In The News: Sunday, September 7, 2008

Here are some of the latest breaking headlines in the fantasy baseball world.

Evan Longoria (TB) Comes Off DL: This is some big news for fantasy owners.  The news is even bigger for those following the MLB Playoffs (sorry, Nationals fans!).  Longoria is one of the league’s brightest young players and will instantly provide a spark to a Rays team that is 1-4 in it’s last five games.  If you are in a weekly league, don’t be in a rush to activate him: Maddon has said that he wants to get him some BP before he steps up to the plate.  Look for him on your free agent wire in case some smart guy dropped him.

Alfonso (CHC) Bolts Three: Soriano had a fine game today against the Cincinnati Reds, sending three into orbit.  He is a great fantasy player and could be on the verge of a power tear for the last three weeks of the season.  A .342 OBP shows that he is seeing the ball fairly well and his average is remaining serviceable at .284.  With that power-speed combo, you can’t deny his great fantasy value.

Ben Sheets (MIL) Tosses Shutout Against Padres: When his groin is on, Sheets is on.  Okay, let me clarify: this injury prone pitcher has the raw stuff to dominate, but his injury history has to bother fantasy owners.  He reminds me a lot of Rich Harden: you have to wonder if these pitchers are crybabies in real life.  Be careful with Sheets if you select him in next year’s drafts: grab some insurance SPs just in case he goes out for an extended period of time.

Oswalt (HOU) Too: This just in, the Colorado Rockies will not go on a ridiculous run this year.  They simply haven’t been hitting well as of late.  Oswalt is a fine pitcher who many doubted at the beginning of the year…did he really try to learn a knuckleball?  All that aside, he was dominant and efficient (102 pitches).  He should be good to go for the rest of the year.

Whos hitting in Seattle?: Big Raul Ibanez, that’s who!  With his stellar game against the Yankees (2-3, HR, 4 RBI), he now has four 100 RBI seasons in a row.  Ibanez is often overlooked in fantasy, and he could be severely undervalued next year.  With a stellar .369 OBP and 22 HRs, he looks like Alfonso without the speed.

CLOSER ALERT: Steven Shell got the save for the lowly Nats tonight after they played ten innings.  Fernando Rodney got his ninth with the Tigers tonight, against the Twins.  Surprisingly, he is rated #23 in Razzball’s latest closer rankings, despite being the only able reliever in his pen.  Kyle Farnsworth?  Give me a break!