MLB Fantasy Baseball: Thursday News and Notes

Just when the Cubs thought it was safe to think they had a good team, something bad happens. It's inevitable. Other injury news also made headlines, as we now know how long Pujols will be out.

There were walk-off home runs and some great pitching performances last night, so let's get to the notes.

• Alfonso Soriano is expected to miss at least six weeks with a broken hand after being hit by a pitch last night. Obviously, not good news for fantasy owners. Soriano already missed two weeks in April and now will be sidelined through the heart of the season. It won't be easy to replace his production, but there are leagues where the Cardinals outfielders are still available and they would be reliable. Matt Murton and Felix Pie will likely both see time on recall. Murton has more fantasy value than Pie. We'll have to wait to see how the calls to the minors play out first. David Murphy and Johnny Damon are available in many formats, as is Jose Guillen. Luke Scott can also help, given his current hot streak.
• Albert Pujols is likely out three weeks with his calf injury. There is no way to replace the loss of a first-round player like Pujols, but, again, it comes down to working the wire. Carlos Delgado has been hitting better and makes a solid fill-in at first for this period.
• Adding another star player to the list, Victor Martinez left last night's game with an elbow injury. No word yet on any DL impact, but, because catcher is such a shallow position, there will be a noticeable drop off in production with a replacement. Ryan Doumit is on fire and available in 10 percent of current leagues. He'd be my first choice. After that, I'd look to Dioner Navarro or, in the short-term, Rod Barajas.
• Johnny Cueto had absolutely no command yesterday over his five innings, as evidenced by eight walks. It's the second time he has struggled with the St. Louis lineup, and that's enough for me to call it a pattern. Braden Looper, however, held the Reds down again. His problems with lefties did not show yesterday. Looper is certainly a deep-league sleeper and great NL-only pitcher.
• I mentioned Luke Scott as a fill-in for Soriano. Scott is on an absolute tear. It doesn't seem to matter who is pitching lately. He hit another home run last night, giving him four in his last ten games and raising his average to .277 from .259.
• Jason Giambi may not be universally owned, and for good reason. But he owns Justin Duschcherer. Giambi improved to 5-for-7 with three home runs against the A's pitcher. He is hitting the ball much better. In his last seven games, Giambi is at .333 with four home runs and eight RBI. He's very high risk because of his tendency to struggle with left-handed pitching, but makes a decent start against weaker pitching.
• Solid pitching yesterday from all the studs: Kazmir, Hamels, Lackey, Lincecum, and King Felix. Only Lackey and Hernandez got wins, but Kazmir gave up only three runs while striking out 10. Hamels struck out 13 over eight innings, giving up just two runs. Lackey continues to impress, and I feel he really will be the pitcher to own in the second half of the season. Lincecum struck out nine in seven innings of work, allowing just six hits and no runs.
• B.J. Ryan could not complete the ninth inning last night, eventually taking the loss. His ERA has risen three runs in his last 10 outings. Three of his last five have resulted in runs scoring. The Blue Jays will likely let him continue to work through the problems, but Scott Downs should be on stand by.
• Jorge Cantu doesn't get much pub, but the Marlins infielder is hitting .429 in his last seven games. He has six home runs and 10 RBI over that time. If you own Alex Gordon, you should own Jorge Cantu. He can still be found on waivers in a handful of leagues, but act quickly as he is just raking.

 

Notes for today's games

• Mark Buehrle has struggled on the road all season, and the Tigers offense has not been kind to him. Buehrle has seem moderate success at Comerica, going 3-1 since 2005, but I don't think that's enough to better the .300 team average the Tigers have against him. Every Tigers regular should be played today.
• Jeremy Guthrie has not recorded a win at Fenway, but he has a 1.98 ERA in two games at the park. I'd keep Mike Lowell (.154) and Kevin Youkilis (.168) on my bench if I had better options. Guthrie is worth the start in what could be a low scoring game.
• The Orioles hit Jon Lester pretty well. Kevin Millar should be on the bench, but I would start Adam Jones, Nick Markakis, and any other Oriole against him. Lester may be tough at home, but struggles with Baltimore.
• Aaron Laffey sports a 1.38 ERA at home and a .205 BAA. He's held all lefties to a .111 batting average. Not bad numbers for the young pitcher and he's worth the gamble at home against the Twins tonight.
• Not that you would bench him tonight, but Lance Berkman has gone .349/5/12 against Ben Sheets in his career. Starting all your Astros regulars won't be a problem here tonight, and I'd even add Ty Wiggington (.462/2/7) to that list as well. They should all grab a hit or two, despite how well Sheets has pitched against the Astros so far this season.
• With no Pujols in the lineup, Bronson Arroyo doesn't make a bad start in deeper mixed leagues or if you're looking for someone to steal some strikeouts. Jamie Moyer isn't exactly a start, but Dan Uggla is just 2-21 against him lifetime. Moyer is 3-0 with a 1.83 ERA at Dolphin Stadium since 2005.
• I would wait one start on Jake Peavy, just to let him get the rust off. Chances are, he will still pitch well. But I hold every pitcher back one start after a DL stint, especially one involving the arm. I said it yesterday, I'll say it today, I'll say it five days from now: Start Hiroki Kuroda.
• Spot starts today? Kuroda, Guthrie, Laffey, and Scott Olsen

 

Notes for Friday

• Interleague play resumes on Friday. It will be much harder to play matchups against teams, so we'll have to look deeper than those successes in many cases.
• Kyle Lohse pitches better at home than on the road, and the Phillies only hit .235 against him as a team. I don't recommend Lohse as much as I do looking to find other players for borderline Philly starters.
• A.J. Burnett has a track record against the Cubs from his days in Florida. Burnett pitches well against them and has been very good in five of his last six starts, allowing less than three earned in all but one.
• Derek Lowe is 0-3 on the road in his seven outings this season, allowing batters to hit over .300 and posting an ERA of 5.40.
• Justin Masterson is young, but has held right-handed hitters down well in his four starts this season. Don't be afraid to use him against Cincinnati. His peripheral stats are just as important as a better than league-average strand rate. Mike Lowell and Alex Cora both hit Aaron Harang very well.
• Best advice to give you is to stick with the hot bats. Luke Scott, J.D. Drew, and Ryan Doumit will continue to hit, regardless of the pitching. When you're zoned in, it doesn't seem to matter.
• Early spot start calls, go with Masterson, Kevin Slowey, and Greg Smith.

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