, he is worth stashing now for those days when he will be a regular starter. 

In traditional seasonal leagues, you might have to leave him in free agency if he is there.

Rick Ankiel has finally started to hit a little on his return from the Disabled List.  His average had dipped to .221, but he has now gotten one hit in five straight games, and connected on his first homer since April 26th. 

He isn’t a guy who will really help you with your batting average, but Ankiel is a guy with a lot of power.  Unless the injuries that he has suffered this year are zapping his power, there has to be some sort of hot streak coming in his near future.

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 we talked about on the Tuesday night version of the Fantasy Baseball Tonight podcast, Carlos Gonzalez was called up by the Colorado Rockies and was supposed to be starting on Friday.  He was in there tonight for them, and it appears he will be getting some playing time. 

Gonzalez struggled badly when he was up with the Rockies last season as he hit just .242 with four homers and 26 RBI in 85 games.  He also stole four bases.   He is lighting up the minors this season though hitting .339 with 10 homers and 59 RBI, and six steals in 48 games. 

He was a highly ranked prospect (No. 1 for OAK in 2008 before traded), so perhaps this could be his time.  He was 0-4 tonight with two strikeouts, and the Ks is what really hurt him last time he was up.  This could be his time, but he needs to improve his plate discipline.

Aaron Cook gave Colorado a great outing, but I urge you not to fall for him after this one start.  Cook was a popular pick this year after winning sixteen games last year for the Rockies.  H

is ERA was very close to 4.00 last season, and it is still at 4.50 this year even after his good start.  Making his value even that much lower is his strikeout rate.  Last season, Cook fanned only 96 in 211 innings, and in 2009 he has 32 Ks in 70 innings.

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 [e-mail] or [e-mail] and put Mailing List in the subject line.

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 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.