Fantasy Baseball Around the Majors, May 24: Alex Rios, Wade Davis, and More

The majority of the league had Monday off, something needed after every team played a full week of games last week.

That doesn’t mean that there wasn’t plenty for fantasy owners to look at, however.

Let’s take a look at the stories from yesterday’s games.

Hitters

Alex Rios (1-for-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R)

The perpetual breakout candidate may finally be living up to the hype. Granted, he’s had some good years in the past, but he never has reached those 20/20-type levels we all have known he was capable of. He’s now hitting .309 with nine HR, 23 RBI, 29 R, and 14 SB on the season.

Before we want to believe that it’s a fluke, he’s sporting a .304 BABIP and 14.5 percent HR/FB, both realistic numbers. Of course, you can point to a decreased strikeout rate (12.5 percent) and increased fly-ball rate (46.3 percent) as reasons for a potential decline.

I would say that he could regress a little bit, but with the speed he’s proven to possess, he’s going to be a solid option regardless.

Jacoby Ellsbury (0-for-5)

He’s 1-for-14 with two RBI and one R since coming off the DL. We all know it’s just a matter of time, so just stay patient and leave him active in all formats.

Victor Martinez (0-for-1)

He left with what is being a called a bruised toe (according to Michael Silverman on Twitter). It would seem like this isn’t a major issue to worry about, but those in daily leagues need to be checking the pregame lineups.

Adam Lind (2-for-4, 2 RBI, 1 R)

He hasn’t lived up to the hype; we all know that. He does have back-to-back two-hit games and four in his last eight. He’s showing signs of putting things together, so I wouldn’t give up hope quite yet.

In fact, if someone in your league is looking to sell, it’s worth kicking the tires on. There are just numbers that you would think are going to continue to improve (.276 BABIP, 26.0

percent strikeout rate) that will lead to better success.

Pitchers

Justin Masterson (4.0 IP, 5 ER, 9 H, 2 BB, 0 K)

He falls to 0-5 on the year, with an ERA of 6.13. If, for some reason, you were still rolling him out there, just don’t at this point.

Wade Davis (3.2 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, 3 BB, 0 K)

He’s had some great starts, but he’s had some struggles as well. He’s gone over six innings just once. He’s gone less than six innings five times (nine starts). His WHIP is pretty ugly, sitting at 1.48 as he’s carrying a 4.9 BB/9.

The Rays have a bevy of young pitchers, so it wouldn’t be a complete surprise to see them make a change, at some point, but they likely aren’t close to that quite yet. Just keep an eye on him, especially in AL East matchups (6.23 ERA vs. Boston, 4.63 ERA vs. NYY).

Brett Cecil (7.1 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 K, W)

He’s been pretty solid (outside of the drubbing at the hands of the Rangers). I still don’t have that much faith in him, and a much more in-depth article is needed to discuss him. If it’s a positive matchup, I could see rolling him out there, but he’s not a pitcher I would be depending on, especially with the tough AL East opponents he often has to face.

Aaron Harang (6.1 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 3 K, W)

It wasn’t the prettiest start, and he now has allowed four ER in each of his last three starts. He’s carrying an ugly 5.98 ERA and 1.50 WHIP through his first 10 starts of the season, hardly numbers that fantasy owners want to see.

There is hope, with a .353 BABIP and 64.8 percent strand rate, so don’t lose faith. Even if he can pitch like a low-4.00 ERA (like he did in ‘09), he’s going to have value down the stretch.

What are your thoughts from yesterday’s games? Which ones caught your eye? Which ones did I miss?

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